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Comment by 015a | Hacker News Reader

> Unless your ICE vehicle is plugged in to keep the engine warm when it is parked, it might not even start at all.

Literally no one is doing this, unless you have a diesel engine, you're parked outside, the temperatures are exceptionally cold (<= -10F?), and you weren't planning on driving for more than a day. It's something you'd see on, like, farms or semi truck lots; not houses.

The risk of not starting isn't really in the engine itself; it's in the fuel "gelifying". Diesel is gross.

But sure; the issue is overblown, especially when the majority of EVs on the list still retain >10% of their maximum battery capacity in freezing weather, and the highest range EVs on the list (where you'd expect to see the highest drop) are only losing a few percentage points. This is not a situation where EVs have a fundamental problem; it's a situation where a few manufacturers (cough Detroit cough) are royally screwing something up.

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> Literally no one is doing this

I do, as do multiple members of my immediate family who park our vehicles outside. We have block heaters so we can start them on those -10F mornings. None of us have diesel either - Toyota 4runner, Ford Explorer, GMC Sierra. Every winter we get at least a couple weeks where it's that cold in Wisconsin.

OP Should have said "most don't need to do it." I live in Minnesota and its rare to see people use block heaters now days, folks that do are most likely doing it because their parents did. I know from first hand experience that modern ICE cars with proper maintenance will perform just fine in the extremest of Minnesotan winters.

That doesn't sound right. I live in MN and my 17 year-old Nissan 350Z will happily start in -20F as long as the battery is in good shape. Any of those vehicles you mention (unless the 4Runner is old enough to still have a carbureted 22R) should start up just fine at -10F.

2018 4runner in my case. Still on its original battery so that's probably getting a little weak. -10F starts fine, its when we get those -15 or -20ish nights where you can really hear it struggling and you hope it starts. Sure I could upgrade the battery but a block heater is a lot cheaper when my battery is just fine in > -10 degree weather. Plus you get a warmer engine with the better lubrication that provides for the motor until it heats up.

> Literally no one is doing this, unless you have a diesel engine, you're parked outside, the temperatures are exceptionally cold (<= -10F?), and you weren't planning on driving for more than a day. It's something you'd see on, like, farms or semi truck lots; not houses.

Living in a cold-weather climate, it is the local norm to plug a car (gas or diesel) during winter even if you're only parked for a couple hours. Most cars purchased locally come with engine block heaters installed and most private parking spaces (houses, apartments, office buildings, surface lots, parking garages, etc.) provide an outlet.

> Literally no one is doing this, unless you have a diesel engine, you're parked outside, the temperatures are exceptionally cold (<= -10F?), and you weren't planning on driving for more than a day.

Factually incorrect. Block chargers are ubiquitous in Alaska where I grew up and you should probably use one well before -10F to reduce wear on your engine.

>Literally no one is doing this,

The guy with the 25yo shitbox that doesn't have enough compression to start in the cold is.

But I don't think that's the kind of ownership experience you want to be comparing any newish car to.

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