Under hood insulation in winter for hybrid?

[RichInMissouri]

With winter weather, our hybrid engine often BARELY heats up above the cold level.. Has anyone installed a hood liner? If so, did it help retain heat in the engine compartment? Any other pros or cons to using one? Thanks for your time..

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[Gaidheal]

Service issue?

I own 2, and use 2 at work. All of them will make you turn the heat down no matter how cold it is outside.

Sounds like yours isn't working properly.

 

[Ryom]

The coolant stops circulating if not needed, the gauge will shoot back up when it does flow. The combustion cycle it uses also doesn't generate excess heat, so it runs cooler by design. Unless you aren't getting cabin heat on request, nothing is wrong.

 

[RichInMissouri]

Thanks for the quick response.. We receive plenty of heat in the cabin.. Our concern is how cold the engine can run in the winter.. We’ve read several owners expressing the same concern.. While this engine may very well be designed to run cooler, we would expect that a hood liner would trap some heat and allow the engine to run warmer.. Is there a downside to using this insulation?

 

[Pointyears]

Thanks for the quick response.. We receive plenty of heat in the cabin.. Our concern is how cold the engine can run in the winter.. We’ve read several owners expressing the same concern.. While this engine may very well be designed to run cooler, we would expect that a hood liner would trap some heat and allow the engine to run warmer.. Is there a downside to using this insulation?

Don’t cooler engines run better and last longer?
My hybrid heats just fine at the frigid temps here the past two weeks.

 

[Ryom]

Thanks for the quick response.. We receive plenty of heat in the cabin.. Our concern is how cold the engine can run in the winter.. We’ve read several owners expressing the same concern.. While this engine may very well be designed to run cooler, we would expect that a hood liner would trap some heat and allow the engine to run warmer.. Is there a downside to using this insulation?

The vehicle has active shutters to help control air flow and engine temperature. I'd personally prefer the heat the engine generates be used to help defrost the hood in the winter which a hood liner may prevent. The hybrid specifies a very lightweight synthetic oil to mitigate any issue related to engine temperature.

The downsides I can think of is if it were to fall off the retaining clips and cause hot spots or actually physically breaking something when opening the hood, and possibly causing excess ice buildup on the hood which may strike the windshield at speed.

 

[icegradner]

The vehicle has active shutters to help control air flow and engine temperature. I'd personally prefer the heat the engine generates be used to help defrost the hood in the winter which a hood liner may prevent. The hybrid specifies a very lightweight synthetic oil to mitigate any issue related to engine temperature.

The downsides I can think of is if it were to fall off the retaining clips and cause hot spots or actually physically breaking something when opening the hood, and possibly causing excess ice buildup on the hood which may strike the windshield at speed.

The only real issue some people run into is condensation in the oil building up quickly if all they do is short trips. This usually manifests as milky looking oil on the inside of the oil cap.

In any case putting a little insulation on the inside of the hood won't fix it, only longer trips with the ICE running for a reasonable about of time will solve it, as it allows the engine to boil off the condensation and send it out the tailpipe.

Hood insulation is usually attached with automotive adhesive, not clips, so that wouldn't be an issue. My Camry Hybrid had it, the ice on the hood still melted. Hood insulation is more for noise dampening than retaining any meaningful amount of heat.

 

[wax87]

With winter weather, our hybrid engine often BARELY heats up above the cold level.. Has anyone installed a hood liner? If so, did it help retain heat in the engine compartment? Any other pros or cons to using one? Thanks for your time..

My son bought me one for Christmas, I have not any data on weather it helps with heat or not. It certainly knocked down the engine noise in the cabin, very easy to install.

 

[Mr.EdzBluMav]

With winter weather, our hybrid engine often BARELY heats up above the cold level.. Has anyone installed a hood liner? If so, did it help retain heat in the engine compartment? Any other pros or cons to using one? Thanks for your time..

I have one on my '24 Lariat Hybrid. 1st winter with it on, seems to help. Bought it off of Amazon, really crappy fasteners. They hold it up but just barely.

 

[Weland]

With winter weather, our hybrid engine often BARELY heats up above the cold level.. Has anyone installed a hood liner? If so, did it help retain heat in the engine compartment? Any other pros or cons to using one? Thanks for your time..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Proving_Grounds

Ford most likely did thorough cold weather testing at Baudette Wisconsin and Thompson Manitoba (500 miles north of Winnipeg).

Owners have had good winter performance in Canada and Alaska.

Engine temperature is controlled by the radiator thermostat sending or not sending engine coolant through the radiator.

Modern vehicles use the same thermostat year round (in olden days some folks swapped to winter thermostats).

Cold air blowing across the engine block has very little affect on engine temperature, compared to controlling radiator flow.

Hood insulation won’t keep the engine compartment warm because plenty of cold air rushes in from under the truck.

* perhaps discuss your concern with the Ford dealer who will verify correct operation if needed

 

[Bob zimmerman]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Proving_Grounds

Cold air blowing across the engine block has very little affect on engine temperature, compared to controlling radiator flow.

Hood insulation won’t keep the engine compartment warm because plenty of cold air rushes in from under the truck.

Hmmmm. Disagree!

Cold air does indeed affect engine temp considerably. In northern MN where I live, my engine temp rarely reaches normal engine range unless I’m on the freeway. I get cabin heat but the gauge often shows barely above the minimum indicator. Cold air DOES affect engine temp. And my mileage is crushed.

I think anything you can do to insulate the engine when it’s cold, including hood insulation will at the least, help some. The shield under the engine probably does prevent some cold air from reaching the engine compartment.

These tiny, efficient engines do not produce much heat overall.
Bob

 

[Gaidheal]

With winter weather, our hybrid engine often BARELY heats up above the cold level.. Has anyone installed a hood liner? If so, did it help retain heat in the engine compartment? Any other pros or cons to using one? Thanks for your time..

One thing struck me today that *might* be a factor... the engine temp gauge (and the fuel gauge) are nothing more than a series of cutouts with lights behind. IE: they are not moving bars.

If you look at the dash cluster under the right lighting conditions you can see all the "positions" that can be lit up.

At first I thought the indicators were actually graphics that moved. Nope.

Only the cheapest things they can get away with in these things...

 

[Cherokee]

The louvers control air flow pretty well.
When underway air is whipping all around your engine.

Hood insulation will do very little, and likely only when sitting still and idling.
Besides, you warm up the engine compartment sooner the louvers will simply open sooner and open up more.

It’s mostly for sound suppression from engine and road noise in the cabin.

There’s not much you can do to upgrade Fords Extensive Expensive R&D

 

[wax87]

The louvers control air flow pretty well.
When underway air is whipping all around your engine.

Hood insulation will do very little, and likely only when sitting still and idling.
Besides, you warm up the engine compartment sooner the louvers will simply open sooner and open up more.

It’s mostly for sound suppression from engine and road noise in the cabin.

There’s not much you can do to upgrade Fords Extensive Expensive R&D

Cherokee, do you know if the louvers are just open or closed? There is no intermediate position on them, right?, Also, do you know the logic that controls them? Thanks

 

[icegradner]

Cherokee, do you know if the louvers are just open or closed? There is no intermediate position on them, right?, Also, do you know the logic that controls them? Thanks

The logic is explained in the owners manual.

When idle at cold start they are closed and won’t open until the ICE reaches operating temperature. After that they open and close as needed. Speeds over 55MPH and they are always open. They may also open for AC compressor operation.

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