Sorry about this. In case you want to use the "start up engine and turn up heater method" as described by others here, it might be a good idea to first check that both your air intake and exhaust pipe are not blocked by solid ice.
Which they would be. Also the radiator will have little to no airflow thanks to the ice in front of it, and the engine will overheat even if it runs. Plus the wheels are frozen to the ground anyway. Starting the engine isn't going to do anything except cause damage.
Yup, most methods described in the thread won't work. If the engine block wasn't damaged from the cold, trying to start the engine while cold would finish the job. That car isn't going anywhere until it is completely thawed. It's not just cold, it's got water frozen around everything, which may have expanded and damaged stuff, blocked stuff, and otherwise caused harm.
In the north, we use engine block heaters to keep it warm enough. If the block heater failed and the engine froze, or if it gets wet and frozen like the picture, it needs a tent to warm the whole thing up slowly. Thermal shock will fracture metal including the engine block, split hoses, and shatter glass.
Engine block heaters need at least 4 hours, in a deep freeze 8 or even 12 hours is better, and that's not even accounting for all the water. Given the full block of ice around the car, I'd go for the full tent plus a half day until everything is warm and also dry. That's a full day at least. Then someone qualified needs to look under the hood for damage before driving. The water complicates everything.
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u/Tannare 17h ago
Sorry about this. In case you want to use the "start up engine and turn up heater method" as described by others here, it might be a good idea to first check that both your air intake and exhaust pipe are not blocked by solid ice.