If Firestone says don't do it, I'm seriously considering doing it. They have long been the least trustworthy shops around.
Yes, warming up your car before driving in cold weather can damage the engine
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I didn't read the article. I might guess you are discussing wind chill.
Agree. No such thing regarding dry metal or plastic object(s), as that relates to evaporative cooling of moisture.
But if the object is dry and hotter than ambient, the impinging wind-blown air molecules will
cool the object quicker to bring it to stasis. But the active air will not chill the object to below ambient.
Now if you are driving through slush and the fluid gets on the object, wind impingement will chill the object.
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Here is what Mercedes advises:
Driving section: Warm up the engine quickly. Do not use the engine's full performance until it has reached operating temperature
Drive Sensibly section: Warm up the engine at low engine speeds
Environmental Note section: Do not warm up the engine when the vehicle is stationary
Audi is even less concerned. They have one warning message if there is fuel dilution of the engine oil due to cold weather or frequent short drives advising you to warm up the engine for it to evaporate. They have another warning note for the RS models to drive at moderate RPM to warm up the engine prior to sporty driving.
Basically, start the engine and drive off at moderate engine speeds until it warms up.
Driving section: Warm up the engine quickly. Do not use the engine's full performance until it has reached operating temperature
Drive Sensibly section: Warm up the engine at low engine speeds
Environmental Note section: Do not warm up the engine when the vehicle is stationary
Audi is even less concerned. They have one warning message if there is fuel dilution of the engine oil due to cold weather or frequent short drives advising you to warm up the engine for it to evaporate. They have another warning note for the RS models to drive at moderate RPM to warm up the engine prior to sporty driving.
Basically, start the engine and drive off at moderate engine speeds until it warms up.
I was taught when I started driving to always let the car run for a minute or two before moving it. Even in the summer I give it two or so minutes, plus to get the AC going.
In the winter, I hit the remote start about 10 minutes before I leave. It starts the car will cranks the heat if cold enough, turn on the heated seats and steering wheel. Depending on the humidity will turn on the defrosters and heated mirrors. Maybe I am spoiled, but I will not own a car without a remote starter.
In the winter, I hit the remote start about 10 minutes before I leave. It starts the car will cranks the heat if cold enough, turn on the heated seats and steering wheel. Depending on the humidity will turn on the defrosters and heated mirrors. Maybe I am spoiled, but I will not own a car without a remote starter.
I don't understand why engine block heaters aren't more popular in areas that get cold winters. I grew up in Minnesota in the 70s and 80s. My dad always ordered his Buicks and Chevys with block heaters, or had them installed by the dealer. On nights when it was forecast to be subzero, it was my job to plug in the cars. In the morning they would start easily and warm up very quickly. I suppose it added a few bucks a month to the electric bill.
Are block heaters incompatible with today's modern engines? In the early 90s I worked at an auto parts store that sold aftermarket block heaters. They took the place of a freeze plug on the engine block.
When I lived in Maryland I had a Cummins-powered Ram. The Cummins diesels come standard with a block heater. Block heaters are especially valuable on a diesel, since they idle so efficiently and take a long time to warm up.
Are block heaters incompatible with today's modern engines? In the early 90s I worked at an auto parts store that sold aftermarket block heaters. They took the place of a freeze plug on the engine block.
When I lived in Maryland I had a Cummins-powered Ram. The Cummins diesels come standard with a block heater. Block heaters are especially valuable on a diesel, since they idle so efficiently and take a long time to warm up.
My guess, cars are now starting reliably in the cold temps. Hit the key and it's running. Thin oils, better starters and EFI. No worries about not starting, in ye olden bad days, that was a legitimate fear.
A block heater would have to be plugged in. This generation couldn't get by without automatic wipers, automatic headlights, blind spot monitors and automatic braking, along with lane assist and wireless connectivity with their phone. Plug in a block heater every night, only to have to unplug in the morning? What a nutty idea.
Which means the car thinks it is -18. RealFeel(r) is wind chill - what happens to a warm human. The car cools to -18, and then stays there.
My wife's 2014 Fusion has one (never used it - car is parked in garage). Ford automatically adds these to vehicles originally delivered to certain northern US states as well as most or all Canadian provinces.
Yes, modern tech and easier starting. You definitely still see them here, although becoming less common. Most of us have heated garages so it's a moot point. In my case if I had one I would never use it due to a warm garage in the morning and not having a place to plug it in at work.
Most people have heated garages where you live? That's interesting. I know a lot of people in Minnesota, but can only think of one with a heated garage.
"Most of us have heated garages" not so much where I live. Usually the attached garage is a bit warmer that ambient but rarely heated. Shops tend to be heated but not many guys park the DD in the shop just for the mess they would bring in and cars would rust significantly faster here if they were kept at 50F every night.
OT, I guess some of the hemi engines that oil starve parts at warm idle probably would not do well idling from cold for 20 min? There are probably a million hemi's that are warmed up that way though and still go for a reasonable distance?
TBH the only mechanical system I worry about in extreme cold (-25C or less) is the CVT on the Outback, but the ECU does a few things to keep it happy until its warm enough.
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Not sure about there but my attached garage only rarely hits freezing in winter. I'm 99% sure the interior wall is properly insulated, but have to figure, whatever heat leaks through it goes into a garage that has its own insulation, so some portion of that is caught. Park a hot car in every night and again, some heat transfer.
Murder on the car though I suspect, salty water drips down and then just sits there.
It is, but I would not be surprised that a vehicle which is driven will generate the same about of cabin heat in the same runtime as one which is idled and then driven. Even today with so many cars having electric heaters/seats to help take off the chill it seems rather silly to let a vehicle idle just to warm the interior.
BMW 2010 335d with supplemental heat would start blowing warm in about 30 seconds.
My 435i on the other hand, with its broken climate control takes about 2 miles before it generates heat at the footwell.
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I've been warming up my vehicles for years, some times letting them run 15 minutes or more. Never had an engine failure or a problem.
I want the interior warm and the glass clear. The run time of 5 minutes or so that remote starts allow now isn't always enough to clear glass but does get the interior warm. If not, remote start it twice.
Maybe this will be an issue if you drive your vehicles to 1MM miles but good luck pinning the blame on warming up your car before driving it in the winter.
I want the interior warm and the glass clear. The run time of 5 minutes or so that remote starts allow now isn't always enough to clear glass but does get the interior warm. If not, remote start it twice.
Maybe this will be an issue if you drive your vehicles to 1MM miles but good luck pinning the blame on warming up your car before driving it in the winter.
We don't get as cold as Minnesota but sub-zero temperatures (not "wind chill" either) are normal every winter. Definitely no heated garage here and I don't think they're common at all unless someone has converted their garage or uses it as a "shop". Anyway, I added those insulation panels to our garage door a couple years ago and took some measurements. Needless to say, they don't help in the winter but do help in the summer (door faces west). Here's some measurements I took:
26º F outside temperature | 23º F
49º F center of floor | 46º F
39º F center of door | 45º F
48º F center of ceiling | 47º F
I guess they actually worked on the door itself. It was colder outside after so my second readings were lower as well.
Just re-checked the temperature forecast and the high temperature tomorrow is supposed to be 1º F
That's in the middle of the day.... At 9am tomorrow, the temperature is expected to be -6º F.
Same here; my garage is detached and unheated but the two cars I keep in it will be there until March. I hate the "sand dunes" of finely powdered salt that gets left behind in the garage when cars drip messy, salty slush on the floor. So the daily drivers sit outside where if nothing else the rain eventually washes away most of the salt.
If you ever heard a vehicle start up at minus 30c, you'd probably understand. You wouldn't be throwing it in gear and pulling out immediately.
And to answer your question...the vehicle is under load when you accelerate up to speed, and it's shifting when the transmission can barely pump it's fluid yet...same with power steering fluid. When I read posts like this I realize people have never experienced the sound and feel of machinery starting up in these kind of temps.
Really old and homes on the low end of the price spectrum no, but for the most part your typical descent house with an attached garage, yes. Some are insulated only, and only few are uninsulated. Most commonly you'll have NG overhead blowers (like mine) or newer construction you will find radiant slabs that utilize the home's main NG tankless water heater.
As far as snow melt my house was built when floor drains here weren't quite commonplace (built in 1996) but everything mid-2000s and on for the most part you have drains with a graded slab to take care of the snow melt-off. No drains means I squeegee it into the driveway and create an ice rink lol. I also run a dehumidifier in the garage that makes a huge difference.
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