It was below zero today and I drove the fit 55 miles and back. It was fine. I have found that I even Crack the window a little to prevent fogging of the windows (instead of using defrost). I don't have a block heater, and haven't (yet) place some cardboard over the radiator. One thing that is extremely useful is remote start.

Small engines are just that, SMALL. It's only 1.5 litres. Given time it works Great. Remember there is a ton of ROOM inside that has to be heated too.

What I did notice is how squirrely it can be on the snow and ICE. The tires are pitiful and So is the Horrible OVERSTEER. I just adjusted my driving and realized (like with the heater) that there are some compromises with purchasing an ECONOMY car. There are also tons of BENEFITS too. This is one HELLUVA premium little car. I don't regret purchasing it one bit.

 

I suppose I agree with not idling too long, but on severe cold days I let the car idle for a few minutes before driving. Around here, there's no 'taking it easy driving when starting out cold.' You get in the game and you drive man, and it doesn't usually allow taking it easy. I don't like doing that when it's a super cold start. Two or three minutes while I'm clearing ice or snow on the windshields- hop in and go. I couldn't do anything less to a bone chilled cold engine. I'm talking 20's or below. At 32 and up, that's not severe.

Dan

 

I had an Escort yrs ago, best heat out of any of my vehicles.
I have only had my car for a short time, but here is my solution when its cold out side:
-Bundle up, start car, scrape ice if needed.
-say hi to my neighbor(Ridgeline,CRV,Accord)
-go inside and tell my wife to hurry up
-back outside and enter car, nice and warm

 

1 degree here in Chicago (-15ish with wind chill) and it actually took longer for the Infiniti G37 to heat up at work than my little Fit did to get to work.

 

My Fit warms up pretty quickly. But then, I am in Phoenix, so it never gets cold enough for that frozen water stuff.

 

Gee, hearing your stories about Fits taking their time to warm the cabins up makes me grateful we don't get winter here in Manila

...although it does get pretty chilly for me in the winter months...no heaters on our GDs so in the evenings I usually just drive with gloves on and with the A/C off

 

Related to cold, I noticed the inside of the windshield ices up quickly in extreme cold, more than other cars I've driven. Without heat being produced, that's not a good thing.

So, I will begin warming up the engine for 10 minutes in the morning.

 

It got down to -40F here just last week, I had plugged in the car for about 2 hours, and let it idle for about 3-5 minutes. It took about 5 minutes of driving (city) for it to have warm air coming out.

When it's 0 I don't even need to plug it in, just let it run for a minute before driving and it's hot after a few minutes of driving.

I really haven't found it all that bad..

 

We're in the 20's (F) here in VT and I have about a 25 mile commute each way to work. I let it idle for about 2 minutes (more if scraping the car), and then it is about 5 miles before the inside of the car isn't cold and about another 4-5 before I can say the car is actually warm. I average about 40mph and am considering covering the grille to try and get the engine warmer. The sucky part is you can't defrost the windshield and warm the car at the same time because of the A/C. luke warm air comes out of the defogger vents.

i'm thinking the rear hatch cover might help too... vents wouln't have to warm up the whole car ... might also quiet down the ride a little.

Definitely takes the longest to warm up of any car I've owned. My wife's D16 warmed up much quicker than this one. Thank god I have a garage. (unfortunately, not heated though)

~SB

 

I was born in Sapporo. It got cold there, and you could get snow to the rooftops, but Japan certainly doesn't get cold like in the USA. I've always thought that Japan's small size, mild climate, and crowded roads and highways color the engineers' thinking. I think all of the engineers who design the mechanicals of Japanese cars should drive across the southern USA in the summer and the northern USA in the winter. There is nothing like either route in Japan. Certainly not the distance, the winds, the high-speed roads, and the rednecks.

I don't have any patience when the windows frost over because the heater can't put out enough to keep them clear. I know it's a small car, but that much glass demands a lot of airflow to keep clear. No reason they couldn't work on that.

Stay warm.
Cheers

 

I can't complain about my Fits warming up...seeing as I used to have a 95' DX with a Z6 swap, low temp thermostat, low temp fan switch and a Bisimoto radiator on a NE car. Basically had to cover the entire lower grille of my bumper during the winter months just so the car would heat up and stay operating temp while driving.

 

Two good points, SportMT. When the Brits were still making cars and exporting them to the US, they couldn't figure how to gear them. Customers in SanFransico were burning up clutches; Angelinos were blowing up engines, and all in one state in the USA...While the Japanese are a lot more savvy than the Britons before them, they still don't have the whole US driving thing under control.

As regards defrosting the windows, I mentioned earlier to keep the dash-end vents shut. In cold weather, the compressor only cycles enough to dry the air; if the defrost output is only lukewarm once the engine is up to temp, then you've got something else going on. Running the A/C compressor occasionally is vital to its longevity, and running it a little for defrost shouldn't be a problem from any perspective.
Moon

 

I, too, get warm air as soon as the cold indicator light goes out.
I only let the car idle for a bit when the outside temp is less than 20...like the past few days when it has gone down to 10F, 9F, 4F. Brr...
I do note that once I get on the highway (I drive about 10 miles to work) and the car is at normal operating temperature, the heat is crazy warm. Almost hot.

As for automakers' home markets coloring the functionality of their creature comforts, HVAc, etc., I belonged to a Volvo "freak" owners board where one of the single largest complaints was how weak the heated seats were. They were always saying "These cars are designed in - and for - a cold country. They're tested in the far north of Lappland - I just don't get it".
On the other hand, my parents have a Saturn SUV with heated seats that heat up faster than the flame-broiler at Burger King.

 

For what it's worth, cruising in 4th gear on the highway seems to cause significantly warmer heat, for obvious reasons.

 

The Fit seems to warm up fine (09 DX-A). However, if you want some stories about cold, I could tell you about my 72 VW Superbeetle!! Standard dress in the winter was a long underwear, parka, toque, heavey mits and ice scraper in your right hand as you drove. For all that, it was a fun car and completely unstopable, even in the deepest snow.

Barb

 

Knew a Bug would come up at some point! Actually, they weren't that bad IF (big if) the heat exchangers weren't rusted out, and you knew how to set all the flaps and levers. Of course, it was easier to keep me warm forty years ago...agreed, Bugs were hard to stick in the snow. Barb, did your Super shimmy at highway speed?
Regarding the Scandanavians and car design, you do have to wonder that Volvos were rear drive for a very long time...seats notwithstanding, anyone know how well their heaters worked?
Moon

 

I agree that my 09 GE8 does take a lot longer to warm up to the point of cabin heat than my 00 EJ9. But it handles better than the civic does, so I'll suck it up.

 

Our 72 & 76 VW Bus (westfalia Campers) were both Aircooled and AWFUL with heat. engine was in the back, single heater vent under the back bench seat and a HUGE cabin to warm up. Our VW Vanagon (water cooled) was much better but still took a long time to warm up unless you sat in the back.

~SB

 

I think the answer is here!

Honda Engine Block Heater Accord V6, Crosstour, Fit, Insight, Pilot - Bernardi Honda Parts and Accessories

 

Moon, I eventually figured out the heating system and it worked after a fashion, but still, on those -20 deg C rides.... As for the stability, legendary understeer and cross winds had you torquing the steering a quarter turn into the wind. Radial tires fixed that, but nothing short of a dead body in the front boot could help with that.

Barb