Leaving a car/truck engine running

[tercel89]

I have never understood this. I know about cold weather climates and diesel engines so ignore that. I mean leaving your car or truck running when going into a gas station or place to eat or shop or whatever . I may not have a valuable vehicle but it's mine and I will turn it off to keep people from stealing it and to keep it from being damaged by a possible cooling system failure. People laugh , but at work I witnessed a person leaving their work vehicle running. The engine's cooling system failed and the engine overheated and parts cracks and broke. I never got the whole engine diagnosis but this will crack the whole block. And on the other side , leaving your engine running will promote theft. It takes a few seconds to bust a window and take off with a vehicle. This week alone , I have saw over 20 vehicles that I could have stolen. I guess people don't care. I work hard for my money and though I may not have much , I value what little I have .

 

[hipower]

I attend regular meetings of our neighborhood association, and we have the Captain and Public Affairs Officer from the local station at each meeting.

All the routine, and sometimes not, crimes are covered in their reports. And the subject of cars left running for all sorts of reasons are brought up regularly.

Car theft is high on the list of reasons to not leave it running, no matter what the reason. So that alone should be enough to deter doing this.

Also...leaving a running car unattended, even in your own driveway, can get you ticketed. A misdemeanor ticket if I remember correctly.

But, being the troublemaker I am I had to ask about the auto start/run functions that leave the cars locked and only run for a specified time. (10 minutes on our Chevys) This feature, and I know I'm not telling all you guys anything new here, supposedly will not allow the vehicle to move without the keys being inserted. Though I've wondered if a good thief could break the steering column lock and the cars dive away? Again, in theory, mine will disable itself after the warmup period, or if the lock is monkeyed with. According to my salesman anyway. I've not tried to find out.

Back to my point, if your vehicle has this feature, and in your drive, we would not be ticketed.

Sorry, just bored and rambling this afternoon.

[KahrMan]

I love the auto start feature on my truck.  There are safety mechanisms in place to prevent theft but am not sure how easy they are to defeat.

 

In my F150 to use remote start you have to use the fob to lock the truck then start it.  You can not put the truck into gear without it registering the fob.  So if someone breaks the window and hops in, they can't move the vehicle.  Hopefully that system is not easy to defeat because I use the remote start every cold morning.

[monkeylizard]

I've seen that truck. It's nice.

 

 

 

<<searches Google for ways to defeat KahrMan's F-150 system. Waits for cold morning . . . >>>

[ironsniper1]

I don't mind people doing it if it's extremely cold outside but the people who do it while pumping gas drives me crazy


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[Dane]

I don't mind people doing it if it's extremely cold outside but the people who do it while pumping gas drives me crazy


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I have a diesel and always fill with the engine running if I'm not going into the store.

Most remote starts are tied to the brakes so if the brake is depressed (as one has to do to get most vehicles in gear) the engine will quit.

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[gregintenn]

Cranking an engine is about as hard on it as anything it goes through.

Perhaps we could make stealing a car illegal.

[DaveTN]

3 hours ago, hipower said:

Back to my point, if your vehicle has this feature, and in your drive, we would not be ticketed.

In Davidson County; not statewide. 

The law has not kept up with technology.

[LI0NSFAN]

I think the best anti theft device is a manual transmission. I have had almost everyone get in my car and asked me where I learned to drive "that". I bet you could leave the keys in it running and a theif would not make it out of your driveway.

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[Wingshooter]

The only reason I would want to leave a vehicle running is if I was having trouble getting it started again (weak battery, bad starter, etc.). That's not the case though, and I'd fix it if it was. 

Our Yukon has the remote start feature, and I love that in the mornings  I have to lock the doors first, and it won't drive without the key. My truck does not have remote start, so I have to go outside anyway

Why is it illegal to let it warm up in your driveway? 

[DaveTN]

6 minutes ago, Wingshooter said:

Why is it illegal to let it warm up in your driveway? 

Because it’s a hazard if some kids get in it or something.

[Garufa]

28 minutes ago, DaveTN said:

Because it’s a hazard if some kids get in it or something.

Already illegal.  

I imagine such laws as this are related to pollution control.

[peejman]

Y'all remember this... 

 

https://www.tngunowners.com/forums/topic/96491-got-remote-start/#comment-1378885

[tercel89]

Don't get me wrong , warming up an engine is fine , I just don't understand why leaving an engine running for over 15 minutes or more is necessary. Like someone  running it for over an hour on their lunch break while parked outside the restaurant. Just dumb but hey its their engine.

[DWARREN123]

How about insurance claims? If the vehicle is left running does the insurance company deem they do not have to pay or drag out the investigation?

[NextExit]

4 hours ago, LI0NSFAN said:

I think the best anti theft device is a manual transmission. I have had almost everyone get in my car and asked me where I learned to drive "that". I bet you could leave the keys in it running and a theif would not make it out of your driveway.

Especially if it's one of those old "3 on the tree" manual transmissions.  Put a kid in one of those and they're clueless

 

1 hour ago, tercel89 said:

Don't get me wrong , warming up an engine is fine , I just don't understand why leaving an engine running for over 15 minutes or more is necessary.

When you have one an old cast iron engine, like a 71 LTD, they don't warm up as quick.  Depending on how cold it is, it can take up to 30 minutes to defrost the windshield. 

Both my cars take awhile to warm up but it only takes 3 minutes for the heated seats to kick in and I'm good!

[Ronald_55]

5 minutes ago, NextExit said:

Especially if it's one of those old "3 on the tree" manual transmissions.  Put a kid in one of those and they're clueless

 

When you have one an old cast iron engine, like a 71 LTD, they don't warm up as quick.  Depending on how cold it is, it can take up to 30 minutes to defrost the windshield. 

Both my cars take awhile to warm up but it only takes 3 minutes for the heated seats to kick in and I'm good!

I have a '56 Chevy Stepside that was my Papaw's that I am trying to get to restoring that still has the "3 on the tree" and a manual starter pedal in the floor. Plus an inline 6 under the hood. I bet most people under 30 couldn't even start the thing. If they did the lack of power brakes and steering would put them in the first ditch.

Ah the days, my Granddad had an LTD. Thanks for making me remember that warm and fuzzy. In fact I think his last 3 cars were all LTDs. Brand and model loyal. lol

[Wingshooter]

2 hours ago, tercel89 said:

Don't get me wrong , warming up an engine is fine , I just don't understand why leaving an engine running for over 15 minutes or more is necessary. Like someone  running it for over an hour on their lunch break while parked outside the restaurant. Just dumb but hey its their engine.

I don't get that either unless it's in bad repair and they think they may have trouble getting it started again. Otherwise, it's a pointless fuel burn and theft risk.

[peejman]

Maybe the increased theft risk is the whole point... 

[Ronald_55]

Just now, peejman said:

Maybe the increased theft risk is the whole point... 

I knew a guy that used to leave his keys in his car hoping it got stolen. The insurance pay out based on mileage and age would have been much higher than the worth of the pos car. On the outside it looked good, but he had had engine and transmission trouble forever on it. No matter where he parked it or how long he left it, no one touched it. lol

[chances R]

This crowd is certainly bored with nothing to do  Guess it has been too cold to go shooting.

[56FordGuy]

I think the best anti theft device is a manual transmission. I have had almost everyone get in my car and asked me where I learned to drive "that". I bet you could leave the keys in it running and a theif would not make it out of your driveway.

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I bought a beater ranch truck with an automatic trans. We were moving hay equipment and I was going to have my friend's 10 year old follow me in it while I was moving a tractor. His eyes got kind of big and he said "I've never driven a truck without a clutch before." I explained, he was still a little unsure so I put him in my "good" pickup with a 6 speed manual and he was right at home.

I try to run my work truck 30 minutes or so in the morning if it's below 30*. If it's single digits, I'll leave it running while I get gas if I'm not going in the store.

[tercel89]

Don't get me wrong , do whatever you want on your own property , but when you got thugs and dopeheads going in and out of these gas stations and you leave a perfectly good car or truck running , youre asking for trouble.  I just happned to see a real nice truck running and unlocked and thought how crazy that seemed. Plus the wind was so strong and I decided to call it quits on working on a vehicle I have at the house. I went inside and I got to drinking and "buzz posting" on TGO

[Chucktshoes]

16 hours ago, Wingshooter said:

 

Why is it illegal to let it warm up in your driveway? 

Because busybodies in government like to tell folks what they can and can't do with their own property and make it a source of revenue. 

[Wingshooter]

1 hour ago, Chucktshoes said:

Because busybodies in government like to tell folks what they can and can't do with their own property and make it a source of revenue. 

Just another reason to have a house in the woods, with a long curvy driveway, and a fence with a gate, and 2 big dogs, and...