For those without Automatic Climate Control, when do you turn on the heat?

I leave mine on Auto 365 days a year set at 72. Been doing that since the 70's. In colder climates I leave it in the bi-level position. I Leave the fan speed in the lowest position the bulk of the time.

I can never figure out why people have to keep playing around with it by shutting it off then putting it back on. Just set it and forget it.

But that is just me. To each their own.
 
I leave mine on Auto 365 days a year set at 72. Been doing that since the 70's. In colder climates I leave it in the bi-level position. I Leave the fan speed in the lowest position the bulk of the time.

I can never figure out why people have to keep playing around with it by shutting it off then putting it back on. Just set it and forget it.

But that is just me. To each their own.
"Auto" in a Ford means it just decides the fan speed for you; it's awful. Temp is controlled separately.
 
i have auto climate control, when set at a temperature warmer than max cold it will cycle the a/c to hold that temperature. my dad kept turning the a/c off because he thought it just adjusted the blend door valve and always left the compressor running. i had to make him stand next to the car and listen to it cycle automatically before he would stop touching the a/c buttons. i set the temp where I want it and control the fan manually, because if i put the fan on auto it blows really hard until warm air starts to come out, and as soon as it's no longer blowing freezing air it slows down and quits warming the cabin.
 
In my EV - heat goes on immediately if I forget to remote start the heat before I leave.

In my previous ICE cars with auto they just stayed on as the fan would not start ramping up until sufficient heat was available, I thought that was how most if not all automatic systems worked.
 
I have never had an auto climate control work as well as choosing my own settings for temp, fan speed and which vents are directing the flow. I also have never had auto headlights or windshield wipers work as well as when I do it myself so I generally ignore such features.

To answer the question, I turn on the heater when the heated steering wheel and heated seats aren't enough for comfort. And then it's usually in conjunction with changing the air flow from my face to my feet. My Mazda CX 5 has dual temp zone settings so my passenger can adjust the temp of that air flow to their liking as well.
 
I put the fan on the lowest setting as soon as I see the coolant needle move from its coldest position. I couldn’t care less about the heat in the engine, I want heat in the cabin as soon as I can.

Once I feel the air coming out get hotter, I crank up the fan speed.

My wife would always crank the fan up with a cold engine and get blasted by cold air. I tried explaining many times that she just gets colder and it takes longer, but she is convinced this is the fastest way to warm up the cabin. I gave up since I’m not with her when she does this.
 
Short answer leave on auto and never do anything……

My 2015Honda Pilot with pretty amazing HVAC is on auto and 72. It turns the heat on when you drive enough to get needle moving towards warm. The computer knows engine temp and coolant temp and kicks HVAC on accordingly. It seems to ramp up slowly with fan speed when engine cool and not at full fan till coolant temp is normal.
 
Not on my F-150? I will kick the fan speed up and down and turn on the A/C or heat depending on the setting.
I agree, my F150 does turn on the AC or Heat to try to achieve the correct temperature. It must be a "love it or hate it" sort of thing. I'm apparently too particular to allow "Auto" to do it's thing: I want different settings depending on what I'm wearing. I can't stand hot air in my face, or cold air on my feet. Auto never seems to get it right and I've tried it in several different vehicles.
 
Being born and raised in MN, I have an intimate relationship with frigid temps. For the last 13 years, I've commuted to work 5 days a week with one-way distance falling between 8 and 15 miles.

Regardless of climate control setup, I keep my heat either off or on the lowest fan speed until at LEAST the half way point. I combat windshield fogging during that period by cracking the driver's window.

I don't care if it's a 2.2 Camry or a 454 'burb: at -25, it's going to take a LONG time for the heater core to produce any sort of meaningful output. It's not just coolant temp, it's the temperature of the incoming air hitting said core. -25 degree air can absorb a LOT of energy.
 
Being born and raised in MN, I have an intimate relationship with frigid temps. For the last 13 years, I've commuted to work 5 days a week with one-way distance falling between 8 and 15 miles.

Regardless of climate control setup, I keep my heat either off or on the lowest fan speed until at LEAST the half way point. I combat windshield fogging during that period by cracking the driver's window.

I don't care if it's a 2.2 Camry or a 454 'burb: at -25, it's going to take a LONG time for the heater core to produce any sort of meaningful output. It's not just coolant temp, it's the temperature of the incoming air hitting said core. -25 degree air can absorb a LOT of energy.
So you are nicer to your car than yourself:ROFLMAO:
 
Depends on how cold I feel. I'm dressed for the weather so if it's say 25F+, I won't crank the heat up for a couple minutes unless the windshield needs it, but below that temp, I'll put it on full defrost right after the engine idle settles down a bit (under 20 seconds). In this area I'm almost never out driving in temps below 10F, just doesn't get that cold here except once in a while in the middle of night.

At the same time, if it's below about 20F, I'll let the vehicle idle for a minute before driving off. Some would argue that this is worse for reasons XYZ, but I think there's more factors involved and never had any related problems doing so.
 
I had a car (don't recall which one) that had a "winter package" that included an "electric" heater in the defroster that would work if the heater turned on full WARM and HI fan in the cold. Found it out by accident as I was clearing snow and accidentally had the blower on HI / DEF and then hopped in, and surprise! there was very warm air coming out the upper DEF and the car was only on for 2 mins!

Being a many decades toughened New Englander, I "rough it" for a couple miles until the engine temp gauge starts moving up. Sometimes I wait till engine is at full NORMAL operating range - like if I took a HOT shower that day ten minutes mins earlier and my core body temp is cranked. Then I'm good to go well over five freezing miles! 🥶🙂
 
During the winter months, unless I need to quickly throw some heat/air at the windshield, I have always waited until the engine temp gauge is reading a normal operating temperature, or close to it, before turning on the heat in the cabin. My thinking has been that it allows the engine and oil to warm faster, as you are not trying to pull heat away, but also that it helps to get the engine into a less rich fuel mixture more quickly.

Does this thinking make sense, or am I just sitting in a cold car unnecessarily for a couple extra minutes during cold weather?
I wait until the coolant temperatue has reached the operating temperature, about 200 degrees F. I use the heated seats as soon as I get in the car. Of course I live in a rather warm climate here in South Carolina so this may not apply to those of you living in cooler climates.
 
I usually wait until the temp needle has moved up a bit. Usually fogging isn’t an issue, if the car is fast to warm up, so I avoid having cold air blow on me—I’d rather wait until it’s lukewarm.

I crack a window if fogging is a problem. If I can’t live with a cool breeze for a few minutes, then I am probably not properly dressed for the weather (never know when I’ll be walking).
 
the temp gauge in your car is not really a gauge, it is a computer driven entertainment device.By the time its in the red the car has already shut itself off :cool:
 
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