When I have visited New England it seems quite common to have remote starters so in winter you can start your engine from in the house or the office and allow it to warm up / thaw. The winters there are rather more severe than in the UK. 

This is normally only fitted to vehicles with an automatic transmission which have a starter inhibitor switch if it is not in park.

When I have visited New England it seems quite common to have remote starters so in winter you can start your engine from in the house or the office and allow it to warm up / thaw. The winters there are rather more severe than in the UK. 

This is normally only fitted to vehicles with an automatic transmission which have a starter inhibitor switch if it is not in park.

As I understand it, remote starting is not permitted in UK because the vehicle has to be under somebody's control when in use.

My sister in law used to live in Canada. Her cars had a heater that she would plug into the mains overnight to stop them freezing up. 

It was not that long ago my brother in law used to put a paraffin heater under his 2CV while parked at work when it was cold. He was a doctor at a major hospital and the fire brigade were called out when someone noticed it. He was told in no uncertain terms not to do it again.

Roger B A few months ago I came across a really interesting video on YouTube about Yakutsk (i.e. the coldest place on earth) in which it was said that unless their car is in a nice warm heated underground garage, they have to keep their cars running 24/7 to stop it from freezing up! 

I also found this video again mentioning that cars in Siberia are left running 24/7 and how important it is to have the right oil in the engine too: 

There’s a lot to think about in cold conditions. We don’t usually get below -15°C here (Zürich area) and the car is  kept in the underground garage that comes with out apartment block. When we go off to the mountains things are a little different, it may sit out in temperatures below -20°C for a few days. I’ve been taught a few things by the locals.

Always disengage the clutch when starting, the removal of the oil drag from the gearbox may make the difference between starting and not starting. I did an experiment last time using the fuel consumption indicator. It normally idles at around 0.6-0.7 l/h (2008 Touran 1.9 TDI). After a cold start at -18°C having stood out with temperatures below -20°C the idling consumption was 2.6 l/h, taking my foot off the clutch increased the consumption to 2.8 l/h. Don’t start and just move a short distance, make sure you will run the engine for long enough to recharge the battery.

When the temperature stays well below zero icing of the windows is no problem as there is no moisture, snow can just be brushed off. The trouble comes when you have been using the car and it is warm and then it snows. The snow is melted by the relatively warm car and then freezes coating everything in ice. This can even make it difficult/impossible to open the doors without thawing them with warm water.

Winter tyres are essential and with them I have never had to use snow chains although I always carry them.

Roger B said:

Always disengage the clutch when starting

Does the clutch ever get frozen onto the flywheel?

I always disengage the clutch any way for safety.

Chris Pearson said:

I always disengage the clutch any way for safety

Funny you should say that Chris as I do too! Check the car is not in gear, disengage the clutch and then start the car. ️

Not that I am aware of. When the temperatures go below freezing the humidity drops dramatically so unless there is an obscure water leak into the clutch housing there is nothing to freeze.

I am aware of clutches rusting in engagement on cars that have been standing for a long time (years) in the UK.