Warm Your Car Up Faster
**Secret Revealed**
My friend Todd told me about this secret many years ago. He has rebuilt more cars in his suburban home garage than anyone I know.
I met Todd at my first part time job, we used to work early weekend mornings during high school. I was too young to have a driver’s license, so my dedicated parents would always drive me.
That was before remote starters, so I would usually start the car a few minutes before leaving. Actually, that’s not true — my Dad was usually the one starting the car a few minutes before I was ready to leave, which was about 10 minutes after I told him I would be ready to leave.
It didn’t make much difference to the car — it was still cold for at least half the trip. On the rare occasion that I started the car, I would turn the heater to its hottest setting and turn the fan to full blast. That’s actually the slowest way to warm the car, so lets talk more about the fastest way.
The trick is very counter-intuitive, so I want to briefly explain how the car heater works for this secret to make sense.
The item pictured above is a heater core. Most cars have one of these inside the dashboard. Hot liquid passes through the fins, which are there to create a lot of surface area so that air passing through can pickup as much heat as possible before it comes out the air vents. It works just like the radiators in many older homes in that sense.
The liquid is heated by excess engine heat, so if the engine is cold then you won’t get any hot air from your air vents. Your engine has a cooling system which is designed to draw heat away from the engine so it does not overheat. The heater works in a similar way, removing heat from the engine and using it to heat the air being blown into the passenger compartment. So, when you turn on your heater, you are essentially cooling the engine by transferring some of its heat to the inside of the car.
To heat the engine faster, you want to stop that heat loss. It’s similar to heating your oven, you don’t leave the door open because you’ll lose all of the heat.
You want to turn the heater off by moving the temperature control all the way to cold. Also, turn the fan off to ensure it is not blowing air across the heater core which transfers heat away from it. This will trap the heat in the engine cooling system (reducing its ability to cool the engine) and therefore heat the engine more quickly. It traps the heat in, just like closing the oven door.
If your car has an automatic climate control system that allows you to dial in the temperature then there is no need to worry about these suggestions to make them heat the car faster, most of these cars do it automatically. If your car has automatic climate control, it’s normal that the fan doesn’t blow when you first start the cold car. The vehicle engineers already know this secret and have programmed it into the car. The fan does not run until there is adequate engine heat to warm the air (unless you want to warm the car more slowly and manually activate the fan).
This knowledge is helpful to all drivers, even if you never plan to drive in cold weather. If your engine is overheating in hot weather, set the climate control to hot, turn the fan on full blast and roll down all the windows. This will dissipate engine heat through the heater core and help cool the engine.
Thanks to Todd M for sharing this secret many years ago.
Chad Upton is the editor-in-chief of Broken Secrets and an official Yahoo Answers contributor.
Sources: 2CarPros, How Stuff Works
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Haha! I learned the principles of this the hard way when my thermostat broke on a long road trip. Since the engine temp was not being monitored, it was not being cooled properly. The only way to prevent the car from overheating was to turn the heat all the way up and on full blast (with the windows down of course). It dissipated just enough heat to get me to a mechanic who installed a new thermostat.
Good article.
Fastest way is to start the car, let it idle for no more than a minute, and then drive it. An engine under driving load will heat up 3 times faster than an engine at idle. Within 3 miles you should have heat coming out the vents.
The benefit is that it saves fuel and all that diddling with the heater controls too.
Very few people are aware of this; but on modern cars there is very little water going to the HVAC system until the thermostat in the engine opens. Playing with the heater controls does virtually nothing to affect the faster generation of heat.
This works, but it is dreadfully inadequate in really cold weather. When we were stationed in the upper peninsula of Michigan, it was not unusual to see -30 deg F overnight for several nights in a row. Starting the car at 6 AM to drive to Base Ops was problematic, to say the least. In such conditions, most of the guys who wanted to show up on a reliable basis installed block heaters in their engines. This is a small electric heating element with a short extension cord that was installed directly into the engine block to keep the engine reasonably warm for as long as you kept the car plugged in to an electrical outlet. You could unplug the extension, get in the car, start it as if it were 70 degrees outside, and – extra benefit – it warmed the water passages that ran to the heater core, so you could get nearly instant heat. The block heater installation only cost about $100, as I recall. This was a very worthwhile investment for the 9 months of annual winter that we endured up there.
This is amazing! In Wisconsin, we have no snow, but a bad history of cold winters. I get my driver’s license in March, but still pretty cold. This is way better than riding the bus!!
Thanks!
The cooling system for the vehicle includes a thermostat (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermostat#Automotive) to control flow of coolant through the engine. The thermostat remains closed until the coolant reaches a temperature (as designed by the engineers). The heater core wouldn’t warm up until the the engine cooling system has reached a warm enough temperature. Keeping the temperature switch on cold or hot shouldn’t matter since the engine will continue to heat the engine at the same rate while sitting idle. I suspect that instead of feeling a gradual warming you are waiting to blow air over the heater core until the vehicle has reached a warmer temperature that would have been hit anyway.
Another great thing is a BLOCK HEATER. WIth one of these, the car engine never really gets cold and the heat is instantaneous.
i thought this was obvious. it’s been a long time since I’ve seen any cars with an electric heater.
I was hoping for some other tips. my area (So Cali) doesn’t snow or get that cold, but for the sake of MPG, a warm car performs better than a cold one.
I’ve heard of anything from parking your car in a heated garage to use thermal reflective sheet/ car cover to even FAS style driving which all are supposed to increased MPG and reduce engine wear. what I do is just drive a bit harder, get the RPMs up a little higher than normal, which would result the engine working harder, using more fuel, therefore heating it up faster.
then just hypermile everywhere possible to compensate for the fuel loss when I “warmed up” the car.
The fastest (and best) way to warm up a car is to start driving, gently at first, as soon as the oil pressure comes up (10 seconds, tops).
Warming up the engine in the driveway wastes fuel, and does nothing to warm up other parts of the car that work better when warm, such as the transmission, differential, and shock absorbers.
You are behind times, many years ago one went to an auto supply and purchased a “dip stick heater”. You would remove the oil dipstick and insert the heater which would keep the oil warm all night making it easy to start the car in the morning even with temperatures well below zero. Using the correct engine thermostat the coolant would heat up faster.
Ahh yes, Chad. I remember being allowed to start my dad’s ’64 Chevy pickup after I was twelve or so. Unlike you, however, I was RARELY ten minutes late getting ready – I typically placed in the.fifteen minute category.
Over the years, here in the southwest, the “heater on/windows down” technique has literally saved many a driver during summertime road trips across the desert.
Important information and great reminiscences – thanks. Ed
It’s only half true. The thermostat will not open so no coolant will take away heat from the engine until it is hot enough.
Great article mate! Thanks for that! I never knew about that.
A separate coolant heater or sump oil heater could also be useful in extreme of winter you can set it to pre-heat your car for an hour before you usually set off for work in the morning and you’ll then be getting great mpg straight away and saving money.
This explanation strikes me as wrong, but I think the correct explanation might lead to the same conclusion. If you have two identical cars, idling at the same engine speed using the same amount of fuel, with engines operating at equal efficiency, they will convert the same amount of chemical energy in the fuel to heat. If car A is running the heater and car B is not, then car A’s heat energy gets split, between warming up the engine/fluids and warming up the inside of the car, and car B’s heat energy all goes into warming up the engine/fluids. (This is neglecting any heat lost to the outside environment.) Car B is essentially using its engine as a “heat battery”, and when you eventually turn the heater on, you will heat the inside of the car more quickly.
But Car A gets a head start. Even though it’s going more slowly, it takes the same amount of heat energy to warm Car A’s interior as it does Car B’s interior, and it takes the same amount of time to generate that excess heat energy.
Think of it like filling two buckets from two faucets that flow (generate heat energy) at the same rate. One faucet goes directly into bucket A (the car interior). The other faucet goes into an intermediate bucket (the engine/fluids), and when it’s full, you’ll dump it into bucket B. It might take 1 minute to fill bucket A, and only 1 second to fill bucket B once you start pouring water from the intermediate bucket, but both A and B will be full (reach your final temperature) at the same time.
And if you’re slow to recognize that the intermediate bucket is ready to be dumped into B, you’re going to spill water over the side (dump heat from the engine/fluids into the environment) and waste it.
So, in a very simple scenario, both ways will warm up the car in the same amount of time. But since you’re storing up more heat in Car B’s engine/fluids, it will reach its operating temperature more quickly, which may influence how much of the fuel energy is converted to heat.
Given all the variables and the complexity of cars, probably the best thing to do is conduct an experiment.
That’s 1 1/2 minutes I won’t get back. If you’re warming up the car anyway, stick a piece of cardboard over the front of the radiator. It’s not able to pull cold air in to cool your coolant ,Cool. This also works when the temperature dips way below zero. If your just doing it to help speed up the coolant warming, remember to yank it off before you take off as it will either cause your coolant to overheat or cause your thermostat/fanstat to remain open.
By the way the car pictured is a “bug”. They used to be air cooled. I have heard (but not verified) that when VW reintroduced them to the US they had a radiator. ‘Course if you don’t have a radiator, you can’t put a piece of cardboard over it
or you get the automatic carstarter in stalled and when you get out of the car make sure you leave the heater on so when you do get in its nice and warm
Your “trick” doesn’t work. The thermostat stays closed until the motor reaches operating temperature. Likewise, warm coolant does not flow through the heater core until the thermostat opens.
Driving the vehicle at a gentle pace until it reaches operating temperature is the best / fastest way to warm it up – besides, of course, using a block heater.
This is NOT the best way to heat a car faster nor is it good for the enviroment!!! just do like the Europeans have done for years…drive your car in a lower gear which causes the engine to heat faster whilr you are moving towards your destination! Don’t be silly and try to do 60 in first gear!!
This makes a lot of sense! Thanks for the information!
Makes sense and let me add the following. In the summer, when it’s hot, if your car starts to overheat…the best way to try to stop the overheating is by turning your heat ON inside the car and turning it up as far as it will go (both in terms of temperature and the speed of the fan that blows the hot air). What this does is help to pull hot water from the cooling system, runs a fan over it and sends it back to the engine cooler than when it came out. It works.
I usually start up my car, and then take my dog for a 10 minute walk. Leaving the fan switch on its lowest setting, I will have some heat driving down the road.
Until the engine reaches operating temperature, the thermostat remains closed and coolant does NOT circulate. That means the heater core is NOT able to remove a meaningful amount of heat, even with the fan on full. While your description of the operation of the cooling system is technically accurate, it makes practically zero difference on a cold morning. Your tip about using the heater to pull heat from an overheating engine is SLIGHTLY helpful, but unlikely to buy enough time to drive further then the next exit.
Hmm, I didn’t know that. I did know though that the fastest way to get cold is to get air moving across you, and that the key to staying warm in cold weather is trapping air around you and blocking it from blowing on you (think down traps the air, the outer shell keeps the wind from blowing you, means warmer.) So… when you get in the car, you want to turn all fans off until it’s clearly warm air coming out because otherwise you’re going to freeze to death. It’s not counter intuitive… it’s intelligent. If you’re cold, block the wind until you’re sure it’s warm.
let it idle.
Couple related points:
Warming-up an unattended vehicle is a theft risk and is unlawful in many communities.
And if you are in a cold climate and tired a cold cars, an engine block heater is a factory option on many new cars and can be retrofitted to older cars. Combined with an inexpensive timer, it can be set to give you a reasonably warm car when you are ready. (set for a couple hours before you need it.)
The bull is roaring about as loud as it can here! Oh! and don’t forget about adding magnets to the heat lines to polarize the anitfreeze molicuels too! I have limited number left that I’ll let go for only $90 a set…order now!
I almost knew to keep the heater off. The only thing I knew was to run the heater full blast as soon as I turn my engine on. I also knew the heater gets it’s heat from the engine, I just didn’t know to let the engine warm up first.
Thanks!
way back in the 1970′s it was possible to install a heater in the car’s cooling system which was a miniature immersion heater which you plugged in over night to the house mains supply to keep the car at a nice heat all night. fine if you had access to a garage and a unit fitted but. the problem to day is most use the garage as some kind of external store room.
so that rules out one item, even one installed and connected up on the drive would make it better the next day. sadly i have not seen any adverts lately for such devices.
it has disappeared like the car jack that is a big air bag which fits on the exhaust to jack the car up to change the tyres when they get a puncture.
Thank You!
Awesome article! You might think no one read this…but I sure did! I’m now going to tell people (and pretend like its just something I knew…lol)
Thanks for the knowledge Chad!
A MUCH better way is to carpool, sharing the body heat from others in the same car.
Idling a car is NOT a good way to warm a car – the responsible way to do it is to start it, run JUST long enough to clear the windows, and start driving gently. An engine under load warms up MUCH faster than a polluting, idling engine.
well, here in australia it never gets cold enough to have to worry about things like heating. cooling, well thats another story.
faster ?,,……………,best way is to have a good thermostat & the cooling system full of coolant & free of blockages, both air & water flow. and a few minutes time. lifetime cold climate resident
What about how to cool down car faster? You’ll want know that if you live in the equator
Thank you SO much for this! I am in high school and just got my license and I drive to school every morning and it does get really cold sometimes and I want that quick heat. I already figured out not to turn on the fan until it is heated to trap the heated and even if I did it would be blowing cold air into my face. But I never knew the temperature dial was actually a control on the liquid coolant going through the radiator!
This will actually save a lot of gas for people who just idle their car going no where to heat up the cabins. This time I’ll let the engine parts heat up a bit and then just go and let the engine heat up! Because I do notice that when I drive faster then normal the cabin heats up faster as well.
I guess all in all it is just a comfort thing, sometimes I just go and wear my winter jacket in the car instead of turning on the heater because my school is actually pretty close.
Thanks for the overheating tip too, ingenious stuff right there!
Another secret is to not idle the engine to warm it up. Just start the car and drive. About 2-3 minutes of driving in most modern cars will warm the engine, whereas, it takes 15-20 minutes to idle an engine warm. Larger engines tend to take longer than smaller ones.
Also, consider getting a hotter thermostat, which will let the coolant get hotter before opening the valve to flow through the radiator (it always flows through the heater core). This has the happy side effect of improving MPG…although quite slightly…
Lastly, if you live somewhere truly cold (such as I used to: Fairbanks, Alaska), then consider engine block heaters, which basically pre-heat the engine. Freeze plug heaters are the best, but even oil pan heating pads and head-bolt heaters help. These can make significant (wintertime) MPG improvements.
Yes, the winter temperature is not suitable for driving, but sometimes have to when driving is a very troublesome thing, therefore, I was very worried, so now when I go to work should take the company car, however, and many people crowded together and not very happy things! Your method is likely to be good, today a try! Thank you for sharing your secret!
If running the engine in a garage, the big door should be open. Carbon monoxide kills many people.
Heater cores Rarely have valves, as this implies. They Used to. I know after 1980, they just use an air shutter. Closing circulating air to the core will help wam up , Some, but not as much as if valves were closed to both ends of the heater core. Compared to the size of the radiator, it is minscule . And the hoses ae 1/3 as big. Your “friend” probably is psychosomatic, he imagines how well it works, so it “works” for him.
My Grand Father, Father, and now me all place a small hair dryer in the car with an extension cord run into the porch ready to be plugged in when needed.
Just allowing 5 minutes for the hair-dryer to run there’s no problem with ice on windows and the car is nice and toasty as the heat is immediate.
Turn the car fan to off and position the har-dryer so it’s pointing toward the front wind shield.
Make sure the air flow to the dryer is not obstructed.
Placing it on top of a milk crate supports the dryer and allows for safer operation and air-flow.
I positioned and secured the dryer I use to a milk crate with a few zip ties so it points directly at the wind shieldy and doesn’t move while turned on.
Make sure the dryer is in good working order with no worn cords.
Ermmmm…. I dont really give a rats arse how hot the engine block is. I just want to be nice and warm inside the car. And the quickest way to do that is put the heater to hot and the fan on full.
So I am going continue to use that strategy.
This actually makes very little sense. At most it would shave a few seconds off of the warm up time. But as most people already know, the heater doesnt blow hot air until the engine is warm. Looking at it scientifically, your friend theory hold very little, to no water. The way an engine heats up, as well as a heating coil/air duct is by diffusion. In which particles (in this case heat)in areas of high concentration, move to areas of low concentration to be evenly distributed. The particles dont jump over entire areas, they spread evenly. If you put a sugar cube in a glass of water, it would sink to the bottom, and then diffuse from the area of high concentration(the sugar cube) to evenly distrube throughout the water. It wouldnt skip the middle of the glass and go straight to the top, no matter how much water is in the glass, it is impossible to move in any other way. So applying the same laws, the heat of the engine will move from the area of high concentration (the combustion point) outward to the entire engine. By turning on the heater, you are simply increasing the area for which the heat diffuses, which is equal to having more water in the glass. The bottom line, the heater cannot blow hot air until there is heat to blow, meaning the motor is already warm. Its science.
Well, ok, good to know. Thanks. But when are you going to turn on the heat and fan?
you just have to press gas for 5 min
That’s really cool! Living in colorado definately requires heated cars, so this is a great tip to make everyday trips more comfortable.
as soon as u get up in the morning go out and start your car then come back in to get changed and the car will be redy for you
Also remember to clear the air intake area if your Car is covered in Snow, Otherwise, there will be no Air coming into the eater Fins and you Windshield will just Fog up.
sometimes it is good to circulate air as cold, to dehumidify windshield,
sometimes it helps to check airflow from outdoors, or from recirculated air in interior, outdoor air is better to use dry fresh air, than to use internal air that adds moisture from dampness or frost in car, and breathing,
some advamnced cars turn on the air conditioning unit, to make engine run harder on system, thus heating up faster, this adds to gas consumption, same as air cool air would during summer,
check direction of air flow, defrost may work better once air is warm, but also floor heat can warm up cab areas faster for comfort,
some cars have added padding under hood to hold heat in, add if possible in colder regions of planet,
if you have to drive while interior is still too cold, add steering wheel cover to add warmth to touch and better grip, if seat is plastic vinyl, add thin foam layer and seat cover to warm self faster, some advanced cars have built in heaters for seat,
you can add antifreeze heater to as add-on, plug in and circulate fluids overnight if you have -20 weather, or block heater and battery warmer, requires plugging in,
warming up car the night before, and then plugging in can help keep car fluids warm,
there are interior block heater as well that do warm up interior overnight,
place widow cover over windshield to lower possibility of frost, or use whole car cover to protect from outdoor areas, at work or home,
having built in timer to autostart car when ever it goes below -30 and warm up periodically, can relieve owner of baby sitting , have car/baby monitor installed for house use, to check it has a temperature, and hear if auto start does ignite to run engine, sometimes autostart remote appear to start, but only turn lights on and kill battery, could add auto shut off if engine refuses to turn over and run, acting up or misbehaving engines may require a good tuning, check on sunny days,
check fluid and tire air pressure, and spare,
Have a Happy Holiday , travel safe,
The absolute best way to warm up a vehicle is to DRIVE it.
Idling the engine, especiallly when cold, is bad for it.
Just get in the car and drive. The car warms up quicker with a load on the engine.
Thanks for the tips on warming up the car.
That makes a lot of sense. I have been doing that for a long time. Although it IS tempting to turn on the heater quickly, I don’t. Also I warm up my car for about 10 minutes without reving the engine. The oil is thicker and it should distribute slowly.
I doubt it. While certainly, you are not getting many btu’s into the passenger compartment during the first few minutes of running the engine, if things are working correctly, the water will be flowing through the heater core from the instant you start the engine, and so in a very few seconds you should begin getting a little heat from running the fan. there is no way to alter the thermostat setting to restrict the flow of water through the radiator, which would be the only thing you could do to speed things up, though you could put a blanket over the grill to decrease the flow of cold air through the radiator. (Though most new cars have electric fans on the radiator, and they are off when the car is cold anyway.)
Ok thanks! I already knew that but thanks anyways?
Merry Christmas everyone!!! <3
It is really a good method, hope to be able to use this to drive, if you try!
where’s the picture of the heater core…? o.O
Want to warm it up even faster? Get in, start it up and drive off right away. It’s faster and easier on your engine.
When warming up the engine, it’s also better for it, plus more economical, to drive for a few minutes at no faster than 35mph. Idling is rough on the engine, and going 55 in an unwarmed engine can also be tough on it. So best to not leave it in your driveway on, which is bad both for engines and our lungs… though I do that anyway. It’s cold out there lol
This is so wrong, and so misleading.
It sounds like it makes sense, until it doesn’t make any sense!
The coolant in a car’s cooling system is in three major areas…
The engine block, the radiator, and the heater core.
The coolant remains, not moving, in each of these three areas until the thermostat opens.
Usually at 120 degrees, 140 degrees, or 160 degrees, depending on your car’s thermostat.
The thermostat measures the temperature of the coolant in the engine block.
When the coolant is cold, less than the thermostat setting (120, 140, 160) the coolant does not move.
When the combustion in the engine raises the temperature of the coolant in the engine block, the thermostat opens and the coolant begins to move.
At that point, you will immediately begin to feel heat in the passenger area. It will go hot, and then cool off a bit, until the temperature equalizes within the three
Areas.
So, you can wait, freezing, for 5 minutes with the heater off while the coolant in the engine block and the coolant in the radiator are up to the thermostat
Temperature, then turn on the heater for immediate heat after freezing for 5 minutes; or you can turn on the heater and wait about 5 minutes and 30 seconds
for the effect to be the same.
The difference will be less than one minute.
If your car is over-heating in hot weather, then there is something very wrong.
Your radiator fan is not working or the thermostat is stuck closed.
Trying to use your cars “heater” on full blast with the windows down will only give you a few minutes of relief.
Your car will still, eventually, over-heat and blow a head-gasket (at the very least).
Summary;
You can maybe reduce the passenger area heating by 30 to 60 seconds by leaving the heater off until the engine warms up.
You can NOT resolve engine over-heating using the cars heater. You can only delay the inevitable over-heating by a few minutes.
I’ve been wondering about this for several years.. when I was in high school, on a particularly frigid day me and a couple of my guy friends were in a car waiting for the engine to warm up. I suggested turning on the air conditioner because I knew that it would heat up the engine and that the heater essentially worked by blowing the heat given off the engine into the rest of the car. They looked at me like I was insane, but as I was the straight-A student (albeit a female straight-A student), they tried it anyway. lol. Not sure if it worked or not.. but it made sense to me!
Thanks a million for such good tip. Now I know what to do and how to do it properly while warming up our vehicles.
Merry Xmas from Fresno, CA
It is also wise to let your engine come up to operating temp during the winter months. Older model even the newer ones have what is called a freeze plug. The history and theroy for them it something for another time.
Let it warmup to this temp will keep from beging stranded on the side of the road. During the cold months the water has to heat up and the thermestae releases it into the engine tocirculate the hotter water out and colloer in thus keeping the engine fromover heating. The air going in is going into a very hot engine. It would be comparable to say putting water into a hot skillet. Something has to give and sine the freeze plug were designed to come out and are the weaker portion they go. This lets all your coolant flow out rapidly were by soon even on a cold day your engine over heats and you then are waiting on a tow truck.
Excellent information, thanque so very much!
Timothy
Yeah I’ve done all of the stated things. It’s basically common sense, but that’s because I’m pretty much a genius.
excellent answer!! the ony thing i might add is if you garage your car it will warm up faster. and maintaince cost go down a lot more than you might think.
I used the heater on full and windows down method in the middle of summer about 5 years ago to cool down a Peugeot 306 1.9 diesel car when I was stuck in traffic for a long time, it worked great.
Also you missed the picture of the heater core above paragraph 6.
Hair Dryer?
That’s helpful, thanks. I always blast my heater when I get into my car, now I know differently.
If your car has an automatic climate control system that allows you to dial in the temperature then there is no need to worry about these suggestions to make them heat the car faster, most of these cars do it automatically.
I still don’t get it…
That’s true, but really driving the car – forcing it to do work – warms it up much faster than idling it. The amount of heat energy you steal from the engine by using the heater is minuscule.
When it happens to get, what we call cold down here in Texas, I actually do what you recommend. I will start my car and let it run for at least 10 mins, with no heat running, I just want to heat up the engine first. Once on the road going at a steady pace that’s when I will put the heat on, not on full blast because it’s not that cold for it.
You don’t say….
or you can take advantage of the electrical system and plug a hair dryer into the cigarette lighter socket for instant heat
you can just pour hot water on your hood/windows
I found through many trial and error, that I leave a Towel, or a blanket over the engine block over night after im done the previous day of driving… When i get up in the morning to drive, i take off the towel, and there is still some minor heal in the engine that the towel soaked up. Thus, i would start my car, let it run no heaters on, and it would heat up much faster than just sitting there for 30 minutes waiting for the car to heat up on its own =)
That is a good suggestion and it’s one that I have never seen anywhere even though it should be. I have been doing it for years and yes it does heat up your car a bit quicker.
Many people warm their cars up on a cold morning by starting a car as much as 30 minutes ahead of time. I DO NOT DO THIS. Modern day engines are designed to run a lot hotter than the cars of years ago. They do this in order for the pollution control devices to work properly. Idling a newer car in cold weather actually causes excessive engine wear. What was good for an older car is bad for a newer one.
The quickest way to get your car up to operating temperature on a cold morning is to start it, let it run for 30 seconds and then drive it like you normally would. Leave the heater off until you see the engine temperature gauge start to rise if you have a gauge.
I love gauges as opposed to idiot lights. Gauges if you pay attention to them will show you when you are getting into trouble usually long before you get in trouble.
An engine block heater is another good way to have your car already warm before you fire it up. Preferably one that is installed into your cars heating system.
One last thing; a car that is not running at its optimum operating temperature wastes gasoline. I used to keep track of how much gas i was using under certain conditions. This was one of the first things I learned. There are many myths about how to save gas is the second thing I learned.
I used to work at a job where I was required to be there regardless of weather and road conditions. No excuses were accepted. I did this for 35 years and I live in a climate where some mornings it was -20 degrees.
One more thing I need to add. I buy new cars and run them until they are worn out. I got an 88 Ford Bronco II to last me 20 years and 240,000 miles. I would still be owning it but someone ran a red light and totaled it.
It was still drivable. I sold it to a farmer who only uses it off road. It is still running and the farmer is happy with it.
Yes it does help to have a car up to operating temp by following the methods listed above in both articles.
wow thanks
Makes a lot of sense! Gonna try this out on the next ice cold day that comes my way. Nice writeup!
Run Your Car With Electricity – Slash Your Gas Costs To Zero.
well here is what I do. I don’t like wasting gas and wear on the engine so I put a small electric heater on the dash and plug it into an appliance timer. I set this to turn on an hour before I leave and it clears the ice from the windows and warms the interior.
Just turn your car on! Well, we go to Colorado to go ski (we’re from TX).I think my husband said that he uses some sort of power cod that would keep fom the engine from freezing….I think. That might help it get warmer faster…I don’t remember if it does, it’s a possability.
Since I grew up on Long Island winters were freezing cold so what I would do that worked: When I knew I was in for the night I would raise the hood of my car and put blankets over the engine. In the morning, about 15 minutes before leaving for work, I would remove the blankets and start the car. Because the engine was covered it was always easy to start and warm up. May sound crazy to some, but trust me, it worked.
I have always used this trick on a HOT day with the air conditioner, because on HIGH you blow hot air past the fins before the coils can cool down enough. (open the windows too while you drive to let the OVERheated air out, then close them and use MAX (or fresh air OFF) to recirculate the air instead of continually bringing hot air in.
But the caveat I see here is that cars have a thermostat. Until this thermostat opens, NO warm water is going to circulate to the heater core, regardless of the speed you use. And the colder the air outside is, the longer it takes this thermostat to open, because the engine comes first. True, modern cars don’t need the engine to be “warmed up” any more, most owners manuals say just drive (it saves gas anyway). But once it’s warm, the engine is going to be heating the water faster than the little fins in your heater core could EVER cool it. This is why cars can overheat even in the winter (e.g. if your fan fails, etc), and yes, as you said, turning the heat on full blast will work, though it will ultimately delay the temperature rising, not prevent it.
Once that thermostat opens and you flip the diverter (your heat knob/slider inside the car does this) to send the hot water to your heater core, it WILL get there, and the air will be warm. Again, make sure the fresh air is closed for the first part of the trip, so the warm air can recirculate.
Wow, this is awesome
Thanks!
This is not a secret, it’s simply a thing that nobody knowledgeable wants to do. There is only a small difference in how fast a car engine heats up based on your interior climate control settings and the most important heating of the engine occurs during the first couple minutes.
On the other hand what people want instead is for the interior of the car and the glass to warm up, de-ice, de-snow, defrost and defog. Having a hotter engine while your car is miserable to inhabit and visibility out the windows is poor ignores what is important.
Engines do not need to get to full operating temperature. It is true the most wear occurs from starting one cold but that happens either way because oil isn’t circulating yet. Relative to that wear it is a trivial difference whether your engine were a few degrees warmer during regular driving.
Further, by having the windshield defroster on which normally has the A/C compressor running you put more load on the engine which increases engine RPM warming it faster. By having the fan on the compressor cycles on more often too and the fan’s power causes more engine load from the alternator to produce that power so once again the engine has more load to increase rate of warming.
Lastly, the “secret” may even be wrong in another way. Once your engine gets to the point where the coolant temperature is above the thermostat temperature opening threshold, the engine is then being cooled by the radiator and fans which can cause a significant drop in engine temperature, so the thermostat is just diverting the heat to the radiator instead of to the interior of the car… so your engine is not warmer for any practical purpose, just the interior of the car is colder.
Rubbish. Engines have a thermostat that dosn’t open until it reaches the optimum operating temperature. then and only then will it allow water to flow through the radiator.Then it will flow through the heater. Some vehicles have a recirculate air button that means you recycle the same air into the cabin so that it warms up faster.That’s fine but it makest he air damp. After a while you have to put the heater on full.If you’ve got air you should put that on to dry out the recycled ai.
breath deeply;)
But thank god for remote starters now and my car being a Ford Escape is pretty warm within 5 minutes of starting it dead cold to hot inside only 5 minutes
I used to wait 5 minutes then start driving.
Now, I wait till the needle move to certain point then put it in gear. Driving makes it heat up faster.
Yes this last step of the process really works. When I drive long distances my car basically would overheat and then the coolant would be used too much. When I decided to listen to my dad and turn the heater on the car never over heated and it really put my mind at rest.
i dont think this technique would make any noticeable difference to how long it takes, the way i do it is by sitting in the car for a few moments while holding the throttle so it is revving at a constat 2500rpm and this heats the engine up quickly without causing any damage
nice one dude..
I’m gonna try this,
Your comment is true in a sense, BUT, warm water will not flow through the heater core until the thermostat in the engine opens, and that usually happens at about 180 degrees. So weather or not you have the heat on is really not an issue. Fastest way to warm up a car is to drive it.
I would think that this tip would be intuitive, since having cold air blowing on you is uncomfortable. Keep the fan turned down until the engine temp goes up.
Another tip for cold-weather drivers who rely on remote starter technology: you get ZERO miles per gallon/kilometer when your auto is idling. Clear the windows (if need be) and start driving. If you’re too cold, dress warmer or invest in seat warming technology.
I read this three times and don’t know how long I need to run the car on cold before turning it to hot so that the hot air built up can be transferred to the car. Someone told me this trick 15 years ago, but I had to run the car for 15-20 minutes before it would work. However, cars nowadays are ready to go when started and idling actually is bad for the engine (and terrible for the environment which is why I stopped starting my car and waiting for it to warm up). How long does it take for your car’s engine to warm up?
You need to turn on your car, wait a few seconds, then you need to turn on the heat. The car will get warmer faster.
Actually it’s very simple . . when the car is running it creates friction and heats up . .when the water in the engine starts getting warm . . .that warm water is able to circulate through your heater radiator, and you can start getting warm air. As long as the water in the engine has not heated up . . you will not get hot air from your heater. So . .when you start your engine, it makes no sense to turn on your heater ruight away, as the only water circulation through the heater core is cold.
It really doesn’t heat up faster if you leave your heater off . . .it’s just that you’re not blowing chilled air directly on your feet and ankles . . which makes you colder than if the air is not moving.
I typically just rev it to 3000rpm for a minute or so in park and the temp gauge moves enough to get some heat going.
Thanks! (: I knew about the overheating part. But I never figured it’d be the opposite for the cooling part. lol I guess it would come off as obvious. But hey! you learn something new everyday!
There’s only one problem with that. In the North, if the temps are in the teens or lower in the morning, you will ice up the inside of your windows from the moisture in your breath before you get any heat from the car. For this reason, I heat up the car the slow way in the winter,
I suggest you buy a tarp and cover your car with it the night before so it’s that much easier to remove piles of snow the next morning
in terms of warming up the engine
drive as soon as you can start the engine
don’t be heavy on the gas until you’ve registered some heat on your temp gage
try plugging in a heating pad that’s been installed in your engine for you
hold break and accelerator together
It’s not a damn secret. Grill blocking(initially) when starting will be a more useful information. Ofcourse the cars and trucks with electric fans wont need grill blocking to heat up faster.
Just driving the damn car without warming it up will be even faster to warm up the engine. Or just revving the engine.
You could install electric seat heater for cheap now a days too.
reav up ur car for like 1 minture to get the engine running producing thermal energy thier for ur car will warm up alot faster
You are a smart person.
I had figured this one out also back in the 1970s, while living in the northeastern US. With one car, the engine temperature gage would not get off “cold” if I turned the heat on right away in winter, even if I drove 10 to 15 continuous miles.
As for the turning the heat on and cranking down the windows if a vehicle has a clogged radiator in summertime heat – been there, done that. Having the heater on while driving 75 miles in 105 F summer temperatures is NOT pleasant, even with lots of of water. But I got that vehicle home, and the engine wasn’t destroyed….
Much better with seat heaters – Cosy in a minute!
You can beat the cold by blocking the cold air from reaching the engine but it requires preventive action, if you which way the wind is going to hit the vehicle you insulate that whole side and the front and back of the vehicle, use a roll of carpet or boxes and blankets anbuild a shelter around the bottom of your car, then blanket the engine to prevent any cold air blowing directly on it.
Or get a block-heater, it’s more important to keep the oil pre-heated then the water, with proper antifreeze the cooling sytem is protected. The problem with oil is it doesn’t work correctly as an lubricant until it reaches nominal operating temperature, engines without block heaters for the oilpan usffer much wear and tear on the engines bearings and related components.
The other thing to consider is that aluminum and steel expand and contract at different rates, when 2 dissimilar metals/alloys are chilled to very low temps and then quickly heated to operating temps there is the chance bad expensive sounding things are going to happen, we don’t want that..
Wrap it up, just like you wrap yourself up to deal with the wind and the rain and the snow.. happy trails
I figured that one out when I was 16.
The best way to heat up your engine in cold weather is to use a Webasto engine heater. The Webasto uses fuel and a small amount of battery power to operate. It works on the bases of using the fuel to heat the engine glycol and power to operate a glycol pump to circulate the glycol through out your engine block , radiator and heater core thus being warm to drive and having instant heat. Highway Trucks in the north run these all the time so they can be started any time or anywhere .
Doesn’t really help when the purpose of turning the car on is to defrost it…
As many have already said, the engine coolant does not circulate until the thermostat opens, which typically happens at 180 – 190 degrees Fahrenheit. This means none is moving through the heater core either, so the only advantage to leaving the blower off is you’ll feel less cold without air blowing over you. Downside is that your windows may start to fog or frost from your breath!
So start your car, then scrape your windows. Sit in it until you are sure the windows are clear enough, then drive at a moderate speed because an engine under load will heat up sooner than one at idle. If you have a temperature gauge, keep an eye on that… you’ll know when your engine is warm. If you’ve kept the blower off, then you’ll get warm air. Simple.
Block heater is a good idea in very cold climates… Engine starts easier and warms quicker. I had them in my cars when I lived in Minot, ND for 7 years.
Finally, yes, the “heater on, windows down when engine is overheating” trick works… not extremely well, but it might be enough allow you to get to an exit or gas station for help.
Everyone says don’t do this for newer cars, but what about older ones? Like an 87? My car idles badly and runs badly in cold weather. It dies when it is really cold out and I have to keep my foot on gas when I brake to keep it running.
Pour boiling hot water on your engine. Works for me
I like all the “internet wisdom” and eco friendly tips that state to start the car and after 30 seconds drive.
None of you have ever rebuilt a single engine, and have no idea what driving the engine while it is cold as ice does to it.
You oil is as thick as syrup. And your moving parts have not warmed up either.
But keep spouting your internet wisdom!
A BLOCK HEATER is usually around $20-
This info is really out of date to be honest… gone are the days where if it got very cold -10 or colder you had to put a blanket over your engine to stop it freezing, and allow easier starting. Nearly all cars these day have better and adaptive coolants and lubricants to combat extreme temperatures. And nearly all cars will heat up within a matter of minutes inside too. It’s common sense stuff really, in extreme weather allow an extra 5-10 minutes to prepare your vehicle, that’s it.
That concept you have noted here is not new. Every mechanic should know this. What doesn’t mentioned is the use of lower oil viscosity that can be use during winter, and also modifying thermostat into lower setting, ie: thermostat that opens earlier or late that can be interchange during winter or summer. I mentioned oil viscosity because the thicker the oil that you use, the longer it heats up. Of course some of this modification has to be change as soon as the weather gets hot to prevent damage to the engine.
In Colorado, warming up your car is illegal. It’s called the puffer law and is illegal.
It never occurred to be that block heaters aren’t standard outside of Canada…
To heatup a car or van in the winter (especially canadian winters) . there is a few things you can do
1- keep the vehicle garaged so that the engine block doesnt need a heater core.
2- get a heater core fitted and leave the engine plugged in
3- On vans and some old vehicles placing card or similar material infront of the grill to restrict the airflow through the radiator- so that the heat will be contained within the watersystem, especially when driving.
If you want to warm up the inside of the vehicle quicker, on the van i had (Dodge b150) i installed some plastic sheeting inside to make a screen just to make the area smaller that will be heated up. You can also buy electric heaters. But my best tip is not to crank up the fan up full when the engine is just warming up as not only will it take longer to heat up , you risk creating frost on the inside of the windscreen.
um just wear gloves and a jacket until the three or so miles until the heat kicks in is up..
About 15 years ago a fellow in England invented a way to use sodium acetate (the chemical heat pad ingredient) to preheat the water going to the interior heater. I was taking a chemistry class at the time and spent some time analyzing how it worked and concluded that he wouldn’t ever make it reliable enough to go to market. Sure enough, there has never been another mention of it.
The method described in the article is indeed the fastest way to warm the ENGINE, but does that really equate to faster heat? I say no. The “faster heat” is just an illusion. The engine is producing heat at a constant rate. By using the authors method, when you finally turn the heat on, it’s toasty warm. Using the heater-full-on method, the warming is gradual. Think of it this way:
There are two places that the engine coolant can dissipate heat: through the radiator, and into the passenger cabin through the heater core.
The circulation of coolant through the radiator is controlled with a thermostat. Until the engine warms up, the coolant bypasses the radiator so there is no heat loss. The author assumes that the same principle works by stopping the flow of warm coolant to the passenger cabin. Well, it does work: there is no heat loss into the passenger cabin! But heat loss to the passenger cabin is exactly what you want.
Here’s my unscientific method: Turn the heat control to full, and turn the fan to low. If the fan is blowing cold air on a high setting, the breeze will feel cool…chill factor so to speak. Direct most of the air to the windshield (defroster) to prevent frosting from your breath. In the double digits below zero, place cardboard in front of the radiator because some cars never warm up. Another tip: too much coolant isn’t better. Use the proper water-to-coolant ratio for your climate, but too high a ratio will not heat properly.
Sorry to bust your bubble, but your theory is not accurate. Wether you turn on the fan or not, there will still be the same transfer of heat from internal compustion to the cabin of the car, wether you wait to turn on the fan till the engine is at temp or not. Waiting till the engine is warm to turn the fan on, the coolant temperature drops due to the heat exchange of the cabin air, and there is no gain of BTU transfer by waiting. It is basic thermal dynamics to transfer the heat from the engine to the cabin, and there is no secret or magic way to warm it up faster. I can prove it both mathematically and in lab conditions. 30 years of experience and engineering knowledge proves this.
Blocking the radiator does nothing for initial warmup either – it just does not allow as much cooling to occur while driving, and higher coolant temperatures will allow hotter air to enter the cabin. I do not advise reving the engine until it is at operating temperatures, any higher than a high idle – approximately 2500 RPM. all the internal parts need to warm up to the same temperature or it will wear out the engine sooner. Let it idle at factory settings and do not drive at highway speeds until the engine is fully at operating temperatures.
It is my understanding that cars don’t have to be warmed up unless you notice that the car struggles to ignite when you turn the ignition key.
People who let their cars warm up outside of the mentioned exception above, do so out of ignorance.
Great info! There is something I’d like to point out though.
It’s happened to me and thousands of other 9th generation Toyota Corolla owners. The 2001 Corolla was the first or second year (I believe) for the 1ZZFE with the new VVT-i technology. Due to it being a newer released motor, like many other new vehicles, it had it’s flaws. One of those flaws with this car is that if the vehicle was exposed to below freezing temperatures for extended periods of time, the valve stem seals would freeze up. Upon immediate driving and not allowing the vehicle to warm up at idle, the heat built up from driving conditions caused these valve stem seals to crack, leaking oil into the combustion chamber. While many other vehicles don’t have this problem due to a stronger, more weather-resistant material, some cars may! My ‘Rolla doesn’t use a whole lot of gas at idle anyway, so I give it a good 15-20 minutes to warm up at idle, then hop in and drive!
i think , instole overdrive system in car………..!
the heater in cars is the thermostat bypass. more water flows through it when the thermostat is closed than when open. the heat in my 1986 suburban is almpst instant. we let it idle untill it falls off the high idle step on the carburetor, and within a mile of driving the air is nice and warm.
i agree though, that you should let the vehicle heat up, and drive a few miles before you turn the heat on, because if you leave the heater off, the transmission will warm up faster (due to the fact that the trans cooler is in the bypass side of the radiator).
WOW it worked thank you
Thanks! (: I knew about the overheating part. But I never figured it’d be the opposite for the cooling part. lol I guess it would come off as obvious.www.totalpaycard.net But hey! you learn something new everyday!
i see
that may be good in thought,but not in reality. ur car will heat up no more,then what even time it takes to warm up. it mat seem to warm faster,as for u think it is,but if u put it to a proper test,u’ll find it didnt warm any faster. as for cooling a overheated motor,shut ur car off and open the hood,as for if u keep driving the overheated motor,u will ruin ur motor. a true mechanic knows the real answers!!!!!!
just so u know, i’ve been a mechanic all my life, and this is no secrete as info, its more a crazy thought.
People start their car to get the inside warm. Your way might get the engine warm faster but the inside would still be freezing. It may take longer but I’m turning the heat up!!!
i have a caddy, north star engine, it doesnt need warming up
A quicker way to warm the engine is to set the park brake and leave the transmission in gear. This puts a load on the engine and forces it to warm faster. this obviously wont work on a manual transmission, and you must have a good parking brake.
thx so much,this is really gd info,my mum would sure love to know about this
This is amazing! In Wisconsin, we have no snow, but a bad history of cold winters. I get my driver’s license in March, but still pretty cold. This is way better than riding the bus!!
What I do is start my truck with the remote starter set on a 20 minute timer. always have fan shut off until i get in. Take a nice hot shower and get ready, walk out to my truck to stay warm like the summer son. I live in colorado, if you don’t have a remote start I am not riding with you unless you warmed it up for at least 10 minutes.
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Rubbish.
If you mean that this warms up the car engine the quickest then it is true, but an engine produces so much waste heat then it’s negligable.
If you mean that this warms up the car cabin the quickest then it’s not true, and is in fact wrong.
Any small amount of heat input into the cabin from even slightly warmed air is better than nothing.
However having the cold air fan blowing cold air over you (before the engine has warmed up) will make YOU the person colder as it will increase the heat transfer rate away from the person. (similar to “wind chill”)
So, put the heater on full, the fan on medium-low, and point the air vents away from you until they are warm, and then when warm point them straight at you, and turn the fan up full.
Use the defogger / defroster to get car and windows warmed up to drive, then blow the heat by switching to the heater at the feet until it becomes too toasty.
For primary defogging, heat is generally provided by the vehicle’s engine coolant via the heater core; fresh air is blown through the heater core and then ducted to and distributed over the interior surface of the windshield by a blower. This air is in many cases first dehumidified by passing it through the vehicle’s operating air conditioning evaporator. (AC in reverse speeds the process). Such dehumidification makes the defogger more effective and faster, for the dried air has a greater capacity to absorb water from the glass at which it is directed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defroster
I’m not worried about, my car warming up in warm weather as it’s warm down this way all year around but thanks anyway.
Except on cars with heater cores, Coolant circulates thru the heater core regardless as to whether or not your heater is on. Turning the fan off may make some difference but I doubt it would make that much. Newer cars don’t actually circulate very much coolant thru the core (some don’t even have a core these days) so if you have a newer car it probably won’t make any difference.
UMMM like 10 mins before u leave go start it and put the heat on full blast … i have no clue really
I’ll give this a try, but I doubt I’ll be able to stop my traditional method of just keeping my coat, hat and gloves on in the car!
so in other words this comment is due for extinction.
P.S. i drive a 3500 diesel so its going to be 20min, in southern ontario, not plugged in, on, a warm winter day.
How many unattended cars, left with keys in and engine running are still there 10 minutes later?
PUH-LEEZE people, do some homework before posting to prevent posting lame answers like the above! (I can’t wait to read the lame answers about how to save fuel by running the air conditioner a couple of degrees warmer than you typically run it–total nonsense!.) At least a few people replying in the comments know (or did their homework!) how the engine cooling system works. As stated, there is a thermostatted VALVE in-line between the engine block and the radiator. The valve remains closed and the coolant circulates ONLY in the block until the temperature of the coolant circulating in the block reaches the value needed to open the valve. Only then does the coolant begin to circulate through the radiator. And only then is this “hot” coolant able to circulate through the heater system radiator inside the passenger compartment. Typically, there is a “door” that can be opened and closed over the opening of this small radiator into the passenger compartment. If you have a manual knob or slide switch and move it sharply from fully opened (hot setting) to fully closed (cold setting), you can hear the door slam shut.
Well, try cranking the vehicle up at least 20 or more minutes before you travel.
(There are a lot of posts)
“It is also wise to let your engine come up to operating temp during the winter months. Older model even the newer ones have what is called a freeze plug. The history and theroy for them it something for another time.
Let it warmup to this temp will keep from beging stranded on the side of the road. During the cold months the water has to heat up and the thermestae releases it into the engine tocirculate the hotter water out and colloer in thus keeping the engine fromover heating. The air going in is going into a very hot engine. It would be comparable to say putting water into a hot skillet. Something has to give and sine the freeze plug were designed to come out and are the weaker portion they go. This lets all your coolant flow out rapidly were by soon even on a cold day your engine over heats and you then are waiting on a tow truck.”
WTF are you talking about. The heat is generated by the engine. Your rad doesnt create heat and dump it into the engine… The freeze plug is designed to save your engine block IF YOUR COOLANT FREEZES.
IF you are boiling off coolant your pressure rated/release radiator cap solves that problem. Air in the system rises as does heat…
As far as warming up your car, yes it is obvious that an engine under load warms up faster. Turning off your heat will make it faster but my such a small amount, due to the thermostat, it is negligible. So you can get into your car at -30C and start driving it to warm up the engine. Now what about the transmission, which has lots of small mechanical parts, and wear bands etc. These without proper lubrication wear out much quicker…
“I have always used this trick on a HOT day with the air conditioner, because on HIGH you blow hot air past the fins before the coils can cool down enough. (open the windows too while you drive to let the OVERheated air out, then close them and use MAX (or fresh air OFF) to recirculate the air instead of continually bringing hot air in.
But the caveat I see here is that cars have a thermostat. Until this thermostat opens, NO warm water is going to circulate to the heater core, regardless of the speed you use. And the colder the air outside is, the longer it takes this thermostat to open, because the engine comes first. True, modern cars don’t need the engine to be “warmed up” any more, most owners manuals say just drive (it saves gas anyway). But once it’s warm, the engine is going to be heating the water faster than the little fins in your heater core could EVER cool it. This is why cars can overheat even in the winter (e.g. if your fan fails, etc), and yes, as you said, turning the heat on full blast will work, though it will ultimately delay the temperature rising, not prevent it.
Once that thermostat opens and you flip the diverter (your heat knob/slider inside the car does this) to send the hot water to your heater core, it WILL get there, and the air will be warm. Again, make sure the fresh air is closed for the first part of the trip, so the warm air can recirculate.”
Unfortunately then you build up humidity, causing your windows to fog up…
Almost 90% of these comments are from people who think +10C is cold…
I’ve idled for 20 minutes and the cold air was the same. The heat after driving 20 miles is the same. It was luke warm after driving for 20 minutes. Still cold. I’m at a loss. It does get lukewarm though. When it’s below freezing, turning on the defrost, frosts my windows more. Will adding more antifreeze help?