Purchased this car about 3 years ago. Since then I've only put about 5,000 miles in the car, and one problem that I can never seem to fix is, the fact the heater, is next to useless. I've flushed the entire cooling system four times, to find that it was completely filled with rust. I've replaced the heater blower motor, to little help. I've also flushed the heater core, to no avail. The mechanic tells me that it's most likely a relay, which I've already replaced!! It gets quite cold in the Northwest during the winter, and this is definitely annoying!! Any help?

I actually bought a dash heater that plugs into the lighter, but it only helped a little. It was cheap. I had to use it when I had to drive someone to the hospital and back in the dead of Winter and back. I know that having no heat was horrid, and I had a blanket in the car. The window actually has frost on the inside! The cheap indoor heater left a porthole where I could see out. This started years ago, but I cannot afford a new car. I cannot afford to have the dash ripped out and a new heater core put in. I replaced the heater thermometer, but that did not fix the problem. Luckily, the Winter was very mild in the Northeast this past year, or I borrowed a relative's car on a really cold day. On a warm day, sunny and 45 or above, some heat comes out...go figure. The problem is the heater core being way up under the dash, so the problem with fixing the heater is in the design of the car. The placement of the heater makes it a very costly problem. I was quoted a thousand or more to fix it after adding the labor. I cannot afford that, or a newer car. This should be a recall defect. The heater core must be defective--I know many cars that are the same age or older with the heat in tact. This should not happen. I have only had to replace the thermometer on other cars in the past. The placement of the part is not accessible, so the maker should pay for that as it is the reason for the high cost...that and the defect of the heater core.