2004 to 2020 Mazda 3 Forum and Mazdaspeed 3 Forums banner

warming the car up

Tags
car warming
6K views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  Texan 
#1 ·
Ok so I bought my car this past december and we had an unusually bad winter this year. I found myself starting my car to let it warm up enough to even scrape the windows. That being said I have never owned a smart key vehicle before but on my old explorer I would just start it with one key and use my other key to lock it and go inside and finish getting ready for work. Now this car wont let me lock one key in the car with the other WTF. What process do other people use to let their cars warm up?
 
#2 ·
I would always just leave the car running and go back inside for a few minutes.

I also live in bumfuck so the closest neighbor is a couple minute walk so I usually don't worry about anything happening to my car.

When I would warm it up before work, I would just sit in it and freeze until it got to temp.

Now that it's getting warmer, it's not a hassle to just sit in there for the couple minutes it needs to warm up.
 
#3 ·
I wish I lived in bumfuck like where i grew up but thats not the case. I mean it take more than a couple minutes when its 2 outside and windy lol. There were many times this past winter that warming the car up and getting the windows cleaned off was a 30 minute ordeal because we dont get a lot of snow but we get lots of ice. I was just wondering if anyone has found a trick to locking it up and leaving it running I mean I had a big time habit of it like just going into the gas station with my old vehicle id just leave it running for the 2-3 minutes and lock the keys in it on purpose.
 
#4 ·
The key is needed to start the car. You can then leave the car with it running (although it will try to warn you). Have you tried locking the car from the outside with the car running? You still have the key on you, but I wouldn't think the car would turn off on its own. If this works, it would be even better, because you only need one key.
 
#5 ·
I feel a little silly I gave that a try just a few minutes ago and much to my surprise yeah it keeps running. At first I was surprised but now that I think about it that makes sense imagine you key battery dying going down the road and the car just turn off.
 
#6 ·
I just lock my doors with the keyhole on the door and it locks all 4 doors using my spare key. When I come back I unlock my door and it unlock the driver door only.

I've heard of people trying to copy a keyfob key with a regular metal only key and when they decided to use it in their ignition one day, the car went into security shut down mode and had to be towed to the dealer. Just a heads up to those that may think about doing this. Doors only.
 
#8 ·
Yeah if you cose the door locked with the key fob inside it automatically unlocks itself
 
#9 ·
I see a couple of different options depending on which 2013 model you have. Entry level 3 I SV 4-door lists "Remote Keyless Entry" as an option and the same "RKE" is listed standard on 3i sport 4-door. All higher trim levels (3i touring 4. 3i touring 5-door, and 3i grand touring 5-door) list "Mazda Advanced Keyless Entry & Start System w/push button start" as standard.

Mine is the 3i grand touring 5-door hatchback. I know on mine you can NOT lock the keys in your car. If you start it and then exit the vehicle it is not possible to lock the car. So...bad for your situation, good from the stand point it is impossible to lock your keys in your car.

One other thing to keep in mind. If you start the car with two or more people on board, drop off a passenger, and continue to another destination make absolutely certain a key remains with the driver. The car will continue running regardless. If the person you dropped off was the only one who had a key you are now in a world of hurt. Once the driver gets to the second destination and shuts the car off it will not restart.

This happened to my father once in his Toyota Camry. He thought he had his key when he left the house. He did not, but the car started anyway because mom had her key with her. Then he dropped her off (thinking he still had his key), continued to an alternate location, shut the car off, and became stranded until my mother could find a ride to the car's second destination.

The same thing can happen in our 3's, though it is less likely since the car will beep at you 5 or 6 times if it is still running and the only key leaves it's effective range. Moral of the story - make absolutely certain a key remains in the driver's pocket, jacket, etc.

Hope this helps.
 
#10 ·
Mine is the 3i grand touring 5-door hatchback. I know on mine you can NOT lock the keys in your car. If you start it and then exit the vehicle it is not possible to lock the car. So...bad for your situation, good from the stand point it is impossible to lock your keys in your car.

Hope this helps.
I believe he has already solved his issue. You can lock the car from the outside with the car running, as long as you have your key with you. This is what he was trying to accomplish and now has figured out he can. Now that he knows he can, I believe he will like this better than his old way of doing it (with two keys).
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top