The effects of ultra-cold weather...

[850CSi]

I thought I'd make a thread about this, since I have questions and I'd like to learn a little more myself, hopefully there are others that share the sentiment.

I'll start with a question...

Is it normal that my gauge cluster is completely non-functional for the first few minutes after I start my car for the first time in a long while (e.g., a few days) with subzero temps out? Does this do any permanent damage?

[3.0L V6]

No.

The gauges should work regardless of the temperature.

[The Pirate]

I thought I'd make a thread about this, since I have questions and I'd like to learn a little more myself, hopefully there are others that share the sentiment.

I'll start with a question...

Is it normal that my gauge cluster is completely non-functional for the first few minutes after I start my car for the first time in a long while (e.g., a few days) with subzero temps out? Does this do any permanent damage?

No, I don't think that's normal.  I've never had a car do that (although the instrument cluster in my cars are probably less sophisticated than your setup).  At the same time, I doubt anything is going to be damaged.  I had a buddy with an E36, his car did that occasionally too, but his had around 170K miles at the time.

You're still under warranty, right?  Get it checked out.

[Eye of the Tiger]

It was 2?F this morning. When I got in the Audi, the trim at the front of the headliner had peeld off and condensed itself into an arc.

[280Z Turbo]

The chasis on my Ranger was so floppy that I could hear ice cracking when I went over bumps. Sometimes the brake pedal froze when it was subzero and the clutch would get extra stiff. The damn thing always started though.

[AKL]

I don't think that's normal. That has never happened to me.

The only thing that has ever happened to me is the radio display becoming sluggish. Sometimes it's a little slow to start to (the Accord actually had trouble starting a while ago and I finally had to replace the battery because it was too weak) 

My best advice is to check with your dealer. 

[TheIntrepid]

My car just drives heavy in the morning if it's really cold, and the GPS gives me a message "temperature below normal, allow few minutes for heating".

One of my front right speakers vibrates a little in the cold, too

[MX793]

Clutch and gearshift get stiff, the chassis creaks and the fuel mileage drops significantly, but I've never heard of a gauge cluster not working.  Sounds like an electrical issue.

[Danish]

Everyone else is spot on.

Drop the car off at the dealer overnight and have them test drive it in the morning

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

No.

The gauges should work regardless of the temperature.

[r0tor]

my ass freezes for a good ten minutes

[r0tor]

well actually i should say my ass is warm and the rest of me freezes...

[S204STi]

LCDs usually have a working temperature range, no?  Could be that you are outside of that range.  That said, how cold is it currently?

[MX793]

LCDs usually have a working temperature range, no?  Could be that you are outside of that range.  That said, how cold is it currently?

LCDs generally should be good to at least -20 C (-5 F, roughly), some can operate at -40 C (-40 F) and lower.  I've gone out and started my car on cold mornings after it sat outside in sub-zero conditions and the LCDs all worked.

Further, it sounds like all of the gauges are dead, including the analogs, which definately should not be dead from the cold.

[280Z Turbo]

LCDs generally should be good to at least -20 C (-5 F, roughly), some can operate at -40 C (-40 F) and lower.  I've gone out and started my car on cold mornings after it sat outside in sub-zero conditions and the LCDs all worked.

Further, it sounds like all of the gauges are dead, including the analogs, which definately should not be dead from the cold.

Sometimes my phone will act weird when it's been sitting in a 20 degree car for a while.

The LCD screen will be laggy and somewhat blurry, but it still works.

[S204STi]

LCDs generally should be good to at least -20 C (-5 F, roughly), some can operate at -40 C (-40 F) and lower.  I've gone out and started my car on cold mornings after it sat outside in sub-zero conditions and the LCDs all worked.

Further, it sounds like all of the gauges are dead, including the analogs, which definately should not be dead from the cold.

Ah, well that explains that.  I'm not sure what, electrically, would intermittently fail at cold temps like that...

[VTEC_Inside]

If it gets cold enough the power steering pump on my Accord will sound like its grinding coffee for the first few seconds.

The RSX radio did a weird high pitched thing once, but I just shut it off and turned it back on again and it was fine.

[850CSi]

LCDs usually have a working temperature range, no?  Could be that you are outside of that range.  That said, how cold is it currently?

The LCDs, even the one between the tach and odo, all work (but, as others have mentioned, they lag). Yesterday, when this happened, it was in the low single digits, it got to -4F at some point.

The problem seems to be fairly consistent when it's really cold and the car sits... The analogues don't work for a short while, and then eventually snap to life after the car's warmed up a bit. I'll call the dealer and see if this is a feature or common problem or if I should bring it in. That said, right now I'm not at home so it'll have to wait.

[MX793]

Ah, well that explains that.  I'm not sure what, electrically, would intermittently fail at cold temps like that...

Things tend to shrink when it gets cold.  Perhaps that caused an electrical connection that wasn't particularly solid to pull apart?

[JYODER240]

My CD player skips, my clutch feels weak, my shifter feels really stiff and I have to be really patient when shifting so I don't grind any gears.

[S204STi]

Things tend to shrink when it gets cold.  Perhaps that caused an electrical connection that wasn't particularly solid to pull apart?

Good call, that is actually a valid concern.

[TBR]

My CD player skips, my clutch feels weak, my shifter feels really stiff and I have to be really patient when shifting so I don't grind any gears.

Likewise (other than the CD player, it doesn't get cold enough here to effect any electronics). Additionally, when going over bumps at low speeds the car creaks and moans horribly (I actually passed on buying a car because it made similar noises, I didn't even think that it might be temperature related). Finally, I am not sure if this is temp related or not, but as of late I can't always just turn the key in one movement. It will try to start, but in order to get it to start I have to pause at the "on" position before actually going to start. Not sure if it is temp related or not, other than it has only happened when it has been cold.

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

Likewise (other than the CD player, it doesn't get cold enough here to effect any electronics). Additionally, when going over bumps at low speeds the car creaks and moans horribly (I actually passed on buying a car because it made similar noises, I didn't even think that it might be temperature related). Finally, I am not sure if this is temp related or not, but as of late I can't always just turn the key in one movement. It will try to start, but in order to get it to start I have to pause at the "on" position before actually going to start. Not sure if it is temp related or not, other than it has only happened when it has been cold.

Maybe the fuel pump has to work a lil harder in the cold weather. That would explain why you have to pause at the "on" position. That should give the pump a lil extra time to get the fuel to the rail. 

[TBR]

Makes sense. Scared the crap out of me the first time it happened.

[Submariner]

LCDs usually have a working temperature range, no?  Could be that you are outside of that range.  That said, how cold is it currently?

The LCD Display in my car is sluggish to react on super cold mornings, but the gauges themselves always work.

[AutobahnSHO]

Maybe the fuel pump has to work a lil harder in the cold weather. That would explain why you have to pause at the "on" position. That should give the pump a lil extra time to get the fuel to the rail. 

Could be-
On the other hand, I've heard that fuel pumps rarely fail in cold weather- but as soon as it gets warm/hot again they bite the dust.
(My SHO's pump went south the week before Christmas though, so ??)

[Champ]

The LCDs, even the one between the tach and odo, all work (but, as others have mentioned, they lag). Yesterday, when this happened, it was in the low single digits, it got to -4F at some point.

The problem seems to be fairly consistent when it's really cold and the car sits... The analogues don't work for a short while, and then eventually snap to life after the car's warmed up a bit. I'll call the dealer and see if this is a feature or common problem or if I should bring it in. That said, right now I'm not at home so it'll have to wait.

If it's analog gauges driven using a cable the grease inside the lines could get cold enough to get gummed up.

If it's under warranty I certainly would call a dealer.  The problem would be hard to duplicate I imagine though...

[MX793]

If it's analog gauges driven using a cable the grease inside the lines could get cold enough to get gummed up.

If it's under warranty I certainly would call a dealer.  The problem would be hard to duplicate I imagine though...

I believe most analog gauges these days are fully electronic.  Do newer BMWs do the needle sweep on startup like newer Subarus?  If so, they are definately not cable driven.

[TBR]

Could be-
On the other hand, I've heard that fuel pumps rarely fail in cold weather- but as soon as it gets warm/hot again they bite the dust.
(My SHO's pump went south the week before Christmas though, so ??)

Well that's real encouraging.

[Cookie Monster]

The Accord had trouble starting yesterday evening after having sat maybe 14 hours. I don't want to know what it'd do in sub zero weather for a few days.