Forum Discussion
- I drove a marked police car for 13 years of my career. For the majority of those years, the cars ran the entire 10 hours of my shift, 4 shifts per week, 52 weeks per year. My last car was a 2007 Crown Vic that had 140K miles on it. That thing idled all day, was driven HARD and never had any engine issues.
The electronic demands of that vehicle overwhelmed the batteries, requiring them to be on all the time or risk it not starting when we needed it.
I'm not sure I believe these horror stories about engine failures. Now... do the engines NEED this? Probably not. In my diesel I tend to start the truck, then help the kiddos buckle their car seats, then get in and drive. If its cold, I'll start the truck a minute or two before we head out the door. With the exhaust brake and high idle feature, I can get heat within a couple of minutes. - One of the best things I did for my 2005 Passat TDI was invest in a coolant heater. Not a block heater, but a coolant heater. It'll eventually heat the engine oil as well but it's main advantage is that when you start the car the defrost works well almost immediately, and the interior warms up a lot faster.
Before the coolant heater, the block heater would get me going, but half way down the street, the condensation in the defrost vents would warm up and evaporate, then blast onto the windshield and immediately re-freeze. A real pain ... - A lot of this depends on just how cold a temp one is talking about... And the focus of most on this thread seems to be on the motor... But, if it is cold enough, many other things are affected in a negative way. From the diff fluid, tranny, transfer case, ball joints etc.. If it moves, it is affected. The only partial solution would be a heated garage. Partial because once you drive to wherever you are going, the car will get cold there.
Severe cold is just flat out hard on automobiles. Perrysburg Dodgeboy wrote:
Bumpyroad wrote:
years back in that tropical paradise they called Iowa I had to call aaa from the motel to start my car, drove to a restaurant, ate breakfast, called AAA again to start car. ;)
bumpy
And you only did that 5 times for starts and 3 times for tows a year before it cost you.
no tows, and since it was a govt.car, it cost you, not me. :)
bumpy- Agree.
Exactly what I do. If the windows are clear, I just start and drive. However, if the windows need scraping, I start the vehicle, turn the defrost on high, and then start scraping, beginning with the side windows if necessary.
I will do the windshield last, letting the defrost do some of the work.toedtoes wrote:
I don't warm up my engine. But I defrost my windows before I drive off - and that means running the engine. If the windows don't need defrosting, I just get in and drive. Bumpyroad wrote:
years back in that tropical paradise they called Iowa I had to call aaa from the motel to start my car, drove to a restaurant, ate breakfast, called AAA again to start car. ;)
bumpy
And you only did that 5 times for starts and 3 times for tows a year before it cost you.Cummins12V98 wrote:
"If you have a motor built in the last 30-40 years or so, it is better to turn on, take off slowly, this will warm up the motor faster and better."
I completely agree! I have NEVER let my rigs warm up. I get high miles out of my rigs with no issues. Start engine, place in gear and drive moderately to start.
So do you clear your truck of snow then start it and take off? Or do you start then clear and drive off?The_real_wild1 wrote:
LOL. I have to laugh at some of you guys that say just jump in and go. I have to look at everyones location. Id love to see you buy a new diesel truck hooked up to a heavy trailer just jump in and drive away when it is -40 after the truck has been sitting for the weekend. Lets make it more interesting by not plugging it in as well.
Most of us don't drive diesels either. The R/T article didn't specify.
I know that "puffers" are ticketable in the Denver Metro area - not sure if it's a state law. They do get ticketed too. It's part of the Denver effort to reduce winter air pollution.mowermech wrote:
It is illegal in this state to leave an idling vehicle unattended.
You can start it and let it idle as long as you want, but you have to sit in it!
As a lifetime resident, I have never heard of this law let alone seen it enforced. All winter trucks idle away in truck stops while the drivers are inside eating, showering, etc...- LOL. I have to laugh at some of you guys that say just jump in and go. I have to look at everyones location. Id love to see you buy a new diesel truck hooked up to a heavy trailer just jump in and drive away when it is -40 after the truck has been sitting for the weekend. Lets make it more interesting by not plugging it in as well.
