heater = coolant temp increase?!

[xcrider]

i picked up an 01 civic this summer and its been working great for me up until just recently. with the cooler weather coming around, i turned on the heater for the first time since i bought the car. it worked fine for about 3 minutes when i noticed that my temp gauge was on its way to red-lining. i finished the drive (2 blocks) home and shut the car off immediately.

since then, the temp guage only seems to skyrocket when the heat is turned on. my solution so far was.. dont use heat. well, i can only do that for so long before i'll freeze to death. any ideas before i head to a shop?

coolant is low, but still just above the minimum line in the overflow tank. coolant is visible in the radiator. is there a specific coolant that honda recommends? the owners manual wasn't included in the manual when i purchased it. I plan to pick one up eventually though..


Thanks

 

[norcalgsr]

I'd start by changing your thermostat, and filling/bleeding the cooling system to get all the air out. Then see if your problem still continues.

As far as coolant type it depends on what's in there.. the newer Hondas use a blue coolant that you're not supposed to mix with the green coolant. If you have green in it now you can use pretty much any kind you want as long as it's the green color. Prestone also sells some in a yellow container that's supposed to be able to mix with any type of coolant.