Abstract: A method of operating an internal combustion engine of a vehicle in an environment having an ambient temperature below about 0 degrees Celsius. The engine can include a battery and an engine body supporting a piston. The method can include the acts of initiating a first heating operation to warm air entering the engine, igniting fuel in the engine body to warm the engine and causing limited movement of the piston relative to the engine body, drawing power from the battery to generate heat in the battery, distributing the heat through the battery for a predetermined period of time before initiating a second heating operation to warm the air in the engine, and starting the internal combustion engine after the heat is distributed through the battery, causing the piston to continually reciprocate through the engine body.