Leave your car warming up while you go back in the house?

Town near me has had 5 cars stolen this morning whilst sat with their engines running to defrost and with the owners back in their houses.

Pretty sure most insurance specifically excludes vehicle theft under these circumstances so an expensive mistake.

I have done this a few times (I’m not a regular early morning car user) – I probably won’t now…

It’s also not very good for your car.

Warm water from tap in kettle, pour on windscreen/windows/lights, return kettle, get in car, start engine, go. Doddle.

Can they not be locked with spare keys?

Illegal too isn’t it?

I am not into victim blaming but its very foolish to do this

Boiling waters great for ice but doesn’t demist it…..

How ever why would you not lock the car while running and your not there……

Having ancient 8v diesels I don’t leave mine running as it would be antisocial 🙂

Windscreen covers are a few quid. Just put it on when its cold. Takes 30 seconds.

Open garage door.
Drive car out.
Close garage door.
Doddle.

Can they not be locked with spare keys?

People think: “I live in a suburban cul-de-sac, there’s no crime round here, the car’s on the drive, it’s only for 5 minutes while I finish getting the kids ready for school, I can’t be arsed with all that scraping, no idea where the spare key is” and then it’s not a problem. Until it is.

Boiling waters great for ice but doesn’t demist it…..

It does if you pour it steadily from the top, cos it heats the windscreen just enough. Actually, thinking about it, I start the engine/demisters (so they’re blowing for a couple of minutes before I drive off), pour water, return kettle, leave. Works for me.

“Doing a frosty” as it’s known by Glasgow car thieves.

My routine on cold mornings is as I’m taking the dog out I run an extension cable from the shed to the car, plug in fan heater, walk dog, have coffee, then car is warmed up and good to go.

Victim blaming? In this case I do blame them. After all it’s even worse than leaving the car unlocked with the keys in the ignition. You are signalling that your car is sitting waiting to be stolen.

My solution is for Ford to let their patent lapse on heated front windows*. I’ve only ever owned one Ford and this is most definitely something I miss. It was awesome at quickly clearing the window on a cold and frosty morning.

*I don’t know if they have a patent or not, but it has always baffled me why no other brands (that I’m aware of) offer this.

I start the engine/demisters (so they’re blowing for a couple of minutes before I drive off), pour water, return kettle, leave.

the ‘return kettle’ bit is probably all it takes for someone to be away with your car…

Very antisocial thing to do imo. It’s horrible walking kids to school past cars ‘warming up’ . Just scrape the thing, get in and go.

guy across the road drives a big yellow AA Van – it has some internal noisy warming device that he appears to operate from inside the house and leave chundering away for half an hour most mornings…. Not quite as noisy as the rattly diesel, but not far off…

Thankfully he is moving house imminently 🙂

Boiling waters great for ice

Use warm rather than boiling or you risk cracking it. Housemate did it to his using a freshly boiled kettle full.

Think of it as a stupidity tax

I’ve discovered a couple of revolutionary new products. Its a pity they’re not so readily available. If only they were then this kind of thing could be prevented….

Open garage door.
Drive car out.
Close garage door.
Doddle.

Perchy outs himself as a pensioner….

Perchy outs himself as a pensioner….

Only if there’s a car port/lean to with a clear plastic corrugated roof attached to the side of his house too.

Or, another tip I learned from someone off here*: stick a hot water bottle on the dashboard while you have breakfast.

*who learnt it from his gran, who learnt it from her gran before her etc.

Old towel to cover windscreen and side windows. Peel off, place in bag & hide behind the gate. Drive off. Done.

Repeat and once frost stops, throw the towels away or wash and use for garage duties.

Start car with all heating gubbins on, spray de icer in ice, scrape off ice with suitable tool. Get back in car and drive off.

keyless car. I can start car and keep key in pocket, go back in house. Cant drive car away unless key is in the passenger compartment, does not work if key in boot.

witchcraft I tell theee

My solution is for Ford to let their patent lapse on heated front windows*. I’ve only ever owned one Ford and this is most definitely something I miss

However good it is, I still have to scrape side windows. 🙁
I start, scrape and stay with car(s) as they start on cold morning – and then sit in the thing if it is a cold one and I cannot see.

However good it is, I still have to scrape side windows.

Indeed, but overall it’s considerably quicker and easier in my experience. It also helps with de-misting the inside of the front window = less sitting around in a cold car waiting to be able to see.

I start, scrape and stay with car(s) as they start on cold morning – and then sit in the thing if it is a cold one and I cannot see.

+1. I do have the keyless option to start, lock and go back inside, but as others have said, it fills the air with fumes, particularly on a still frosty morning in our modern cul de sac 🙁

I too read that it’s illegal.

But my new(ish) car can be started remotely, via an app on the phone. Can set the time for warm up. Car starts itself, remains locked. Windows and mirrors clear, seats warm up.

For this time of year it’s a great feature.

Oh yes…it’s a Volvo – those swedes know a thing or two about cold weather 🙂

My solution is for Ford to let their patent lapse on heated front windows*. I’ve only ever owned one Ford and this is most definitely something I miss. It was awesome at quickly clearing the window on a cold and frosty morning.

*I don’t know if they have a patent or not, but it has always baffled me why no other brands (that I’m aware of) offer this.

Patent ran out a few years back new VWs can come with a quickclear screen

For a while I was using one of those plastic store discount cards to scrape the windscreen. Trouble is I only got 10% off.

BTW,I had German-grown brussels sprouts with my Christmas lunch – they lied about those emissions too!

I just love it when people pour water over their windscreens, which then freezes on the pavement or road…

I thought you only needed to clear a tank commander slit in front of the driver’s eyes?

I think I bought a scraper in the 90’s and I’m still using it. (less and less each year it seems)

It takes maybe 2 minutes?

it fills the air with fumes

Surely it still does that when you

start, scrape and stay with car(s) as they start on cold morning – and then sit in the thing if it is a cold one and I cannot see.

???

Two separate issues here:

1. Have we got sympathy for people whose cars get nicked when they leave them with the engine running? (for the record, I do).

2. How best to de-ice and de-mist a car on a cold morning?

But my new(ish) car can be started remotely, via an app on the phone. Can set the time for warm up. Car starts itself, remains locked. Windows and mirrors clear, seats warm up.

so what happens if you have left it in gear ?

A bit of pre-planning helps. If you know it’s going to freeze overnight then turn on the windscreen wipers and when they are at some suitably jaunty angle turn off the ignition. Now put some newspaper over the windscreen using the wipers to hold it in place. Not brilliant if the windscreen is damp at the time though.

Other than that: warm water from the tap is most effective. I like the hot water bottle idea.

Leaving a vehicle unattended with the engine running on a public highway is, if not illegal, then stupid. Dead easy for someone to jump in and drive off. Maybe the OP could do that and just park the car round the corner – at least it would impress on the idiots that they are being idiots.

For a while I was using one of those plastic store discount cards to scrape the windscreen. Trouble is I only got 10% off.

Well I appreciated it, even if no-one else did.

stilltortoise – Member

it fills the air with fumes

Surely it still does that when you

start, scrape and stay with car(s) as they start on cold morning – and then sit in the thing if it is a cold one and I cannot see.
???

yes, however I drive away as soon as it is safe to do so. The option of leaving it seems for most neighbours to be a 10 minute average process, so lots more fumes…

The ford screen is the best invention ever.
Not only gets rid of ice but the fog inside.
You can point vents to defrost side windows.
I walk the 3 miles to work so I don’t really care anyway!

Don’t leave in gear – it’s an auto – in park mode

Perchy outs himself as a pensioner….

Perchy outs himself as having a two garages both big enough to be used for their intended purpose.

Nothing make me chuckle more than driving round a new build estate where every house has an integral “garage” which, even if it hadn’t been poorly converted to a “playroom”, is so full of stuff that you couldn’t put a car in it if you tried.
If you did actually try you’d be hugely disappointed to discover that the internal dimensions would only allow you to store a 1978 Mini in it and even then you’d need to climb out of the window.