1.5 Engine very slow to warm up.

[DBL-J]

My 2021 OB has 14,000 miles and the engine still takes quite a long time to warm up when the outside temp reaches around 35 degrees... even at highway speeds. I am in Minnesota and this has been going on since I bought the truck. In the summer, no problem. Just wondering if anyone else might have this issue as well.

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[coopny]

This is normal. The Escape (2020+) and the Bronco Sport (all trims with 1.5L engines, unless the vehicle is shipped to AL,AZ,AR,CA,FL,GA,HI,LA,MS,NC,SC & TX.) have a supplementary PTC heater. It's a ceramic heater that uses electricity from the alternator so you don't have to wait for the engine to get to temp to get warm air in the cabin.

Why is there a supplementary PTC heater in almost all states and all of Canada?... the 1.5L dragon engine takes a loooong time to get to operating temp in cold weather.

On a Ford Escape forum regarding same engine, can't vouch for accuracy:

For being named "Dragon" they are a cold hearted beast.
Ford relies on the exhaust gases heating up the cylinder head to cut down the emissions rather than the coolant temp.

 

[DBL-J]

This is normal. The Escape (2020+) and the Bronco Sport (all trims with 1.5L engines, unless the vehicle is shipped to AL,AZ,AR,CA,FL,GA,HI,LA,MS,NC,SC & TX.) have a supplementary PTC heater. It's a ceramic heater that uses electricity from the alternator so you don't have to wait for the engine to get to temp to get warm air in the cabin.

Why is there a supplementary PTC heater in almost all states and all of Canada?... the 1.5L dragon engine takes a loooong time to get to operating temp in cold weather.

On a Ford Escape forum regarding same engine, can't vouch for accuracy:

Thanks for the info.... Have a good one!

 

[aamyotte]

I love the PTC heater in the Bronco Sport. I don't have to idle the engine to get heat out. Once I'm at the end of my road, 1.8km away I have warm air blowing. It's similar to electric vehicles providing instant heat.

 

[coopny]

I love the PTC heater in the Bronco Sport. I don't have to idle the engine to get heat out. Once I'm at the end of my road, 1.8km away I have warm air blowing. It's similar to electric vehicles providing instant heat.

The supplementary PTC heater was actually a point of debate for me as stepping "up" to the Badlands I had to sacrifice a number of luxury features like heated & rain sensing wipers, ambient lighting, etc... and the lower trims had the PTC heater for instant heat through the vents. Combined with heated seats (which run INSANELY hot compared to my last Ford - not complaining) you have a recipe for being warm in the cabin quickly even at very low temps.

I haven't had a chance yet to get around 0F/-15C yet but I have been below 32F/0C and the 2.0L EB in the Badlands provides heat through the vents pretty quickly despite the lack of a supplementary PTC heater. I went with it because I had a 2.0L EB in my 2015 Fusion (and the 2.0L in the Escape/BS is a relatively minor tweak on that) with no reliability issues, plus the extra oomph.

 

[Meanderthal]

The supplementary PTC heater was actually a point of debate for me as stepping "up" to the Badlands I had to sacrifice a number of luxury features like heated & rain sensing wipers, ambient lighting, etc... and the lower trims had the PTC heater for instant heat through the vents. Combined with heated seats (which run INSANELY hot compared to my last Ford - not complaining) you have a recipe for being warm in the cabin quickly even at very low temps.

I haven't had a chance yet to get around 0F/-15C yet but I have been below 32F/0C and the 2.0L EB in the Badlands provides heat through the vents pretty quickly despite the lack of a supplementary PTC heater. I went with it because I had a 2.0L EB in my 2015 Fusion (and the 2.0L in the Escape/BS is a relatively minor tweak on that) with no reliability issues, plus the extra oomph.

I just wanted to comment based on your experience with the heated seats. I do think that all of these devices have a sort of "break-in" period at first where they do get hotter. After a period of use, or maybe several cycles, they seem to settle in and not get as hot.

I know that I have seen some people here make that comment about the steering wheel heater. I have to say that it was very warm (maybe even hot) when I first started using it last winter but after a week or two of using it the temp became more "normal".

The same has been true for heated seats in the BS as well as in other cars and on motorcycles (hand grips and seats). All of these heated elements seem to be very hot the first handful of times they are used and then seem to get to a more reasonable temp.

 

[SeaJay]

A timely thread! We just got into the 30’s in Georgia this morning and I was wondering why the car “heat” was barely warm on my short commute. A shame they decided some states don’t need the PTC heater. (Can’t believe NC is n that category!)I actually set an alarm on my phone earlier to remind me to remote start the car 10 minutes before I go out tomorrow.

 

[Cursed Bronco]

I assume it is because the engine is relatively small and, therefore, not very heat dense. The outside air temp combined with the moving vehicle is likely sufficient enough cooling to extend the time it takes to warmup to optimal temp. I have noticed this too in mine, but I usually remote start it and use heated seats, so even though the heat isn't really working yet I am still comfortable

 

[aamyotte]

A timely thread! We just got into the 30’s in Georgia this morning and I was wondering why the car “heat” was barely warm on my short commute. A shame they decided some states don’t need the PTC heater. (Can’t believe NC is n that category!)I actually set an alarm on my phone earlier to remind me to remote start the car 10 minutes before I go out tomorrow.

For this reason I think all vehicles should come with it. It would reduce a lot of remote start use if the heat is instantaneous.

 

[hellb0y]

I can confirm - the PTC heater is freaking amazing…it’s 28F here right now, and just idling for a couple minutes nets me full blast heat! It should be standard across the board in all vehicles.

 

[Robins21]

Can one of the PTC heaters be ordered to add to a Bronco Sport?

 

[RushMan]

I just wanted to comment based on your experience with the heated seats. I do think that all of these devices have a sort of "break-in" period at first where they do get hotter. After a period of use, or maybe several cycles, they seem to settle in and not get as hot.

I know that I have seen some people here make that comment about the steering wheel heater. I have to say that it was very warm (maybe even hot) when I first started using it last winter but after a week or two of using it the temp became more "normal".

The same has been true for heated seats in the BS as well as in other cars and on motorcycles (hand grips and seats). All of these heated elements seem to be very hot the first handful of times they are used and then seem to get to a more reasonable temp.

The PTC heater is one thing I'm going to miss when I get my Badlands. The PTC heater was included on my 2 liter '17 Escape SE as part of the cold weather option.

 

[Chiefthepup]

A timely thread! We just got into the 30’s in Georgia this morning and I was wondering why the car “heat” was barely warm on my short commute. A shame they decided some states don’t need the PTC heater. (Can’t believe NC is n that category!)I actually set an alarm on my phone earlier to remind me to remote start the car 10 minutes before I go out tomorrow.

I’m sure you’re aware, but figured I’d toss it out there, instead of setting an alarm on your phone, you can schedule your car to turn on automatically through the ford app.

 

[coopny]

The PTC heater is one thing I'm going to miss when I get my Badlands. The PTC heater was included on my 2 liter '17 Escape SE as part of the cold weather option.

I haven't had the car through a full winter, but I did drive it in snow and ice in March of 2023 when I got it -it doesn't take long for the 2.0L engine in the badlands to get warm (starting in person or remote start) However, these are temps bottoming out around 20F that I've experienced, not low single digits or negative fahrenheit, which can be a bit of a different story for time it takes the engine to warm up while idling.

Honestly though, the heated seats (standard in the BL) and heated steering wheel (optional in the BL, premium package required) warm up extremely quickly to extremely warm temps - which helps mitigate any slowness that could occur for cabin heat (which again, in southern to more central NY east of Albany, I haven't experienced any such slowness.

Can one of the PTC heaters be ordered to add to a Bronco Sport?

Possibly, but doubtful to be worth it. The only reference I can find to adding one was a forum post about a 2014 Escape with a supplemental PTC heater option and the owner wanting to add it and the conclusion being that it wasn't a trivial amount of work between labor/disassembly and parts.

 

[RPYLE50]

I just wanted to comment based on your experience with the heated seats. I do think that all of these devices have a sort of "break-in" period at first where they do get hotter. After a period of use, or maybe several cycles, they seem to settle in and not get as hot.

I know that I have seen some people here make that comment about the steering wheel heater. I have to say that it was very warm (maybe even hot) when I first started using it last winter but after a week or two of using it the temp became more "normal".

The same has been true for heated seats in the BS as well as in other cars and on motorcycles (hand grips and seats). All of these heated elements seem to be very hot the first handful of times they are used and then seem to get to a more reasonable temp.

Agree with these statements: The BS gets warm FAST. My 23 OBX has the PTC heater, heated seats/steering wheel. When you have the seats on level three, it literally burns my a**. Not complaining, but insanely warm! The steering wheel gets plenty warm as well. I can't say that I have noticed the 1.5 taking a while to warm up.....it has been my experience not to drive too hard until the engine is warm in any vehicles I have owned.

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