I let my car idle for a half hour - its COLD out!

[Shawn]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: Looney

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: Shawn

Originally posted by: Krazy4Real
wow... that's a waste of gas though. I'm all for letting your car warm up when it's cold, but it shouldn't take a half hour. 10 minutes tops.

Seriously.

10 minutes of driving won't warm up my truck in the dead of winter. 10 minutes of revving the engine won't even do enough to melt ice on the windshield enough to feel comfortable driving. I think out of the 11 or so cars we've had, only one warmed up that quickly.

I'll like to know what vehicles you have that are that bad at warming up that 10mins won't even do it.

The only vehicle I have ever had that could warm up to within near operating termperature in 10 minutes of driving was a Jeep Wrangler.

Ones that won't:

Dodge Ram
Jeep Liberty
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Jeep Cherokee
2 MINIs
2 Neons
Cutlass Ciera
Ford Explorer

My drive to work is about 10 minutes, depending on if I hit the light. In that time, I never have heat in the winter. I'm talking temperatures of single digits to teens in the morning. When it's 30-40, that's a different story.

Ah, so they are all american cars.












😛

 

[MrBond]

My commute is short enough that as soon as the car is getting warm, I'm pulling into the parking lot at work.

I still warm it up anyway because sometimes I get frost on the INSIDE of the windshield. I've heard that indicates a leaking heater core, so when I get a free weekend I'm going to check it out.

 

[LS20]

Originally posted by: MrBond
My commute is short enough that as soon as the car is getting warm, I'm pulling into the parking lot at work.
.

Mine too. I feel guilty for driving it such a short distance, but sometimes the weather just doesnt afford alternatives

 

[Tom]

Originally posted by: Rogodin2
Maybe half a gallon-it's well worth the $1-2$.

Rogo

maybe if it's top fuel dragster.


all the computers people are using to post in this thread use more energy..🙂

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: Shawn

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: Looney

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: Shawn

Originally posted by: Krazy4Real
wow... that's a waste of gas though. I'm all for letting your car warm up when it's cold, but it shouldn't take a half hour. 10 minutes tops.

Seriously.

10 minutes of driving won't warm up my truck in the dead of winter. 10 minutes of revving the engine won't even do enough to melt ice on the windshield enough to feel comfortable driving. I think out of the 11 or so cars we've had, only one warmed up that quickly.

I'll like to know what vehicles you have that are that bad at warming up that 10mins won't even do it.

The only vehicle I have ever had that could warm up to within near operating termperature in 10 minutes of driving was a Jeep Wrangler.

Ones that won't:

Dodge Ram
Jeep Liberty
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Jeep Cherokee
2 MINIs
2 Neons
Cutlass Ciera
Ford Explorer

My drive to work is about 10 minutes, depending on if I hit the light. In that time, I never have heat in the winter. I'm talking temperatures of single digits to teens in the morning. When it's 30-40, that's a different story.

Ah, so they are all american cars.




😛

And they've all been perfectly reliable outside of me being an idiot and driving one into a mud hole that was a wee bit too deep, or burning up the transmission via another mud hole that came up to the transmission vent line. 🙁

Outside of the idiot stuff, I don't think I have spent $1000 on repairs/normal maintenance total. But boy is that idiot stuff expensive 😱

 

[dainthomas]

Originally posted by: Philippine Mango

Originally posted by: skace
I always love the negative comments in these car idling threads, from people who probably have no idea what cold weather really is. There are certain temperatures where sitting in your car waiting for it to warm up is a really good way to get sick. And while I have a remote starter, running out to start your car and running back into your house is roughly a fraction of the time it usually takes for a car to warm up.

Clearly you don't know what cold weather is. If the weather is cold enough to force you to walk your ass to your car and turn it on and let it idle but is too cold to for you to park your ass in the seat and drive it, then it isn't cold, probably like 50F. LOL If it's so damn cold as you guys claim it is, then you probably should be wearing warmer clothing, negating the purpose of 'warming up the car' since the car is going to warmer than the outside anways unless it's perfectly still..

If you're wearing warm clothing, there is no way the inside of the car could be colder, unless covered in snow.. I wouldn't be surprised if the OP was wearing improper clothing for the climate and therefore felt oblidged to 'warmup' the car by turning it on, and running back into the house..

it'd be one thing if the OP was warming up the car to get the engine lubricated but it's another just to be a lazy ****** and let it idle for a half hour just so that the car can be as warm as his house...

I lived in North Dakota for five years. When it's -20 to -30, it takes at least 10-15 minutes just to get your car up to freezing. In fact where we lived (Grand Forks) most people left their cars running when they ran into the grocery store in January/February.

When you live somewhere it gets below 40 you'll understand.

 

[Krazy4Real]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: Shawn

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: Looney

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: Shawn

Originally posted by: Krazy4Real
wow... that's a waste of gas though. I'm all for letting your car warm up when it's cold, but it shouldn't take a half hour. 10 minutes tops.

Seriously.

10 minutes of driving won't warm up my truck in the dead of winter. 10 minutes of revving the engine won't even do enough to melt ice on the windshield enough to feel comfortable driving. I think out of the 11 or so cars we've had, only one warmed up that quickly.

I'll like to know what vehicles you have that are that bad at warming up that 10mins won't even do it.

The only vehicle I have ever had that could warm up to within near operating termperature in 10 minutes of driving was a Jeep Wrangler.

Ones that won't:

Dodge Ram
Jeep Liberty
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Jeep Cherokee
2 MINIs
2 Neons
Cutlass Ciera
Ford Explorer

My drive to work is about 10 minutes, depending on if I hit the light. In that time, I never have heat in the winter. I'm talking temperatures of single digits to teens in the morning. When it's 30-40, that's a different story.

Ah, so they are all american cars.




😛

And they've all been perfectly reliable outside of me being an idiot and driving one into a mud hole that was a wee bit too deep, or burning up the transmission via another mud hole that came up to the transmission vent line. 🙁

Outside of the idiot stuff, I don't think I have spent $1000 on repairs/normal maintenance total. But boy is that idiot stuff expensive 😱

Don't you only keep your cars for like a year or two though and then trade them in? I think I remember reading that on a mini you had. If that's the case, of course maintenance will be cheap.

Regardless, it's in the teens in Chicago right now. I think I know a little about cold weather. Certainly not as much as some. I started up my Santa Fe and on the drive home from work it took less than 10 minutes to get toasty.

All I'm saying is that 10 minutes is ample time for a car to get warm, and it also helps avoid any risk of doing damage to a car due to excessive idling. I looked at my car manual, and it says to not let your car idle for more than 10 minutes. I'm sure that's conservative on their part, but there has to be a reason they would put something like that in the manual.

 

[Nutdotnet]

I'll typically let my vehicle warm up for 10-15 minutes before taking off. Wake up, go start the truck, get ready for work, take off...

The only time I'll warm it up more than that is when I want to melt off some snow... 😀

<- Lives in Alaska.