Warming your car up?

[michaelluscher]

Remote start was the best investment I ever put into my car

It's running for up to 15 minutes before I get in if it's below freezing

I have to wander around all day out in the cold, I may need a quick retreat to prevent frostbite

 

[SevenBizzos]

It was only -8F this morning. If you're into just starting and going, have at it. I prefer starting up, making coffee, having breakfast, reading the paper, catching a quick nap, and then going back out to drive it.

 

[Garak]

I prefer to warm up for my comfort, at least a bit. However, at -5 F and colder, I have gotten in, let it run a couple minutes, and gotten moving, of course not driving like a madman, but starting out, nonetheless.

My biggest concern is glass frosting up, because I'm too much of a baby to crack the window open when driving in those temperatures, even for a couple minutes. I did my "outdoor time" on the way to the car in the first place.

Johnny2Bad's points are well taken. Keeping vents clear is always helpful, and can be trouble. For the most part, I'm pretty spoiled with the heated garage, so warming up is far less frequently a concern. It's always at least 10 C in there.

 

[dlundblad]

I should have also added in my OP that I drive with the heat and blower off until the thermostat opens.

Also, if I drive my truck with my heat on full blast, it takes 2-3 minutes longer for the thermostat to open. Old technology I guess.

 

[Broo]

It was -20 here this morning. I start the vehicle and let it idle while I remove the snow and scrape the windows, which is usually 3-4 minutes then drive off accelerating slowly. I don't mind if the inside of the car is cold when I go, it'll warm up on the way.

 

[VeryNoisyPoet]

"Cold" (engine sitting several hours): start engine, seatbelt on, plug in phone, set up navigation, etc. Maybe a minute or so before putting in gear. Drive very gently until coolant temp is over 65 C / 149 F. No high revs or high load until temp has been at or over the normal 85 C / 185 F for a couple minutes or more. I have a heated seat and dress warmly so I'm not bothered by a chilly car and would rather get moving.

"Warm" (engine not recently started): seatbelt on, phone, nav, etc, then start engine. Idle about 10 secs until my Scangauge and custom gauge screen boot up, then drive gently until coolant temp is up at normal.

"Hot" (engine recently started): same sequence as warm but no babying it since temps are still up at normal.

If it's all iced up I'll set up phone then let it idle a few minutes with recirc and defrost on as I scrape and brush off windows and lights. As soon as everything's cleared and I can see safely, I'm on my way.

I've watched mine start with the oil fill cap off so I know the top end gets fresh oil pretty fast, and even before that each lifter has a nice little puddle on top so the cams never start truly dry.

 

[oldmaninsc]

Even here in "Sunny Southern California" at 4:30 am we can and do get ice on our cars in late fall/ winter. If there is ice on the windshield I use the remote start on the Impala and let it run for about 3 - 5 minutes then drive gently for the first mile and a half or so.

If no ice I start car normally, wait until RPMs drop below 1,000 (usually within 15 - 20 seconds) and drive gently. Either way at about the 3 mile mark of my morning commute, the car is at normal operating temperature.

If I lived in or I am visiting a really cold area, I wouldn't change any of the above.

 

[sw99]

Last few days here have been between 3-12 degrees. I start the car and maybe give it 10-15 seconds tops before I take off. Very light on the pedal after that.

 

[Uregina09]

Yesterday morning it was -35C (-32F) when we left my parent's house in central Saskatchewan. The truck was outside but plugged in and I have Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 5W30 in the crankcase. My (almost) seven year old battery struggled a bit but it started. I couldn't imagine driving away immediately so it idled for about five minutes. It felt like driving a block of ice for the first several kilometres.

 

[ThankYouma]

Due to the cold weather event now through the new year, we will be doing the unheard of, which is warming up the car for between 15 to 20 minutes. This will be so that we don't feel cold freezing air the first 5 minutes of our trip.

It should be either fully warmed or almost fully warmed in that time. Usually we would do this 5 minutes at the most.

 

[supton]

Depends. After a few ice storms I've let it idled for 15+ minutes rather than attempt to chisel away at the windshield. But usually if it's above 10F or so I will start, get out and clean the car off, get in, buckle up, drive off. It's a quiet road that I live on, so gentle driving is very easily done. 10F and down I often find an excuse to go inside for a few minutes.

Now it could be hovering around absolute zero but at the end of the day it's pedal to the metal to leave work...

 

[irv]

-26 C here this morning (-6-7 F) so it will be interesting when I fire my truck up to take my son to driving school shortly.
I didn't plug it in last night and it's too cold out right now to be out fiddling with the cable/extension cord.

5W-20 PP, and I have no worries it won't start but I am pretty sure my truck is going to talk back to me!

 

[HowAboutThis]

If it's below zero I let it run for a few minutes because the windshield almost always needs some defogging when you get in and start breathing. Other than that, start it and drive easy until the car warms up a bit. A car warms up more quickly driving when the engine is under load. The car doesn't care what you do. I think it actually prefers immediate easy driving. Humans, on the other hand, prefer an auto start ;-)


Originally Posted By: dlundblad
It's about that time of year for another one of these threads. -5*F this morning. Would you let your car warm up or just get in and drive easy?

For conversation sake, let's assume this is a gas vehicle with no block or pan heaters and also kept outside. I'd really like to hear from our northern BITOG members who obviously see much colder temps.

I'll start by saying that I am normally in the do not warm up camp, but when it gets this cold, I like to let it run for 10 minutes or so before taking off.

 

[HowAboutThis]

Aside from your own warmth, this is 100% unnecessary for the sake of the car. You probably know that.


Originally Posted By: ThankYouma
Due to the cold weather event now through the new year, we will be doing the unheard of, which is warming up the car for between 15 to 20 minutes. This will be so that we don't feel cold freezing air the first 5 minutes of our trip.

It should be either fully warmed or almost fully warmed in that time. Usually we would do this 5 minutes at the most.

 

[irv]

Originally Posted By: irv
-26 C here this morning (-6-7 F) so it will be interesting when I fire my truck up to take my son to driving school shortly.
I didn't plug it in last night and it's too cold out right now to be out fiddling with the cable/extension cord.

5W-20 PP, and I have no worries it won't start but I am pretty sure my truck is going to talk back to me!

Well, the truck started OK but I noticed when I entered it, my heated seats weren't on? Heated steering wheel, yes, but no seats. They come on automatically when it is less than 3-4 degrees C out so they should have been on. I turned them on manually, both sides, but the both quickly go out?
Of all days, this has to happen. I am thinking a fuse somewhere but that is only a guess? They were working yesterday when I picked up my son at 4:30 so whatever it is, it just decided to act up today.

I will post this question in the vehicle section then do some Google searches to hopefully find out what is going on.
Just in case this has anything to do with it, which I doubt but you never know, my TPM's showed one tire low even though another one showed lower but wasn't lit.

 

[93cruiser]

if they come on at all, and then go off, not a fuse I would think. If a fuse, would never turn on.

 

[irv]

Originally Posted By: 93cruiser
if they come on at all, and then go off, not a fuse I would think. If a fuse, would never turn on.


Good point.
I did some searches and read where one will go out but not usually both at the same time.
One said a loose wire/connection to the heating pad and others said new heating pads from the dealer.
I find it odd both went out at the same time if it is the pads themselves that failed? Leads me to believe something else is going on but you never know?

 

[andrewp1998]

couple mins in winter and 30 secs if its wanrmer

 

[irv]

Originally Posted By: irv
Originally Posted By: 93cruiser
if they come on at all, and then go off, not a fuse I would think. If a fuse, would never turn on.


Good point.
I did some searches and read where one will go out but not usually both at the same time.
One said a loose wire/connection to the heating pad and others said new heating pads from the dealer.
I find it odd both went out at the same time if it is the pads themselves that failed? Leads me to believe something else is going on but you never know?


Because I read on another forum (ramz) about it, I just went out and started my truck manually instead of using the remote and wholla, the seats came on.
I tried the passenger side and it worked as well.
Any idea what is going on that won't allow these to work with the remote but manually starting is OK? I assume it has something to do with the severe cold, but that seems odd to me?

 

[SilverFusion2010]

What's the point of warming the seat if you're not in it? I could see it being programmed that way for safety... don't want to catch fire or get a burn when the seat overheats.

Totally guessing