Remote Start during winter

[spiderpig]

Is it ok to remote start the car and just let her run the 10 minutes? Or is that bad for the car? It just snowed outside and I wanted to run it for a little before I go out and clear her off. I figure running the car will melt some of the stuff to help out. Just wanted to make sure it wasn't too bad for the car.

[Sponsor]

[1slofofo]

I let mine run without any heat or anything for 4-5 minutes on the really cold mornings, and then while it's warming up I get the ice/snow off. And then I turn the heater on and it's nice and warm. Many people argue it's bad, many argue it's good. I think 10 minutes is a little excessive for a new car.

[IngotFoFo]

I see no problem with It, some mornings you have no choice when the windshield is frosted over. I would be careful running just the engine then turning on the heat because instant heat from the defroster will cause a cold windshield to crack. If you turn the defroster on from the get go, the temperature change is gradual and that risk is eliminated

[Burns098356GX]

A few minutes to warm up isn't going to hurt it. Its been between -10 and -20 for a week so I let the engine run for 5 minutes before setting off too work. As long as its not excessive. I had an uncle that would warm up his truck for 20 minutes even in the summer. That much idle isn't good for your motor.

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[hand-filer]

Or the environment.


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[spiderpig]

Well the car Remote Starter settings have three settings: auto contrls (starts AC or heat), front defrost, rear defrost. I have all these set to auto right now. My thinking was let the car start up and let her run for about 5-10 minutes and then go clear her off.

[hotleadsingerguy]

It used to be that idling a car for longer than a few minutes was bad for the engine. That time has passed...and there is no longer any harm in it. You could idle a car for an entire tank of gas and the engine would be in no worse shape for it. For the very cold days, let it idle for 10 minutes before you leave. It won't hurt anything and hopefully then it'll be a bit warmer in there for you when you get in.

As for the "bad for the environment" thing...a car idling for 5-10 minutes is better than a few people smoking cigarettes for the same time frame. The car lets fewer carcinogens into the air.

[AfternoonShift]

Originally Posted by IngotFoFo

I see no problem with It, some mornings you have no choice when the windshield is frosted over. I would be careful running just the engine then turning on the heat because instant heat from the defroster will cause a cold windshield to crack. If you turn the defroster on from the get go, the temperature change is gradual and that risk is eliminated

I've never heard of a windscreen cracking because of that lol you can't be serious.


If its really cold below 20f, I'll wait a few mins then go.

[suss6052]

Originally Posted by AfternoonShift

I've never heard of a windscreen cracking because of that lol you can't be serious.


If its really cold below 20f, I'll wait a few mins then go.

If there is a chip or a crack already on the glass the sudden heating or cooling will cause it to propagate and spread across the windshield fairly easily. Also pouring warm water over ice cold glass can cause it to break sometimes also. Its about the sudden stress induced across the glass.

[spiderpig]

So it worked great. Car was covered in about 2-3 inches of snow with ice below it. Started the car and let her run for about 5-6 minutes. The front and rear defrosters took take of the ice and made the clean up a lot easier. I used a brush I use to clear the snow and it took me about 4 minutes total to clean my car. Was great.

Cleaning off my wife's minivan on the other hand is still a pain.