cool, since i'm gonna monitor the situation, I'll be sure to pay special attention to that area.

 

Alright, so a little update. The addition of coolant did solve the problem. Everything is working like normal.

However, sometimes when I put the AC on, I get an antifreeze smell in the cabin. When I pop the hood, I cant smell anything at all. What would cause the smell to go in the cabin only?

 

Sounds like one of the hoses that goes into the cabin or heater core or the heater core itself cracked.

 

heater core is a PITA, correct? I'm going to keep experimenting and try to figure out exactly when I get the smell and when I don't. Probably shoulda done the experimenting before I stated the problem.

 

When I was diagnosing my problem with my car overheating that is one thing Honda and bunch of friends asked me. If I smelled coolant in the cabin. And they told me about the heater core cracking or a hose going bad.

 

I guess that may also be partially at fault in explaining the poor heat in the wintertime?

 

Yup. Poor heat in the winter is usually a stuck thermostat, but depending on miles and of course care taken to follow the recommended schedule of the car other things can start to go. Hoses for one thing needs to be check along with belts unfortunately the hoses for the heater core aren't check often.

Hoses are made of rubber and will deteriorate over time just like tires, belts and any anything else made of rubber. They start to lose their oils and get brittle over time. This is why if you store your car for long periods of time you should drive it once in awhile (recommend once a month) to get the rubber in the tires (and hoses) somewhat pliable again.

But if you are not getting heat most people say thermostat cause it's the easier fix and most common. If you have a cracked hose or heater core it will drip or leak warm coolant which goes through the core to heat the cabin. The heat will escape through the crack and hence less heat in the cabin