Question about leaving heat on

[boostedtsiawd]

Is it ok if you accidentally left your heat on when u turn your car off and the next day on a cold start you turn your car on and the heat goes on? The Temp was around 38f when i went to start my cold car and the heat turned on and i didnt notice it was on till after 8minutes and i turned it off.

 

[AKhan87]

no problem!

 

[boostedtsiawd]

i heard the you can crack the radiator or damage something in the coolant system.

 

[JHZR2]

There are thermostats for that reason. If anything, once coolant starts to flow, some additional heat will be rejected by the heater core, resulting in a longer, slower warm-up and more fuel burned. Not a huge deal though.

 

[Garak]

Never a problem. I do it all the time. I don't think anyone in Saskatchewan turns their car's heat off in the winter. They park it with it on full blast and let the thing warm up when it's -40.

 

[widman]

No effect whatsoever. Even if you had turned it off, I presume you'd be turning it on to warm yourself or the windshield, so to the engine it is all the same. No more fuel, no damage, etc.

I almost never change my heat or AC controls. Sometimes I'll turn off the AC in the morning if the temperature has dropped like last week, from 101 the day before, now at 45. Or in the Grand Cherokee I might raise the temp one degree or so in the morning, but it is always on.

 

[Trotter]

Originally Posted By: Garak
Never a problem. I do it all the time. I don't think anyone in Saskatchewan turns their car's heat off in the winter. They park it with it on full blast and let the thing warm up when it's -40.


+10

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: Trotter
Originally Posted By: Garak
Never a problem. I do it all the time. I don't think anyone in Saskatchewan turns their car's heat off in the winter. They park it with it on full blast and let the thing warm up when it's -40.


+10


It makes the car warm up slower. I turn the heat off and let it warm up. Then when I get in, I turn on the heat and instant warm air.

 

[KrisZ]

I always leave it on the defrost setting in winter. This way, when I remote start the car the windshield defrosts almost right away.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: KrisZ
I always leave it on the defrost setting in winter. This way, when I remote start the car the windshield defrosts almost right away.


Makes good sense to me.

When I park my vehicle in the summer, I will try to turn off the a/c a couple miles from home, let the evaporator dry out a bit. Otherwise I just leave the controls as-is the rest of the year. I don't use a remote starter, so in winter I go out and start; then hop out and deal with ice. At that time I'll set it to defrost at the lowest fan speed. If I don't have ice, I just turn the heat all the way up but with the fan off, crack a window and drive off.

I usually wait until the coolant actually has heat in it before running the fan, unless if I need to defrost the windshield.

 

[Bamaro]

As Miller88 said, it will make the car heat up a little slower. Also if the fan is on you will have cold air blowing in you from the start. Wait until you see the water temp get to around 100 before turning the fan on.

 

[TFB1]

Originally Posted By: boostedtsiawd
i heard the you can crack the radiator or damage something in the coolant system.


You heard wrong...

Myself and no doubt millions of others leave heater on throughout the cold season...

 

[exranger06]

Originally Posted By: boostedtsiawd
i heard the you can crack the radiator or damage something in the coolant system.

I would really like to hear someone try to explain the mechanics behind how that supposedly happens.

 

[kschachn]

I gotta say that's the first time I've heard that one.

 

[silveravant]

I left my radio on once and completely blew out my whole electrical system when i started the car.

 

[Trotter]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
Originally Posted By: Trotter
Originally Posted By: Garak
Never a problem. I do it all the time. I don't think anyone in Saskatchewan turns their car's heat off in the winter. They park it with it on full blast and let the thing warm up when it's -40.


+10


It makes the car warm up slower. I turn the heat off and let it warm up. Then when I get in, I turn on the heat and instant warm air.


Get's a liitle cooler here than NY. When a cold snap hits we can see temps in the -30's C for a week or so with with the wind chill anywhere from -40 to -50 C. So I leave the heater fan on high with command start.

 

[Tegger]

Originally Posted By: exranger06
Originally Posted By: boostedtsiawd
i heard the you can crack the radiator or damage something in the coolant system.

I would really like to hear someone try to explain the mechanics behind how that supposedly happens.

Whoever believes that doesn't know where the "heat" in the "heater" comes from...

 

[eljefino]

When it gets to 20 below the cables for all the blend doors get stiff and I'd hate to have them snap in the unheated position. I leave the heat on and just vary the fan speed.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
It makes the car warm up slower. I turn the heat off and let it warm up. Then when I get in, I turn on the heat and instant warm air.

When it's -40 out, you won't be trying that. An extra half minute or whatever small amount of extra warmup time needed is irrelevant. The car is supposed to make me comfortable, not the other way around.

As KrisZ states, I prefer to leave it on defrost or defrost/floor if it's outside and I have to warm it up. I, for some inexplicable reason, turned my heater off in my Town Car with the remote starter one winter day. It was ridiculously cold. The engine was nice and warm when I got in, but the interior was decidedly not preheated, and breathing on a windshield when it's -40 and the interior hasn't been heated doesn't help visibility at all.

 

[cjcride]

Originally Posted By: boostedtsiawd
i heard the you can crack the radiator or damage something in the coolant system.
If you have the proper antifreeze mix the liquid in the cooling system will not freeze.