Winter car issues / moans

The TTRS is pretty quick to warm up, the biggest pain being the windows that get stuck to the convertible top and often slightly open until they thaw out. It was so cold this morning the bit of ice left on the windows was still there when I got to work.
 
jpaul said:
hybrid (need to quiz neighbour) - how does a hybrid like 330e handle warming up the petrol motor - especially on cold days, do you somehow do it proactively
to avoid situation where you might need power pulling onto an NSL road, and motor is suddenly asked to aid the electric for acceleration, all, from cold.
Click to expand...
cant comment on the 330e but our BMW I3 REX acts in exactly the same way as a proper EV.

log into the app, press the climate button and 5-10 mins later nice warm car........ my only gripe on what is otherwise a glowing report on remote heating of both our cars is that my ipace does not warm the rear window until the car is properly started, alas according to our resident Jaguar expert it is a hardware limitation so not something that can be fixed. Shame but not a deal breaker.

its not as bad as i thought it may be as it only takes 30 seconds for the rear heated to soften the ice which then wipes off..... and then because the car is warm it doesnt fog up afterwards...... but it is a minor niggle on an otherwise brilliant feature.

The thing i really do not miss since getting rid of our old car, is not only not hving to scrape the car but also the issues with condensation/fogging up on a cold morning. Clearing the ice is only the 1st problem, being actually able to see through the window was still an issue in my old cars when they were cold.
 
Last edited:
One thing the cold makes me appreciate is a heated steering wheel. Girlfriend's car has one, along with heated seats; my own car has heated seats only. Even in a sports car, it's a luxury I'd really like; I enjoy going for an early morning drive, but find gloves a bit cumbersome when driving.

Otherwise, I don't really find defrosting the car much of an issue. Leave a bottle of water on a radiator near the front door overnight. Go out, start engine, turn on heated rear screen, pour water from the bottle over the windscreen, immediately run the wipers - done. No standing around scraping, no de-icing chemicals, and ultimately you can drive off quicker which is generally better for the engine.
 
No affiliation but the best ice scraper I've used in my near 30 years of driving is an iceplane one from Amazon. I can have the full car free of ice in a minute or so.
 
MissChief said:
I'm surprised by my BMW and it heats up and starts delivering warm air after only a few minutes of driving. Would be nice if the heated seats warmed up a bit quicker though.
Click to expand...
My Scania is the opposite, the seat heater cooks your rear literally within a couple of minutes of being turned on, the engine takes a good few miles of driving before you get any heat from the vents, it is a 12.7 litre diesel mind you, and if you sit for an extended period with the engine idling,even if set to maximum heat,the vents start to blow cold!
 
The worst heaters we ever had was on 1980's renault Cleo's - 15 miles before it really started to clear screen.
The best and only a minute to warm up was twin cylinder Daff 44 air cooled. Unbelievable that was.

I will be very sad to see my 2010 Focus pack up as it has heated seats -front and rear screens -both mirrors and washer jets - I would like heated steering wheel but I have lined gloves in car.

In the 80's my Ford Zodiac Mk2 had no heater -well it did but couldn't get it working - hot water went into matrix and came out of hole below - I used to drive around with one of those stick on screen heaters which cleared a 6"x4" hole in screen.
I did fix it in the end by unsoldering one pipe inlet on matrix and drilling hole the other end and soldered it on - then blocked other hole up - It then turned out to be the hottest heater I have ever had.
 
yes ... but if you put the neat stuff in it's about the same cost as petrol - least ways my last 5L -20c were £7 each, I could burn a litre a day on a commute.
 
Got a home assistant automation set up to turn on the climate control, heated seats and steering wheel on my eNiro 15 mins before I need to leave the house if it's a work day and the temperature is below 10c :D

The downside is the drop to an average ~3.2mpkw :(
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom