Does anyone out there have an auto start feature on their hybrid car? I know this eats up gas due to idling but it sure would be nice to have it up here in New England on those cold mornings!! So far I haven't read of anyone putting an remote starter in a HYbrid.

 

Don't know about a remote start, BUT:

You can get an engine block heater for the 2003-2005 HCH, so I'm sure they will have one available soon for the 2006 if they don't already.

That will give you almost instant hot air from the heater and will help the car achieve better gas mileage since it will get the engine warmed up to optimum operating temp sooner, and you will not waste any fuel, just spend a few cents of electricity every night. Assuming you have a carport or a garage and have access to an electrical outlet near where the car is sitting overnight.

Another possible option, anyway, maybe, eh?

 

I don't have a carport or garage but I do have a lampost(ours) that is in front of our two parking spots that have an outlet that I could plug into. Are these block heaters run on 110V??

 

Yes they run on 110. See this page for more info:

https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...t=block+heater

 

Yes, I have remote start on my 03 civic hybrid. Works fine. There is a bit of a hit in FE with it as you said. Basicly if I park it with the gauge reading at 42 I will see it at about 35 or so when I get in the car after its warmed up.

 

Careful what you assume about block heaters. They're basically just enough to keep your oil in liquid form and stop your block from freezing. They do not keep the engine anywhere close to operating temperature, and it still takes as long to warm up the car as it does in normal conditions. They're not a "jump into a warm car" scenario by any strecth, they're used to stop the engine from freezing and make it a little easier to start - unfortunately you still have to wait for hot air.

 

I guess it depends on the climate and the car. I read last week somewhere (when I was researching block heaters) a post from someone who had one and said that the heater gets warm "in seconds" with the use of a block heater. My guess is it depends on the car and the wattage of the block heater and the external temps.

In addition, in my garage every morning I have been using a space heater to warm "the front of my car" basically for the last couple of weeks. It's a smallish electric fan heater and it blows about 24 inches from the front of the car under the engine compartment. I run it about 25 minutes, and just that little bit of heating has prevented my HCH from losing MPG on my short commute to work in morning temps that are in the 40s. I get 4 bars on the temp gauge about 3 blocks earlier than when I was not using the heater, and I have not lost any MPG after starting to use the heater, while in the first two days of colder weather I lost 2.2 MPG the first day and 1.8 MPG the second day. What that shows/proves to me is that the HCH is very sensitive to the engine temp in colder weather, and those who drive with a cold engine are dooming their MPG.

My guess is that a block heater would do AT LEAST as well as my fan heater, and for less money spent on electricity.

 

I had a remote start installed on my Tacoma and it works great. The unit is a Viper alarm. I am planning to have a remote start installed when I get my 06HCH next month.

This is the unit: http://www.directed.com/security/viper/viper_se_rs.asp

 

Well, your guess is a nice assumption but not accurate. I grew up in northern minnesota and we used them all the time, all my cars have them (except the HCH of course because it came from AZ). They really do not heat up the car or engine (significantly), they simply stop it from freezing and keep the oil from gelling so that it starts easier. True, once running your car will warm up faster than it would without the block heater, but there's still a significant warm up time just like in fair weather. It's a disaster-avoidance tool, not a comfort accessory.

I wonder, using all that electricity to heat your car to save gas mileage? Have you considered whether that's really saving you anything in the big picture when you add the electricity for your heater? Just curious.

As for the difference, I don't know the wattage of a block heater, but they're basically a little resistive heating element put in place of a frost plug that provides residual heat. Maybe 500 watts, but that's a total guess.

 

Oh, about the space heater, I just re-read your post and see that you only use it for 25 minutes. I thought you meant that you left it on all night or something. Never mind about the electricity then...