Thanks gumby. I'll try it

 

That's my solution to the winter morning defrosts. It works very very well. With a timer, that's perfect.



PierreM

 

Color scheme is all wrong. But hmmm...if I had a Prius, I think I might have high enough voltage to make this happen.

In my own alternate reality, I had a problem with needing to defrost my VW 1600 back in the old days. I bought a little heater-blower that did indeed plug into my cigarette lighter socket. I don't know if our HCH circuits could handle one, though. I know the manual says not to be a real cigarette lighter in those sockets...

 

PierreM that is one very effective way to get the car up to temp, at least the cabin/battery pack.

 

I have found, for my drive, the biggest MPG drop comes from traffic. In the winter, on icy roads, everyone is driving slower and accelerating slower. At a traffic light that you may have gotten through in one cycle in the summer, it may now take a few greens to get past that light. Driving to work, I can get 10MPG better on a Saturday morning with no traffic than on a weekday with full traffic. Or maybe I can relax and drive better when I'm not surrounded by people in a hurry to get to work.

 

I own a 05 Accord Hybrid and an 04 Accord with the same engine and the non hybrid is getting better mileage in the winter.
I live in northern Minnesota. It can be below 0 for a whole month.
The extreme cold affects my hybrid more than my non hybrid. With the hybrid I have been getting 26 MPG and with the non hybrid I have been getting 28 MPG. The driver and the route are the same and the temperature range was between +17 F and -27 F for both vehicle and this was over a full tank of gas on a 40 mile commute. The tire pressures are the same and using the same gas. Both vehicles are running stock oils and fluids. I park both vehicles in a heated garage kept at 41 F at night. I do not use the block heater on either vehicle.

With this in mind why is the hybrid getting fewer MPG than the regular Accord?

I am not expecting it to get the same MPG in the winter vs. the summer but I do expect it to get better MPG than the non hybrid.

Would a warm air intake improve the MPG? At what temp would it need to be removed?

FYI Both Hondas will start at -35 F after being parked outside over a weekend, but they don’t like it.

 

Wow, that's really interesting! I am assuming since you mentioned a full tank that you are computing at the pump, not using the computer right?

The hybrid is heavier due to the battery pack and motor so that could be playing a factor. Other than that, I don't know what would be driving the difference--perhaps you drove the hybrid more on really cold days, or you used it more often for errands.

It would be interesting to see a comparison with each car being driven the same route at the same time (using two drivers who switch in the middle and then drive the same loop again). This would help to cut down on the little variables that can happen over the course of a full tank of gas.

 

Not only am I dealing with the winter dropoff, I'm not dealing with several newly paved roads that have a surface that slows my car down something serious. Nothing is worse that gliding on the highway and then all of a sudden feel like you're driving through sludge.

 

When you ask about oil, find out if the dealer is using a synthetic oil; these are better at handling low temps.

 

Why should a newly paved road be worse than an old, pothole-filled one? I would think the improved smoothness would reduce the energy losses due to suspension movement, uneven tire deformation, directional changes avoiding holes, etc...