Another reason to dislike the Honda 1.5T

[wemay]

I haven't heard one complaint from two friends of the family that own them.

 

[Pew]

I owned a Focus 1.0 liter 3-cyl. EcoBoost in Northern MN. On the really cold days (around -20F) the temp gauge never hit the normal spot in the middle of the gauge, but the vents still put out plenty of heat.

I actually made a custom black vinyl cover for the upper grill, but it didn’t change much. (The car also had active grill shutters so they were probably closed anyway).

Loved the car. If it had AWD I’d still be driving it.

I wonder why you disappeared off the FF forums. Mine still won't heat up under freezing temps. If I'm in a drive-thru it'll warm up slowly until I start moving again.

 

[czbrian]

That's because it's a much heavier vehicle, which stresses the motor (and creates more heat).
Similar to how Volvo offers only 4cyl engines on even it's largest SUV's. They are constantly stressed by weight, but also have dual chargers (turbo and super) which generates ample heat.

OTOH, the Honda's mentioned in the article a far lighter vehicles (as proven by their stellar fuel economy).

In the long run, all this negative PR cannot be good on Honda's bottom line.

The 2018+ Equinox with 1.5T weighs 3,325 lbs in FWD LT trim and the 2018 CR-V EX weighs virtually the same at 3,358 lbs per Cars.com.

 

[IndyIan]

What our Outback does is just run higher rpms after a cold start when its cold out and you have the temp control at full heat. After a couple minutes of higher rpms it warms up enough to resume normal lower rpm driving. If you want more heat out these cars, a solution is just run the trans in manual mode and get the engine revving a bit. They won't mind doing 2500-3000rpm for warming up or even at a traffic light. Seems a bit wasteful but its cheaper than trading a car in.

 

[Jake_J]

I'm surprised that the no heat when the engine isn't warmed up in the winter is still an issue on new cars made for the Canadian market. My old Yaris has an built in aux electric heater from the factory inside the heater box that was included on all Canadian market cars. The CR-V is not exactly a cheap car nowadays so I'm surprised Honda couldn't include one for the great white north cars.

 

[nthach]

The CR-V is not exactly a cheap car nowadays so I'm surprised Honda couldn't include one for the great white north cars.

Japan can get cold as well - while the main island has Mt. Fuji and other snowy areas in the winter, Hokkaido is close to Alaska in the winter time.

 

[meep]

Perfect application for a block heater.

i mean, it’s a legitimate quandary, but not one where I’d just fault Honda. My 1.8L subaru could not sustain cabin heat in those temps unless we were rolling; it would cool down at idle. Even the 2.2 would drop temp if idled to sleep at a rest stop for an hour or two. Anyone with a VW bug under 40F will have similar experiences. I think the diesels may be similar - dad had a dodge sprinter that couldn’t maintain heat at idle.... it barely sipped fuel.... had to drive it.

I propose the article misses the whole point. It’s not that the engine is inadequate, it’s that it’s too efficient. An increased belly pan below and engine cover or hood insulation up to would probably help a lot.

we have one of these 1.5t motors in the family, it is a remarkable bit of engineering, and is a hoot to drive. One shouldn’t have this much fun with something that small.

 

[Oillover]

The 2018+ Equinox with 1.5T weighs 3,325 lbs in FWD LT trim and the 2018 CR-V EX weighs virtually the same at 3,358 lbs per Cars.com.

hmm, I stand corrected!