Lately we've had some frosty nights usually just below freezing but with one as low as -11 deg C.

My 2014 Cayenne Diesel takes ages to thaw the front and rear screens and output warm air from the heater - up to 10 minutes. My Jaguar and Bentley are both thawed and ready to go in under 5 minutes. The electrically heated windscreens on both clear in around 3 minutes.

My Cayenne has 4-Zone climate and even isolating the rear makes little improvement to warm-up. Is this normal for Porsche?

Graham

 

Check the coolant level. This happened to me after I found that I had a slow leak in the cooling system.
It took much longer (if ever) for the heat to work.

 

David,

Thank you for your reply.

There is no evidence of a loss of coolant but I have not put many miles on with the recent Covid-19 lockdown in England so I'll get the system pressure tested.

Graham

 

This may not be 100% applicable using my diesel truck as an example, but when I was working on a project in Ohio and the morning temps were below zero, (like -15)
it took forever to warm up even with engine block heater plugged in overnight - and even then didn't really get to a proper temp after 20 min. I was actually concerned about the amount of idle time building up.

A tip from the local service manager worked like a charm:
He said that below certain temps, it won't warm up - EVER, but if I "idle walked" the vehicle it would quickly get to target temps.
He was right. Worked like a charm in less than 2 min.

 

Most likely the diesel fuel is thick like molasses on really cold days. Add an additive to the fuel tank and you will have a normal engine response. Most gas stations or auto stores will have it.

 

This is basic thermodynamics. When the ambient is lower, it will take longer to move heat from the combustion process to the coolant. Everything is cooler, so there is more heat that must be moved to the colder coolant and surrounding components. Additionally, the thermostat at arrangements vary from one design to another. Generally speaking American cars don’t warm up as fast as most German cars. I don’t think there is anything wrong with your car. 11 degrees C is pretty cool.