Is It Illegal to Warm Up Your Car Unattended in Colorado in 2018?
The law has changed a couple of times over the last few years. So, can you 'puff' in the morning, or not? Here's what the current law — and Hickenlooper — says.
'Puffing,' or warming up your car and leaving it unattended (usually to go back in your house where it's warm), used to be completely illegal in the state of Colorado because of theft. However, as cars have changed, so has the law... a little bit.
According to Colorado legislation, Governor Hickenlooper signed a bill in the winter of 2016 that states, 'Current law prohibits the idling of an unattended vehicle. The act limits the law to unlocked vehicles and makes an exception for vehicles with a remote starter system when the driver takes adequate security measures.'
So, as of August 2016, it became legal to 'puff' your car if you had a remote start system, because then the vehicle can be locked while running unattended.
I had a neighbor in Fort Collins who used to regularly warm up his car early in the morning, keys in the ignition, and return back to his apartment until it was warm and ready to go. And, guess what? In the winter of 2016, someone drove off in his car. Worth it? Probably not.
(Thankfully they didn't make it far, and the police apprehended the suspect.)
So, as much of a pain as it is to sit in your cold car... for most of us, it is the law.
Source: Is It Illegal to Warm Up Your Car in Your Own Driveway in Owatonna?