Letting your car warm up

[StephMK]

Nope, I open the garage door, and pull out while I'm putting on my seat belt. It has not seemed to affect the driving so hopefully that's fine.

 

[mommasita]

Absolutely! Best invention ever.

We are hitting -43 with the windchill tonight, so at 7am, it will be mighty chilly.

Sometimes I even do it twice

 

[jenhum]

I did not read everything, sorry if this has been answered.
What is plugging in the car?

I am from Alabama and have never heard of someone plugging in a car. Is it an electric car?

It's -20 F without the windchill here. -40 with the windchill. If you leave your car outside for too long without plugging it in it the battery won't start.

No they are not electric cars.

So glad this was asked and answered, I'm from NC/SC and have never heard of this either! I just thought there must be more electric cars out there than I realized, lol!

 

[kimblebee]

I bet your owners manual says to start the car, take right off, but drive conservatively. Nothing pollutes more than an idling car engine.
And at least here in California, cars are designed to get to operating temperature quickly. Normally my temperature gauge is at normal operating temperature in 2 city blocks......although we just had a stretch of 25 degree weather the last 2 weeks and it took 4 blocks to get to full operating temperature.

Funny you mention plugging your car in, I mentioned that here a year or two ago and a lot of people who said they lived in snow country said they had never heard of that. Last time I was in Calgary, the hotel I stayed in had a plug at every parking spot. I know my family up there has the engine block heater, and a small electric heater mounted under the dash on the passenger side to keep the oil and water in the engine warm, and the interior warm too.

If I went outside right now and tried to start my car nothing would happen so I couldn't just take right off. It's -28F outside right now. We HAVE to plug in our car or it isn't moving the next day. I don't know one single person who uses a block heater (if that's the one inside the car). Cars around here have extension cords coming out of the front grill so they can be plugged in, wherever they are. Store parking lots don't have plug ins but most office buildings do. I worked at a place without plugs and on my lunch break I would have to go let the engine run for a few minutes to make sure it started at the end of he day. Even when the car is plugged in, you have to let it run a few minutes before driving off. Otherwise it feels like you are driving a big, frozen block of metal.

 

[mommasita]

If I went outside right now and tried to start my car nothing would happen so I couldn't just take right off. It's -28F outside right now. We HAVE to plug in our car or it isn't moving the next day. I don't know one single person who uses a block heater (if that's the one inside the car). Cars around here have extension cords coming out of the front grill so they can be plugged in, wherever they are. Store parking lots don't have plug ins but most office buildings do. I worked at a place without plugs and on my lunch break I would have to go let the engine run for a few minutes to make sure it started at the end of he day. Even when the car is plugged in, you have to let it run a few minutes before driving off. Otherwise it feels like you are driving a big, frozen block of metal.

I've never plugged mine in. We don't see much of that. Well maybe tomorrow we will. You definitely get colder conditions than us, but we may be even right now. It is downright nasty.

 

[kimblebee]

I've never plugged mine in. We don't see much of that. Well maybe tomorrow we will. You definitely get colder conditions than us, but we may be even right now. It is downright nasty.

I think maybe newer cars don't need to be plugged in unless its nasty cold, like right now. I put the temp in F for people but last night we were at -41C. It's supposed to warm up a bit but its still brutally cold with the Arctic air.

 

[DisneyATlast]

I used to have a remote start and it was the best thing ever! I can not tolerate cold at all. I will be freezing and jumping around like a crazy person and everyone else is like, "It's not THAT bad!" Yes, it is!

I'm definitely having a remote start on my next car! I'm not bothering to have one put in on the car I have now because it's old and I plan to keep it just for a car to go to work/back since it's small and good on gas, but I don't want to invest anything into it. Next time I go shopping for a car though...remote start is a must have!

 

[Aliceacc]

It's 5:45 am. Right now, it's 11 degrees outside, with a windchill of 3 degrees.

I'm leaving for work in an hour, and dropping my kids off at school on the way. The way their lockers are set up, there's not room for both textbooks and a heavy coat, so no one really wears the coat-- they wear hooded sweatshirts. (Yes, honest. In New York. In winter.) I have the luxury of being able to wear a jacket over my suit.

So, you had better believe I'm starting that car 10 minutes before I leave. Santa was kind enough to get me a remote start. I leave the car set so that the heat will blast (and the radio is off). Not only will my car be nice and comfortable, and my windshields be frost free, but there's the added bonus that the rear doors of the van won't be frozen shut.

 

[clarkshel]

If I went outside right now and tried to start my car nothing would happen so I couldn't just take right off. It's -28F outside right now. We HAVE to plug in our car or it isn't moving the next day. I don't know one single person who uses a block heater (if that's the one inside the car). Cars around here have extension cords coming out of the front grill so they can be plugged in, wherever they are. Store parking lots don't have plug ins but most office buildings do. I worked at a place without plugs and on my lunch break I would have to go let the engine run for a few minutes to make sure it started at the end of he day. Even when the car is plugged in, you have to let it run a few minutes before driving off. Otherwise it feels like you are driving a big, frozen block of metal.

The cords you mentioned coming out of the front of the grill are from the block heater. It is a heater attached to the block of your engine. To warm up the oil and block to make starting easier in cold weather. The inside hearts another poster mentioned, is a heater some people install after market to heat the inside of the car. I don't think they are very common

 

[arthuruscg]

Depending on the type of heater the inside might get some heat as well.

The in the block style heaters will heat a small section of the block.
The style that pumps fluid to evenly heat the block will also put some heat in the inside because the coolant flows thru the heater core even though the thermostat is close. And if you leave the car set to defrost the heat will rise up and defrost the windshield.

 

[M2B]

So glad this was asked and answered, I'm from NC/SC and have never heard of this either! I just thought there must be more electric cars out there than I realized, lol!

It's easier on the engine in extreme cold. Although even Canadian made cars don't always have the block heater TO plug in. My husband's car.. a 2008.. didn't have a block heater. We had it put in after market. His car would still start even in -40 weather, but it's HORRIBLE on fuel like that. When we're paying almost $4/gallon (U.S. prices) we do what we can to reduce that.

 

[SLP958]

Wow! Sometimes I think Alabama is too hot. I will remember this thread and be thankful of warm weather!

 

[mrspaha]

I usually just let it idle for a few minutes before driving off, unless I need to scrape the windows. In that case, I start it up with the front and rear defrosters on while I scrape. In that case, it's probably about 5 minutes. My reasoning is more for economical reasons; I can't see wasting gas just letting it heat up.

 

[marcyinPA]

Sometimes. If the windows are frosted over, or if the temperature is really really cold, I will. It makes me nervous because we have on-street parking, and I don't have my spare set of keys (DH has them on his ring), so I leave the car running and unlocked on the street. My neighborhood is pretty safe, but it only takes one "bad guy" to hop in and drive off in my mini-van...

 

[jen0610]

Contrary to belief windchill only has an affect on organic objects IE flesh. -5 degrees on a metal object with a -30 wind chill will be -5.

When it's negative outside, I'm not putting my behind in a freezing cold car. That is why its warmed up for as long as it is. Plus, I know my car and if she's not warmed up, she not a happy car.

 

[jen0610]

Sometimes. If the windows are frosted over, or if the temperature is really really cold, I will. It makes me nervous because we have on-street parking, and I don't have my spare set of keys (DH has them on his ring), so I leave the car running and unlocked on the street. My neighborhood is pretty safe, but it only takes one "bad guy" to hop in and drive off in my mini-van...

That's why I love my stick. The greater percentage of the yahoo's in our neighborhood, that would even think about driving off in my car, would jump in and right back out. None of them can drive the thing.

Funny thing, I take my car to the same place all the time for an oil change. Every time, I remind the girl putting together the work order, it's a stick. 9 outta 10 times, the guy going out to pull my car into the bay, has to come back in and have someone else go pull it in.

 

[ReneeA]

Anytime it's under 10° outside, I do. If my windshield is iced over, I do. I put my heated seats on high and turn the front blower on high all winter, just in case I want to use the auto start.

I leave for work at 6:20am and don't get home until 8pm. Winters in Michigan are super cold, even colder at that time of day. No need to be tired AND frozen on my way to work.

 

[manning]

When it's negative outside, I'm not putting my behind in a freezing cold car. That is why its warmed up for as long as it is. Plus, I know my car and if she's not warmed up, she not a happy car.

OK by me, just clearing up a misconception.

 

[tvguy]

We HAVE to plug in our car or it isn't moving the next day. I don't know one single person who uses a block heater (if that's the one inside the car). Cars around here have extension cords coming out of the front grill so they can be plugged in, wherever they are..

YOU have an engine block heater, that is what the extension cord coming out of the front is hooked up to. The interior heater is an interior heater I guess, I always remember them being in the passenger side footwell on my uncle's cars, but searching the web, it appears now most mount on top of the dashboard like this:

 

[Mermaid02]

I have an older car and it is VERY cold blooded. If I jump in and go it just doesn't have the "pick me up" for 10 minutes or so. In this weather I usually start it and let it run a bit in the summer I'm more likely to start and go- but she still doesn't like it!