Zerostart Custom Fit Engine Block Heater - Freeze Plug Style - 35 mm - 120V - 400 Watts
This item does not fit your vehicle
2017 Lexus RC 350
These items fit your vehicle
2017 Lexus RC 350
To see if this custom-fit item will work for you please tell us what vehicle you'll use it with.
Your car or truck still has places to be, even after spending the night in freezing weather. This Zerostart heater warms the coolant before startup, easing cold-start strain and helping the engine warm up sooner.
Your car or truck may have plenty of miles left in it, but starting after a freezing night can still be tough on the engine. This 400-watt Zerostart heater warms the coolant inside the engine block before you turn the key. Starting with a warmer engine reduces cold-start strain and lets it reach operating temperature sooner. That's especially useful when your vehicle spends its nights outside and you've got somewhere to be in the morning.
This heater replaces a designated 35 mm freeze plug in your engine block. Unlike a threaded heater, it fits into a smooth core-plug opening. An O-ring seals the opening, while a locking screw secures the heater in place. Because the correct installation location and heating-element orientation vary by engine, check your vehicle's fit information first. The 2026 Zerostart catalog linked below (instruction link B) will help you find the correct installation location for your engine, while the manufacturer's installation instructions explain the procedure in detail.
Installation involves draining the coolant and removing the specified freeze plug. Once the opening is clean and free of burrs or rough spots, lubricate the O-ring and core-hole surface with an approved lubricant. Push the heater firmly into place with the element pointing in the specified direction, then tighten the locking screw to 2.26 to 2.82 Nm (1.67 to 2.08 ft-lbs). Refill the cooling system, check for leaks, and make sure the element is completely surrounded by coolant before plugging in the heater.
The included 5.8' silicone cord connects to the heater and can be routed toward the grille, where it's accessible when you want to plug in. Secure it away from hot surfaces, sharp edges, and moving engine parts. The cord is also removable, so a damaged cord doesn't mean replacing the whole heater. If you ever need another one, the Zerostart replacement power cord (ZE59SR) is the specified replacement.
Zerostart is a Phillips & Temro brand. You may recognize Phillips & Temro from factory-installed engine-heating applications even if the Zerostart name is unfamiliar. The company develops and tests heaters for specific engines and supplies both original-equipment and aftermarket applications. That experience matters when you're installing something that needs to fit the right opening and sit correctly inside your engine.
Use a 50/50 mixture of ethylene glycol antifreeze and water. Never use straight antifreeze or a mixture containing more than 65% antifreeze, as this can shorten the heating element's life. Avoid stop-leak additives. Lubricate the O-ring and cleaned core-plug opening with antifreeze, liquid soap, or silicone grease. Never use petroleum-based lubricants, which can damage the O-ring and cause leaks. Press the heater into place before tightening the locking screw to 2.26 to 2.82 Nm (1.67 to 2.08 ft-lbs). Overtightening can strip the threads, cause coolant leaks, or allow the heater to come loose.
Never plug in the heater before installation just to see if it works. Without coolant surrounding the heating element, it can quickly overheat and cause serious burns. Instead, disconnect the heater from power and use a multimeter to check resistance across its electrical pins. The manufacturer's general testing guidance specifies a reading between 5 and 100 ohms.
Always make sure the heating element is completely submerged in coolant and any trapped air has been removed before plugging it in. Unplug the heater before starting your engine. Running the engine while the heater is plugged in can create an air pocket around the element, causing it to overheat and fail prematurely.
When disconnecting the heater from your extension cord, firmly grasp each plug and pull them apart. Never yank on the cords themselves. This can damage the connections, potentially causing the heater to malfunction or creating an electrical short.
Alternate Instructions
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Hi everybody, Andy here with etrailer.com. Let's take a quick look at the Zerostart Custom Fit Frost Plug Style Engine Block Heater. Now, this is going to fit a wide range of Hyundai and Kia vehicles from the late 1980s through the early 2010s, including the Hyundai Elantra, Sonata, Santa Fe, Tiburon, and Tucson models with the 2.0-liter I4 or 2.7-liter V6 engines, as well as the Kia Sportage and Rondo models with the 2.0-liter I4 engines, including the Turbocharged version. So on custom fit parts such as this heater, it is essential that you go through our Vehicle Fit Guide here at etrailer.com. Enter the year, make, and model of your vehicle and any other questions that it might ask you, and our Fit Guide will confirm if this will work for you or if we have something comparable that will work for you. Now, cold mornings don't have to mean slow starts or long warmups.
This custom fit block heater is going to take the chill out of your engine by warming up the coolant before you even turn the key. So what that means is your vehicle is going to fire up quickly, run smoother, and it's going to be ready to go when you are. So no extended idling is going to be necessary. So even in freezing temperatures with this heater, your engine's going to start strong and steady. And by reducing strain from the cold, dry starts, it's going to help extend engine life.
And this is, like I mentioned, going to be a perfect fit for those vehicles that we looked at. And with 400 watts at 120 volts, this is going to keep your coolant at the ideal temperature for a smooth startup. This has a durable, removable silicone cord. It's built tough. It's about 5.8 feet long.
And if you notice here, the 120-volt plug here, the three-prong plug does have this protective cap on here to protect those prongs when it's not in use, it's tethered. So that's a nice touch. And the cord is removable in case for whatever reason you might damage this, you can easily replace that cord and you don't have to replace the entire setup. The bore diameter is 35 millimeter THD. If you happen to have any other further questions, whether it's on this heater or anything else that we carry, don't hesitate to reach out to us.
We do want to make sure that you're getting exactly what you want and need. Again, my name is Andy. Thank you for joining me.
Ratings & Reviews
Info for this part was:
At etrailer we provide the best information available about the products we sell. We take the quality of our information seriously so that you can get the right part the first time. Let us know if anything is missing or if you have any questions.
Thank you! Your comment has been submitted successfully. You should be able to view your question/comment here within a few days.
Error submitting comment. Please try again momentarily.