No heat in -15c and colder temps (partially fixed with the HVAC update)

[HuntingPudel]

Tough luck for me and everyone else with this issue.

My shop foreman just reached out saying the field service Engineer said, in shorter terms, "too bad." That this is how the vehicle is supposed to work. Even after the supposed recall that I was told only slowed down the coolant in the system so it heated up more.
<SNIP>

Oh wow. The old “working as intended” line. Ouch. ??

I hope they come up with something that works for cold climates. How the heck did they test in Norway and not find this? ?

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[shadowchan454]

Oh wow. The old “working as intended” line. Ouch. ??

I hope they come up with something that works for cold climates. How the heck did they test in Norway and not find this? ?

The really crummy thing is that yes it is working as intended but it isn't working well enough to be in Canadian climates. That's the most frustrating part. The reason why they say that is because they can't make it function any better than what it is now.

 

[Kennykustom]

Out of curiosity for those of you who live in sufficiently cold climates to experience this, does it make a difference if you are alone in the car versus if you have passengers?

In theory, each person in the car is sort of like a natural 'heater', wondering if it meaningfully makes a difference in what the coldest possible threshold is before the heater becomes ineffective if you have one passenger or multiple passengers versus being alone in the vehicle.

Actually more people cause more moisture and increase the need to clear the front windshield.
We are more concerned with the fact that i have had to use a credit card to clear the windshield while driving down the highway. Unacceptable.

 

[Guy]

Did you drive faster than 80kmph?

Sure, up to 110 kph.

 

[shadowchan454]

Sure, up to 110 kph.

Then you're the unicorn in this situation! You got the lucky pick of cars c:

 

[kdryden99]

I don't know if its been mentioned before but too many posts on this topic. You will not be able to hest the car with the fan at max speed. You should be lowering the fan speed to give a chance to the heater to wsrm up the air. By putting the fan full blast you are pulling in cold air from outside faster than the heater can warm it up. Lowering the fsn speed will actually heat up the car faster. Ive done this all the time and i have no issues. I live in canada where we had minus 30 Celsius Friday. With preconditioning i had no problem.

 

[shadowchan454]

I don't know if its been mentioned before but too many posts on this topic. You will not be able to hest the car with the fan at max speed. You should be lowering the fan speed to give a chance to the heater to wsrm up the air. By putting the fan full blast you are pulling in cold air from outside faster than the heater can warm it up. Lowering the fsn speed will actually heat up the car faster. Ive done this all the time and i have no issues. I live in canada where we had minus 30 Celsius Friday. With preconditioning i had no problem.

You know what the silly thing is. With the notes from the tech help line that I saw they actually suggest having it on max defrost on hi fan speed.
Ford doesn't even know how to run their vehicles.

 

[kdryden99]

You know what the silly thing is. With the notes from the tech help line that I saw they actually suggest having it on max defrost on hi fan speed.
Ford doesn't even know how to run their vehicles.

The problem is that many want to use their heating like they did with gasoline cars. You can't there's no engine, no combustion, so the only thing that heats up the air are those elements so if your constantly bringing cold air in the car and that heater is the only thing heating the air what do you think will happen, youre only bringing in cold air. Slow down the fan and give the heater a chance. Its quite logical but we're stuck in our old ways. Trust me it works.

 

[buzznwood]

Actually more people cause more moisture and increase the need to clear the front windshield.
We are more concerned with the fact that i have had to use a credit card to clear the windshield while driving down the highway. Unacceptable.

Ford have had a solution to this for over 30 years with the heated windshield. I am beginning to suspect that all the cold weather testing done on the mach-e was with ones equipped with a euro spec heated front windshield hence nobody had an problems.

The fact people is the colder parts of North America have to put up dealing with blowing warm air onto the windshield rather than just direct it into the cabin is unacceptable IMO, Ford needs to offer the heated windscreens in the North American market even if is only available under a cold weather package.

It is a safety issue as people wearing some more layers to keep warm inside is of little use when you can't actually see where you are going unless drive with your head out the side window

 

[Devbloggs]

why couldn't they just add another heater to the loop, or even add another heater AND separate the battery coolant system from the cabin coolant system.

Yes, more battery consumption, but id rather that then freeze

 

[camdenlake]

Sure, up to 110 kph.

For how long were you driving. This data is quite important to collect accurately so we know for sure if it’s all cars or some cars. What if is -20 or so and you don’t precondition?

 

[camdenlake]

Ford have had a solution to this for over 30 years with the heated windshield. I am beginning to suspect that all the cold weather testing done on the mach-e was with ones equipped with a euro spec heated front windshield hence nobody had an problems.

The fact people is the colder parts of North America have to put up dealing with blowing warm air onto the windshield rather than just direct it into the cabin is unacceptable IMO, Ford needs to offer the heated windscreens in the North American market even if is only available under a cold weather package.

It is a safety issue as people wearing some more layers to keep warm inside is of little use when you can't actually see where you are going unless drive with your head out the side window

Man did I miss the boat here. Do the euro cars really have heated windshields? I don’t recall seeing this. Cool.

 

[shadowchan454]

why couldn't they just add another heater to the loop, or even add another heater AND separate the battery coolant system from the cabin coolant system.

Yes, more battery consumption, but id rather that then freeze

I absolutely agree with this. I want to be comfortable driving my eighty thousand dollar vehicle. Cut, dry, done.

 

[Kennykustom]

For how long were you driving. This data is quite important to collect accurately so we know for sure if it’s all cars or some cars. What if is -20 or so and you don’t precondition?

-22c ambient temp.
Car at 100% .
Pre heated and departure time set.
Garage heated to 10c.
Half a km to highway, then 100kph for the next 40 mins.
Heat set to auto and 22.5.
Fine for about 10 mins.
Then I start getting a fog over the windshield as the humidity spikes and the vent temp drops.
Switch to max defrost and Ac on. ( Which doesn't actually do anything below zero degrees c. )
After that I either crack a window or wipe the windshield down.

This is a bloody joke.

I'm here monitoring vent temps with multi meters, and scan tools...
All while other members from Florida are telling me how to operate my HVAC.

From the scan tool data.. too much heat is lost by the battery bank. Heater is too small, battery is poorly insulated.

When I get to town, after another 15 mins... I get some heat back.

 

[Devbloggs]

-22c ambient temp.
Car at 100% .
Pre heated and departure time set.
Garage heated to 10c.
Half a km to highway, then 100kph for the next 40 mins.
Heat set to auto and 22.5.
Fine for about 10 mins.
Then I start getting a fog over the windshield as the humidity spikes and the vent temp drops.
Switch to max defrost and Ac on. ( Which doesn't actually do anything below zero degrees c. )
After that I either crack a window or wipe the windshield down.

This is a bloody joke.

I'm here monitoring vent temps with multi meters, and scan tools...
All while other members from Florida are telling me how to operate my HVAC.

From the scan tool data.. too much heat is lost by the battery bank. Heater is too small, battery is poorly insulated.

When I get to town, after another 15 mins... I get some heat back.

My experience is almost exactly the same, good for about 20 mins on the highway, then barely above cool air coming out of the vents.

At one point, i had to pass a few vehicles at around -22c and not long after, i got the turtle and derate to 60km/h until the batteries warmed up

the lack of cabin heat is my one and only complaint that i bring up when i talk to people in person about the vehicle.

almost need a "winter front" for the underside where the battery is that you can take off, otherwise in the summer, we'll have overheating issues

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