but according to the Bolton Evening News, quoting a Sgt Crittenden of Greater Manchester Police, FIFTEEN cars were nicked across the county this morning, having been left unnattended with the engine running whilst 'warming up'
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Bora - what Bora ?
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Er - has it been cold then?
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"Rude, crude and socially unacceptable"
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Absolutely no sympathy from me for their loss. A pretty stupid thing to do, like leaving the keys in the ignition when paying for petrol - plain daft. Anyway, isn't it illegal to leave a vehicle unattended with the engine running?
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Guy up my road had his Renault 5 turbo stolen while doing this a few years ago...
I was just a few yards away at the time and he was NOT happy.
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So, not only is cold idling "incredibly damaging" to the engine(if I recall correctly HJ's report of the words of a Ford engineer), inconsiderate to neighbours and environmentally hostile, it can also be a particularly stupid way to expose the vehicle to the risk of theft. Every car manual I have read advises against the habit. And they'll still continue to do it.
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Stupid & lazy thing to do especially on a public road. Can't help thinking insurers aren't going to be too keen to pay out on any vehicles stolen in such circumstances.
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"So, not only is cold idling "incredibly damaging" to the engine"
Obviously leaving a car running and unattended is stupid and illegal, but how do you warm up and clear the windscreen other than running the engine for a few minutes while stationary?
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I dont understand how cold idling an engine can be damaging to it. I thought warming it up before driving allowed the oil to reach a better circulation temperature, rather than having "thicker" cold oil trying to lubricate a cold engine. Please explian I would like to know about this.
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If you own a Ducati (ok not a car but an engine) then the owners manual insists that you idle it for 10 minutes before starting off...
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If you own a Ducati (ok not a car but an engine) then the owners manual insists that you idle it for 10 minutes before starting off...
.......so you can have a good look around it to see what's fallen off since last time hehe.....
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When an engine is idling, the only work it is doing is to turn itself over. Just like you in your sleep. When an engine is being asked to move the car gently, it has to work a little harder, and just like you climbing the stairs, it burns more calories and warms up faster. Simple! ;-)
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If I was a car thief then I could have stolen hundreds of cars with the keys in and the engines running. Cars stop outside my local post office, driver gets out (most of the time leaving the door open) walks a few yards and posts their letter(s), leaving loads of time for anyone to jump in an drive off.
This isn't something that happens once or twice a day it might be hundreds, they do exactly the same even if there are people around.
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There was a recent case of a Porsche 911 being knicked because the driver left the keys in the ignition while paying for petrol. The insurance company refused to pay up. He took them to court - and won! How on earth can that be justice? The guy is an idiot who takes not even basic steps to protect valuable property but we all end up paying for his stupidity.
Cold idling - it may not be necessary with modern engines but it's a habit for me not to do it. I always start up and drive away ASAP because that's how I was taught all those years ago. The reason then was because much of the lubrication of the engine was from 'splash'. That's the oil being thrown up into the small end bearings by the big ends turning in the sump. You got more splash from driving than idling.
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Re leaving keys in the ignition while refuelling: how do you unlock the fuel cap? Or do some cars have central locking for this too?
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All the cars I've owned with central locking have the fuel flap open as long as the doors are unlocked hence no need to take the key out of the ignition for that. Also several cars, including my wife's golf, have an internalo button to unlock the fuel flap.
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All the cars I've owned with central locking have the fuel flap open as long as the doors are unlocked...
Ah this seems very high tech to me as I'm impressed that my car has central locking at all. You still need the key to unlock the fuel filler. I know the more expensive models have an internal fuel flap opener but I don't know if this has the effect of unlocking the cap. Such things seem a little pointless until they also invent levitating petrol pumps.
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My 306 had an inside catch to pop the cover, then you just had to unscrew the actual cap by hand
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Oh no!
Lets not turn this thread into one about petrol caps for heaven's sake. I've not recovered yet from the epic thread about car mats...
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If you really have the urge to have the car sitting ( let's say, in the driveway ) runnning to de-ice etc, why not use the spare key to lock it whilst it's running ?
Don't all rush with a list of things that could go wrong; it's just a suggestion which may deter an opportunist
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