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As we have about 1/8th+ of an inch of ice on everything today, I started our vehicles to get the ice somewhat chipped/cleaned off. Our Rav4 thawed out in about third of the time it took my Buick. Has anyone had a vehicle that warmed up very quickly, much quicker than others that they have had? We had a Honda years ago that warmed up really fast, maybe faster than the Rav4. Which vehicle have you had that warmed up the fastest? Which vehicle is the slowest?
No vehicle is going to warm up quick just idling and it's a waste of fuel and the environment.
living in an area with frequent sub-freezing and sub-zero temperatures, my experience has been that our Subaru's deliver heat sooner than any other vehicle.
If we start our cars before scraping a windshield or brooming the snow off, in the minute or two that it is fast idling the car will then deliver meaningful heat within another minute.
If I broom off the car before starting it, then it's typically driven only a 1/4 mile before I've got noticeable heat coming out of the defroster/heater vents. That's even in well below freezing temperatures, and I usually only reach 30 mph in that first mile of driving.
Of course, it takes a bit more driving to get up to normal engine temp and full heater output delivery after that, but it's nice to have some defroster ability so quickly after starting the car.
We also had good cold weather warm-up with our Audi's.
Our current fleet includes Ford, Dodge, BMW, and M-B vehicles. The subie's are by far and away the most rapid heating of the bunch. The diesel pick-ups are generally pre-warmed with their block heaters, so they can deliver some heat quickly after start-up ... but that's different than starting a vehicle from cold in sub-zero temps and getting heat from it as the subie's do for us.
Had a GM with a electric heater in the coolant , and the coolant would heat up fast , but you could not let the coolant get to low and you sure needed a good engine fan in the Summer months , but it did get me to work on time , ever time
Another challenge is chipping the ice off the doors to get them open. It always sounds like the door gasket is tearing loose when they finally open. I have often wondered if the gaskets had some silicone, or something on them, if they would open easier.
Another challenge is chipping the ice off the doors to get them open. It always sounds like the door gasket is tearing loose when they finally open. I have often wondered if the gaskets had some silicone, or something on them, if they would open easier.
while just about any silicone spray product will help on the door (or frameless window) gaskets,
the best product I've used (for decades on many customer cars) is SilGlyde. It's a stick of stuff that you rub on the gaskets. Doesn't take much to work well. Available at auto parts stores.
PS: checking on-line, they now sell this stuff in a squeeze tube ... and it's available everywhere from your auto parts store to WalMart and most box stores. Inexpensive at around $6/tube, carded pack. Now marketed for a lot of other lube tasks on cars, this stuff is the real deal for keeping the door gaskets from sticking in cold weather.
Vehicles should be warmed up driving in low gear at low speed. That's how it's done in cold countries. This puts the most demand onto engine and makes it warm up faster.
For winter time, place a piece of cardboard in front of radiator to limit air flow. This feature is actually standard OEM on several vehicles.
Buy a darn scraper.
Back in 'ol country we simply poured some cold water onto frozen windshield. Never had one cracked and we had crappy glass.
Leave your wipers raised up after you park the car. So that they do not freeze to the glass.
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