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This cartridge heater clips into the cavity of your engine block and transfers heat through the block to help warm engine fluids resulting in easier start-ups, faster heating of your cab, and less wear and tear on your vehicle in cold weather.
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Benefits of a Heated Engine
Start your engine easier and warm your cab faster in cold weather with this cartridge-style engine block heater. Heating your engine coolant keeps it from thickening and freezing, resulting in more reliable start-ups and smoother operation altogether. It also lessens the workload and extends the life of your vehicle's battery. And because starting your engine when it's warm creates less condensation in the engine block than starting it when it's cold, your engine will get better initial fuel vaporization, which causes fewer emissions and less pollution.
Cartridge-Style Heater
This cartridge-style heater simply clips into the cavity of your engine block. There is no need to remove the core frost plug. The power cord on the heater is removable so that you won't need to buy a whole new heater if the cord gets damaged. The cord can be routed through your grille for easy access to a 120-volt outlet or extension cord.
Average Customer Rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars (104 Customer Reviews)
This cartridge heater clips into the cavity of your engine block and transfers heat through the block to help warm engine fluids resulting in easier start-ups, faster heating of your cab, and less wear and tear on your vehicle in cold weather.Installed this on my 2019 Toyota Tacoma. Haven’t really tested it out yet as I installed it before it got seriously cold. Installation was easy. Just follow etrailers super helpful video. I did have to file a slight flat on the heater to clear the bell housing overhang. Not a manufacturer issue on the heaters part. Just normal variance on Toyota’s end.
Does your company do any type of quality control before you send these out? I was wondering what everyone was talking about in the reviews when they said they had to file these down to get it to fit. Indeed I did have to significantly grind/file the circumference of the plug to get it to fit. Now I’m not confident that it’ll stay in the block because I had to modify it so much; something that should have been made right from the factory, who does this for a living. (3rd Gen Tacoma)
Jenny N - 11/05/2021
Easy installation once we found the hole in the engine block where it goes, that is the hard part. Worked fine last winter, have not needed it this year.
I bought this a year ago and installed it myself. It was a fairly simple and quick install. The heater works great and I recommend it for the Tundra.
Bill C - 12/30/2021I bought the car in Winnipeg MB with NO block heater when I got it home!! Luckily Etrailer had the heater I needed. Installation was a breeze and it works like a champ.
Ron R - 11/14/2020Great quality and price of the product! I have used it for a year now and everything works well.
The install was pretty straight forward except you have to grind one side of the element at the base flat in order for it to plug in, this is not in the directions. At the base where it bulges out, it gets in the way.
Also the cord could be another 2 feet longer, when you route it away from hot exhaust and moving parts it uses a lot of cord.
It helps tremendously in -35C, aside from those two points im happy.
Attempted to install into a 2014 Tacoma. After removing the bracket the blocks the hole for the heater, the cartridge would not go in all the way. I discovered that the thickness of the cartridge where the plug connects to makes contact with the engine below the hole. I had to sand a flat part onto the heater in order for it to slide in flush.
The clip barely holds the heater in to the point where I couldn't trust it. I attempted to make the bend further down the clip so it could securely hold the heater in but the clip was fragile and snapped. Attempts to contact Kats/Five Star Manufacturing was a waste of time, they never respond. I resorted to making my own clip with stronger metal and a bend at the proper length and it can be trusted to hold now.
Do not purchase Kats/Five Star Manufacturing products with the expectation that they have your back if the product is faulty in some way. Purchase OEM block heaters, yeah they may cost a little more ($18 in this case) but you can expect the product to perform as expected.
This heater i installed myself on a 2015 Camry. Excellent product, as good as oem. There is no heatsink compound nor protective cap for the ac plug however. etrailer rep will be happy to find you one if needed. As for the grease, go for electronic shop or computer shop and buy heatsink compound for cpu. Forget the dielectric grease for automotive, wrong purpose.
Although these are marketed as fitting a '08 FJ, a '14 & '15 4Runner & Tundra; They do not. They will not fit in the specified location, they came apart and now they are stuck in the engine block and are useless pieces of junk. DO NOT BUY THIS!! Even my mechanic says these are not worth it. I contacted ETrailer.com and they wouldn't accept a return.
This block heater is garbage. As soon as i pulled it from the box it broke. I managed to put it back together but once again it came apart. This happened multiple time over the course of my attempted install. It also did not fit which i verified on the website that it did fit my vehicle. It caused major frustration and eventually made its way into the trash. A complete waste of time and more importantly money. Stay away from this product.
Wouldn't work on my 2015 Tacoma pickup. Toyota attached a bracket next to the hole so that it partially overlapped the hole preventing insertion of the heater despite the website indicating the correct part number. Then I am being charged return shipping cost. Not happy.
Laura E - 12/15/2016Etrailers website description, in addition to speaking with an etrailer representative, provided incorrect installation instructions which state to install cartridge heater dry. Kat's website clearly states to "coat with NSCG silicone grease G-624"! Premature failure of the cartridge heater will occur without the proper heat transfer compound. Please change your descriptions and inform your representatives. Best Regards.
Got it hooked up and after a fix it works.
There is nothing that orients the plug to the body. I unhooked it to get it in, plugged it in and hit an issue: it tripped the GFI. It seems one terminal is on a thermostat that opens the connection to the pin and switches to ground. This pin MUST end up as the 120V line and NOT the neutral line. My first hookup had it as the neutral. That trips a GFI when it cycles off and would burn up the heater on a non-GFI outlet as it would not shutoff like a GFI. I unplugged and flipped it around. That got the T-stat line on the 120V, and it will heat the coolant about 35 degrees over ambient. Not sure how to find this without trial and error, but it should probably be keyed to prevent this issue.
Installation was surprisingly not dramatic…and everything is working as promised. Thanks once again for also the constant checking with me to make sure I received the product; very appreciated.
Product still works great! We just had a blast of old man winter with temps in the single digits. This unit does an awesome job as far as helping to keep the engine block warmer, and makes for quicker heat output.
Patrick L - 12/21/2017 Patrick L - 12/21/2017I installed this unit on my 2017 Tacoma when it had less than 10k on the odometer. Even with the engine bay clean and in like new condition, the heater was really difficult to install. The fit was really tight. I could not get it in the whole way and I did not want to tap on it with anything in fear of damaging the unit. With that said, it's in there and pretty much stuck. I have plugged it in during the cold months. When I fire up the truck in the morning getting ready to leave for work, I really can't tell if the Oil or Coolant are any warmer than if I didn't have the heater plugged in. Warm up times are about the same and the truck heater starts to warm up at the same time. I also don't know if it's ok to have the thing plugged in all night or if it should be on a timer. The instructions did not say. So all in all, For me I think it was a waste of money. The only thing it has done is spark up conversation when people see an extension cord plugged into the front of my truck. They say "I didn't know the new Tacoma came in a diesel?" Oh, one more thing. They sure could have made the electrical cord a few feet longer. I like doing a nice job of routing wires in my engine bay. The cord provided is so short you basically need to make a straight shot from your firewall to your grille.
already installed, took about 20 minutes, only issue is the clip is a little flimsy, had to bend it a bit to get a decent bite. thanks
The device looks OK but it's in a very difficult place to fit (back lower engine) Still waiting for someone with a lift so i can try to install. I struggled to find the location. Still not sure until I try.
I am not mechanic; just mechanically inclined. The part just needs to be inserted in a precast hole on the side on engine block. I added some insulation protection to the line cord with tie wraps. The work space is very crowded...I had to work by feel as much as by sight. And everything works for the winter time.
The KH11813 block heater has worked great in my 2016 Toyota Corolla! I installed it, along with other winterizing necessities, and found that it was extremely easy and straight forward. The cavity that it fits in is on the driver's side of the motor just above the transmission. My wife was able to put it in place from the top after I removed the air cleaner box. Her small hands made it very easy to place, while I was able to clearly see the notch where the clip hooks from under the car without removing any parts. I've had it in service for about 2 months now and it has kept my block nice and warm in temps down to -30. I would highly recommend this heater to anyone that needs one.
Doesn't fit like the original part. That works because it's tight enough but still have 0,5 inch to go until it clips correctly. The wire can be 1-2 feet longer too. Not 100% satisfy, sorry.
Works great. warms engine block nicely with the coolant to at least 95F with 15F outside temps, maybe a little less with subzero cold. I've only used it once plugged in here in November at 15F, just got this.
Product works fine but fitment was not good in my '08 Tacoma. Despite cleaning the hole on the block the heater would only go on about 2/3 of the way. I had to take 80 grit sand paper to the heater. Took about 5 thousandths off and it went in. Shouldn't have to do this.
Works as designed, a bit of effort required to install unless you have a garage like car lift.
James H - 11/13/2020
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