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Winter is coming - share your previous winter experience - How was it?

3K views 29 replies 13 participants last post by  Kaaru 
#1 ·
I live in Canada - it's cold here and it snows a lot too. I like warm weather and warm cars. Good thing is FF3 has winter package. [woot]
Could you please share your experience during winter time?

1. Cabin heat - how long it takes to warm up a car in the cold mornings? Is the heater strong and efficient? Is FF3 overall a good car for winter weather?

2. Are their any fogging problems with windshield, rear window or side windows (and what's the fastest way to clear windshield with heat or a/c)?

3. Where there any issues with wipers (like they stuck in ice or nozzles froze or else)?

4. Do heated seats work well?

5. How is visibility in side mirrors (are they concave or have extra small mirror for blind spots)?

6. Do I need to turn off Traction Control when climbing slippery hills?

7. Have anyone used remote start?

Thanks guys. [cheers]

P.S. The reason I will not buy VW TDI (Diesel) is because I don't like it's colder cabin during winter time and inability to heat on idles and stop and go traffic - thanks to effective diesel engine. In that sense - inefficient gasoline engines rule - they are a lot hotter [thumb]
 
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#2 ·
The heated seats are fantastic, far better than my wife's Accord.

The side mirror visibility is excellent, the blind spot mirrors work better than anything I've ever had.

The wipers are adequate.

I didn't have much reason to test out traction control last winter, the roads here are well maintainted.

The heater is fine, but I have an issue with the automatic climate control: it turns the heater on something like 30 to 60 seconds after the engine levels off at its normal operating temperature. Other climate controls I've had will turn the heat on as soon as the water temperature gets warm, well before it reaches peak. I assume the Focus is designed this way to let the engine heat up as fast as possible for mileage, but when it's -20C, I don't care about mileage, I just want warm air, and at worst it should come on as soon as it reached normal temp. For that and other reasons, the Focus auto climate control is the worst I've ever had.
 
#4 ·
Your seat heater actually gets hotter than 90F even when its freezing? Mine was struggling to barely crack 70-80 on a 40F morning even though the published temperature specification for the heated seats says they should hit 125F at the seat heater pad, mine doesn't and they won't bother to fix it.

Do you have cloth heated seats or leather?
 
#3 ·
Preface: I do not have the winter package
1. Cabin heat - how long it takes to warm up a car in the cold mornings? Is the heater strong and efficient? Is FF3 overall a good car for winter weather?
It takes a while, probably 5 minutes to luke warm air. The temp gauge will read half with luke-warm air and the engine will continue heating up until its hot. It has no problem roasting me inside once it's warmed. Make sure you turn the recirculation on (bad for humidity) if you're idling or the engine may cool off, but it does good with recirc.

2. Are their any fogging problems with windshield, rear window or side windows (and what's the fastest way to clear windshield with heat or a/c)?
The automatic AC took care of the fog for me every time. The rear defroster turns on automatically to load the engine, whether you press the button or not.

3. Where there any issues with wipers (like they stuck in ice or nozzles froze or else)?
No problems here, just make sure you have winter blend in there.

5. How is visibility in side mirrors (are they concave or have extra small mirror for blind spots)?
The side mirrors are good, with practice, but this isn't winter related?

6. Do I need to turn off Traction Control when climbing slippery hills?
You need to replace the conti-pro-contacts to climb anything, and you really, no questions asked, must replace the summer tires if you purchase that option. ESC works very very well, TCS keeps you from doing anything stupid (nose sliding), but you will need to turn it off to dig on anything.
 
#5 ·
I will agree with the above. Also, if you can afford it, get different tires. In my opinion, the Conti's are bad in winter snow and on ice. Maybe get a nice set of Goodyear's TripleTreads or something similar--the Conti's are made for fuel economy and long life which sacrafices road grip in my view).
Other than that, heated mirrors, seats are a good thing to have (at least heated mirrors, but I think they come as a the Winter Package together).

Also, the passenger side mirror to me (at least on my car) is convex and can distort some things, but at least you can still see something is there. The blindspot mirrors are nice and works pretty good (I'm still not used to using them since I drive a truck where all I have is side mirrors w/o blindspot mirrors).

As for heat, mine would warm up within about 3 minutes of driving (longer if the car was sitting). If your's has the active shutter system, then the car should warm up quicker (not sure by how much, but it should since it blocks out cold air while the car is trying to warm up, etc).
 
#7 ·
I lasted the entire Edmonton winter with the stock Contis on the 17" tires.

I also only ever had to turn off T/C once to escape my crescent.

My ass heaters on their highest setting were sufficient to burn before I pulled into the freeway, so I never had issues there.

Everything just worked well.
 
#8 ·
The heated seats don't really get that warm which is disappointing. My Cooper's heated seats basically sterilized you when you turned them up to high, the Focus's seat just kind of get luke-warm. It's better than nothing though and I am glad I have them.

The windshield does fog up but that's with any car. I just use the Rain-X anti-fog stuff and the glass stays clear for about a month or so until the solution wears off and needs to be reapplied.

The car sucks without winter tires, but that's because the OEM tires blow I'd imagine. I drove the car once in the snow and went right out and bought winter tires. With the winter tires the car can get through anything Michigan throws at it and it's pretty impressive. The TCS isn't overly annoying either but I do turn it off in heavy snow.
 
#10 ·
1. Cabin heat - how long it takes to warm up a car in the cold mornings?
About a day and a half in stop and go driving if it is colder than -25C

2. Are their any fogging problems with windshield, rear window or side windows (and what's the fastest way to clear windshield with heat or a/c)?
No issues unless you are using recirc. and or have 3 passengers in the car and it's -25C or colder.

3. Where there any issues with wipers (like they stuck in ice or nozzles froze or else)?
No

4. Do heated seats work well?
They work well.

5. How is visibility in side mirrors (are they concave or have extra small mirror for blind spots)?
Like any other modern car.

6. Do I need to turn off Traction Control when climbing slippery hills?
Yes if you want to get to the top of the hill.

7. Have anyone used remote start?
Yes.

Thanks guys. [cheers]

P.S. The reason I will not buy VW TDI (Diesel) is because I don't like it's colder cabin during winter time and inability to heat on idles and stop and go traffic - thanks to effective diesel engine. In that sense - inefficient gasoline engines rule - they are a lot hotter
Well you're not going to be a happy camper. Direct injection 4 bangers take forever to heat up in cold weather.
I had mine in 2 times to be looked at because of how long it takes to get the engine up to operating temperature.
If you drive it long enough it will roast your chestnuts but it takes a long long time to get it to that stage.
 
#12 ·
All in all, it wasn't bad. The stock tires suck in snow/slush but, that is to be expected with them. The seats on 5 made for a nice ride to where ever I went all though, I like my bum and back warm when its cold outside.

This year, snow tires should make everything much better.
 
#14 ·
OK, so two things i guess. The Conti's aren't AWFUL, it's just that i tend to drive on some streets that have little plowing done, so there's usually an inch or two of snow. Point being, I don't feel that they grip the snow as well as a performance all-season tire. TireRack reviews will confirm this on most reviews.
Snow handling isn't all that great. But it also depends on where you drive and the conditions of the road you drive on.

Secondly, the seat heater could be better. It's like (for mine at least) it gets warm, then cools off, and the turns back on again (and the cycle repeats itself--even on Level setting 1). It's not like a constant warm like other cars (like VW) have where it's a maintained heat level throughout (I have the cloth heated seats, so the leather seats may be different).

Overall, though, heated seats (even if they aren't as nice as other car company's) is better than no heated seats. I still stand by my disapproval of the Conti's for Illinois roadways during the winter. Illinois is notorious for having bad roads as well, so that also plays a role (especially in the winter).
 
#16 ·
Since I live up north I've already had a few VERY cold days so far.

1. Cabin heat does seem to take a bit longer to kick in. At least that's my experience.

2. This is my biggest problem with this car, I might have bad washer fluid in or another odd problem but I find my windshield fogs up quite badly in the morning after I scrape the frost off my windshield. It's to the point where I can hardly see out the window. That coupled with the very low and in your face sun in the morning has made me wake up 10-15 minutes earlier to get my car fully heated.

3. No issues so far with the wipers other than loud noise when it's very cold (The blades creaking since they're inflexible due to the cold)

4. Heated seats are phenomenal, they take the chill out. They're much better than any others I've used.

5. Visibility is good, no real issue here.

As for 6 and 7 I can't say since I haven't had the experience yet.
 
#17 ·
Since I live up north I've already had a few VERY cold days so far.

1. Cabin heat does seem to take a bit longer to kick in. At least that's my experience.
.
I have auto climate control. When the engine reaches luke warm, the fan automatically adjusts to high.
This effectively cools the engine down as the air passing through the heater core acts like a second radiator. I turn the fan speed down to the 3 position. This helps the engine reach operating temperature a little sooner.
The direct injection of ice cold fuel to the top of the piston doesn't help the
warming up process either.
Best advice is to plug in the block heater and let the car run for 10 minutes prior to take off on really cold days.
 
#18 ·
The contiprocontacts are awful in the snow. I don't like the traction control (never had it before) and I HATE ESC (can't go sideways [:(]). At least the TCS is easily defeatable. Other than that I liked it and felt safe.
 
#19 ·
Other than that I liked it and felt safe.
Agreed. With my winter tires I'd say it was comparable to my SUV with 4x4 and all seasons. Only difference is that in the Escape I could easily run over snow. I was plowing the streets with this car.
 
#30 ·
My views

I live in Canada - it's cold here and it snows a lot too. I like warm weather and warm cars. Good thing is FF3 has winter package. [woot]
Could you please share your experience during winter time?

1. Cabin heat - how long it takes to warm up a car in the cold mornings? Is the heater strong and efficient? Is FF3 overall a good car for winter weather?
The heater works just great. No issue here.

2. Are their any fogging problems with windshield, rear window or side windows (and what's the fastest way to clear windshield with heat or a/c)?
Like any other previous vehicule you had before, use common sense and/or the AC. Again no gripes here.
3. Where there any issues with wipers (like they stuck in ice or nozzles froze or else)?
Just make sure you ''unstuck'' any frozen wiper from the ice covered windshield and you will be fine. I personnally have change my wiper blades for winter ones. They are tons to choose from depending on your budget/expectations/needs etc.
4. Do heated seats work well?
They work top notch. They will cram your Canadian butt in a jiffy.
5. How is visibility in side mirrors (are they concave or have extra small mirror for blind spots)?
Visibillity takes some adjusting to because of the presence of little extra small mirror. Defrost of those mirrors works just great.
6. Do I need to turn off Traction Control when climbing slippery hills?
It's up to you, depending on your taste and driving style...and DCT behavior...The TC on/off switch is burried 7 steps down in the menu. You will need to deactivate it to get in or out of snow banks. I have struggled with mine all winter especially when lauching the car from a red light. I will try to run the car w/o the TC this winter. Too bad the TC is not dash mounted and does not stay off.
7. Have anyone used remote start?
Nope. I loat those. They waste tons of precious fuel as your car will heat up pretty quick. Seriously, within 5 minutes of driving in the coldest temp we have here in Montreal the car gets to nominal heat. No issues with the heater.
My personnal gripes are with ''my'' DCT wich is borked and gives me tons of headhaches with or w/o snow. But that's just my car, apparently so.Thanks guys. [cheers]

P.S. The reason I will not buy VW TDI (Diesel) is because I don't like it's colder cabin during winter time and inability to heat on idles and stop and go traffic - thanks to effective diesel engine. In that sense - inefficient gasoline engines rule - they are a lot hotter [thumb]
Just my 2 cents
 
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