Block Heater

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CanadaUK
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed Nov 25, 2009 10:42 pm

Block Heater

Post by CanadaUK »

I cannot find the cord for the block heater in my 2009 Base, 1.8 L Vibe. Surely being in Canada they would have put one in? Any suggestions out there where to look? I looked beside the battery and behind driver's headlamp, no luck!
kowell
Posts: 469
Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2008 10:19 pm

Re: Block Heater (CanadaUK)

Post by kowell »

Was it standard equipment?A surprising number of cars don't come standard with it in Canada.I beleive mine was added by the dealer.The cord runs on the right side of the engine bay, not far from the battery
2009 Vibe 2.4L 1SC - Red Hot Metallic
2011 Sienna V6 CE - Sky Silver
PMC
Posts: 31
Joined: Tue Sep 30, 2008 12:15 am

Re: Block Heater (CanadaUK)

Post by PMC »

It's not standard equipment, it came as a $65 option when I ordered my 09 Vibe. Not a bad price, especially since Toyota charges about double the price. My cord is on the right, near the battery, ready to be pulled out when the temperature gets a bit colder!
CanadaUK
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed Nov 25, 2009 10:42 pm

Post by CanadaUK »

I went back to a dealer, who said my Vibe does not have the block heater. I would have thought it would be standard on all Canadian sold cars. Canadian Tire wants $47 for the part. It should only take about 30 minutes to install it, so maybe $100 altogether. Still, worth it.
djb383
Posts: 1571
Joined: Thu Sep 01, 2005 1:41 am
Location: The Republic of TEXAS

Re: Block Heater (CanadaUK)

Post by djb383 »

I would think a pan heater (heats the oil) would be better than a block heater.http://www.wolverineheater.com/
'05 Lava Tutone base, Pwr Grp, Moon & Tunes, 16" alloys, Auto.....Yep, it's gotta HEMI
j42.snyder
Posts: 226
Joined: Sat Mar 21, 2009 10:14 am
Location: St. Catharines, ON

Re: Block Heater (djb383)

Post by j42.snyder »

If you get the Canadian Tire one - let me know how it goes (fit, installation etc.) - although mine's a 2.4, so it won't really be too similar...I was sorry to see that it wasn't standard on them as well. I used mine regularly in the winter in my old Sunfire. I'm only 200m from the freeway on ramp - which was no issue at all when using that heater. The temp gauge would already be moving by the time I got there - even on the coldest days.Other than that detail - my Vibe was exactly what I was looking for - and it appeared on the lot the day I decided on it. I'll probably see what it's like this winter and decide from there whether I'll bother or not. I'm running a full synthetic 5W20 with a Carquest Blue (WIX) filter - so that should flow easily enough for our temperatures around here. I drive past you to work every day (Burlington) - so I'm pretty familiar with what you should be seeing too. Not too often it really gets cold enough to be a problem.John
northvibe
Posts: 7641
Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2005 2:25 pm

Post by northvibe »

looks almost exactly like the one I just got for my escape and its works great.http://www.engineheaters.com/Install is just to sand down pan to metal, slap on the heater, use a supplied thing to smooth down the pad, then silicone the edge and route the power cord. I then have a timer that turns it on at 2am so by 6:30am its warm!
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