Hi first time poster. My girlfriends car is turning over pretty slow in the cold mornings lately. Its an Alberta car stock with 1.8 gas. Do these not come with a factory block heater or where am I not looking ?

 

My dads is the same thing. Its a 1.8 from Alberta but its a 93. The block heater is in the back on the passenger side on his. If you get underneith it should be visible if you go in from under the passenger door. (look on the passenger side of the exaust). Sorry if this info is wrong. (his is a 93 remember) Good Luck!

 

I brought the car in for servicing and they do not even come with block heaters (even diesels). I came up with the idea of using a magentic one but it doesnt even stick to the oil pan. Im hoping its the last of -40C

 

I too was in the same boat here in Winnipeg, my wife purchased a 2001 golf 2.0 with no block heater.

I purchased a "magnetic" heater that is used for a variety of vehicles and is simplymagneticly attached to say the oil pan. - NOT a good idea as there is really no place to attach it and it is not a permanent installation.

Solution = something called a therma-pad. Invented by Canadians for Canadians.Simply put, it looks like a minature waterbed heater.If you can get underneath your car it'll take 5 mins to install. How it works.......it is attached to the oil pan and when plugged in, warms up the oil (which being at the bottomof the vehicle and heat rising....warms up the rest of the engine)

In theory (and I'm here to tell you in reality) it is better than a block heater, which only warms up the coolant in a vehicle.

I lived in Alberta for 5 years myself and I would look into if I were you

Ed