[carl310166]

I have owned my gt tdi since july,and am very happy with it so far.

With winter approaching,i am reading that the diesel engines do not generate a great deal of heat in to the system,is this correct?

During the last couple of days,i have been reading about the Kenlowe pre heater,which you plug into the mains,this then warms the engine coolant to 85 degrees,this is fine except when both my wife and myself leave work every day,we won't be able to plug the thing in.

My second option was a remote starter,has anybody got one?

how much to they cost?(i already have the factory alarm system)

do they do what they say on the box?

what about the security and insurance implications? (engine running,with no occupant)

what happens if like me,you leave the car in gear incase the rear disc brakes don't hold?

Thank for any answers,but i would like to sort this out before the really cold weather comes !

 

[shtu]

The diesel engine will take a bit longer to warm up than a petrol motor, and will usually sit at 90deg c. I've read about some people in cold parts of the US using engine heaters to make starting easier, and no warmup period.

However, have you costed out one of these? They are not cheap! ?250ish for the standard kit, plus the time to fit, sort out weatherproof mains connection, probably some sort of timeswitch, etc.

The remote starter option could be tricky to accomplish, due to the factory immobiliser - it uses a transponder in the key to allow the engine to start. No key = no start.

Have you considered fitting heated seats?

 

[carl310166]

Thanks,i have considered heated seats,but due to my very limited ability,i could not fit them myself,i did ask on the forum if there is somewhere i could take my car to have them retro fitted,but i had no replies!

I didn't realise about the transponder thingy either.

As for the pre heater,you are right,they cost about ?250,but they seem easy to fit (although i wouldn't attempt it),but i thought heated seats etc would cost around this ?? plus with the engine pre heater,you would have almost instant defrosting and less engine wear,and more mpg. I would invest in this system,but like i said,we can't really plug it in at work.

 

[Ashley]

i had the remote start when i had an s-reg 1.4. the immobiliser was a problem, but in the end took the immobiliser chip out of the key and put it in the ignition. dont ask me how, i have no idea, i had a friendly mechanic to help. answer to leaving it in gear, dont. if you do and you remote start, it will jump so make sure you have the handbrake on or keep it well away from a wall. i got my remote starter kit whilst i was in the US. in the end i got a bottom of the range one thinking it might not work, but it did and it cost ?60 in the end. and for the pleasure of scaring people by turning it on when they walk past, well worth it. more to the point in the snow, the car was lovely and warm and the windows very clear.

 

[Ashley]

forgot to mention, the car remained locked whilst engine was on, and then unlicked the car using the fob. without the key in the ingnition when the engine had been remote started, providing the steering lock was on you couldnt turn the wheel and as soon as you pressed the foot brake without the key in the ignition, the engine cut out. no way of driving it off without the key. whether this is the case for all remote starter kitsk, im not sure. with regards the insurance, i dont know either, i didnt tell them, not did i mention the wheels, the tints, blah blah!

 

[Milkfloat]

Could you really be bothered to plug in your car every night to pre heat the car in the morning? I have friends in North Dakota who leave their trucks running all night so they are warm and drivable in the morning. If yo go for the remote start option, you cannot leave it in gear. You will also need your immobilizer chip, taken from a key and superglued in place in the car. You will probably have insurance implications with this as the insurance company will expect you car to have the Thatcham Category 1 immobilizer which you will have disabled. Also, I think in the past that people have been charged with leaving a running vehicle empty, I don't know if the cars were locked or not. One further consideration is that in a lot of EU countries, idling a car is illegal, for example if you are waiting to pick somebody up, you cannot leave the engine idling for more than 30 seconds, perhaps this will come into force here. Heated seats would be a lot easier.

 

[talk-torque]

Another problem with the remote start option is that diesels generate very little heat unless they are under load. ie. driving the car. Running on tickover, it would take a long time to warm the car - better than nothing, but.....

I would have thought that daytime conditions were much less severe than at night. Most days the car warms up fairly quickly. Mornings are a problem though, which a pre-heater would fix.

The Mkv has a pre-heater option, which I was very interested in - until I discovered it costs around ?800! [:O]

 

[carl310166]

Thanks guys for your thoughts.

I have been quoted ?350 for a clifford alarm,plus another ?250 for the remote start option. That is a lot of money,plus may take over a day to fit it.

If i could find a cheaper remote starting option,i might give it a try.

I would make the effort to plug the car into the mains every time i park it at home,as it doesn't take much effort,plus the car is up to temperature straight away,so engine wear is greatly reduced,and mpgs are normal,and the car is defrosted instantly....but i work nights,so when i leave work at 5.00am,i wouldn't be able to use the preheater (when it is needed most),and generally when my wife goes to work at 8.30am,there is usually some heat sink,so the car doesn't need much defrosting anyway.

I am trying to think how many frosty morning we get per year,perhaps i don't really need it.

But i still have not heard from anybody who has fitted heated seat elements,anybody ?

 

[cage]

My mate just got a Clifford fitted with Remote Start for ?460 and only took half a day. The company is a trustworthy company that I have used for over 10years.

 

[Baron Von Marlon]

Not absolutely sure about this (about 95% sure)

It is against the law to leave a car running when the driver is not present (british Law). I am sure someone on here must be a copper and can check this.

Also, VW pd engines should not be left stationary to warm up ! If you read your manual it states it in there.

Put a jumper on ! It never really gets that cold in the UK.

 

[Dis]

Forget electrical gadgets and splash out the cash for the real thing ? a Webasto (UK) Comfort Heating System.

 

[carl310166]

Do you know anything about this product? i have asked for details and prices,but if there is anybody who has used one?

The hotshot washer heater looks like a quick way of defrosting the windscreen,is there anybody who has heated washers,do they clear the windscreen straight away on frosty mornings?

 

[Dis]

I might add that donkeys years ago I had an air cooled VW Variant Estate which had a wonderful heating system. It did mean going to the car to activate it 15 minutes before wishing to drive away, but in the extreme winter it was fantastic to get into a car as warm as a sauna but with clear windows. The device was of course little more than a separate petrol burner, although unlike the latest ?Webasto? systems it did not warm up the engine block. The latter of which can be remotely controlled ? apparently even from a mobile phone.

 

[dec]

The Baron is right BTW. Totally illegal (In the UK) to have a car running unattended locked or not. Hence why remote starters and devices to let your oil cooled turbo cool after a long run by leaving the engine running are illegal.

Bummer ! Also what the Baron said about the PD's not being left to idle is spot on. Oil doesn't get pumped aroung enough causing excessive wear. It would be fine for a long time but if your keeping tha car for years you would knacker your engine.

Heated seats and wooly hats all round then !

 

[RaT]

Hi

I fitted the Kenlowe pre heater to my MKIV 2 ltr Golf last Autumn. As I do shift work and regularly leave the house at 4.30 am ! it is fantastic to be able to get in and have warm air straight away in the winter. Apart from the obvious comfort factor it gets the windows clear straight away. As I have to leave the car outside its well worth it for me! Send me a pm with an email address and I can fwd some pics to you if you wish. The instalation was not to bad, a bit fidly as I found it is limited where you can mount the heater so that it is in a sensible place to get the water lines to it. I will add that unfortunately the first heater I had came with a fault and tripped the house circuit breaker! I spoke to Kenlowes and a very helpfull chap told me where to stick my meter (not literally!) on the internal working of the heater and prove it was faulty, I then sent it back to them and recieved a new one by return post!

 

[dc]

My car has a factory fitted fuel heater. I thought they were std fit.

 

[carl310166]

Thanks,i have sent you a pm.

I know it's nowwhere near the same,but usefull non the less, my other option,is to fit webasto hotstart heated washer jets,they will clear the winscreen almost straight away.

 

[Mokeylock]

Hi guys, I got this remote starter a little while back. I couldn't find anyone in the UK who had it in stock so I just contacted them directly in Canada. I asked the guy if he's prepared to do a group buy and he said yes. I've never done a group buy but willing to if enough people want it.

http://www.ignitedperformance.com​

It comes packed with all kind of features that i'm still confused about because I haven't got it fit yet.

Today I went to see a car alarm fitter and he said he'll fit it for ?140 (is that too much?.. there's a lot to do on it like hood sensor and 3 switches). He also mentioned that he'll have to take the chip out of the spare key and put it in the car otherwise you can't get the kit to work. It's a bummer but I think it'll be worth it.

Booked the car in for next Tuesday.... i'll let you know what i think of it.