I have seen some threads on how bad the fit is for heating in the winter, im in north dakota and it's cold, high today of 3 and tommorow of 0 haha, im just wondering if anyone has done anything to their fit to try to get better heat? was thinking today of blocking some of the radiator but just wanted to see if anyone had tried something else to make it a little better.

Thanks

 

Maybe try what I do with my 1990 Wrangler..big jacket/hat..

 

Yep, I ziptied a piece of vinyl across the lower radiator opening on the bumper cover.

It was a 3' piece of commercial base molding, $2 at Home Depot.

 

Heating...as in engine heating?

I know quite a few people have installed engine block heaters on their GDs. Just search the threads.

 

When it gets that cold, I start it, set the hvac to defrost and full heat, hit the rear defrost, put fan on 2, and put air selector on recirculate. Let cook for 5-10 minutes, set air to fresh, and its warm enough to keep the windows from fogging up.

I hear you though. This little motor doesn't put out enough heat. Not inefficient enough, doggone honda engineers!

 

My old V-6 Montero was a great 4x4, but the heater gave up when the temp was below 10* F. Maybe it just doesn't get all that cold in Japan.
Now, that said, it does get cold here in Westsylvania, and the Fit has been fine thru' one winter. That's in sharp contrast to a 70s Civic which actually had a temp gauge, and the temp would drop down out of the operating range on a downhill.
Moon

 

We've noticed my wife's 08 warms up much quicker than my 09. Perhaps it's because the 09 is not quite "broken in" yet (nearing 4k miles now). At least that's what I'm hoping. Not only does it take a while for the air coming from the vents to get warm but warming up that big ass interior volume takes forever!

 

That's odd. Mine warms up rather quickly. The minute the blue temp gauge disappears I turn my heat on dash/floor and the air is noticelby warm. It's not fully hot yet, but I can warm my hands to it right away. Typical 32 degrees outside temp, and it'll take approx 1 to 2 minutes of drive time to have useable heat. Now, compared to three degrees, thirty two is like spring. Haven't been through that extreme yet. Mostly it comes down to the feet wells. If they're drafty, the feet will get cold and then there's no turing back- at least for me. I'm finding I prefer to always have the heat coming to the floor too, even when defrosting. It will get cold down there on longer runs. No more so than any other car though, and much less than any other car I've had.

The feet- it's all the feet.

'You know how I feel about feet'.
Junior Soprano

 

I have not noticed this problem and it was snowing today.

 

snow today here too.

Switching from my 95 accord, the fit makes me feel like im in a sauna within 5-10 minutes on my way to work.

 

No disrespect Mike, but just how cold does it get in Monterey? You Californians are so spoiled!

I vote with the other posters claiming pretty quick heat in the Fit; I can get it from the dash vents PDQ.
Moon

 

I admit I've grown a little soft in the past year or so since I've been here, but the past few mornings we've woken up to low 30's with frost. That's cold enough for me!
Besides, in this experiment the outside temp is the same for both cars

 

My sentiments exactly. Supposed to get down to 8 tonight so we'll see how it holds up. ::counting down the days till my escape to FL::

 

Block heater?

Just let it warm up for a few minutes in the morning. Not only good for you - its good for the engine.

 

Not meaning to argue, but that is not what I've ever been told or read.
Far better to drive away gently until the engine/oil warm up, and in particular don't flog it until things have had a chance to get up to temperature.
I start the engine, put on my seatbelt and check the mirrors, and drive off. Now, of course if there is snow/ice to scrape, I'll start the engine before I remove it.
Moon

 

Thats true. I dont let my car idle when its a bearable temperature - I just drive off. I'm saying in lower than freezing temps - you usually need to let it run to clear the ice/frost off anyway. Either way, it cant hurt to have the oil and coolant up a little bit in temperature before you drive off and put a load on the rod bearings, main bearings and timing gear.

 

We're pretty much in agreement on this. Two peeves of mine; folks start the car and let it idle for half an hour so it's warm as houses (and the snow melted off) when they get in. Idling is hard on cars.
Alternately, others brush a gunslit opening in the snow on the windshield and drive off. The chief of police lives in my neighborhood, and has been known to do this.
Just my gripes,
Moon

 

to each their own. just like what oil to use and what octane.

i let it sit till that blue engine light goes off...

 

I've also noticed the Fit doesn't retain its heat after sitting about an hour. The warmup process has to start all over again. I'm guessing that's due to an aluminum engine, a small amount of coolant, and its size.

My previous vehicle had a cast iron Nissan V6, Turbo, with dual core radiator. That bad boy would retain heat a long time.

After a few minutes of driving the Fit heats right up, so I can't complain. The vents by the cupholders will warm up beverages too. BTW, it's 3 degrees here now. :-)

 

Definitely the slowest car to warm up I've ever owned. It was in the teens here today, and my GE8 never did get hot during my 20 minute drive to work, just warm. My '91 Accord was like a sauna within a few minutes.