You don’t have to stay in the car, run out, start it 10 or 15 minutes later run out and shut it off, and yes you could start it with the remote starter but I think you would still have to go out and shut it off.
A new car with a good battery and using the correct oil should have no trouble starting up at minus 15 degrees or even colder but it does put extra strain on things when you do that. The best thing you can do for the engine is to put a block heater in it so you can plug it in a few hours before you leave in the morning. If you really want the battery to perform in the cold then get a battery blanket for it. I suggest you install these things and then if you want a warm interior have a remote start installed so you can turn the engine on about 15 minutes before you leave.
I know. But is it ok to use a remote start to run the motor during the night a couple of times to make sure a car will start in the morning? We haven’t had these extra cold winters for awhile. If the remote start would take care of warming the car just enough to hopefully have the vehicle run in the morning it would be worth the expense. And I could stay in my nice warm house…
Oh. Still have to bundle up but wouldn’t have to stay outside too long. That could work.
Why not start the car, check to make sure all is well, then go in the house and stay warm for 15 minutes?
Why not start the car and drive off if you are going somewhere or why start it at all if you are not going anywhere. Letting a cold car idle is hard on a car. If you are going somewhere, it is best to drive off after about 60 seconds and drive at surface street speeds until it warms up. Idling will not warm up the transmission and suspension, which also should be warm before hitting freeway speeds.
I am over 60 years old and I live in the Midwest and believe me, I never did any of that foolishness even at -30. It is just plan hard on any car, even the old ones. Of course if you needed a new battery, or a tune up and had summer oil in it, maybe you would need to do something like that.
With modern engines oils and fuel management systems and a decent battery a vehicle will start in extreme cold without serious issue. Your dad’s advice is likely the old carb days when engines only had very few settings that really did not work for such extremes.
If you encounter cold temps more often maybe use synthetic oil for the winter season. I do this in my Subaru WRX as I encounter the -22F occasionally at my ski house.
In at least one state that I know of, where I lived for most of my life, it is a moving violation to leave the car running unattended, period, end of debate. Yes, indeedy, even in your own driveway.
Joseph, you may think it is foolishness, which I find personally offensive. But, perhaps I did not make it clear. On those very cold nights, which were very rare, (that very city hit -26 last night, by the way) the next morning all those people with old beaters who did it made it to work, and no one came to work saying, “Well, I went out every 4 hours but it still wouldn’t start.”
A very high percentage of people with old beaters who parked it at 5 pm, which is what you are talking, then went out to start it at 6 am, did not make it to work. Tow trucks were busy most of the morning and there were hours of waiting for assistance. So, where is the foolishness? There isn’t any. People know their own circumstances better than you do. Which is why big government and socialism do not ever work well.
We could parse each and every person who didn’t get his or her car started, and exude feelings of arrogance and superiority at their personal failings by which they caused their own problems. But, in the end those who started their car every 4 hours made it to work on time. Those who didn’t, and did not have a garage or a new car, had a very high percentage of being late to work.
To go from a 50% chance of making it to work on time, to 100% chance of making it to work on time is not foolishness. The words “common sense” come to mind.
You are one of our better contributors. I am not surprised that a really good mechanic like you would get his car started at -30. However, not everyone is as good a mechanic as you. We found our own solution and it worked.
Let me add something here. I remember well those days, the 60’s and 70’s when that man’s father learned to start his car every four hours. Times have changed. Oils are much better. But, in the car mags in those days were articles by car experts who warned that the oils of the day, the 5W-20’s lost their 5 as soon as the oil started getting contaminated. It rapidly approached the 20.
So, even people with winter oil may have had problems with starting if the oil was not fresh.
That no longer seems to be the case. I haven’t read that warning in years.
Re-posting what I put above. In my state, it was a moving violation to leave a car running, even in your own driveway, unattended. Check out your state laws before doing that.
I agree absolutely that good cars today will start even at -30. And, you are right that when his father learned that, cars had carburetors, and a slight misadjustment of the choke, normally of no consequence, could kill your chances of starting.
Good point!
I am reminded of a tale in Reader’s Digest. A young woman was being taught how to roast the family turkey for Thanksgiving. Her mom told her she had to cut off the tail and put it in the roasting pot. Curious, she investigated, and discovered her grandma had only had a small roasting pot, so had to cut off the tail to make it fit. But, that trick of cutting off the tail was being passed down through the generations as part of cooking a turkey.
Just so, I imagine the father passed down the start every four hours in record breaking cold, without even realizing the modern car in good condition no longer needs what was required for us with older carb cars 30 years ago.
It got to -33 here last night and if you live in a part of the country that get into negative number on a regular basis I?d get a block heater and plug it in at night, just remember to unplug it in the morning. But really on a modern car (one less than 10 or 15 years old) you don?t really need to start it every 4 hours (the advice I was given when I was growing up) nor do you need to start it up and let it warm up before you go to bed.
Just make sure you have a good battery, and when you get dressed run out and start the car give it a minute and drive gently until the car warms up. (You won?t get much of an argument from me if you go out 5 ? 10 minutes early and start the car to get heat into even though it?s a waste of fuel it was COLD!)
My opinions are subject to change with new facts.
Well I’ll add my 60 years in the midwest experience. The answer is that it depends. If you have a modern fuel injection engine and the battery and other mechanicals are in good condition, it should not be necessary to start it during the night in below zero temps. If not though, then it may need to be driven. You can’t just warm it up though but you have to drive it around to do any good.
Back in school, I had a 59 Pontiac carburated car. When it got below zero, every four hours I would have to go drive it around for 15 minutes to warm it up. If I didn’t, it would not start in the morning and I’d have to call the tow truck. I also had a fuel injected diesel that one night at boy scout camp it got down to -27. I warmed it up but didn’t drive it. It didn’t start in the morning-the only time it failed me. It would have if I would have driven it instead of just warming it.
It got down to -24 and even my neighbor’s one year old GMC didn’t start this morning. Until you have experienced minus 10 to minus 30 temps and seen the effect it has on cars overnight, some of these measures seem extreme. But if below zero and you can’t get it in a garage, and you have to go in the morning, nothing wrong with taking it out for a drive before bed.
And the important thing was to get to work and earn your paycheck. Thank you for your understanding and your information. I do have a new vehicle now and it did start today even though we got to -17. It is suppose to get colder tonight so I plan to go out this evening and drive around town to warm it up.
Yes the old cars did not have fuel injection and as a general rule had more miles on them then other people’s cars. Plus we always lived about 30 miles from work as jobs are few in small rural communities and still are. And public transportation is a thing to dream about but not a reality for us. The nearest train is 35 miles away and the nearest bus is even further.
but I think you would still have to go out and shut it off.
I haven’t let it sit that long, but I’m pretty sure most have some kinda set timer in them so they shut off after awhile.
If there is a place nearby that does window tinting, radio system installation, and the like, go talk to them about getting a remote start, they should sell them. Ask if they have a set amount of time they’ll stay running before shutting off. Best part about it is if it’s really hot outside during the summer, just set your A/C to full blast and you can start it up a few seconds early when you leave for the day and have a nice cool car to get into.
Though most have posted not to leave your vehicle running for too long, it comes in handy to be able to handle a few seconds of cold air to get into a nice warm vehicle. I’ve had remote starts on my last 2 vehicles and will get one for my next car as well.
While it may be a law against it, how many cops are gonna be patrolling the streets at 5~6am looking for people leaving their cars unattended?
My little town doesn’t have a policeman so I’ll be fine. Most people do start their cars and let them run. Oh–we have driveways. Think rural village, not large community/city.
I lived in Fairbanks AK for 25+ years. ALL cars, new or old, needed to have at a minimum, a block heater installed. I usually would have an oil pan heater and a battery blanket too. I would also have a timer. I would connect my car to the power outlet in the evening, and 2 hours before I went to work, the timer would kick on, warming oil, antifreeze, and battery. Never had a problem. Sometimes an interior heater was also an option. Of course, this makes ones electric bill go up; but also gets one to work to actually make enough money to pay said electric bill. Now, having said that, I would submit that starting a car in -20 or colder, even if it does start, is hard on the engine. I’ve seen an oil filter adapter blow out a seal and dump several quarts of oil on the ground (oil that flowed like molasses) in bitterly cold Fairbanks weather (I think it was -45 when that happened). Our Borough (like a county but bigger) recommends us plug in at around +20, because it lowers the emissions coming out the tailpipe when first starting up. I have had several cars that would not start after 4 hours in that kind of weather. I’ve also had some that would. But eventually, all of them I made sure had the above equipment so I could keep them warm, and minimize cold start damage.
Seems this had little to do with cars and weather … I am suspecting it had to do with your dad.
Wow! First I have to state that I’m not tough enough for an Alaskan winter. Second, yes most of us have to do whatever it takes to get to work each day. I hear it is warming up here in northern Illinois so I should be ok for at least the next week or two. I’m hoping for an early spring.