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Driving a cold car isn’t comfortable and may compromise your safety. If you are in a place that has a cold climate as winter, it could be the car’s worst enemy, especially the drivers.
Winter mornings can make you shiver, so warming up your car first before driving is a must to ensure your safety and comfort.
Warming your car before getting on the road will also ensure engine longevity.
If you are looking for faster ways to warm up your vehicle, we will guide you on how to warm up your car faster and its importance through this article.
Ways to Warm Up Your Car Faster
There are several ways to warm up your car faster without waiting too long or idling so much.
These tricks will ensure your car warms up the engine the fastest way you want, saving time and fuel and making you drive safely and comfortably.
Here are the ways you can warm up your car faster:
1. Park Your Car in a Sunny Space Before Going for a Drive
If you park your car in a space that will omit sunlight, it will naturally help your car warm-ups.
It will help prevent your car from freezing during winter, although it will still be cold but not extremely cold.
The sun will increase the temperature inside your vehicle, so make sure you park in a sunny parking space before you drive.
But if you are in a hurry, this trick will not suit you; try the other steps below.
2. Calibrate Your Car Control Knobs Immediately After You Start Your Car
- Turn the heat control knob on your car to the hottest setting directly.
- Make sure that the control knob on where the air is coming is set on the head and feet set.
- The exact settings of those control knobs will make the air evenly distributed on the vents of your car.
- Then turn your car AC fan to the hottest setting or into number 4.
- Click the air circulation button below the control knobs to turn it on.
- It will ensure that the air circulates well inside your car instead of sucking the outside air. If you don’t turn it on, your vehicle will pull the cold air outside.
- The air inside your car will change the temperature of your vehicle right away.
3. Block the Airflow in the Radiator Trick
The air that comes from outside will go through the radiator to cool the water.
Then the air goes to the engine to cool it down, and the cycle repeats. This trick will block the airflow coming inside the radiator.
It makes the engine hot, making your car warm up faster. You can block the entire airflow entrance or make it ¾ to avoid overheating your car.
You can use cardboard or any customized stuff to block the airflow from entering the radiator.
Make sure to do this trick only during winter, not in summer, as it will surely overheat your engine.
4. Park Your Car in the Garage
Parking your car in the garage will make it safe from ice and cold wind outside.
The garage has an enclosed space to help your car maintain its temperature.
Because it is away from snowflakes and cold winds during winter, it will help you warm up your car faster than leaving it in an open space.
5. Check Heater Controls, Motor Blowers, and the Thermostat Regularly
Checking your heating control, blower motors, and thermostat if they are working properly can make your car warm up faster.
If any of them is faulty, it will likely affect the heating capabilities of your car. It will also compromise your safety, so check them regularly.
6. Keep Your Car Warm Overnight
You can prevent your car from getting very cold at night, so you won’t have a hard time warming it up in the morning.
Try these steps:
- Park it in an enclosed area such as a garage.
- Plug its block heater overnight. It helps coolant warm to support engine start-up and warm your car faster. Set the timer to turn the heater on 2-4 hours before your next drive. You can purchase a block heater in the market or request factory installation if your car is new.
- Set your car’s remote on periodic start-up.
7. Start Your Car and Drive Slowly for 5-15 Minutes
Start your car and idle it for at least 30 seconds. Idling your vehicle for too long is bad for the engine, so you should start driving slowly.
Driving your car will gradually warm up your car faster, increasing the temperature inside.
Make sure to drive slowly for at least 5-15 minutes and step on the gas pedal slowly when driving in cold weather.
It will give your car engine time to reach its performance level without stressing it.
Why Is It Important to Warm Up Your Car?
Warming up your car is not just for your comfort in driving but also helps your car engine last longer as it avoids exposure to weathering.
It is not just on personal preference and beliefs but also from a mechanical perspective.
Mechanical Benefits of Warming up Your Car Before Driving
Here are the things that will benefit your car from a mechanical perspective:
- Improves lubrication and hydraulic efficiency by circulating oil and hydraulic fluids in all moving parts.
- It improves combustion, fuel economy, and performance.
- Allows your windshield defogger to scrape the ice and snow faster.
- It maintains the thermostat temperature range.
- It increases the longevity of your engine.
Warming your car before going for a drive is essential to avoid hurting the motor when everything is freezing.
The cold may damage the bearings inside the motor if you drive immediately without warming your car first.
The warm temperature will help the fluids flow better, improving the lubrication and preventing worn-outs on your car parts.
How Long Should You Warm Up Your Car?
Some prefer to idle their car for 15 minutes, but it is optional to idle it for a long time.
Modern cars lubricate oil within 20-30 seconds, even if the engine temperature is still cold.
But older cars might need more minutes to lubricate successfully, but it should be at most 15 minutes.
Idling a vehicle for a longer time increases carbon emissions which is not suitable for the environment and will also increase your consumption of fuels.
Safety Warnings
While warming up your car, you should also be careful with thieves. Make sure to lock your car and idle it quickly; 2-5 minutes is already good enough to warm up your car.
You may start driving but take it slow until 15 minutes to ensure your car engine reaches its performance level.
Conclusion
Knowing how to warm up your car faster will save you time waiting or avoid idling your car for too long.
Driving a warm car during winter will prevent you from shivering, so you should warm it up before driving.
It is also important to note that warming up your car first is not only for a personal preference.
But more from a mechanical perspective. It will help avoid the wear and tear of your car’s engine.
The lubrication process on the engine improves the fluids flow in all the moving parts in oil that circulates after you start your car.
With comprehensive experience in writing exceptional quality articles and blogs about cars and related stuff, Daniel is one of the finest bloggers and a hardcore car lover we have. He is an ASE certified technician with an across-the-board experience of 10 years in the industry. He could not help tinkering with anything he got his hands on from a young age, which led to his remarkable career in the automotive repair industry.
When he is not under any hood, you can find him on the water or in the woods to pursue his passion for hunting and fishing. He has been writing for multiple sectors and is a regular contributor to several publications.
He currently owns a Nissan 300ZX TT and a Pearl Yellow but plans to upgrade it to 550 HP. His favorites include the Koenigsegg CCX and Lamborghini Diablo 6.0 VT, but for him, the Ferrari 360 Spider is one of the sexiest cars that exists to date.
Being an avid world traveler, he has spent most of his time analyzing the automotive markets, latest technology, and local favorites to enhance his knowledge base. He is currently living in North Caroline, where it’s all about food and coffee and, of course, cars.
