Home › Forums › Chat Forum › Leave your car warming up while you go back in the house?
- This topic has 182 replies, 98 voices, and was last updated 7 years ago by anagallis_arvensis.
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Leave your car warming up while you go back in the house?
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kayak23Full Member
Get up, fill one or two empty plastic bottles with hot water, put inside the car on the dash, go back inside and have breakfast.
No ice when you come to leave.thegreatapeFree Memberkeyless 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
You can in a BMW. I drove one several miles away from an RTC to go and see some witnesses. It let me drive it without the key, but obviously wouldn’t restart when I tried to go back again. The chap with the key in his pocket had to come and rescue me 🙂
EDIT Actually, having said that, maybe it had some sort of run lock system fitted that meant it could be left running while my mate was walking about with the key in his pocket, so perhaps a normal one wouldn’t.
hot_fiatFull MemberIf people didn’t insist on buying stupid diesel cars to do the 3-mile school run round trip this wouldn’t be an issue. My (petrol) abarth chuffs out warm air within about two minutes of starting up, whereas our (diesel) yeti takes about 10 miles to do the same. Even then, the oil won’t be anywhere near up to temp.
@jimjam, that’s true for much older engines, particularly ones fitted with carbs, but modern petrol engines of any specific output (granted, a race engine is different) just need driving off as soon as they’re started, albeit with reduced throttle input.
The only engine I’ll warm up before moving off is the KTM’s as, it being carb fed, it’s an absolute git to ride with the choke engaged.
CharlieMungusFree MemberThe ford screen is the best invention ever.
Not only gets rid of ice but the fog inside.I was absolutely flummoxed at how these worked, It just seemed like magic. In the end i bought a Ford, just to see it in action. But at soon as i switched it on it was all demystified.
ircFree MemberIt probably comes from advice/bro-science/knowledge that gets touted about ex police cars and the like which will have sat idling with the engine running for long periods of time leading to high engine temps cooking the oil.
I think it’s cold starts that cause most engine wear. Hence police cars used 24/7 which rarely start from cold can be driven hard at high revs, or idled for hours and still do 200’000 miles.
As for warming up – I tend to let my car idle for a couple of minutes before driving off from a cold start, regardless of weather. Allowing the oil to circulate before loading the engine may do some good. Won’t do any harm anyway.
NorthwindFull Memberhot_fiat – Member
The only engine I’ll warm up before moving off is the KTM’s as, it being carb fed, it’s an absolute git to ride with the choke engaged.
Hah. I’d forgotten about that- approach junction, close throttle, await engine braking, aaaargh the choke’s still on and the bike’s idling at 3000rpm and wants to keep going at 30mph 😆 Obviously the only vehicle I’ve ever wanted to warm up before using, was also the loudest one (and the one most temperamental about cold starting, had the smallest battery…). OTOH, no demisting.
binnersFull MemberThat guy who leaves the Evo running every morning…. have you got an address? 😀
scudFree MemberWell i’ll be the only one to admit that I do it, but i drive a £500 Astra Estate, which takes ages to de-mist and it is parked on my drive locked.
But i live in a rural village where i know everyone on my road, most people leave house unlocked let alone car. I go outside start my car, place my daughter school bags and my work bag in. Then go back in get my daughters coat and hat on then go back out.
So i drive a pretty worthless car and temperatures have been -5 a few times in last few weeks, so i want my daughter to be climbing into a warm car where dad can actually see out of the windscreen. I’d rather the small risk of it being nicked instead of being one of the many fools i see driving looking out of a 5″ by 5″ square in windscreen, we have no streetlights or cats eyes here, plus junctions have high hedges, so i need full 360 view of the world from car.
136stuFree MemberI made this mistake a few years ago with a company Passat. Was in and out of the house loading up sons gear for a ski trip with engine left running. Came out to see car attempting to be driven off, I thought wtf is son doing trying to drive the car off, then he steps out from behind me and asks whats going on? At this point the penny drops and I leg it to stand in front of the car to block the thief. He couldn’t figure out the push button handbrake (bit unique back then) otherwise car would have gone and I would have had to re-imburse my employer. Lesson learned.
captmorganFree Memberbikebouy – Member
Antisocial stupidity tax, at least the owner should be looking out of the kitchen window whilst “hoodyboy” slams it in reverse.Scraper & de-icer, 5mins.
You could have a fag whilst doing it.
To be fair if it’s cold enough that you need a scraper and de-icer it’s hardly the weather for a spot of dogging my man.
jimjamFree Memberhot_fiat
@jimjam, that’s true for much older engines, particularly ones fitted with carbs, but modern petrol engines of any specific output (granted, a race engine is different) just need driving off as soon as they’re started, albeit with reduced throttle input.
Of course you can drive off right away. I wouldn’t, and I’ve spoken to a a good few mechanics who own performance/modified cars who do the same. With my Subaru (which was an 02) the gearbox was one of the main factors in allowing the car to warm up. Anything fast I’ve driven from cold up to about 08/09 seems to be the same.
ernie_lynchFree MemberIt can’t be illegal to leave your car running unattended anyway
It most certainly is – if it’s on the public highway. [/quote]
In England ‘stationary idling’ is an emission offence under section 42 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, even if you are sitting in the driver’s seat. It doesn’t specify that it only applies on the public highway. Since it’s an ’emission offence’ I assume that committing it on your own driveway makes no difference.
natrixFree MemberWhen I was in small town Alaska folk would leave their engines running in the car park at the cinema, to stop them freezing, resulting in vast clouds of exhaust gas floating over the car park. It has solved the problem though, global warming has led to milder winters for them now.
jimjamFree Memberernie_lynch
In England ‘stationary idling’ is an emission offence under section 42 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, even if you are sitting in the driver’s seat. It doesn’t specify that it only applies on the public highway. Since it’s an ’emission offence’ I assume that committing it on your own driveway makes no difference.
Wouldn’t the road traffic act deal with the roads and public highways? Otherwise it seems farcical.
philjuniorFree MemberIn England ‘stationary idling’ is an emission offence under section 42 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, even if you are sitting in the driver’s seat. It doesn’t specify that it only applies on the public highway. Since it’s an ’emission offence’ I assume that committing it on your own driveway makes no difference.
As it’s off the highway and emissions regs don’t apply off highway, I’d imagine you’re wrong (but IANAL, and I know they’ve made attempts to ensure things such as driving without insurance are still an offence in places like car parks – however this is on your private land where you could drive what you wanted regardless of emission regs).
wwaswasFull MemberOtherwise it seems farcical.
You can be done for drunk driving just by sitting in the driving seat of a motor vehicle whilst over the limit on private land?
johndohFree MemberI agree with all the other comments about Ford’s QuickClear system – I had a Puma around 15 years ago with it and I loved it. My almost new Audi A6 makes do with a stupid blower system with a raison d’être of just being very loud. It has a special button and everything – ‘Press me and I promise I will clear your windscreen’ then it just screams loudly.
jimjamFree Memberwwaswas
You can be done for drunk driving just by sitting in the driving seat of a motor vehicle whilst over the limit on private land?
What about a quad that’s not taxed (asking for a friend).
gobuchulFree MemberYou can be done for drunk driving just by sitting in the driving seat of a motor vehicle whilst over the limit on private land?
Is that a question?
The answer is no.
frogstompFull MemberTop tip for older (non-keyless) BMWs (e.g. E90/91) .. start the car, stop the car, remove the key fob, start the car (i.e. press the clutch pedal, press start button). You can then leave it running and lock it with the one key.
You can be done for drunk driving just by sitting in the driving seat of a motor vehicle whilst over the limit on private land?
Doesn’t that only apply to publicly accessible private land – e.g. supermarket car park?
thegreatapeFree MemberYou can be done for drunk driving just by sitting in the driving seat of a motor vehicle whilst over the limit on private land?
That depends on the land.
bencooperFree MemberAt this point the penny drops and I leg it to stand in front of the car to block the thief. He couldn’t figure out the push button handbrake (bit unique back then) otherwise
car would have goneI would have diedFTFY. People have been killed trying to stop someone driving off in their car.
molgripsFree MemberMy 2006 Passat has a heated windscreen.
yeti takes about 10 miles to do the same. Even then, the oil won’t be anywhere near up to temp.
Given that water has a much higher heat capacity than oil, and the oil is closer to the hot parts of the engine, I’d expect the oil to heat up faster than the water.
Oh and the abovementioned Passat also has an electric air heater that starts warming the cabin within a minute 🙂
DezBFree MemberThat guy who leaves the Evo running every morning…. have you got an address?
Bit far for you binbins. I’ll drop it off to you one morning if you like 😀
bensalesFree MemberI just push the button on my app whilst having breakfast 🙂
Car is on the drive, so no legal problems, stays locked with the lights off, starts up, puts on heating front and rear windows and gets nicely toasty so when I get in 10 minutes later there’s none of that tedious scraping to be done.
ircFree MemberIn England ‘stationary idling’ is an emission offence under section 42 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, even if you are sitting in the driver’s seat. It doesn’t specify that it only applies on the public highway. Since it’s an ’emission offence’ I assume that committing it on your own driveway makes no difference.
Section 42 doesn’t specify the road because Section 42 creates the offense for all construction and use regs. The actual regulation will specify road or not.
In the case of engine idling the regs are at
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2002/0110423887
Which say
Stopping of engine when vehicle stationary
12.—(1) An authorised person who has reasonable cause to believe that the driver of a vehicle that is stationary on a road is committing a stationary idling offence may, upon production of evidence of his authorisation, require him to stop the running of the engine of that vehicle.
So private land – no offense.
sbobFree Membergobuchul – Member
“You can be done for drunk driving just by sitting in the driving seat of a motor vehicle whilst over the limit on private land?”
Is that a question?
The answer is no.
Strictly speaking, the answer is yes. 🙂
The offence of leaving a vehicle running is known as “quitting”.
I think the wording is something like:
This states that no person shall cause or permit to be on any road any motor vehicle which is not attended by a person duly licensed to drive it unless the engine is stopped and the parking brake is effectively set. Exemptions to the requirements of this Regulation as to the stopping of the engine include a fire brigade vehicle, the engine of which is being used for any fire brigade purpose.
but don’t quote me.
I had a car which had a remote start fitted, but I took it off as it lowered the security rating of the alarm system and increased insurance. 💡
wwaswasFull Member“The company announced Wednesday at CES 2017 its newer vehicles will work alongside Amazon’s popular Echo smart speaker and its voice assistant Alexa.
The move will allow select Ford owners to make voice requests via the Echo such as “Alexa, ask MyFord Mobile to start my car,” provided they’re within earshot of the smart home device.
Other capabilities include the ability to turn off the car, lock or unlock the doors and check a vehicle’s battery power level. The technology could also be useful for those who want to loan a car to a friend without handing over a key. A car owner could ask its Echo to unlock and start the car, even if its miles away. “
http://money.cnn.com/2017/01/04/technology/ford-amazon-alexa-echo/index.html
Seems secure 😯
sbobFree MemberSo private land – no offence.
It’s not as simple as that.
I don’t have time to dig out the legislation but there is a “for the purposes of” clause that will allow prosecutions for certain offences on private land in certain circumstances. It’s about being accessible to the public, not actually being public.Otherwise you could get pissed up and doughnut your old 3-series around Tesco’s car park with impunity.
stilltortoiseFree MemberAs for warming up – I tend to let my car idle for a couple of minutes before driving off from a cold start, regardless of weather. Allowing the oil to circulate before loading the engine may do some good. Won’t do any harm anyway.
I’m sure that one of my cars said in the manual that you should *not* do this and should drive off straight away. Can’t remember which car…
yourguitarheroFree MemberBest car I’ve had for getting the fog off the windows is my MX5
Get in, start car, put roof down, turn on blowers and heated seats.
Scrape ice off. Get back in, put some toonz on from my phone, put on gloves, hat, scarf and ray-bans, floor the accelerator, pop the clutch, spin/slide off down the street like a champ – vroom vroom and toot toot!Windows take seconds to clear with the roof down and never fog up again
TiRedFull MemberDiesel cars should be driven away immediately. The engines won’t attain working temperature at idle. That was in my VAG manual. I just use warm tap water and a rubber bladed wipe to clean off the screen on the rare occasions I now drive in the morning.
miketuallyFree MemberBy the time you’ve scraped the ice off, the windows will be demisted anyway?
Not in my experience.[/quote]
This is where the sponge, or just waiting a while, is useful.
Nobody is driving a short journey, right? Waiting a few minutes is a small fraction of the total journey time.
zaneladFree MemberI tried the hot water bottle on the dashboard last winter.
It doesn’t work. All I got was a tiny area of clear screen and 98% of the windscreen still frozen.
PeterPoddyFree MemberDefrosting cars? I just MTFU and ride a motorbike. Nothing to defrost. 🙂
My record is -7C on the way to work. No problem. 🙂HounsFull MemberI’m more intrigued how Joe scummy car thief can see where they are driving and don’t stuff it into the first parked car they come to
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