1. My 2006 2WD Explorer (65,000 miles) has

1. My 2006 2WD Explorer (65,000 miles) has stopped blowing hot air after the engine has warmed up and in idle. It just blows cold air, but when I start driving, it will start blowing hot air. And one time it started to overheat almost instantly and the temperature gauge shot up. The blower works fine, it blows cold air when the heat is on and the car is engine running but idle. When this happens I know to start watching the temp gauge.
Once after stopping to turn the heater started blowing cold air and the temp gauge incrementally shot to the max which activated the red temp light. I pulled off to the side and immediately the temp gauge went down to normal and red light went off.

2. On many occasions after stopping and starting (at a light), my explorer accelerates very slowly and the engine revs very high. After stopping again and changing the gear or taking my foot off the gas and putting it in N a few times it goes back to normal power and rpm.

I had my Ford dealer check the transmission for the revving problem but not the heater problem (I didn’t notice it at the time). They changed the transmission fluid and said it should be fine (they didn’t experience the revving).

My engine coolant reservoir never seems to stay full after filling to line and checking days later, whether I check it hot or cold. I never see or smell any leaking coolant.

After reading blogs from other owners, it seems the above two problems are related because many have noticed that when the engine revs the heater issue crops up. What’s going on and how much will it cost for repair.

Loyal Ford Customer
Clarence