s211 E320cdi - ages to warm up

[IceBoy]

Hi All,

The above car (53-reg) is taking ages to warm up!

Probably have to drive 10 miles to get up to 85 degrees.

The thermostat is new (2 months).

Is this normal, as the fuel consumption is shocking when cold.

IceBoy

 

[whitenemesis]

What is your average speed over those 10 miles?

In my old 203 it would take about 10 miles to get up to temp but that would be slow in town crawling. The diesel needs to be worked to get temperature in it.

 

[IceBoy]

30-35mph over those 10 miles

So not just crawling around. 2 miles in traffic and then 8 miles on A-roads.

IceBoy

 

[V6Matty]

sounds normal to me, i replaced my thermostat about 4 months ago now and on these early cold mornings by the time i get to work (12.6 miles away) on mainly a roads doing an average of 52mph, the car is only just up to temp.

 

[Spannaz]

this is normal i am happy to report. However, you can easily block off the entire radiator and this will speed up the warm up period, and does not cause the car to over heat! I blocked mine off and has been like this for some time. Air can still flow around the condenser etc, its just blocked off directly in front of radiator. Worth trying and see if this helps. I have the issue where the first 3 miles are at a maximum 40mph (cameras) then dual carriageways. Then motorway! All that nice cold air slows down the warm up period and can increase engine wear, which is never a good thing!

 

[toby1]

+1 normal

 

[Naraic]

+2.

 

[IceBoy]

OK, I'm going to block part of the radiator off and report back next week.
IceBoy

 

[Cardinal Biggles]

My 320i (in a CLS though) is much quicker than that. Certainly less than a mile and Im getting warm air out of the car vents.... another gentle mile after that and the engine feels looser and ready to rock and roll.

Do you have a yellow engine warning light staying on in your instrument cluster after you start? A duff glow plug would inhibit warming up, esp in this cold weather........

 

[whitenemesis]

My 320i (in a CLS though) is much quicker than that. Certainly less than a mile and Im getting warm air out of the car vents.... another gentle mile after that and the engine feels looser and ready to rock and roll.

Do you have a yellow engine warning light staying on in your instrument cluster after you start? A duff glow plug would inhibit warming up, esp in this cold weather........

Warm air out of the vents isn't an indicator of engine temp as you will have a heater booster (electric) to help warm the incoming air.

On the CDI the glow plugs are really only there to help reduce emissions. The CDI can start and run perfectly well without glow plugs even in sub-zero temps.

 

[jberks]

Could be normal, but do check your aircon. If its turned off, you also turn off the aux heater.