Auto heated screens.

[Zonda_]

Just discovered that the Jag turns the heated screens on automatically if the ice warning is on. Never had a car with automatic ones before.

[16vCento]

My Jag and Volvo both do that, it's a handy feature.

[GG.]

Wonder if the RR does - haven’t noticed it but it’s been a while since it was cold enough. Likely given its part of the JLR family.

Mine is actually fitted with a fuel burning heater to warm the block and defrost the car - thing is there is no fob (as they had on the old ones) to activate it and no timed heater on the ICE display which the old ones had.

Apparently it works through the app but that just seems to have a climate temp setting and I don’t think that works the FBH.

I need to take it to some Land Rover geeks and get the transponder for a fob wired in as I’m sure that can be done.

Today would be a good day to have it working! Just checked now and the app related climate starts the engine - last thing I want is to leave it on the street with the engine running and no one in it!!

[V8Granite]

I think the fuel burning heaters automatically operate below 5 degrees.

Dave!

[Rich B]

I think the fuel burning heaters automatically operate below 5 degrees.

Dave!

starting when though? When you unlock the car?

[Jobbo]

My Audi has an auxiliary heater. It warms the car really quickly when you start it as opposed to taking a while for heat to come through from the engine and cooling system. You don't even notice that it's there until you realise it warms up the cabin nice and quickly on days like today. No idea whether it's possible to programme it to pre-heat though.

Doesn't have a heated screen so I have to get out of the nice cosy cabin to scrape the ice off. Weirdly the was none on the windscreen at all today, even at -0.5C. Obviously quite dry air last night.

[Beany]

My Jag and Volvo both do that, it's a handy feature.

I'm 80% certain the Mondeo did this, too.

[V8Granite]

I think the fuel burning heaters automatically operate below 5 degrees.

Dave!

starting when though? When you unlock the car?

I’m not really sure, it was on all the BMW diesel Rovers and Land Rovers, presumably to help with warm up times and emissions.

I have one in the garage, a webasto thermotop Z.

Dave!

[integrale_evo]

Yeah, all the diesel x5s have them too. They usually start when you start the engine, obviously giving out heat far quicker than from the engine itself. You can program them with a timer and get remote control systems to preheat the car.

Sadly not fitted to petrol ones.

[mik]

I think the fuel burning heaters automatically operate below 5 degrees.

Dave!

starting when though? When you unlock the car?

Our Disco3 had a Webasto FBH - I installed a £25 timer. It was awesome (although more than once we had a knock at the door from a neighbour who thought our car was on fire). It worked successfully around 90% of the time.

Disco4 didn't have FBH, but you could remote start the car and leave it locked and idling. Not very eco friendly - would have liked a proper FBH.

[16vCento]

I think the Disco 4 will have moved onto a ceramic PTC heater like my XF and Volvo have, electric instead of diesel heaters.

I get instant heat out of them both, I imagine most cars have them now though tbh, it's great in winter.

Shame there's no preheat ability like the Disco 3 had, that was great (headlight button twice iirc to start it?), but I guess the 2kw electric heater would just drain the battery so you would have a lovely and warm car, that you can't start up.

[GG.]

I think the fuel burning heaters automatically operate below 5 degrees.

Dave!

starting when though? When you unlock the car?

Our Disco3 had a Webasto FBH - I installed a £25 timer. It was awesome (although more than once we had a knock at the door from a neighbour who thought our car was on fire). It worked successfully around 90% of the time.

Disco4 didn't have FBH, but you could remote start the car and leave it locked and idling. Not very eco friendly - would have liked a proper FBH.

Yes I think I can get a module to hardwire in a fob (and think you actually could have done as well but would have been more expensive than the timer). Only thing that would be an issue is if they changed the wiring loom from original to facelift L405 but I very much suspect they didn't.

[Ascender]

Pre-heating would be a great feature. The M2 allows you to plan ventilation for a start time which I hoped might allow you to set to hot or cold, but all it does it fire the vents on max velocity at max coldness, so I'm not entirely sure I see the point of it! I'm hoping their smart features have come on a bit in the last few years for the Touring.

[Mito Man]

Not sure how you’d do it on a petrol car which isn’t a hybrid, you’d have to use electric heaters and that will kill your 12v battery very quickly - unless they use block heaters but BMW don’t use them.

I’m surprised they’re still fitting Webasto units to new diesels too what with the unfiltered exhaust they produce.

[Ascender]

Not sure how you’d do it on a petrol car which isn’t a hybrid, you’d have to use electric heaters and that will kill your 12v battery very quickly - unless they use block heaters but BMW don’t use them.

I’m surprised they’re still fitting Webasto units to new diesels too what with the unfiltered exhaust they produce.

There you go again, letting facts get in the way of something I think should be easily achievable....

[GG.]

I’m surprised they’re still fitting Webasto units to new diesels too what with the unfiltered exhaust they produce.

That's probably why it has been relegated to an additional warm up of the running engine when cold and they've done away with the ability to operate manually. Spoilsports.

[Jobbo]

Since I had no idea how my Audi one works I've had a google and it seems to be electric, not diesel-burning. No idea why you couldn't get one on a petrol model in that case.

[Ascender]

Since I had no idea how my Audi one works I've had a google and it seems to be electric, not diesel-burning. No idea why you couldn't get one on a petrol model in that case.

Explain that one then captain facts @Mito Man.

I'm just coming at this from the point of surely it should be simple to implement and also control?

Please car, turn on the heaters and demisters for 5 minutes @ <this time> IF car battery level is GREATER THAN 50%.

Or something.

[Mito Man]

Since I had no idea how my Audi one works I've had a google and it seems to be electric, not diesel-burning. No idea why you couldn't get one on a petrol model in that case.

Explain that one then captain facts @Mito Man.

I'm just coming at this from the point of surely it should be simple to implement and also control?

Please car, turn on the heaters and demisters for 5 minutes @ <this time> IF car battery level is GREATER THAN 50%.

Or something.

The one Jobbo has turns on when the car is already on. It’s because diesels are more efficient and contain more thermal mass so a diesel takes much longer to warm its coolant than a petrol equivalent. The petrol model probably doesn’t require it as it will be negligible to warm up time.

Some cars actually have ceramic heaters in the air vents so you instantly get hot air like a hair dryer then they turn off and switch to the hot air from the heater matrix (although I imagine that is also probably killed off now due to increased co2 emissions )

You will freeze to death and enjoy it because we must save the planet!

[V8Granite]

Since I had no idea how my Audi one works I've had a google and it seems to be electric, not diesel-burning. No idea why you couldn't get one on a petrol model in that case.

Explain that one then captain facts @Mito Man.

I'm just coming at this from the point of surely it should be simple to implement and also control?

Please car, turn on the heaters and demisters for 5 minutes @ <this time> IF car battery level is GREATER THAN 50%.

Or something.

I have a 180 watt sump heater and that pulls a solid 15amps.

I’ve no idea how many watts you would need to warm up the air in a car to melt the screen ice etc.

I know to do a whole van we needed 1kw continuous and it did the first 20 minutes at 2kw.

Dave!