Extreme COLD

[Newlook]

It takes quite awhile to have heat (I mean heat.... not just warm air). The heater worked alright on the highway, but had to put the temp to the \"hottest\" and fan speed at 3. Then I parked for hour and a half, it was freezing cold again. I drove city home and in that 15min it was only warm.... no heat. Water temp was at the middle (normal).

And after 8hrs outdoor today, the A/C dials were like frozen.... kinda weird. I turned them and they didn\'t have the clicking sound, and they were a little stick.

[keving]

Also, have you noticed that the shifter is a bit \"mushy\"? When it was a warmer the springs used to center the shifter very ... springy? But this morning when I backed the car the shifter felt mushy, like I was stirring a really thick thick soup. Is that a problem to be concerned about?

[MajesticBlueNTO]

Originally posted by keving


Also, have you noticed that the shifter is a bit \"mushy\"? When it was a warmer the springs used to center the shifter very ... springy? But this morning when I backed the car the shifter felt mushy, like I was stirring a really thick thick soup. Is that a problem to be concerned about?

your manual transmission fluid was more viscous due to the cold. after driving for a while, it should be warm enough to flow better.

swap it out for some synthetic and it won\'t feel like molasses in this extreme cold.

[MAZDA Kitten]

Originally posted by keving


Also, have you noticed that the shifter is a bit \"mushy\"? When it was a warmer the springs used to center the shifter very ... springy? But this morning when I backed the car the shifter felt mushy, like I was stirring a really thick thick soup. Is that a problem to be concerned about?

wow I just noticed the same thing today.

1st and 2nd are okay but 3rd and 4th is very ... mushy. I know it sounds weird but thats exactly how I described to my bf when we driving. But as the car got warmer the gears got that nice \'thunk\' back :D

As well anyone noticed their side mirrors are looking kinda warped?

[majic]

now i see what everyone was talking about - subpar heating..

the car was outside for 12+ hrs and it was VERY hard to shift in the first few shifts.. also the shift boot was frozen stiff. warming the car up by sittting in the driveway (not driving) does not help to get it \'hot\'.. the spray nozzles were \'frozen/clogged\' until i sprayed 2-3 times.. 10-15min later.. finally with some more spirited driving (once the engine temp was sufficient) it warmed up to its usual hot feeling.

[MajesticBlueNTO]

Originally posted by majic

warming the car up by sittting in the driveway (not driving) does not help to get it \'hot\'..

correct...the engine warms up faster when under load conditions (i.e. driving around)

[mEtH]

But its not a good thing to just jump in and drive.

[chaser]

Originally posted by Newlook
It takes quite awhile to have heat (I mean heat.... not just warm air). The heater worked alright on the highway, but had to put the temp to the \"hottest\" and fan speed at 3. Then I parked for hour and a half, it was freezing cold again. I drove city home and in that 15min it was only warm.... no heat. Water temp was at the middle (normal).


+1
my previous rides (toyota, honda) did a much better job!

[MajesticBlueNTO]

Originally posted by methodyst


But its not a good thing to just jump in and drive.

of course not...which is why 60 seconds in warm weather is good enough, and ~5 minutes in cold weather is good enough. anything more and you\'re wasting gas.

[///M]

I wonder what mine will be like after sitting for a week in the cold...

[MajesticBlueNTO]

Originally posted by autoexe


I wonder what mine will be like after sitting for a week in the cold...

don\'t worry about it...temps go back up to 1C this tuesday.

it\'s -24C outside with a wind chill of -36C right now.

my car was sitting for 3 hours, interior temp of -18C...car started fine, turned the heat and fan all the way up...sat for 2 minutes while i made a phone call then took off, and within 5 minutes the car was up to normal operating temp on the temp gauge.

heater was blowing nice hot air and by the time i got home at 3am (20 minute drive), the interior thermometer read +10C ...that\'s a DELTA of 28C ...looks like my heater is working fine :p

[VeRmiLLioN]

Holy Crap...mine felt as is it wasn\'t going to start yesterday evening!

Gears were sloppy...heat came on about 5 mins later.

The leather seats were ice!!!!!!!!! Need butt warmer!!!:D

[majic]

idled the car for about 3-5min in the driveway .. slowly took off and the engine temp went up quite quickly. it wasn\'t blowing HOT air until about 10 min from the start and the car was comfortable to sit in (w.o gloves/toque) after 15min.. but damn it was cold..

thank whomever you want but i was glad ppl\'s car batteries were dying (@home).. more room on the hwy :D :D man it would suck to be the ones dying at work or on the road..

[Melenium]

Anyone find that the car fogs up really easily under these cold conditions? The recirc button is absolutely useless when its this cold (the slightest bit of moisture condenses right away) so it takes longer to heat up the inside because you\'re sucking in cold air all the time. But besides that, even with it sucking in fresh air I found that I had to flip back and fourth from the defog/foot to the center vents every so often. Also after about 20 mins of driving the air it was blowing was \'warm\' but by no means hot.

[majic]

turn A/C on.. i know.. it\'s winter.. but it\'ll take the moisture out of the air and de facto de fog your windows.. don\'t believe me? :P check here (http://www.mvria.nsw.gov.au/motorists/mot_sel_aircon.htm)

[Melenium]

Originally posted by majic


turn A/C on.. i know.. it\'s winter.. but it\'ll take the moisture out of the air and de facto de fog your windows.. don\'t believe me? :P check here (http://www.mvria.nsw.gov.au/motorists/mot_sel_aircon.htm)

Hate to say it majic. but they don\'t usually get this cold weather down in Australia (the url is a .au address) ;). In all seriousness though, as far as I know the A/C turns on automatically if you have the rear-defroster on regardless of which setting you have the dial on, so it should have been on :p

[AfterBurner]

Originally posted by MajesticBlueN



Originally posted by keving


Also, have you noticed that the shifter is a bit \"mushy\"? When it was a warmer the springs used to center the shifter very ... springy? But this morning when I backed the car the shifter felt mushy, like I was stirring a really thick thick soup. Is that a problem to be concerned about?

your manual transmission fluid was more viscous due to the cold. after driving for a while, it should be warm enough to flow better.

swap it out for some synthetic and it won\'t feel like molasses in this extreme cold.

Actually it would be less viscous. Both my Shifter and the clutch were mushy today and yesterday. Had to let it sit for 20 min today while I scraped the ice of the windshield. Noticed something strange on Sunday where ice formed on the inside of the windwhield. I started to scrape it off the outside but noticed that there was no ice on the outside.:(
It also formed on my rearview mirror and front side windows.

I washed the car on Saturday afternoon right after the mini meet and it was spottless. Then the next morning with the snowfall on Saturday night and the cold temps on Sunday it was dirtier than it had been before I washed it.:( :(

[MajesticBlueNTO]

Originally posted by AfterBurner



Actually it would be less viscous.

cold engine oil is thicker than warm engine oil and, thus, is MORE viscous.

link 1 (http://www.mindspring.com/~fierosketch/osg/motor-oil.html)

The SAE 10W30 is the viscosity of the oil. Viscosity is basically how thick or gooey the oil is and it is determined in a test using very specific procedures laid down by the American Society for Testing and Materials (engineers love technical societies). Basically, the higher the number - the thicker the oil at a given temperature. Note that the oil thins or becomes less viscous at higher temperatures.

link 2 (http://www.chris-longhurst.com/carbibles/index.html?menu.html&engineoil_bible.html)

The proper viscosity is the single most important criteria of a lubricating oil. The basic performance of machinery is based on the viscosity of the lubricant. Viscosity is, if you like, the resistance to the flowability of the oil. The thicker an oil, the higher its viscosity.

link 3 (http://www.chris-longhurst.com/carbibles/index.html?menu.html&viscosity.html)

[majic]

Originally posted by AfterBurner

Actually it would be less viscous.


MBN was right.

Viscosity varies inversely with temperature. Thus the LOWER temperature, the HIGHER the viscosity and vice versa. Higher viscosity means that the oil/fluid is THICKER and it takes longer to pour than a less viscous oil through the same opening. This is also a reason why 0W20 synthetic Mobil1 would be superior in the wintertime vs. a regular 5W20 oil.


Originally posted by AfterBurner
Noticed something strange on Sunday where ice formed on the inside of the windwhield. I started to scrape it off the outside but noticed that there was no ice on the outside.:(
It also formed on my rearview mirror and front side windows.


possibly some condensation from the wash on saturday that froze overnight? warmth on the inside and cool temps on the outside could cause that and then rapid freezing weather and you have some frost on the inside.


Originally posted by AfterBurner
I washed the car on Saturday afternoon right after the mini meet and it was spottless. Then the next morning with the snowfall on Saturday night and the cold temps on Sunday it was dirtier than it had been before I washed it.:( :(

I know what you mean .. I washed it on saturday in the nice 3C weather and then the same night it rained and the roads were salted. now it looks so dirty.. except for the sparkling roof.. *sigh* the mother nature is always a step ahead of you

[idreamofmazda]

Originally posted by Melenium



Originally posted by majic


turn A/C on.. i know.. it\'s winter.. but it\'ll take the moisture out of the air and de facto de fog your windows.. don\'t believe me? :P check here (http://www.mvria.nsw.gov.au/motorists/mot_sel_aircon.htm)

Hate to say it majic. but they don\'t usually get this cold weather down in Australia (the url is a .au address) ;). In all seriousness though, as far as I know the A/C turns on automatically if you have the rear-defroster on regardless of which setting you have the dial on, so it should have been on :p

Yes, as far as I know, the AC comes on to help defrost the windshield, but the owner’s manual states the AC doesn’t operate below 0 degrees C, so I am not sure now.

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Even with Mobil1 0W20 synthetic oil and plugging in my block heater, I found my car really \"frozen\" this morning (-33 here in Sudbury, -42 yesterday). The car is much harder to steer and the suspension seems much stiffer too until I get 15-20 minutes of driving in. On the positive side, it started immediately but cabin heating is extremely slow.

Any suggestions for faster heating? I read on another forum that it is actually better to set the fan to 1 and heat to max, wait until the engine temp gauge gets up to \"midway\", then put the fan speed to 2. Apparently that heats up the inside faster than just cranking the fan to 4. I did that yesterday and today in the deep freeze and it took well over 30 minutes to get to a comfortable (no heavy duty mitts) temperature. Also read that it is better to set the dial to feet only for the first few minutes to avoid frost inside the windows. Just wanted to hear from you guys what your recommendations might be for dealing with extreme cold.

[idreamofmazda]

Originally posted by ZoomZoom Girl


Even with Mobil1 0W20 synthetic oil and plugging in my block heater, I found my car really \"frozen\" this morning (-33 here in Sudbury, -42 yesterday). The car is much harder to steer and the suspension seems much stiffer too until I get 15-20 minutes of driving in. On the positive side, it started immediately but cabin heating is extremely slow.

Any suggestions for faster heating? I read on another forum that it is actually better to set the fan to 1 and heat to max, wait until the engine temp gauge gets up to \"midway\", then put the fan speed to 2. Apparently that heats up the inside faster than just cranking the fan to 4. I did that yesterday and today in the deep freeze and it took well over 30 minutes to get to a comfortable (no heavy duty mitts) temperature. Also read that it is better to set the dial to feet only for the first few minutes to avoid frost inside the windows. Just wanted to hear from you guys what your recommendations might be for dealing with extreme cold.

The old-fashion way of getting the car to run warmer was to place a piece of cardboard in front of the radiator. I haven’t looked at the Mazda, so not sure if it can even be done.

You are doing everything right, I avoid turning on the fan when the engine is cold, as I would rather have no heat, than cold wind.

I thought about one of the heaters that Canadian Tires sells, just plug into the cigarette lighter, and instant heat, but don’t know how well they work.

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Yeah, I\'m seriously considering that plug in heater at Candian Tire. It was -42 here yesterday, -33 today so, tough northern gal that I am, that\'s still a tad too cold for my tastes. I also noticed some \"snow\" inside my car after I got it started, cleared off the snow, and got into the car. What causes this and how can I avoid it in the future? Inside windshield frost I understand is caused by blowing hot air immediately onto the freezing cold surface (hence just putting the setting on \"feet\" to start) but this inside snow is a new one to me.:sarc

[Melenium]

Originally posted by ZoomZoom Girl

Any suggestions for faster heating? I read on another forum that it is actually better to set the fan to 1 and heat to max, wait until the engine temp gauge gets up to \"midway\", then put the fan speed to 2. Apparently that heats up the inside faster than just cranking the fan to 4. I did that yesterday and today in the deep freeze and it took well over 30 minutes to get to a comfortable (no heavy duty mitts) temperature. Also read that it is better to set the dial to feet only for the first few minutes to avoid frost inside the windows. Just wanted to hear from you guys what your recommendations might be for dealing with extreme cold.

Last winter there was a small segment on \"daily planet\" (on the Discovery channel). Best bet is right after turning on the car to set the heat dial to max, switch it to recirculating air and to set the fan to medium, that way it starts trapping your body heat to warm up the cabin, but doesn\'t give you all that much of a windchill. Thats what I tried this morning, but it got all foggy :sarc

[MajesticBlueNTO]

Originally posted by ZoomZoom Girl
. I also noticed some \"snow\" inside my car after I got it started, cleared off the snow, and got into the car. What causes this and how can I avoid it in the future? Inside windshield frost I understand is caused by blowing hot air immediately onto the freezing cold surface (hence just putting the setting on \"feet\" to start) but this inside snow is a new one to me.:sarc

the moisture in the air inside the car froze overnight causing the \"snow\"...interior moisture from breathing, outside air blowing in, etc, lingers and froze.

[jimdragon8]

I went away for a few days, my friend\'s golf wouldn\'t start at the airport, needed a jump. Came home, was afraid my 3 would be the same. It took 3 times before the car would start. Had to let everything thaw before I turned the car off. No problems starting the car today, had to let it really warm up!! :sarc

[Illmatic]

Have to admit I was worried this morning. Luckily I got someone to start my car for me!

Anyway it did take a while for it to warm up. The one thing I find it tough getting used to is the slight squeal from the brakes when you first apply them.

I\'m definitely thinking about those aftermarket seat heaters now. Mind you when it does warm up it can get pretty hot in the cabin.

[Dr Butcher]

I hadn\'t run my car since Friday so it was nice and frosty this morning. It started right away with the remote start but even though it idled as I was getting dressed it was still an ice block when I got in. Then I realized the frikkin\' wipers were frozen to the windshield and had to get out and peel them away from the glass. Then they only wiped a tiny portion of the windshield. I went to CanTire and wouldn\'t you know they didn\'t have any of winter blades in our size. And I thought finding winter tires at this time of year was tough, geesh!

[ZoomZoom Girl]

You\'re right, they don\'t have Motomaster Teflon (1 piece) winter blades in the 19\" and 21\" sizes our cars take. I got them in 18\" and 22\" and the fit is perfect...tried the 20\" for the driver\'s side but found it too short. The 22\" provides full coverage yet does not overshoot the windshield. Same for the 18\" so I wouldn\'t get any bigger.

Going to try starting my car now at -25....will try the \"full heat, fan to 1\" technique to see if this works any better than this morning\'s deep freeze.


Originally posted by Dr Butcher


I hadn\'t run my car since Friday so it was nice and frosty this morning. It started right away with the remote start but even though it idled as I was getting dressed it was still an ice block when I got in. Then I realized the frikkin\' wipers were frozen to the windshield and had to get out and peel them away from the glass. Then they only wiped a tiny portion of the windshield. I went to CanTire and wouldn\'t you know they didn\'t have any of winter blades in our size. And I thought finding winter tires at this time of year was tough, geesh!

[bluntman]

This may sound silly...or obvious...but don\'t throw hot water on your windshield in the morning. Not if you don\'t like the sound of breaking glass.

[Xenon]

Me being the smart one :sarc I decided to wash my car yesterday using a touchless car wash.

After the car wash I got out to dry the car... I went from front to back, but doing the windows first. By the time I was finished drying the back window of my hatch, the rest of the water on the car was already frozen. :p

Stupid cold weather. I had no other choice than to leave my car at home in the garage for the rest of the day and let all the ice thaw out, seeing that there was a thin layer of ice in all the cracks of the doors (except the driver\'s one which I was using). I didnt\' want to open the doors and have ice damage the paint or anything else.

This morning, my car was thawed, but still wet, so I finished wiping it down in the garage before I opened the garage door and set out for the day.

I didn\'t think it was THAT cold yesterday, but I guess it was. Outside temperature at the time of my wash was -13 C (thanks to the stranger in the Acura TL behind me, that toweled down his car too, for the temp reading)

[billyfo]

I didn\'t start the car on Sun, then this morning the car had to crank about 5 sec to start. while I park outside, it took me over 35 mins for the heater blowing warm air, my toes nearly frozen cause no heat:hoho

[mEtH]

OH YAH!!!! I start a thread \"Posted on: 19-12-04 21:44:39\" and this thread started \"20-12-04 02:36:33\" and guess which one got locked....hmmmm...THANKS BLUNTMAN!

[Newlook]

Originally posted by Melenium


Anyone find that the car fogs up really easily under these cold conditions? The recirc button is absolutely useless when its this cold (the slightest bit of moisture condenses right away) so it takes longer to heat up the inside because you\'re sucking in cold air all the time. But besides that, even with it sucking in fresh air I found that I had to flip back and fourth from the defog/foot to the center vents every so often. Also after about 20 mins of driving the air it was blowing was \'warm\' but by no means hot.

+1

My car parks in the garage. This morning I left home at 5:20am.... warmed it up for maybe 10s and slowly get it moving to better warm it up. I don\'t idle my car for more than 1min in winter, but I take it easy for the first couple minutes. Lots of reports say you don\'t need to \"warm up\" the car by idling it in the morning. Plus I got no time to waste! I can\'t be late for work!

On a side note, my brakes didn\'t squeal this morning when I was backing out of the driveway... weird huh?

7min later I was on the highway... the heat started to get hot once I got the car up to 100 on the highway. But the first 7min of city driver was like ice cold..... and yes I had to flip the setting to vent/foot and DEF for awhile until the interior was warm enough.

If I continue to drive in the city, I think the air would still be only warm.... see my previous post (the first post of this thread).

[majic]

Originally posted by methodyst


OH YAH!!!! I start a thread \"Posted on: 19-12-04 21:44:39\" and this thread started \"20-12-04 02:36:33\" and guess which one got locked....hmmmm...THANKS BLUNTMAN!

who cares? they both discuss the same matter.. oh so you don\'t get notified of updates now.. bah.. big deal..

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Well, I can report on a heating technique that actually works in extreme cold. It was -25 here in Sudbury yesterday. In the morning when I left home, I cranked the heat to maximum and the fan to 4, had it on windshield/feet, and froze for most of the 45 minute drive! Last night I drove home with the heat on maximum, heat on feet to avoid throwing hot air on the windows and fogging them up, fan on 1 until the water temp got to its maximum (midway on the gauge), then fan to 2. Once I put the fan on 2 the car was already warm (took maybe 6 minutes) so then I alternated between vent/feet and windshield/feet, depending on how foggy it was getting. Worked great! Actually took my mitts off 15 minutes into the drive (my hands usually are freezing so this is saying alot)....

For all those of you in the same situation, I recommend you try this technique. Hard not to crank the fan all the way to 4 when it is that cold, but stay with 1 until the water temp reaches maximum, then put it on 2-3. Good luck! :)

[majic]

makes sense.. you slowly circulate warm/hot air isntead of blasting cold (outside) air over the heaters so fast that it never has time to warm up and all you get is cold air inside.. it\'s all about patience ;)

EDIT: think of ironing.. if you touch the iron for a split second with your finger on a high setting u will barely feel it but lower the temp down and hold it down for longer.. i can assure you u\'ll get a blister :p

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Well, patience is a virtue I\'m working on. As for the rest.... :sarc Makes sense NOW, but when it was -42 I can tell you that the heater was on max with fan going full blast (not doing much, but it seemed to be a good approach at the time and I was freezing). Anyhow, I will try to restrain myself and keep the fan on 1 until the water temp gets to maximum.....


Originally posted by majic


makes sense.. you slowly circulate warm/hot air isntead of blasting cold (outside) air over the heaters so fast that it never has time to warm up and all you get is cold air inside.. it\'s all about patience ;)

EDIT: think of ironing.. if you touch the iron for a split second with your finger on a high setting u will barely feel it but lower the temp down and hold it down for longer.. i can assure you u\'ll get a blister :p

[Newlook]

Originally posted by ZoomZoom Girl

Last night I drove home with the heat on maximum, heat on feet to avoid throwing hot air on the windows and fogging them up, fan on 1 until the water temp got to its maximum (midway on the gauge), then fan to 2. Once I put the fan on 2 the car was already warm (took maybe 6 minutes) ....

6 minutes is still too long.... Our last car can produce nice heat in less than 3 minutes (driving, not idling). Our minivan (which we think it takes forever to get warm) takes less than 6 min....

EDIT: I bought a small inverter few weeks ago when crappy tire had it on sale.... perhaps I should consider using a hair dryer in the car as an auxiliary heater... :sarc

[majic]

Originally posted by Newlook



Originally posted by ZoomZoom Girl

Last night I drove home with the heat on maximum, heat on feet to avoid throwing hot air on the windows and fogging them up, fan on 1 until the water temp got to its maximum (midway on the gauge), then fan to 2. Once I put the fan on 2 the car was already warm (took maybe 6 minutes) ....

6 minutes is still too long.... Our last car can produce nice heat in less than 3 minutes (driving, not idling). Our minivan (which we think it takes forever to get warm) takes less than 6 min....

don\'t forget that she usually gets temps twice as cold as ours..

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Wow, you\'re good \"majic\"! I was just about to reply the same way when I read your post. Yes, conditions in the GTA are vastly different from Northeastern Ontario. For example, Sunday we had -35, -43 with windchill. Yesterday it was -33 in the morning when I left for work at 7 AM (no wind), -25 (no wind) when I drove home at 4 PM. We tend to have drier conditions but much much colder temperatures than Southern Ontario. Anyhow, I think the technique of setting the temp to max and fan to 1 until the engine heats up is the best approach. Note that my car displays are very \"slow\" in extreme cold....don\'t know if you folks in the GTA also experience this.

[Newlook]

Originally posted by ZoomZoom Girl

Note that my car displays are very \"slow\" in extreme cold....don\'t know if you folks in the GTA also experience this.

Not very slow but slow.... LCD screen frozen.

Ever left your cellphone inside the car overnight cuz you forgot about it? You got text-over-text on the display! It\'s pretty cool! :p

[majic]

also.. my cd player did not work right in the morning. i wonder what caused it b/c it\'s not like it was off.. the timer was advancing and the sound coming out was VERY faint. maybe the lens was fogged up? but that didn\'t make sense for the volume to be affected. I adjusted the volume to 20 and still nothing. i switched to the radio and i freaked myself out b/c it was so loud.. thankfully i was still parked!!

these guys (http://repairfaq.ece.drexel.edu/sam/cdfaq.htm#cdoppewc) talk about condesation as well but i did hear something although they were VERY VERY quiet sounds couming out.. anyone?

[///M]

Is this true?


Here’s one big don’t. The C.A.A. claims warming up your car by allowing it to idle on a cold morning is probably the worst thing you can do for the vehicle. Excessive idling in cold weather can actually hurt your engine, since a motor that’s not operating at its peak temperature can result in inefficient fuel residues condensing on cylinder walls, contaminating your oil and damaging internal components.

Only about 30 seconds to a minute is needed before you put the car in drive and get on your way - no matter what the thermometer says.

source (http://www.pulse24.com/News/Top_Story/20041220-011/page.asp)

[MajesticBlueNTO]

Originally posted by autoexe


Is this true?


Here’s one big don’t. The C.A.A. claims warming up your car by allowing it to idle on a cold morning is probably the worst thing you can do for the vehicle. Excessive idling in cold weather can actually hurt your engine, since a motor that’s not operating at its peak temperature can result in inefficient fuel residues condensing on cylinder walls, contaminating your oil and damaging internal components.

Only about 30 seconds to a minute is needed before you put the car in drive and get on your way - no matter what the thermometer says.

source (http://www.pulse24.com/News/Top_Story/20041220-011/page.asp)

yes, it is true.

on start up, the ECU is running a rich fuel mixture, along with lower oil pressure than when under load (the lower oil pressure comes from low rpms, not the ECU). which means that not much oil is getting up to the top of the cylinder head and, the oil that does, is \"washed\" away by unburned fuel.

[///M]

So that means I shouldn\'t be letting it idle to warm?

[MajesticBlueNTO]

Originally posted by autoexe


So that means I shouldn\'t be letting it idle to warm?

as mentioned in the posts in this thread, in the extreme cold, idling for ~2 minutes after starting then driving off slowly is better than sitting at idle until the temp needle is at normal operating temp.

every other time, 1 minute is sufficient.

cliff\'s notes: you shouldn\'t be idling until warm.

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Really then, a car starter is a useless purchase if the car should just idle for a maximum of 2 minutes before hitting the road right? The heat doesn\'t kick in until the car is on the road anyways, so using a car starter doesn\'t get you anywhere. Chalk it up to another learning curve with this car....(yes, I did buy a car starter...:( )

[majic]

source: (http://www.city.toronto.on.ca/cleanairguide/transportation/idling.htm)

on top of all that there\'s a 3min idling by-law in Ontario that carries average fines of $100-200 but can go as high up as $5K!!!

also..

If you\'re going to stop for 10 seconds or more (except in traffic), turn your engine off. Idling for more than 10 seconds takes more fuel than it would take to restart your engine.

and another place for more info (http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/transportation/idle-free-zone.cfm?attr=8)

[Melenium]

MBN, maybe you could answer this: when you turn the car to the \'on position\' before cranking, does the oil system not start pressurizing/spraying so that engine parts have a layer on them? I know Honda does this and specifically advises to leave it in the \'on position\' before cranking for about 5 seconds when its cold.

On another note, with todays not-so-extreme-cold I found that the HVAC system worked very well-- it heated up quickly, driving around with the fan on 1 was fine, and no fog at all on the inside. As a bonus I find that the rear defroster is very effective and fast.

[MajesticBlueNTO]

Originally posted by Melenium


MBN, maybe you could answer this: when you turn the car to the \'on position\' before cranking, does the oil system not start pressurizing/spraying so that engine parts have a layer on them? I know Honda does this and specifically advises to leave it in the \'on position\' before cranking for about 5 seconds when its cold.


i\'ll check the service manual and let you know if i can find anything.

[MAZDA Kitten]

Wow.. you learn something new every day.

and knowing is half the battle :D

[Illmatic]

Originally posted by MAZDA Kitten


Wow.. you learn something new every day.

and knowing is half the battle :D

G.I. Joe.....

(Does anyone remember this?)

[S.F.W.]

I remember G.I. Joe....used to be a big fan....Cobra!!!

[AfterBurner]

Originally posted by S.F.W.


I remember G.I. Joe....used to be a big fan....Cobra!!!

I wonder how G.I. Joe started his Infantry Fighting Vehicle in cold weather?:D

I start the car so I can defrost the rear window and then I proceed to clean it (including the roof) and once done I drive away.

[everfeb]

ZoomZoomGirl...Hi...yes bitterly cold in Sudbury. I\'m in NWOnt-Fort Frances-212 miles west of ThunderBay on the Minnesota border. Cold here today -34, -40 last night.
I have an \'04Hatch Auto which I bot in Winnipeg on Dec. 11/03. It\'s build date is Oct03.
So this is my 2nd winter with the 3. And I am not happy with the heat when it is on \"floor\" setting. Since you are in a very cold place like me I wonder if you could do me a BIG FAVOUR??? Next time you have your engine warmed to the normal operating temperature after driving around town, not on the highway, could you set your mode to \"floor\" and with your hand just reach down and see how warm the air feels on the floor. Then switch to \"dash vent\" mode and see how warm the air feels? I swear, and this is subjective, the air coming from the dash vent is much much warmer than the air coming from the floor vent.

And could you check another thing please? When you have it on \"floor\" mode could you see if you have much air coming out of the windshield \"defroster\" vent. When I put mine on \"floor\" mode I get almost as much air going on to the windshield as on to the floor.If I set my mode one click to the left of \"floor\" this stops a lot of the airflow to the windshield. When I set it at \"floor/dash\" little or no air goes to the windshield.

If everyone has a lot of air flowing to the windshield when the mode is set on \"floor\" then that is likely the reason our \"floor\" heat seems like it barely even warm???

BTW...I have this problem only at idle and slow speeds around town. Even when temperature gauge is at normal it feels like I have almost no floor heat. However this is not a problem when highway driving. Floor heat is acceptable then.

Thanks for any help. And Merry Christmas everyone. Regards

everfeb

[firstmazda]

I\'m in T.O. in the city, and I feel the same way about the \"FLOOR\" setting,
my toes get ice cold!! it feels like the A/C is set to cool sometimes

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Sorry for being so slow to reply but this is my first time back to this forum since December 22nd (away on holidays). My conditions exactly reflect yours so it must be common to the Mazda3. Note, for more efficient heating I keep the fan speed to 1, heat cranked to max, setting 1 notch above windsield only (since the \"feet\" setting seems to provide little heating), and leave it that way until the water temp reaches its maximum (half way on the guage). I then put the fan speed to 2....I never use 3 or 4 since that actually pushes COLD air out. Believe me, I have been experimenting with heating options as the Sudbury winter hits the January deep freeze! Anyhow, after the cabin temp is fairly comfortable, I alternate between vent and windshield settings since vent pushes out more heat directly towards passengers. This method has worked for me thus far so I\'d be curious to know how heating your car has worked out for you in Fort Frances. Good luck!


Originally posted by everfeb


ZoomZoomGirl...Hi...yes bitterly cold in Sudbury. I\'m in NWOnt-Fort Frances-212 miles west of ThunderBay on the Minnesota border. Cold here today -34, -40 last night.
I have an \'04Hatch Auto which I bot in Winnipeg on Dec. 11/03. It\'s build date is Oct03.
So this is my 2nd winter with the 3. And I am not happy with the heat when it is on \"floor\" setting. Since you are in a very cold place like me I wonder if you could do me a BIG FAVOUR??? Next time you have your engine warmed to the normal operating temperature after driving around town, not on the highway, could you set your mode to \"floor\" and with your hand just reach down and see how warm the air feels on the floor. Then switch to \"dash vent\" mode and see how warm the air feels? I swear, and this is subjective, the air coming from the dash vent is much much warmer than the air coming from the floor vent.

And could you check another thing please? When you have it on \"floor\" mode could you see if you have much air coming out of the windshield \"defroster\" vent. When I put mine on \"floor\" mode I get almost as much air going on to the windshield as on to the floor.If I set my mode one click to the left of \"floor\" this stops a lot of the airflow to the windshield. When I set it at \"floor/dash\" little or no air goes to the windshield.

If everyone has a lot of air flowing to the windshield when the mode is set on \"floor\" then that is likely the reason our \"floor\" heat seems like it barely even warm???

BTW...I have this problem only at idle and slow speeds around town. Even when temperature gauge is at normal it feels like I have almost no floor heat. However this is not a problem when highway driving. Floor heat is acceptable then.

Thanks for any help. And Merry Christmas everyone. Regards

everfeb:)

[Xenon]

Well, I don\'t live anywhere there\'s extreme cold temperatures like other people on the thread. But here\'s how I go bout heating my car:

Start it up, let it idle for about 30 seconds (usually by the time I fasen my seat belt, plug in my phone and turn on the radio times up)

Fan Speed at 0, Face and Floor Ducts

Needle goes above the C line

Fan Speed 1, Face and Floor Ducts

Needle is 1/2 way up the guage, normal operating temperature

Fan Speed 3, Face and Floor Ducts

When the cabin get to a temperature that I like

Fan speed goes to 1, and fan goes to the dash between Face/Floor and Floor

Entire process takes about 10 minutes.

[Newlook]

Originally posted by Xenon

Entire process takes about 10 minutes.



10min is too long.... It should be hot within 5min.... I\'m going to bring my car in and check the heat out when I do my 16K oil change.

[everfeb]

Originally posted by Newlook



Originally posted by Xenon

Entire process takes about 10 minutes.



10min is too long.... It should be hot within 5min.... I\'m going to bring my car in and check the heat out when I do my 16K oil change.

Newlook...are you saying that within 5 minutes, in very cold weather, around town low speed driving, the interior of the 3 should be hot?? In 5 minutes, in -20,30,40 temps I get sort of warmish air from the \"dash\" vents and sort of neutral air (not warm not cold just air) at the \"floor\" and \"defrost\" settings. I\'d think I had died and gone to heaven if my 3 was hot in 10 minutes. Maybe you talking about hitting the highway within a minute or 2 of starting out from home. I\'ve noticed that at highway speeds the heat is not to bad. But at idle and low speeds around town in \"real\" cold weather (which is what I think most of us are talking about) it takes forever for my 3 to get warm..never mind hot.

When you talk to your dealer about this could you please let us know what they say. Under the \"Problems with the Mazda 3\" forum you\'ll find a \"New Recall\" thread. On the last page Flipspeed has posted about a bulletin regarding this problem. Maybe you could ask your dealer about the bulletin.
everfeb

[Newlook]

Originally posted by everfeb

Newlook...are you saying that within 5 minutes, in very cold weather, around town low speed driving, the interior of the 3 should be hot?? In 5 minutes, in -20,30,40 temps I get sort of warmish air from the \"dash\" vents and sort of neutral air (not warm not cold just air) at the \"floor\" and \"defrost\" settings. I\'d think I had died and gone to heaven if my 3 was hot in 10 minutes. Maybe you talking about hitting the highway within a minute or 2 of starting out from home. I\'ve noticed that at highway speeds the heat is not to bad. But at idle and low speeds around town in \"real\" cold weather (which is what I think most of us are talking about) it takes forever for my 3 to get warm..never mind hot.

What I was saying \"hot\" is regarding the air blown out from the vents. When it\'s -20 you don\'t want warm air but instead hot air from the vents. The last cold snap we had (in November?), I couldn\'t get a comfortable temperature for 15min of city driving. The air came out from the vents was only warm, and not warm enough to heat up the interior to a comfort level -- exactly what you described above. At highway speed the car heats up very fast and gets good heat within a minute.




When you talk to your dealer about this could you please let us know what they say. Under the \"Problems with the Mazda 3\" forum you\'ll find a \"New Recall\" thread. On the last page Flipspeed has posted about a bulletin regarding this problem. Maybe you could ask your dealer about the bulletin.



That\'s exactly what I\'m gonna do when I bring my car in for the 16K oil change. They said it\'s a flap and they have to take apart the center console to get to that particular area behind the heater. Westowne is out of parts for this bulletin and I\'m waiting for them to call back.

[majic]

so today was that extreme cold again ;) -23C (-30WC) I wanted to see for myself teh idling effect :D

I get in the car and crank it, had to hold it for about 1sec longer than usual but it turned over. I went back inside for breakfast. I was back in the car 7min later and the needle only went up to 1/4 way up (normal operating temp is 1/2 way) The air was still cold unless held on \"1\" then it was warmish. it took another 5min of driving to finally warm that sucker up. on a normal day just 5-7 min of driving (no idling) and i get warm enough air.

so it seems like MBN stated one time.. idle for 15-30sec (really just to lube up the engine and get all juices flowing) and take off, just don\'t race it. the enging will warm up much faster under load rather than when idling

cheers. and no more idling for me 1) saves fuel 2) saves the environment 3) idling by-law prohibits idling for more than 3 min.

[bubba1983]

i sitll don\'t get this idling by-law thing? i heard it being mentioned at the coffee meet on sunday?? is this just in the GTA?

[majic]

law: federal, provincial
by-law: municipal

http://www.city.toronto.on.ca/transportation/onstreet/idling.htm

this is for T.O. but i know that oakville has a no idle bylaw so check ones in K-W area or you might get dinged with a 5K fine!!!

EDIT: hmm.. oakville\'s anti-idling bylaw has a \'loophole\'

section 2.1
No person shall cause or permit a vehicle to idle for more than five (5) consecutive minutes.

section 2.2
Section 2(1) does not apply to:

section 2.2.k)

vehicles when the ambient outside temperature is more than 27 degrees Celsius (27°C) or less than five degrees Celsius (5°C) and the idling of the vehicle is necessary to the operation of air conditioning or heating equipment respectively.

---
realistically if one idles it\'s primairly to keep warm or cold (section 2.2.k) :sarc

oh well, idling kills your gas and there really isn\'t a reason to idle unless you\'re an emergency vehicle or something like that (outlined in the other exemptions)

[cstraw]

7 minutes for warming up your car is an awful waste of gas. The benefits of warming your car up past 30s are slim and there are many harmful things you may be doing as a result... ie. initially driving too quickly after getting in the car as not all engine parts warm up when idling. Save your time, money and gas by putting up with a cold arse for a minute or two.

Chris

[majic]

did you even read what i wrote? :sarc this was the first time (to \'see\' what it would be like) and i pretty much summed it up at the end of my post what you just wrote.

i wasn\'t planning on leaving it for 7 min but by the time i was done with breakfast and stuff it just happened to be so long..

[Newlook]

Originally posted by majic

section 2.2.k)

vehicles when the ambient outside temperature is more than 27 degrees Celsius (27°C) or less than five degrees Celsius (5°C) and the idling of the vehicle is necessary to the operation of air conditioning or heating equipment respectively.

---
realistically if one idles it\'s primairly to keep warm or cold (section 2.2.k) :sarc

I thought this applys to commerical vehicles only? At least in TO it is.




oh well, idling kills your gas and there really isn\'t a reason to idle unless you\'re an emergency vehicle or something like that (outlined in the other exemptions)

It kills your engine if you drive a diesel.

[everfeb]

Newlook...above I had posted a question asking if there was a bulletin # for this poor heat issue. No reply yet. Maybe you know??? Is there a bulletin # (other than what was mentioned in the post above I can\'t find any info) and is this \"flap\" thing covered by warrantee??? Sure hope so. Thanks!!!
everfeb

[Newlook]

Originally posted by everfeb


Newlook...above I had posted a question asking if there was a bulletin # for this poor heat issue. No reply yet. Maybe you know??? Is there a bulletin # (other than what was mentioned in the post above I can\'t find any info) and is this \"flap\" thing covered by warrantee??? Sure hope so. Thanks!!!
everfeb

Yes it\'s covered by warrenty. I don\'t know the bulletin #... FLIPSPEED might know. Just mention to your dealer that you don\'t get enough heat in subzero temperature, they should aware of it.

[everfeb]

Thanks very much Newlook. I will. Hope this fix works. Sure be nice to have a warm car without having to take a spin on the highway first:) .
everfeb

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Further quote from the same source: \"The C.A.A. claims warming up your car by allowing it to idle on a cold morning is probably the worst thing you can do for the vehicle. Excessive idling in cold weather can actually hurt your engine, since a motor that’s not operating at its peak temperature can result in inefficient fuel residues condensing on cylinder walls, contaminating your oil and damaging internal components.

Only about 30 seconds to a minute is needed before you put the car in drive and get on your way - no matter what the thermometer says.

And yes, you’ll be shivering for the first few blocks. It usually takes a cold car about 2-5 minutes before you can turn the heat on.\"

The same source also recommends in cold weather to: \"Open your window a crack to circulate the warm air.\"

Any thoughts on this? What do they mean by having to wait 5 minutes before turning on the heat? Anyone try opening their window for faster heating? Seems fishy but I wanted to get some input on this. Sudbury is in the deep freeze (mornings are typically under -30) so any ideas for faster heating would be well appreciated!




Originally posted by autoexe


Is this true?


Here’s one big don’t. The C.A.A. claims warming up your car by allowing it to idle on a cold morning is probably the worst thing you can do for the vehicle. Excessive idling in cold weather can actually hurt your engine, since a motor that’s not operating at its peak temperature can result in inefficient fuel residues condensing on cylinder walls, contaminating your oil and damaging internal components.

Only about 30 seconds to a minute is needed before you put the car in drive and get on your way - no matter what the thermometer says.

source (http://www.pulse24.com/News/Top_Story/20041220-011/page.asp):(

[majic]

ok.. well we\'ve been beating this to death so, to summarize

1) get in the car and let it run for 15-30sec (lubricate the engine, let fluids circulate) before you take off
2) keep the rpms low till you reach optimum temp ~ shift at 2k or so
3) keep heater on 0 or 1 till the needle rises to about 1/4 way up (on 0 you still get some air flow, the faster you drive the more air flow BUT since this is slow air flow it has time to warm up giving you best heating results)
4) once you get past that 1/4 way you can try level 2 but most likely you\'re best to wait till it hits the 1/2 way mark
5) in about 5min (even today -23C and -33C WC) you\'ll hit the optimum engine temp and that\'s when it\'s time to step on it sista\' ;) and time to take those clothes off :D

i read today that since dec 20, 19 cars have been stolen in the GTA due to drivers \'warming the cars up\' and going into timmies or going back inside the house.. :sarc duh!

[Newlook]

Originally posted by majic

i read today that since dec 20, 19 cars have been stolen in the GTA due to drivers \'warming the cars up\' and going into timmies or going back inside the house.. :sarc duh!

OFFTOPIC: A Metro Toronto cop got his SUV stolen from his driveway this morning, with his uniform and the pistol.... DOUBLE DUH!

[majic]

it was a chick cop.. unless there were 2!!! :D

[Indusbreed]

Nice new Infinity G35X got stolen from our parking lot( GE ITS ) yesterday evening. Poor guy started it and went in for 5-7 mins.

[everfeb]

ZOOMZOOM...been meaning to get back to you...hope you had a good holiday.
I agree with what majic says in his post at 8:59 on the 21st. I\'ve been doing a LOT of experimenting with HVAC and here\'s what I do in addition to majic\'s suggestions. Since I began doing this my car seems to get warmer faster....
...the first time using car for the day or if it has been sitting for quite a while-get in and leave the door open as much as possible while preparing to drive. Exhale towards the open door.
...for the first 2 minutes or so of drive roll window down about 1/2 and exhale out the window or into your glove. I do the door open/ window down thing so as not to expel hot humid breath all over the freezing cold windows. This keeps the windows from fogging up so don\'t have to use \"defrost\" setting. Because the first few minutes of trip are at low speeds you barely notice that the window is down.
...I now use the \"dash/floor\" setting almost exclusively. I find the \"dash\" setting puts out much more and much warmer air than \"defrost\" and when in the \"dash/floor\" setting the air at the floor just feels warmer than it does when in \"defrost/floor\" setting.
...I have an AUTO and for first few minutes of drive use the MANUAL shift. Engine seems to warm faster than regular \"D\". Faster the engine warms faster get heat. I also start in 2 for better traction which is recommended in owner\'s manual.
...when done using the car for the day or if it\'s going just be sitting for a while I TURN THE FAN OFF and roll my back windows down a bit about 2 minutes before I arrive at my destination. When stopped I leave my windows down a crack. When getting out of the car I pause for a few seconds and leave the door open as wide as possible. Doing this gets rid of a lot of warm humid air inside the car and helps stop the windows from fogging up when the car is left in the cold.

These things are now routine to me, very easy to do, my car does seem to get warmer faster and I have no fog/frost problems. ZOOMZOOMGIRL...if you try any of this stuff...let me know how it works for you.

To any GTA people who read this...it may sound like a bunch of gobbledegook but up here in the North we can go for weeks and weeks on end with daytime temps of -20,30,40. Trying to get cars warmed up while keeping windows clear of fog/frost is a constant battle.

everfeb

[ZoomZoom Girl]

Hello to my fellow Northerner \"everfeb\"! Thank you for your suggestions. With all due respect to the people in the GTA, I don\'t think they fully appreciate the winter conditions we have to live through up here. I did follow majiic\'s suggestions for keeping the heat to max, fan at 0 until the engine temp goes to 1/4, fan to 1 until temp goes to 1/2, then fan to 2 (and set fan to 0 when park). I too almost always use the vent/feet setting, except until I reach optimal temperatures. Then it is a combination of vent only (heats faster than with feet setting) or defrost, depending upon how foggy it is getting. This technique worked great yesterday when we had dry -27 (didn\'t need to use defrost at all). Today, at -8 but in a blizzard, things worked less well with more fogging so humidity has a major impact upon the length of time needed to reach optimal heating. I had contemplated getting one of those plug in heaters since driving around in a frozen car, even for \"just\" 10 minutes (minimal amount of time it takes me to get any heat coming out at below -30), isn\'t very healthy, IMHO. I was concerned about blowing a fuse or something since the package had this warning on the box, so I opted for trying out majiic\'s technique. Again, in dry cold works great, in humid conditions (even 20 degrees warmer), not so great. Think I\'ll opt for your ideas when it gets this humid. Thanks again and hang in there! Only 2 months to go....:(

[everfeb]

Hi ZOOMZOOMGIRL...yup 2 more months. Haven\'t seen pavement around town since Dec 1/2004.
Yes, try a couple of the tricks I mentioned, I\'m sure they will help even in more humid weather.
With the FAN, once the car is started I leave it OFF for no more than a couple of minutes then go to 1. I don\'t wait for temp. gauge to get to 1/4. Within 2 minutes it seems to me the \"dash\" vent is blowing air that is not warm but not freezing cold either.

Regarding interior car heater they are probably quite safe but I just don\'t feel comfortable with them.

If you\'ve been outside in the snow and then get into your car with it on your toque, coat, boots, mitts..you introduce a lot of moisture (humidity) into the cabin which could contribute to the fogging you get when it\'s snowing. As much as I hate to us the A/C in winter I think I would push the button to get my windows fog free faster.

Good luck
everfeb

[Newlook]

Ok, so, I went to Westowne today. The parts for the bulletin is still on back order, so I didn\'t get it done. But they had my heat checked and everything was fine, no fault found. They said 10min is normal in subzero temperature to get nice heat... They asked me to call in later next week to see if the parts is in. Then bring it in to get it replaced anyways. I\'m thinking if I still need to do it if it\'s \"normal\", I don\'t feel like dropping my car off for 2-3hrs just for that if it\'s indeed normal.

My previous car could produce nice heat in 5min or so.... 10min is a little long. For the previous vehicle(s) you\'ve driven, how good was the heat comparing to the 3?

EDIT: Oh, they said the bulletin is for the vehicles that could not produce any heat... is that true FLIPSPEED?

[everfeb]

Originally posted by Newlook


Ok, so, I went to Westowne today. The parts for the bulletin is still on back order, so I didn\'t get it done. But they had my heat checked and everything was fine, no fault found. They said 10min is normal in subzero temperature to get nice heat... They asked me to call in later next week to see if the parts is in. Then bring it in to get it replaced anyways. I\'m thinking if I still need to do it if it\'s \"normal\", I don\'t feel like dropping my car off for 2-3hrs just for that if it\'s indeed normal.

My previous car could produce nice heat in 5min or so.... 10min is a little long. For the previous vehicle(s) you\'ve driven, how good was the heat comparing to the 3?

EDIT: Oh, they said the bulletin is for the vehicles that could not produce any heat... is that true FLIPSPEED?

Did they check your \"floor\" heat or heat from the \"dash\" vent? After my engine warms up and the temperature gauge is 1/4 to the middle I get a reasonable flow of warm air coming from the \"dash\" vents but when I then switch to \"floor\" setting or \"dash/floor\" setting I get some air moving around at my feet but it is sort of, I would have to describe it as...neutral. Just air moving around down there. Not hot, not warm, not cold. This is not normal. I\'m 57, have driven a lot of vehicles over the years and my 3 has the worst \"floor\" heat of any of them. The \"defrost\" is no hell either. By putting out a bulletin on this Mazda is acknowledging that at least some 3\'s have a floor heat problem. Newlook, when you turn your floor heat on you SHOULD get warm or hot air once the engine is warmed up. If you are not, get it fixed. As I mentioned previously...the floor heat is not too bad at highway speeds but at idle or around town slow speeds it is almost non-exisitent.

I wonder if this has anything to do with build date. Mine is Oct/03..one of the first to come to Canada. Many owners of early built 3\'s have complained about their A/C or lack thereof while owners of more recent built ones seem to be satisfied. Could this floor heat issue be afflicting only those of us with older builds while the floor heat in newer builds is OK???? Hmmm
everfeb

[billyfo]

I drove many cars and set the heat to dash/foot and always felt the wind blowing to my foot, but the 3 even only switch to foot only, I don\'t feel any wind blowing.

[Newlook]

Originally posted by everfeb


I\'m 57, have driven a lot of vehicles over the years and my 3 has the worst \"floor\" heat of any of them. The \"defrost\" is no hell either. By putting out a bulletin on this Mazda is acknowledging that at least some 3\'s have a floor heat problem. Newlook, when you turn your floor heat on you SHOULD get warm or hot air once the engine is warmed up. If you are not, get it fixed. As I mentioned previously...the floor heat is not too bad at highway speeds but at idle or around town slow speeds it is almost non-exisitent.



I know what you\'re talking about. The air from the floor vents is warm, definitely not hot. Not sure if it is because there are too many floor vents (1 right by the throttle, one right below the steering column, one for the passenger, 2 for rear passengers). And yes, the heat is so good on highway speed. Every morning I have my heat on max temperature and fan speed 2 for about 10min, once I got on the highway, I need to turn the temperature down within a minute because hot air starts blowing out.... and gets too hot. This is just not normal to me.



I wonder if this has anything to do with build date. Mine is Oct/03..one of the first to come to Canada. Many owners of early built 3\'s have complained about their A/C or lack thereof while owners of more recent built ones seem to be satisfied. Could this floor heat issue be afflicting only those of us with older builds while the floor heat in newer builds is OK???? Hmmm
everfeb


Mine is 03/04 built I believe. And yes the A/C is lack as well on hot days. I had 4 people sweating in the car for 15min and the A/C was never cold enough to cool us off. I figure if you have a moonroof, tilt it open for a few minutes with your A/C on. It helps to suck the hot air out.

I guess I should have the bulletin done and see if the heat works better.

[everfeb]

Hi NEWLOOK...just wondering if the parts for the \"floor heat\" have come in yet and if you\'ve had the work done. My new dealer/service department has ordered parts for me too but they don\'t know when they will get them (the parts).
everfeb

[Newlook]

Originally posted by everfeb


Hi NEWLOOK...just wondering if the parts for the \"floor heat\" have come in yet and if you\'ve had the work done. My new dealer/service department has ordered parts for me too but they don\'t know when they will get them (the parts).
everfeb

I did not bring it back. If they claimed it\'s indeed \"normal\" then I decided not to bother. I don\'t feel like dropping my car off for 2-3hrs and have them remove my interior panels to \"fix\" it. I don\'t want any rattlings later on in case if they don\'t put the panels back properly.

The problem might be more serious for you since you live way up north and the temperature is much colder. Keep us posted after you got that fixed and see if the situation improved or not.