I dont think our cars come with them, so just wondering where we can get one for our cars locally in the GTA. Thanks.

Most dealers (including good old cold Edmonton) won't install them. The car's are meant to start in very cold weather and some people mentioned it would actually confuse (potentially damage?) the car if only the oil were warm and the rest of the car cold.

I seem to remember some people were using oil pan warmers from Passat's ...

I agree though - when its 30 below the car heat just turns on when I get to work ... only the heated seats make it bareable.

on my 96 2.8 the heater plug blew out of the motor in the summer (last year ). only place i found one was at CTire. dealer did not have them anymore even though they did the install in 96. not sure about the 1.8 motor but it is worth a try.

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First of all, thanks Edm_l1mpin for the links!

Basically Audi (and VW) stopped putting any type of block heaters as of October '01. But cars delivered prior to that *should* have some type of heater installed, if it was part of the PDI process and/or if the purchaser paid for it. And also it depends on where the car was bought.

Whatever Audi's reasons are, they're all stupid. I think dealers don't really know cause Audi might not have provided them with a real reason, hence we hear different BS from different dealers.

So the bottom line is for those of us that don't have one, it's up to us to buy one if you think you need it. For me, I used to park outside at work, at -25C with the front of the car facing the wind, that's like -35C. I don't care how strong the battery is (I'm already running Mobil 1 0w30), the engine cranks over slower than usual, and I really don't like the sound it makes when it catches. Plus I already drive around like a granny long enough from cold start until the oil temp reaches first tick before I can go into boost during warmer months, it's much worse during colder months!

The best one people have found is from ProHeat, specifically model 512:

<a href="http://www.engineheaters.com">"www.engineheaters.com"</a>

And here's a post from someone who recently installed one on the B5-S4 forum:

<a href="www.audiworld.com/forum/s4b6.html">"recent install post"</a>

I'll be getting one soon myself.

I was idling in a parking lot yesterday afternoon(-25c) for about 25 minutes(waiting for the wife to exchange merchandise)I noticed my oil gauge temp was stuck at 60 deg. It only started to move upwards after a 10 minute drive !!

I park in a warm parkade at home and at work!

Good stuff!

Rich

wifes Passat.

It was part of the dealer prep at Southgate Audi in Edmonton.

Rich

the battery can't generate as much juice in the cold. It's not because the "oil is thick" or there's more friction in the engine. What would make the most sense is a dual-battery factory option for all the time you have to leave your car parked outside all day long at work.