grover432

Hello All,

I'm considering a 2008 or 2009 GL320 CDI. My only experience with diesel was a 2004 Dodge 3/4 ton Cummins diesel. It was a great truck that sold me on diesel power but I suffered in the winter due to poor heat in the cab.

I live in central Canada where the winter temps can approach - 35F at night. In these conditions my Dodge would not produce much heat due to low engine operating temperatures. And the more I idled in traffic the colder the engine ran.

Of course when I was hauling my horse trailer I had no difficulties with heat.

Can anyone comment on winter warm up times and heater performance in the winter? Colder climate owners only please as I'm sure it does well in Texas in the winter

grover

stlduckhunter

I live in St. Louis where the winters are reasonably cold and have had no trouble with heating or air conditioning. I do have a model with the front and rear units.

infamily

I am in Minnesota and we had pretty harsh winter, we had no problems even in night.

Comfy_Couch

I'm in Columbus, OH and there was always plenty of heat available even on the coldest days. The residual heat function (when the engine is off) works well, too.

Brocktoon

I'm worried about this too, as the cabin heat only comes from one bank of the engine.

grover432

I wonder how long it takes the 320CDI to heat up compared to a gas powered unit. Where I lives, trips are usually around 20 minutes. My truck used to start throwing warm air just as I was pulling into the office.

I'd like to buy a GL over the summer, but I'd hate to get to winter and be disappointed by how long it took to warm up, or worse that I coudn't get sfficient heat even though it ran for 1/2 hour or more!

Brocktoon

Well, I'm in Calgary, and they say it has not been an issue. Contrary to what you might hear, letting a diesel warm up at idle is not very useful for making heat, driving it is. Plus all Canadian GLs have heated seats, and they are instant.

mercgl

We have winters with periods of -16 to -20 degC (approx. -5 F), not as cold as you have though, but heating has not been a problem here. I think most modern diesel cars have an additional heating unit (in addition to the optional stand-still heating system). I don't know exactly how this works, but I believe it might be electrical (could also be running on diesel perhaps). Anyway, this works so that the cabin gets more heat from the outlets than the engine temp. could provide when cold. Works very well IMO.

oinick

No problems with heat even on the coldest days. Might be wrong, but I think there must be some component of cabin heat that is electrical rather than just ducted engine heat. I say this because there is instantaneous heat from the dash to defrost the windshield -- defogs and deices well before the engine is warm. Also, my car has three zone climate which includes rear heat and air. No way the rear heat comes from the engine, and it is very effective. In fact, in your cold weather, you probably should run the rear heat even when no one's back there just to speed up the heating of the air in the front.

The heated seats are impressive, and I love the heated steering wheel too.

B200Turbo

I fully agree no problem at all -20C in Ontario this winter no problem at all.
I have the 3 zone climate it works perfect plus heated steering wheel and seats are amazing = instant heat
Car has to be driven like every other diesel to get heat.
Car produces heat almost instantly.
I use always the heat in the back as well. 3 zone running on mono setting
22C is always hot at winter.
Residual heat function is great as well. Keeps the car nice and warm.

mbslk350

The GL320 produces heat almost immediately after you start the engine. I have no idea how this works. I have warm air blowing from the vents before I hit the end of my driveway.

dgiturbo

I sold my Ram diesel, 2004 model and bought my CDI. There is no comparison with the heat. The Mercedes heats up the cab within less than 5 minutes on the winter mornigs when it was -15F, and parked outside. The Ram needed 40 minutes to do the same.
I was really tired of freezing, now no more.
No issues with heat on the CDI. Buy with confidence.

Quicks

www.webastoshowroom.com
I believe that MB Diesels in Europe can be ordered with a Webasto auxiliary diesel coolant heater option. In the US, they can be ordered and installed on an after market basis.

From the Web site:
BlueHeat ® Coolant Heater is the premier solution for vehicle pre-conditioning. Activated via the in-dash timer or optional remote, the BlueHeat® Coolant Heater pre-heats the engine, pre-heats the interior, and defrosts the windshield without idling the vehicle.
Primary Benefits:
• Pre-heats Engine
• Defrosts Windshield
• Pre-heats Interior
• No Idling Required
• No Scraping Required
• Saves Fuel
• Reduces Emissions

grover432

Thank you for your replies. It sounds like heat is not a problem with this vehicle. The salesman seemed to think that there was an electric heating system working off a second battery, but wasn't sure. The same salesman also thought there was a sport mode for the transmission (which he wasn't able to find in the vehicle), so I'm not sure he is correct with respect to the electric heat. Perhaps as someone posted, the rear heat has an electric system.

I just want to make sure I have reaonably quick heat. My commute is 20 minutes. I'd hate to have to wait until I got to work to feel the heat.

grover

PS I am aware that diesels need to work to warm up the engine. In my Dodge, I noticed the engine temp needle dropping when I got stuck at a railway crossing in cold weather.

oknish

I live in SoCal and, trust me, we get cold very quick here While I don't have a 320, my 450 doesn't take any time to heat up the seats and hot air blows through the vents in no time at all. You won't be disappointed.

grover432

Thanks for writing, but I don't think you really know what cold is until you spend a February in Fargo, ND, where winter overnight temps can drop to -35F! I spend time in LA and Palm Springs every winter (December/January) and an overnight low of +45F just doesn't put a diesel to the test. At that temperature, you can almost stay warm by turning on the heated seats.

Also, gas engines behave completely different than diesels in terms of warm up times. But thanks for your input.

grover

oknish

I got cold just reading that

dgiturbo

No issues whatsoever. I have had it parked out overnight at -20F, and the only thing that I noticed was the LCD screen stayed a dim purple for about 25 minutes. I was getting warm by 2 minutes after engine start with the dials set at 78F. By 5 minutes after start, dials were back to 72, seat heat on 1.

As for my prior diesel Ram truck, I thought it was funny (at first) when while sitting at idle the engine coolant temp would drop, and the engine would "idle up" to re warm itself. It was a cute thing to see till you realized the heat would also go away.