Hey folks!

 

Superb iV 2020 owner. I was wondering for quite a while if there's any chance to force the car to use the petrol engine with battery charged more than 20%.

 

I know that in winter season, it's recommended to warm up the fluids, before you actually start driving and since I have to travel more than 80km every couple of days, this is really concerning for me because I am gonna use the ICE eventually and since I am driving mostly in "Hybrid - Auto", the car starts using the ICE when I am accelerating a bit more but the ICE starts this way with no pre-warm and needs to deliver the power required to maintain & increase the speed, and I'm afraid that's gonna harm the engine in time.

 

How do you guys drive your Superbs iV during winter? Do you know any trick to force the ICE to start after ignition even if the battery is sufficiently charged?

What I have tried so far, but no results:
- After ignition, while in Park, press the e-mode button, then set it to hybrid and set the charge level to the max.

- After ignition, while in Park, press mode button and set active mode to Sport.

@AlexNec Hopefully others that can help will be along as far firing up the engine.   (typo)

 

Which country are you in where it is recommended to warm up fluids before you actually start driving, and what sort of ambient temperatures are you talking about ?

 

If a car is clear of snow and ice and ready to drive in the UK even in cold weather starting the engine and driving off taking it easy is absolutely fine rather than sitting idling and warming up a petrol or diesel engines coolant / oil. 

Edited 2 December, 20241 yr by Ootohere

8 minutes ago, AlexNec said:

I know that in winter season, it's recommended to warm up the fluids, before you actually start driving  but the ICE starts this way with no pre-warm and needs to deliver the power required to maintain & increase the speed, and I'm afraid that's gonna harm the engine in time

 

You know that or you have heard it repeatedly trotted out as received wisdom based on practices of 50 years ago?

 

My experience is that engine life is maximised through the shortest warm up time with the engine under load and not idling, I'm not talking about driving away flat out from a cold start but engines are run in under load on a dyno and never left to warm up at idle speed.

 

Modern engine longevity owes a lot to the use if heated front and rear screens in winter.

 

39 minutes ago, Ootohere said:

@AlexNec Hopefully others that can help will be along as far firing up the engine.   (typo)

 

Which country are you in where it is recommended to warm up fluids before you actually start driving, and what sort of ambient temperatures are you talking about ?

 

If a car is clear of snow and ice and ready to drive in the UK even in cold weather starting the engine and driving off taking it easy is absolutely fine rather than sitting idling and warming up a petrol or diesel engines coolant / oil. 

I currently live in Romania, but in the area where I live, the temperatures are usually much lower throughout the year, and especially during winter. So far, this year, the lowest recorded was about -9, but I am expecting even lower temperatures in Dec/Jan. As you said, I am taking it easy when I take off, but this is more like my usual driving style, if I can call it like that.

37 minutes ago, J.R. said:

 

You know that or you have heard it repeatedly trotted out as received wisdom based on practices of 50 years ago?

 

My experience is that engine life is maximised through the shortest warm up time with the engine under load and not idling, I'm not talking about driving away flat out from a cold start but engines are run in under load on a dyno and never left to warm up at idle speed.

 

Modern engine longevity owes a lot to the use if heated front and rear screens in winter.

You kinda guessed right, I have heard that this might be a recommended practice for petrol/diesel engines, however if that's not the case here, then probably I should disregard this kind of concerns that aren't really concerns.

"Modern engine longevity owes a lot to the use if heated front and rear screens in winter." - might sound dumb, but how the longevity of the engine is related to the use of front and rear screens in winter?

Edited 2 December, 20241 yr by AlexNec

^^^ Heated screens defrost the glass quicker and you can nearly drive straight away without idling the engine for ages waiting to get heat as in 'The good old days'.

 

With EV,s we can use the phone app and pre-condition from the comfort of a building and no tail pipe emissions.

Precisely what he said, you can put the engine under load quicker in icy conditions.

 

It is also much quicker (less engine wear) to get the heater working than waiting indoors leaving the engine idling to defrost the screens and warm the interior.

 

Given your climate an engine pre-heater might be the best solution for your needs?

Edited 2 December, 20241 yr by J.R.

4 minutes ago, J.R. said:

Precisely what he said, you can put the engine under load quicker in icy conditions.

 

It is also much quicker and causes less engine wear to get the heater working than waiting indoors leaving the engine idling to defrost the screens and warm the interior.

 

Given your climate an engine pre-heater might be the best solution for your needs?

Well I'm already using the climate control feature from MySkoda App so by the time I'm leaving my house and getting into the car, the windshield and most of the screens are already defrost so that's not really the issue and per my understanding, this feature uses the high-voltage battery.

However, my concern was related to the fluids that the ICE is using, if any pre-warm before the actual take off would make any sense or not.