Eight Facts About Warming Up Your Car in Winter

I agree with fjbonner, that we don't know enough about the history of the global climate to make any 100 percent conclusions.

It is probably true that cutting down forests isn't good for the earth. Vehicle exhaust and industrial pollution probably isn't either. Its obvious those things are poisonous (polluted streams and dead fish, and carbon poisoning prove that). That being said I don't know where the line is drawl between looking out for the environment and damaging our quality of life through things such as carbon taxes and increased environmental laws which have the potential to greatly increase the costs of consumer goods.

As far as warming up the engine. I'm of the school that if its below freezing I'll turn on the truck and let her idle until either the rpms are around 1000 flat or I am finished scraping the windshield, whichever happens last.

Saying it is bad for the environment to idle a car might be slightly true, but if that idle extends the life of the vehicle through engine wear or safety of avoiding wrecks (less icy or foggy windows), it probably is a net plus for the environment vs the pollution and natural resource consumptions used in making new engine parts or at worst a whole new truck. It is also much cheaper for a person to waste 60 bucks a year of gas then to buy new engine parts or a whole new truck.

That article shows little common sense in many of its points.

 

X2

I only idle when I have an ice covered windshield...

 

yessiree
warmth wins every time!
As far as pouring warm water on my windshield, can't say I ever done that in all my winter driving
Have had many toyota trucks go many many miles even having them idle for 20 minutes using dino oil. Have many friends here idle their trucks, cars, geesh you can get a remote start now on your snowmobile.

 

After reading that I feel the need to idle all of my vehicals overnight... I'm sorry but turning your vehical off if you will be stoped for over 10 seconds is ridiculous... If you do that at every stop light not only will you be putting unnecissary wear and tear on both your charging and starter systems but you also push unburnt and partially burnt fuel through the system. Not to mention having to replace these parts prematurely... And just think of all of the emmisions produced while building these extra parts and then shipping them from china... Or where ever they are assembled... Now picture this on a global scale... Thanks mr kawasaki... Talk about a normitive statements

 

Dear Al Gore, SUCK one!

(not directed at OP)

 

It's not a question of how well will new cars will run when cold, all new cars run great when they're cold. It's that putting a load on a cold engine reduces it's longevity. It's a proven fact. Motor oil does not work when it's cold. It does not perform it's job. It's as simple as that.

 

Warm water may be a quick fix but then your wipers will be iced to the windshiled! that water isnt going to stay warm forever and it sure isnt gonig to disappear.

 

40 years no problem. Of course, I do not pour hot water and just a dribble, so perhaps 'pour' was a misleading word. I'm quite mindful of avoiding a temperature extreme, and technically, I don't pour the water on the glass, but on the ice, while the windshield wipers are working slowly.

But I have another windshield question. Bought the Tacoma new Nov. 30. It had sat on the lot a while. BEFORE, I ever dribbled water on the ice on the winshield I noticed that when the sun shines directly on it, there are thousands of tiny pits or points or whatever visible. Over the years I've gotten used to this sort of thing, but I assumed a new windshield would be perfectly clear, even in the strongest light. I cannot feel the these on the surface. WTF?

 

Thanks. These dot's, pin prick size or smaller, are so small but so pervasive I can't tell if they are from a sand/dust storm while parked on the lot, or are tiny bubbles/imperfections. I don't expect Steuben glass for a windshield, but this surprised me. I assumed that if this was a manufacturing defect, there would be other complaints like mine, but I haven't heard of any.

I guess when I go to the dealer I can take a high intensity flashlight and examine other new cars.

 

A can of spray on de-icer works great for the windshield. instant thaw. also works good to spray on your key if the locks are frozen.

To cold to just jump in the truck and wheel off after 10 seconds, Plus it is hard on the engine.

 

instead of pouring de-icer or hot water on your windshield, how about getting yourself a window scraper.

 

^These are people who don't have to deal with this shit 9 months out of the year. They just don't get it. A for effort though.

 

Why didn't I think of that? A 'window scraper'? Like . . . like . . . they actually make something just for that purpose? Wow! What a revelation!

Thank you.

I'll think I'll try that. In fact I have this dim memory that maybe even I have done something like that in the distant past. Butt if the ice is thick and hard to scrape, I'm sure I'll shamefully revert to a little splash of warm water on the ice. It works so well, leaves a cleaner windshield, and much sooner. And no scrape marks or worries about scratching the glass.

_ Unrepentant Water Window Warmer

 

So in order to dump warm water on the windshield to make warming up the engine unnecessary, I have to let my kitchen tap run until hot and waste precious water and natural gas.

Which portion of the planet should I save? Air or water? I'm so confused. Please help me!

 

hahahaha i like that one ^^^

 

A. No one is telling you what to do.
B. For me at least it is not so much an environmental issue, but one of time, convenience and safety.
C. You don't even have to heat the water. Room temperature water will do. If you want to warm it, it takes 10- 20 seconds, compared to several minutes of warming the car or scraping ice.

Sprinkling/dribbling a little lukewarm to warm water works great for me. It's not as if I haven't tested this notion, or don't do it in moderation. I assumed that was a given; that no one would 'dump' a bucket of boiling hot water on frozen glass, as opposed to a little warm water on the ice covering the glass.

 

oh man the ice gets think and hard to scrape? oh boy i never knew such a horrible thing could happen!

 

really cold tap water is safer. I would It was cold one day and I had a rock chip in my window and turned on the heater and watched a little chip turn in to a crack ande travel all the way across my window. I think they key is slowly melt the ice. I am sure you could crack it if you hit a real cold window with a warmed up heatgun. I turn my defrosters on right away when I was warming up the truck to allow it to slowly warm the glass then I hit it with a couple of really cold classes of tap water and it gets the melt going then I scrape away the rest of the ice..... thats if I am in a rush.. If i wake up.. not running behind wich usually does not happen I start the truck extra early because then i dont have to worry about the fog.. that is almost as bad as the ice

 

To all you greeners.. I know that you mean well.. but I haved looked at the facts just as much as you and I think that Man made global Warming is 100% B.S. used to try and pass a world carbon tax.. That is what I believe.. you have looked at the facts and think we are destroying the planet and causeing it to heat up.. I can explain it time and time again and you can explain your side time and time again.. you have fancy TV comercials and movies about how humans are the worst plague the world has ever seen and I believe the world is for humans. Your data is all unreliable because even NASA has been caught LYING! who can you trust if you can trust NASA? then I always get comments.. "he must watch Fauxs news.. ahahaha.. I watch CNN where they actually tell the truth.. " wake up! the new is B.S. you got to read between the lines.. they will get a huge story and you will see a five second teleprompter read off and never hear about it again then they will be like... "now back to our top story... Linsey Lohan is a skank" then have stupid hott button issues and have people fighting over it while they are sitting back laughing how stupid there audiance is mixing in advertisements as news.