It is getting really cold here in MN, hovering around 0 and it is only going to get colder. Right now I have an 8 mile drive to work and my car just barely gets to the 4th or 5th bar on the temp gauge. When I stop at a light, the gauge actually goes backwards. I was thinking a radiator cover of some sort might help.

I was going to try just putting a piece of card board in front of the radiator, but the radiator is not so easy to get to. I think it is just a matter of removing the cover over the top under the hood.

Has anyone tried this? Did it make any difference?

 

The thermostat shouldn't let coolant flow through the radiator until the
coolant in the loop that bypasses the radiator gets up to temp (about 190-200F),
so blocking off the radiator might not do what you want.
Maybe the thermostat isn't working right.

 

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The temp going backwards may be when the stat opens as Cristo says. How long does it take before you get heat from the vents? You should talk to your service rep.

 

The 3rd Gen Minis have an engine temperature gauge?

Regardless, if everything is working correctly the thermostat should make sure the engine is operating correctly, and not allow flow through the radiator until it's needed for cooling. There should be no reason to block the radiator on any modern car.

 

Thanks for the suggestions, I will contact the dealer. There is a simple temp gauge built into the display with the speedometer. Just have to cycle through and let it sit on that variable, it will say low when you first start the car, if you leave it there a simple bar chart appears.

Anyone have experience with the F56 in cold weather? How long should it take to warm up? Obviously it depends on driving conditions. So far the last couple weeks around -5 to 10F out my car has never reached the fully warmed up middle position of the gauge with a 8 mile drive to work.

Also has anyone noticed the TPMS is off by about 5psi in the cold? I checked against a mechanical gauge I trust and it was reading 34-35 PSI while the TPMS system indicated 30 PSI.

 

I always used to drive SAABs. Those cars were truly optimized for winter. MINIs and BMWs not so much.

 

Yep. It's in the MFD.

--Matt

 

Volvos. Pre-Ford, at least; I haven't driven them since. But all the controls were extremely well designed for use with gloves!