For people with garages

[Alpo]

I've never lived anywhere that had a garage. Well, that's not true. We had one when I was four. But I wasn't driving then so I don't know.

 

Here's the question - do you open the door of the garage before you start your car?

 

I just assumed you would. Even if you got a garage door opener and you can push a button, I assumed you would.

 

I was just watching a stand-up comic. She's telling a story about how stupid she is.

 

She was getting ready to go to work the other day and she couldn't get the music to come on in her car. So she calls her father and tells him and he said he didn't care and hung up. So she's continuing sitting there trying to figure out why she can't get the music to come on, and about 2 minutes go by and he calls back and he says -

 

Are you in your car? Yes.

 

In the garage? Yes.

 

Is the car running? She explains that cars don't run, they drive, and he tells her to get out quickly.

 

And then she asked the audience if they had ever heard of carbon monoxide poisoning. Because she hadn't. That had never come up in conversation before.

 

It was a funny routine, but the thought of starting your car while the garage door was still closed was just --- WHAT???

 

Would that be a normal thing? As I say, I have absolutely no experience with having a car in the garage.

[DocWard]

No I hit the garage door opener at the door into the house as I am going to the car.

[Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L]

I always open the garage door before starting the car.  Also turn the car off before closing the garage door.

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

My parents had a garage, not attached to the house. Standard procedure was to go out, open the garage door, (you had to have it open to leave anyway), start the car and leave. Even with an attached garage, I think that it makes more sense to open the door before starting the car. If you didn't, you'd have to get back out of the car to open it before you could leave. 

[Stump Water]

5 minutes ago, Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L said:

I always open the garage door before starting the car.  Also turn the car off before closing the garage door.

 

Same.

 

A co-worker's wife didn't open the door and backed out anyway.  She said she didn't realize it until she was almost all the way out of the garage.  Not sure how that happened, but that's what he said she said.  I guess the music was on.

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

50 minutes ago, DocWard said:

No I hit the garage door opener at the door into the house as I am going to the car.

And hit the button to close it again when I go back in.

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

Cars with working catalytic converters do not emit CO.  But I would not trust it and would open the door first.

[Yul Lose]

After Mrs. Lose backed into a closed garage door one time because she forgot to open it we both always open the garage door and make sure that it’s open all of the way before we get in the car and start the engine.

[Cypress Sun]

I always open the door on the way to the vehicle and turn off the vehicle before closing the door on return.

[Sixgun Seamus]

This is all assuming that your 2 car garage is not full of junk and one non running car and that you could actually get a car in it.

[Dirty Dog Doug]

too many of my neighbors have the garage full of cheap junk and 2 $50K cars parked outside 

i tell them have you kids come get their junk !!

[Three Foot Johnson]

I hit the garage door button, then immediately start the car as the door is going up, and try to get out before the two outside cats can run in. I don't know if I've ever succeeded.

[Subdeacon Joe]

1 hour ago, DocWard said:

No I hit the garage door opener at the door into the house as I am going to the car.

 

1 hour ago, Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L said:

I always open the garage door before starting the car.  Also turn the car off before closing the garage door.

 

Ditto.  

[Dr. Zook]

Granted this is slightly different to the above conversation - At the stations with garages (bays), there is a diesel exhaust hose that goes over the exhaust pipe to 'capture' the exhaust so you can do your checks with the bay doors closed and detaches as you pull out. Now, when the door is activated your 'supposed' to wait until its rolled up or folded to the side...after several replacement door sections, they installed two light bulbs (red & green) so the engineer knew when to move forward.  Still replacing door sections to this day...

 

I believe there is a similar device for home use.

 

For the original question, door up and then auto start/key turn.  For safety, ingress/egress with door down, then start after door is up.

 

[Rip Snorter]

Open door, start, pull out, close door. Open door, pull in shut off, close door. I do both of these processes briskly.  Do any of your Wives have a 3 or 4 minute lag in the start or stop stage?  Just curious.

[sassnetguy50]

Are we discussing attached or detached garages?  Some people start their car with the garage door closed to make sure it starts before letting the winter air in the attached garage.  It doesn't matter in a detached garage without heat. 

Edited December 12, 2025 by sassnetguy50

[Blackwater 53393]

1 hour ago, Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 said:

Cars with working catalytic converters do not emit CO.  But I would not trust it and would open the door first.

Catalytic converters are highly effective at reducing CO emissions, but they don't eliminate it completely, and a failing system or leak can still make a car deadly in confined areas. They also don’t work well on startup when the engine/system is cold!

The catalytic converter does greatly reduce CO emissions when heated up and in good working order, but never completely eliminates CO.

[Eyesa Horg]

Our everyday vehicle garage is attached. Always open the door as I walk out before getting in and starting the truck. In the winter, I reach out open the door and use the remote to start the truck for a couple minutes warm up. Now having a diesel, I go out start it back it out to warm up and then close the door so the diesel stink doesn't fill the garage! I've heard of people committing suicide by running a car in the garage since I was knee high to Jesus!

[Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L]

42 minutes ago, sassnetguy50 said:

Are we discussing attached or detached garages?  Some people start their car with the garage door closed to make sure it starts before letting the winter air in the attached garage.  It doesn't matter in a detached garage without heat. 

I live in Texas - what is this "Winter Air" you are talking about  

[Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L]

1 hour ago, Dr. Zook said:

Granted this is slightly different to the above conversation - At the stations with garages (bays), there is a diesel exhaust hose that goes over the exhaust pipe to 'capture' the exhaust so you can do your checks with the bay doors closed and detaches as you pull out. Now, when the door is activated your 'supposed' to wait until its rolled up or folded to the side...after several replacement door sections, they installed two light bulbs (red & green) so the engineer knew when to move forward.  Still replacing door sections to this day...

 

I believe there is a similar device for home use.

 

For the original question, door up and then auto start/key turn.  For safety, ingress/egress with door down, then start after door is up.

 

I designed 3 Fire Stations for the City of Fort Worth when I was still working for Architects.  Two were fitted with the hose exhaust system and the third older one was retrofitted for it after the Fire Department adopted them.  All had the green/red lights either side of the doors to indicate when the doors were fully up and clear to drive through.  Even then it was not uncommon for door panels to be hit when they were not all the way up before the Apparatus went through the door opening.

[Alpo]

2 hours ago, Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 said:

Cars with working catalytic converters do not emit CO.  But I would not trust it and would open the door first.

That's something I've wondered about, when they have cop shows showing somebody committing suicide either by starting the car in the garage and just sitting there or running a garden hose from the exhaust pipe in the window. I know my 69 F100 would kill you. My 70 LeSabre would probably kill you. My 72 LeSabre would probably kill you. I don't think my 86 Silverado would. I'm pretty sure it's got a catalytic converter. And I'm completely certain that a 2019 Mercedes would not.

[DocWard]

2 hours ago, Sixgun Seamus said:

This is all assuming that your 2 car garage is not full of junk and one non running car and that you could actually get a car in it.

 

Stay out of my garage!!!

 

[Blackwater 53393]

19 minutes ago, Alpo said:

That's something I've wondered about, when they have cop shows showing somebody committing suicide either by starting the car in the garage and just sitting there or running a garden hose from the exhaust pipe in the window. I know my 69 F100 would kill you. My 70 LeSabre would probably kill you. My 72 LeSabre would probably kill you. I don't think my 86 Silverado would. I'm pretty sure it's got a catalytic converter. And I'm completely certain that a 2019 Mercedes would not.

PLEASE SEE MY PREVIOUS POST!!

 

The catalytic converter DOES NOT completely eliminate CO, even under perfect conditions!!  It is not very good at all when the engine/system has not reached optimum operating temperature!

 

[Crazy Gun Barney, SASS #2428]

I grew up in a house with a huge garage... easily fit 4 cars in it.  My Dad still lives there.  In the 55 some odd years I have lived on this earth, I have never seen a car in that garage.  

[Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474]

I go out the mudroom door into the attached garage, hitting the door opener, which also turns on the lights in the garage.

I only start the snowblower with the door open as well.

[Cypress Sun]

 

3 hours ago, Sixgun Seamus said:

This is all assuming that your 2 car garage is not full of junk and one non running car and that you could actually get a car in it.

 

There's a house with a full size three car garage on the way out of the neighborhood that has a 1958 Corvette, 1970 Corvette and one of those newer super Vettes sitting in his driveway outside of the garage in the blazing Florida sun all year round. Inside his garage....a couple sets of shelves with boxes, couple of bicycles and a golf cart. I am incredulous every time I drive by his house and see the garage open and those beautiful cars sitting outside while the garage has about $1,500 of (probably) junk in boxes, $1,000 in bicycles and a $3,000 golf cart in the garage. Oh, his daily driver evidently is an $80,000 Denali which also resides outside.

[Duffield, SASS #23454]

5 hours ago, Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L said:

I live in Texas - what is this "Winter Air" you are talking about  

Meet me in Amarillo and I will explain it.

[Rye Miles #13621]

I never knew anyone that started their car with the garage door closed. That’s possibly one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard of! I open my garage from in my house with my electric door opener and start the car from in the house with auto start when it’s real cold or real hot.

Edited December 13, 2025 by Rye Miles #13621

[Dirty Dog Doug]

3 hours ago, Cypress Sun said:

 

 

There's a house with a full size three car garage on the way out of the neighborhood that has a 1958 Corvette, 1970 Corvette and one of those newer super Vettes sitting in his driveway outside of the garage in the blazing Florida sun all year round. Inside his garage....a couple sets of shelves with boxes, couple of bicycles and a golf cart. I am incredulous every time I drive by his house and see the garage open and those beautiful cars sitting outside while the garage has about $1,500 of (probably) junk in boxes, $1,000 in bicycles and a $3,000 golf cart in the garage. Oh, his daily driver evidently is an $80,000 Denali which also resides outside.

we have the same neighbors  get rid of junk !!!!

[watab kid]

ive always had a garage , some connected to the house , others seperate from the house , i always open the door before starting it and always close i=t after the car is off , 

 

i did have an ex-wife that didnt do as i did and backed out throught the colsed door - what a mess , 

 

a number of years ago i was visiting a good friend at his apartment building about this time of year , a couple in the next building wanted some alone time away from the kids , chose the running car in a closed garage , we only knew about it because when the cops came one of them was a good friend of ours that was questioning neighbors to get a timeline , beedless to say the coroner was called , not wisw to run the engine in a closed space - thats why most garages have exhaust removal system 

[Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L]

I’ve never seen a residential garage with an exhaust removal system.

[Dr. Zook]

2 hours ago, Duffield, SASS #23454 said:

Meet me in Amarillo and I will explain it.

I'll agree with you there, got stationed there Nov 2020 to help local ems providers - they had snow the week before i arrived and crushed some units when their building partially collapsed- 1 week later, it was t shirt weather, 2nd week freezing rain/flurries then t shirts again...crazy weather...

[sassnetguy50]

8 hours ago, Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L said:

I live in Texas - what is this "Winter Air" you are talking about  

Come up north this weekend,  the weatherman says subzero the next three days.  Some modern vehicles can have problems starting when ambient temperature is as warm as -15°F, others are reliable past -40°.

[watab kid]

3 hours ago, Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L said:

I’ve never seen a residential garage with an exhaust removal system.

ive nly seen two , both were wealthy fellas that liked restoring cars - they also had commercial  lifts like you would see in a service center , one was local here the other in iowa back when i lived there , i have built a lot of service centers over the years and i did have subs install the systems , they work very well , 

 

[Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L]

11 hours ago, sassnetguy50 said:

Come up north this weekend,  the weatherman says subzero the next three days.  Some modern vehicles can have problems starting when ambient temperature is as warm as -15°F, others are reliable past -40°.

No thank you, believe I will stay down here where it is currently 48 and will warm up to 60 this afternoon.