It’s been that kind of winter

Bob Collins March 10, 2019, 7:44 AM Mar 10, 2019

This year’s weather is a crime.

From the Star Tribune Sunday police log.

About the blogger

Bob Collins

bcollins@mpr.org • @newscut

Bob Collins retired from Minnesota Public Radio in 2019 after 12 years of writing NewsCut and pointing out to complainants that posts weren’t news stories. A son of Massachusetts, he was a news editor 1992-1998, created the MPR News regional website in 1999, invented the popular Select A Candidate, started several blogs, and every day lamented that his Minnesota Fantasy Legislature project never caught on.

Rob

The fact that it was covered in snow is probably what kept it from being stolen. : )

Gary F

A couple of snow storms ago, my wife went out to her car and found the snow brushed off the door handle and driver’s side window. The car was warming up with remote start. Criminals don’t take snow days off.
- MNIce
  
  You should get the remote starting system reprogrammed or replaced with a more secure model. The thief still has your hacked access code, probably picked up by some sort of radio monitoring system. Keep the old remote transmitter, and press a button on it at the same time you use the new to spoof the thief with a dummy code.
  
  Your auto insurance may cover the cost of replacing the stolen access code; that would be cheaper for them than a stolen car.
  - Gary F
    
    My wife had started the car with the remote about 7am. It had to to have happened in just minutes. They prowl the streets early morning to steal cars warming up. They also check for unlocked cars during snow emergency too.
    - MNIce
      
      That’s a bit different. It may have been a kind person who wanted to save your wife a bit of work by dusting off some of the snow for her. I’ll do that for the neighbors – sometimes we’ll help each other shovel out the snow around the cars so they can get out before the tow trucks come to enforce snow emergencies.
- jon
  
  So you are telling me that if I get a remote start I can get at least part of my car brushed off?
- Rob
  
  Umm, yeah – if you’re looking to steal a car during the winter, who wouldn’t prefer to steal a car that was already running and warmed up?

jwest8

My car locks and immobilizes when started with remote start.

Jeff C.

I’ve been tempted many times to move a car is running with nobody in it. Why should I breathe the exhaust and suffer the effects of climate change while they burn gas just because they don’t want to have to be chilly for a few minutes while they start their journey in a cold car? Maybe moving their car will stop them from being so selfish in the future.

Bob Collins

It makes sense to warm your car. I don’t drive until the oil temp is at 100

Jeff C.

Ray Magliozzi, of Car Talk fame, says you don’t need to anymore. He says that in normal winter weather “you should get in your car, start it up and drive it away. The oil is diluted already ’cause it’s been improved. And the fuel injection makes sure the car runs well. It’s not going to stall out and refuse to start. So yeah, get in it, and drive it. And it’ll warm it up faster because when the engine is doing the work of pushing the car.” (source: https://www.npr.org/2017/12/29/574693579/should-you-warm-up-your-car-before-driving-to-work)

jon

When some one says “normal winter weather” consider the location (and climate) of the source…

Above 0F 5w-30 is fine for start and go… The further you get below 0F the more you should consider warming up your car.
joetron2030

Haha! This happened to me a few weeks ago. I parked in one of the outdoor pay lots at Midtown Market and went into Eastlake Brewery to meet up with friends. On leaving, as I approached the lot, I couldn’t see my car where I thought I’d remembered parking it.

For a brief second, I thought it had been stolen. (I have regularly recurring dreams where my car is stolen.) Panicked briefly. Then realized it was hidden from view by a giant mound of snow. LOL.
AL287

I sit in my car while it is warming up and as soon as the temp needle moves from below the “C”, I back out.

My gas mileage goes down quite a bit after idling for so long especially in below zero temps but my car is old and the transmission is quite temperamental in sub zero temps.

I drive at low speeds for the first 5-10 minutes to let the transmission warm up.