My heater on my felicia takes ages to warm up. the gauge also never seems to move unless in heavy traffic where no cold air is getting into the engine. is this a common problem on the felicias or do you think there is something wrong with my car. thanks in advance

You need a new thermostat mate, which if it's an MPi will mean changing the complete [plastic] housing, which looks like a VW part. It's over

My heater on my felicia takes ages to warm up. the gauge also never seems to move unless in heavy traffic where no cold air is getting into the engine. is this a common problem on the felicias or do you think there is something wrong with my car. thanks in advance

yes i would also agree it has to be a fault , as daverapid says it sounds like a faulty thermostat , my felicia t reg 1.3 warms up fast and heater is lovely and warm i'm glad it is just now with this freezing weather ( cant stand the cold )

Also agree -

It is common for the plastic thermostat housing to fail which in effect causes the thermostat to remain closed, causing the engine to overheat.

It may be that this has happened and the thermostat has just been removed to avoid this rather than renew the thermostat and housing as suggested. This would then cause the excessive cooling you describe.

I purchased a new housing recently for about

Sorry I should have said for the VW engine. Not sure about the 1.3.

cheers guys! have to get it sorted asap. i'm guessing its a pretty simple job that i can do myself. i need it with this cold weather