Octavia Warm-Up Time

[Lowflyer]

+1

Me too and I turn fan speed up to max as well. Remember to turn the re-circulation off after a few miles otherwise the windows start to fog up.

[Hauptmann]

So why does my Brother's Honda I-CTDI heat the water up quicker than my cast iron block, cast iron head on my 1.9tdi and therefore blow hot air quicker, a quick search on the internet suggests cast iron is slower to heat than aluminium, but once cast iron is heated it is able to retain it's heat for longer.

Aluminium has about double the SHC of cast iron, and water is about double that of aluminium.

I suspect that differences in head design and coolant capacity are more to do with it. Some modern engines have incredibly thin and narrow coolant cavities to aid quick warm-up.

The fact remains, however, that Diesel engines will warm up more slowly due to their much higher thermodynamic efficiency, especially under light load.

[jrw]

Hi, not sure if there is some some technical reason to use one of these, but below might be worth looking into;

http://www.superskoda.com/dk/Skoda/OCTAVIA-II/Octavia-II-09-11-Facelift-winter-grille-cover

I have exactly the same problem with my Jan'07 Classic 1.9tdi dsg, estate.

Might get one my self, but not so much a problem down here in Jersey.................

Grill cover will make no difference, since no water will flow through the radiator until the engine has warmed up. Fitting the cover will just mean once the engine has warmed up and the water flows through the radiator the engine will just overheat as it cannot get the airflow it needs. The covers are intended for much colder climates, like eastern europe where in the winter its not uncommon to have permanent snow and temp in the daytime of -10c or below.

In cold weather, whilst sitting stationary a diesel engine will never warm up. My superb diesel takes about 10 miles to warm up to 90 with the external temp around 0c, and a lot longer if the temperature is colder. Previous Octavia was the same, and it to was also diesel. Diesels are just more thermally efficient than petrol engines.

Interesting point you make here as I am thinking of getting one. This morning to work i kept it in 5th on the motorway to warm it up. Coolant was at 90C by the time i got off (17miles later) and the oil was at 74C. Then back onto the normal roads when people insist on doing 15mph because its -10 and the roads are NOT frozen and the coolant gauge plummets back down to 70C. As soon as there is no load on the engine in this weather it goes cold again!

[eccleshill]

My 8 mile drive to work is all flat or gentle down gradients. To give some idea of just how gentle a drive it is, in summer my old 1.9TDi would generally show 60-75mpg on the trip computer depending on the traffic.

In the winter of 2009/10 the old 1.9TDi would barely reach 70deg on the dash temperature gauge even after spending 10 minutes with it ticking over while I scraped the ice. While queueing in traffic the temperature gauge in the climatronic would fall unless I turned off the heater fan.

I think what this shows is that when the 1.9TDi engine is under little or no load the heater matrix and fan is more than enough cooling.

Contrast my 1.8TSi. This morning was -8; in the 10-15 minutes to clear the ice the temp gauge just lifted off the bottom and with the heater on recirc I was getting warm air. Within 2 miles it had reached 70 and well before I reached work it was at 90 degrees and I was reaching to turn down the heater temperature.

The other big difference - for the trip to work the 1.9TDi fuel consumption (computer) was high 40's on a morning like this; the maxidot on the 1.8TSi this morning showed 25.3mpg. So it is pretty clear where the extra heat comes from!

[themacster]

My 1.4tsi heats up more quickly (less slowly?) than my old 1.9pd, especially noticeable in the current -10 temperatures. The 1.9pd took an age to get any heat from the heater and was the thing that most annoyed me about the car. I had diesel Peugeots for the previous 6 years and they were pumping out hot air within 2 miles even on a very cold day. Sorry, but it seems to be the way Skoda heating systems are designed.

[Skodabuyer]

Jayzus lads,

Fair play and thank you for all the information! I suspect that my first skoda will have a petrol engine; I'm on the borders of "petrol-or-diesel" at 18,000 miles per year and most of it motorway. My commute is 32 miles each way with not a lot of traffic in Dublin curently.

vectra1, If i was only a Wally and I don't know Derek!

Thanks again for yizzer assistance and i look forward to being of some service in2011 and onward.

Mike

"If you can't fix it with a hammer, it's and electrical problem"

[Guest]

Tell them all diesels are like it & to just man up!

[ardandy]

I find one of these helps;

[jrw]

Jayzus lads,

Fair play and thank you for all the information! I suspect that my first skoda will have a petrol engine; I'm on the borders of "petrol-or-diesel" at 18,000 miles per year and most of it motorway. My commute is 32 miles each way with not a lot of traffic in Dublin curently.

vectra1, If i was only a Wally and I don't know Derek!

Thanks again for yizzer assistance and i look forward to being of some service in2011 and onward.

Mike

"If you can't fix it with a hammer, it's and electrical problem"

You definitely want a diesel then matey. You'll be amazed at the mpg on a run like that compared with a petrol....

[cheshire_cat]

You definitely want a diesel then matey. You'll be amazed at the mpg on a run like that compared with a petrol....

the posher versions of the 1.9 had heater plugs in a modified water outlet beneath the vac/fuel pump, some had 2 and some 3 glowplugs--- I believe they only activated at approx -5* also there was an electric option for the a/c unit

[cheezemonkhai]

FWIW I've found a piece of foil over the central 1/2 to 2/3rds of the lower grill on the octy is sufficient to stop the temperature dropping once it's up, even if you do get slowed. On a 30 mile run, it didn't go above 90 either, so seems to be doing the trick and easily removed if required.

[mainspring]

Slightly different I know--but my VW t4 camper(1.9 TD) warms up in approx 1--2 miles,maybe because they are fitted with a thermostatically controlled radiater louvre as standard.

But blows hot air as I say after approx 2 miles.

[gregoir]

My car did not get up to its usual temperature today for about 16 miles. The heated rear screen could only clear the elements and the bits in between were still there after 24 miles. Hit the on button 4 times as it times out. Some ice on the passengers side of the windscreen did not melt either, but gradually sublimed.

I was warm enough but feel that the car ought to do better at -8C.

Sunday evening at -11C the brakes started to freeze on with a horrible noise, sounded like ice on the pads. Next day all was well- I asked the dealer to check while there for another job.

[darrenw]

or get a run lock fitted.

Start the car, leave it idling to warm up and away you go.

You can take the keys out and Charlie Chav can't drive off.

[cheezemonkhai]

or get a run lock fitted.

Start the car, leave it idling to warm up and away you go.

You can take the keys out and Charlie Chav can't drive off.

But that won't help on a derv as it will never warm up as there is so little fuel in at idle that there is very limited heat left to warm things up.

[broere]

This issue was on Autobild very recently. Some aircon systems were tested on cars like the Golf (which has the same aircon as our Octavia, I presume) It didn't come out as a very performant system. The BMW 1 was the best. Read for yourselves: http://www.autobild.de/artikel/golf-klasse-im-klimavergleich-1309590.html

Interesting comparison between the Golf 1.4 tsi and the 2.0 tdi. The tdi was worse than the petrol version...

My experience last week (up to -13°C) was similar: the car couldn't warm up, both the engine and the interior... not even after a ride of 25 km. it'll take some extra socks to go to Austria soon!