OEM block heater

...............and its thread revival time!

This applies to all 2nd Gen V6 engines. I just ordered the block heater from Toy of Dallas using an older part number and received this email:

"Thank you for your order with us!
PYR00907 HAS SUPERSEDED TO # PYR09131"

The heater was 59.99 and free shipping.

 

In my view, there are two reasons to get an engine block heater. The first is to ensure the truck will start on those super-cold mornings. But the second reason is to prevent - or at least mitigate - what you describe as "a very violent hard start." I'm not a mechanical engineer or anything like that, but it is my understanding that those hard starts put a lot of wear or stress on the engine. I'm putting in an engine block heater this week, and my main motivation is to avoid the "hard starts". Even my 1997 Tacoma starts on the -15F (-26C) mornings, but it takes multiple tries, and the engine makes horrific noises when it finally does start. I want to avoid that on my 2017.

P.S. It almost never gets to -45C (-49F) here in the coldest parts of Colorado. I was camping one night in Ouray when it got to -40F. Not fun. Just out of curiosity - what make and year is your diesel? It sounds like a champ!

P.P.S. Didn't realize how old this thread was!

 

06 VW Jetta BRM 1.9L TDI (not part of recall)
garret VNT 110 43mm turbo
bosio 750 injectors
bosio 1000 race series fuel pump
colt cams stage 3
kerma TDI stage 4 tuning
kerma TDI stage 2 intercooler
KN 57S high flow air intake
3bar MAF

In that cold it would start but you could hear it struggle to start and once it did you'd feel the whole car almost lunge its rather hard on it. With its age now its starting to get to the point I don't know if it would start in that cold without being plugged in. Last winter was hard so I can only imagine it will be even harder this year. Car is old now. But going to get a new battery this week before the winter cold really sets in to help it. The battery is 6 years old now.
Don't get me wrong I agree with your reasoning, having it heated really takes a lot of stress off the starter and battery.

If you get into northern Ontario and closer to the border of manitoba there's parts there where if you do not have a block heater regardless of gas or diesel you are not starting. Can get down to -45C to -50C with the wind. Even base temps are around -35 to -40 at times and they don't tend to climb during the day so its that cold for more than 24hours at times where it really gives it a chance to get into the engine and make it hard on stuff.

 

Oooo, that's a nicely tuned Jetta! Get a block heater and take care of her! Much better than getting a new one. - Thanks for the reply!

 

has an oil pan heater. oddly no block heater is available for this engine (coolant based)

But oil pan does the same just takes a little longer but its plugged in on a timer, and for the diesel its more the oil thats the issue than the block itself and since the oil pan is obvisouly on the bottom the heat travels up anyways and helps warm everything else.

 

Engine block heaters, and battery heaters work well ,period. If you live where it gets real cold, they are almost a must have. I don’t have one on my truck, but garage kept. At work however it sits outside, no way to plug in anyways. There is a big difference in how it starts compared to being in the garage. I have had them on other trucks and had to park outside. Always made a huge difference in starting. The extreme cold and heat is real hard on vehicles, anything to help is money well spent, IMO.

 

Dumb question,I live in Canada . Do the 2018 Tacomas not come with the plug to plug in the truck when it is cold as fuck? I live in BC and it is about to get cold this week...minus 30

 

They are dealer installed. BC does not automatically install them. Alberta does.

Jeff

 

I have just ordered a KAT Cartridge engine block heater #11813 from Amazon.com for$72CDN. Strange but it was not available from Amazon.ca (Canadian Amazon). It won't arrive in time for the cold snap that is expected in a day or two, but I do have a 50watt battery blanket ready to install.

 

I don't know about Canada, but Tacomas sold in the U.S. do not come with a heater element installed from the factory. A year ago (December 2018) I was told by the dealer here in Colorado that there was not even a Toyota-made engine block heater available for 3rd gen Tacomas. They found me an aftermarket heating element that plugs into a pre-existing hole in the engine block. Here is a quote from Kat's (which is one after market product you could check out): "This cartridge heater clips into the cavity of your engine block and transfers heat through the block to help warm engine fluids resulting in easier start-ups, faster heating of your cab, and less wear and tear on your Toyota Tacoma in cold weather."

It is regularly between -10 and -25 F (that's -23 to -32 C) in the mornings here in December, January, and February. We have a 2017 Tacoma with an engine block heater, and a new 2019 4-Runner without an engine block heater. The difference in starting the two is huge. Yes, the 4-Runner always starts, but the start is harder, and it makes an unhappy noise that it never makes in temps above freezing. We will be getting an engine block heater for the 4-Runner asap.

 

Does anyone here know of any issues with the kat 11813? Just heard of rumors at work of a faulty block heater that was recalled.

I have the kats but I have only used it a few times and so far it works as advertised.

 

Weird because every other dealer they come stock in Canada . Doesn't matter if it is Alberta because you know sometimes people move lol

 

They do not come stock in Ontario and some other provinces either. I’d need to look to get a list where they are always included, but I believe it may just be AB, SK, MB.

Jeff

 

We are about to get minus 26 ....I was hoping to plug it in lol

 

I was going to negotiate for a block heater ($455CDN dealer installed) as part of the purchase but figured that no one in Victoria B.C. which as the mildest climate in Canada, has ever installed one so I skipped it and figured that my indy mechanic in the B.C. interior could install a block heater for a fraction of what the dealer charges.

I later found out from my mechanic that the BH is not a wet heater but a dry cartridge that fits in a cavity in the block and that he can only get the super expensive one that Toyota supplies. I just recently found one from KAT #11813 on Amazon.com and shipped to me in Canada but it is NOT available in Canada from Amazon.ca. It may take some grinding to make it fit.

 

https://www.etrailer.com/
Try this retailer. This where I purchased block and battery heaters from

 

What happened to just a cord hanging down with a Male plug haha . I wasn't even offered it as an option because I didn't even know it was special. Probably going to call them tomorrow and say what the hell!

 

I think I paid less than $40.00 for mine.

 

Really don't like this set up that the tacoma has - If your cord gets stolen you have to go to Toyota to get a new one.
It looks nicer but they could of done it with a normal 110v style plug.
Or have cheap converter/adaptors for them so one can get a few for $25 and keep them in the cab just in case your $100 fancy cord gets swiped
Anytime it gets down to -15 Deg C or lower I plug in my vehicle.
Lived in the Calgary AB are for 40 Yrs have never had a battery wammer
I did have one block heater that was installed into the coolant system and would heat and circulate the rad fluid thru the block and the heater core, best unit ever!!!