[Closed] Getting the car warm in the winter

As for leaving it running, found out elsewhere that it's illegal,

Obviously fine on private property in the UK but on the street it's illegal, it's not something that would bother me too much but there's an offence under the Road Traffic Act called 'quitting' that covers it

Modern diesels still take ages to warm up though - they are so efficient that they don't produce much waste heat.

I have a C5 HDI and it heats up a lot quicker than my 3 previous diesels, I thought it was the air con.

*smug mode on*

Buy a VW Passat with winter pack - heated seats, windscreen, mirrors and washer nozzles.

*smug off*

Yeah, annoyingly when I bought the Forry I tested a different one which had a winter pack just like that. But it was the nutter 2.5 turbo vesion that came with the option of instantly losing ones licence..... 🙄
For what was effectively a chunky family car it was bonkers fast.

I have a C5 HDI and it heats up a lot quicker than my 3 previous diesels, I thought it was the air con.

Might have a small fuel burning heating in it somewhere tucked away under the bonnet. Alot of smaller frugal Diesels do . They burn so little fuel , at a lower temp than petrol engines they take miles to warm up .

Some of the newest cars close off the air flow to the rad to aid in faster ramp up to operating temperature.

Almost all cars have the capability to fit a block heater, and the part will be available, because they are the same cars and engines sold in proper cold countries. Block heaters are common in Finland - a touch of luxury in the south but the norm up north afaik. My office (in Helsinki) had electrical outlets on most of the outside parking spaces with a timer inside for this purpose.

An Eberspacher or Webasto heater is what you need, used in campervans for heating and and can be set to turn on with a timer. Not cheap though !

Sort out all the garage clutter and store the bikes sensibly. Then shove the car in there.

[northern mode]

My dad used to go to meetings at the cat & fiddle when he lived nearby (early 80's?) and was once the only one to get out the car park once when it was snowed in much tot he dismay of the more senior people there in their new escorts, capris etc.

He had a morris traveler with a hand crank!

[/northern mode]

My Forester lives outside (garage full of bikes + related stuff).

Sort out all the garage clutter and store the bikes sensibly. Then shove the car in there.

Also worked in ukraine last year in minus 28 . Their solution was jump in truck start it turn heating on get out scrape window and go , like a bat out of hell.

Probably the 5 of us sat in there we were all sitting in down jackets and frozen jeans freezing

A heater in the car won't make the engine or door seals or locks very warm - unless you leave it on for a very long time indeed. Even then, the engine will take ages to get the car heating up to temperature, negating the warmth put in to it.

Sort the garage, build a shed, whatever. The only real way to stop a car freezing is to get it out of freezing temperatures. This is more of an issue when it is damp cold (UK) rather than dry cold (continental). The bikes won't argue, complain or suffer if you move them.

[...]Might have a small fuel burning heating in it somewhere tucked away under the bonnet. Alot of smaller frugal Diesels do . They burn so little fuel , at a lower temp than petrol engines they take miles to warm up .[...]

Our door seals and locks on our Golf used to freeze shut every time there was a heavy frost (quite often in Derbyshire). An excessive quantity of silicon spray all over the seals and in the locks sorted them out, so no more pouring hot water over them. VW door seals on our car are made of some slightly fuzzy rubber, perfectly designed to trap a tiny bit of water at the top. Doh.

Just car-cover the car. Sheesh why go to all that hassle?

matt_outandabout - Member

Get a cover for it?

hora - Member

Just car-cover the car. Sheesh why go to all that hassle?