Moving to a very cold town from a very warm one
#1
01-26-2009, 11:45 AM
Moving to a very cold town from a very warm one
In February I will be moving from Dallas, TX to northern Wisconsin. I'm wondering if there's anything I should do to my car to prep for this move. I've never lived anywhere this cold. Will the low temperatures be a problem? Or will it work just fine? The car is an 08 Escape Hybrid, 2WD. Thanks!
#2
01-26-2009, 01:07 PM
Re: Moving to a very cold town from a very warm one
All kidding aside, your car will work just fine in the cold. It'll just take a lot longer to warm up before you start seeing decent fuel economy.
Recheck your tire pressure after arriving in the north. You'll lose several pounds of pressure in the cold (I think it's just over 1 lb of pressure for each 10 degree change in temperature.)
If the windshield washer fluid in your car is diluted with water or pre-mix and you still have the jug, check it's freezing point. The standard washer solvent sold at just about any gas station or auto-parts store in the north is usually rated for -20f and that's what you'll want. If you don't have that in your car, then either empty and refill your washer tank with the right stuff or put in an antifreeze additive (and don't forget to run front & back washers for a while to replace the stuff in the line) otherwise it'll freeze. Prestone makes an anti-freeze additive designed to be dumped into the washer reservoir which is supposed to bring the freezing point down to -20f... don't know if they sell it in the south, but when temps get down to the single-digits at night (as has been happening quite frequently here) your washer fluid will freeze up.
Apart from that, you wont have a problem with engine fluids as long as you're running with fluids recommended by Ford.
#3
01-26-2009, 01:09 PM
Re: Moving to a very cold town from a very warm one
Somebody at my new office mentioned something about a "heating block." I don't even know what that is. Sorry for my newbness, but I know next to nothing about cars. Do I need to be concerned with that?
Thank you VERY much for the info.
Thank you VERY much for the info.
#4
01-26-2009, 02:01 PM
Re: Moving to a very cold town from a very warm one
He's thinking of an engine block heater.
These are common for diesel engines because diesels use heat & pressure (no spark plugs) to combust so they are especially hard to start in the cold. For gasoline engines they're usually only used in extremely cold climates (think "Alaska", "Canada", etc.)
Wisconsin doesn't get the sort of temps that would *require* a block heater, but some people (and you can search these forums to find lots of posts on the topic) will add them anyway... not because they can't start the engine without a block heater, but because it means the engine wont start out as cold (it's still cold... just not as cold) and that means it'll warm up faster and start giving you good fuel economy sooner.
I seem to recall reading a thread on a battery pack heater -- but now that I'm looking for the thread I can't find it.
Again, these are not things you _need_ to have for the cold, they're optional. They draw enough power that they're not the sort of things you want to have running all day long. But if you leave for work at a regularly scheduled hour each day then you could get a timer to kick on the engine block heater several hours before you need to leave.
If you can park in a garage then that's much better. Besides, parking in a garage means you don't have to sweep off the snow or scrape the ice off your windows in the morning.
These are common for diesel engines because diesels use heat & pressure (no spark plugs) to combust so they are especially hard to start in the cold. For gasoline engines they're usually only used in extremely cold climates (think "Alaska", "Canada", etc.)
Wisconsin doesn't get the sort of temps that would *require* a block heater, but some people (and you can search these forums to find lots of posts on the topic) will add them anyway... not because they can't start the engine without a block heater, but because it means the engine wont start out as cold (it's still cold... just not as cold) and that means it'll warm up faster and start giving you good fuel economy sooner.
I seem to recall reading a thread on a battery pack heater -- but now that I'm looking for the thread I can't find it.
Again, these are not things you _need_ to have for the cold, they're optional. They draw enough power that they're not the sort of things you want to have running all day long. But if you leave for work at a regularly scheduled hour each day then you could get a timer to kick on the engine block heater several hours before you need to leave.
If you can park in a garage then that's much better. Besides, parking in a garage means you don't have to sweep off the snow or scrape the ice off your windows in the morning.
#5
01-26-2009, 02:53 PM
Re: Moving to a very cold town from a very warm one
He's thinking of an engine block heater.
These are common for diesel engines because diesels use heat & pressure (no spark plugs) to combust so they are especially hard to start in the cold. For gasoline engines they're usually only used in extremely cold climates (think "Alaska", "Canada", etc.)
Wisconsin doesn't get the sort of temps that would *require* a block heater, but some people (and you can search these forums to find lots of posts on the topic) will add them anyway... not because they can't start the engine without a block heater, but because it means the engine wont start out as cold (it's still cold... just not as cold) and that means it'll warm up faster and start giving you good fuel economy sooner.
I seem to recall reading a thread on a battery pack heater -- but now that I'm looking for the thread I can't find it.
Again, these are not things you _need_ to have for the cold, they're optional. They draw enough power that they're not the sort of things you want to have running all day long. But if you leave for work at a regularly scheduled hour each day then you could get a timer to kick on the engine block heater several hours before you need to leave.
If you can park in a garage then that's much better. Besides, parking in a garage means you don't have to sweep off the snow or scrape the ice off your windows in the morning.
These are common for diesel engines because diesels use heat & pressure (no spark plugs) to combust so they are especially hard to start in the cold. For gasoline engines they're usually only used in extremely cold climates (think "Alaska", "Canada", etc.)
Wisconsin doesn't get the sort of temps that would *require* a block heater, but some people (and you can search these forums to find lots of posts on the topic) will add them anyway... not because they can't start the engine without a block heater, but because it means the engine wont start out as cold (it's still cold... just not as cold) and that means it'll warm up faster and start giving you good fuel economy sooner.
I seem to recall reading a thread on a battery pack heater -- but now that I'm looking for the thread I can't find it.
Again, these are not things you _need_ to have for the cold, they're optional. They draw enough power that they're not the sort of things you want to have running all day long. But if you leave for work at a regularly scheduled hour each day then you could get a timer to kick on the engine block heater several hours before you need to leave.
If you can park in a garage then that's much better. Besides, parking in a garage means you don't have to sweep off the snow or scrape the ice off your windows in the morning.
#6
01-26-2009, 03:38 PM
Re: Moving to a very cold town from a very warm one
It can get cold in Northern Wisconsin:
As shown by the minus 16F temperature. That was not the coldest I have experienced in Northern Wisconsin. Previous replies here about engine block heater-front grille blocks-use of garage is important for easy AM starts and drives. It is likely you will need option 41H--engine block heater--installed on your vehicle since you are located in a Southern State. Some time during the 2008 model year, Ford eliminated the wired connection to the hybrid battery heater with option 41H. You will have to pull up your rear cargo carpet to find out whether you have the connnection or not. You can post a photo and receive feedback on this situation. I do not know what kind of winter driving experience you have but Winter Tires often make a difference and you may want to consider purchasing four of these. Your mileage will drop in the winter months regardless of what you do to minimize this.
As shown by the minus 16F temperature. That was not the coldest I have experienced in Northern Wisconsin. Previous replies here about engine block heater-front grille blocks-use of garage is important for easy AM starts and drives. It is likely you will need option 41H--engine block heater--installed on your vehicle since you are located in a Southern State. Some time during the 2008 model year, Ford eliminated the wired connection to the hybrid battery heater with option 41H. You will have to pull up your rear cargo carpet to find out whether you have the connnection or not. You can post a photo and receive feedback on this situation. I do not know what kind of winter driving experience you have but Winter Tires often make a difference and you may want to consider purchasing four of these. Your mileage will drop in the winter months regardless of what you do to minimize this.
Last edited by Billyk; 01-26-2009 at 03:41 PM.
#7
01-26-2009, 03:51 PM
Re: Moving to a very cold town from a very warm one
It can get cold in Northern Wisconsin:
As shown by the minus 16F temperature. That was not the coldest I have experienced in Northern Wisconsin. Previous replies here about engine block heater-front grille blocks-use of garage is important for easy AM starts and drives. It is likely you will need option 41H--engine block heater--installed on your vehicle since you are located in a Southern State. Some time during the 2008 model year, Ford eliminated the wired connection to the hybrid battery heater with option 41H. You will have to pull up your rear cargo carpet to find out whether you have the connnection or not. You can post a photo and receive feedback on this situation. I do not know what kind of winter driving experience you have but Winter Tires often make a difference and you may want to consider purchasing four of these. Your mileage will drop in the winter months regardless of what you do to minimize this.
As shown by the minus 16F temperature. That was not the coldest I have experienced in Northern Wisconsin. Previous replies here about engine block heater-front grille blocks-use of garage is important for easy AM starts and drives. It is likely you will need option 41H--engine block heater--installed on your vehicle since you are located in a Southern State. Some time during the 2008 model year, Ford eliminated the wired connection to the hybrid battery heater with option 41H. You will have to pull up your rear cargo carpet to find out whether you have the connnection or not. You can post a photo and receive feedback on this situation. I do not know what kind of winter driving experience you have but Winter Tires often make a difference and you may want to consider purchasing four of these. Your mileage will drop in the winter months regardless of what you do to minimize this.
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
Last edited by centrider; 01-26-2009 at 03:51 PM. Reason: Comment
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