Leaving CDs in car CD player?

[Chrome]

Every time I get out of the car, even if I'm just going to pump gas, I carefully eject whatever CD I'm listening to and put it into its jewel case before getting out of the car.

When my wife's driving, she often just shuts the car off while the CD is going.

Before I continue arguing with her about this, I thought I'd get some feedback: Does turning off the car with the CD going somehow hurt the CD in any way? Or am I just being overly careful?

Edited December 19, 2003 by Chrome

[Dan Gould]

I've done it for over three years, CDs and CDRs alike and never discovered any sort of problem.

My question to you would be, do you remember what tune you were listening to and go back, or do you start the CD all over again everytime you start the car?

[Dmitry]

Leave 'em in[unless you live in a major metropolitan area, own a 1989 Toyota Camry and park it on the street].

You have a better chance of scratching them if you go back and forth. Plus the unnecessary wear and tear of the cdp ejection mechanism.

If you want to be *very* cautious, use cd-r's in your car player. No big loss if they get scratched or your passenger sits on them.

[Chrome]

Thanks for the responses.

Dan G.: Often a dilemma ... I'm usually more of a "start it all over" kind of guy.

[Alexander]

If I'm jsut getting out of the car for a second, to pump gas say, I leave the disc in the car. It doesn't hurt the disc or the player to turn the car off while the CD is playing. In fact, that's what car CD players are designed for! Most of them (mine included) remember where the disc left off when you turned off the car, so you don't have to go searching for the track. I will remove the disc (and the CD player's faceplate) if I'm getting out of the car for an extended period of time.

[Rooster_Ties]

My question to you would be, do you remember what tune you were listening to and go back, or do you start the CD all over again everytime you start the car?

Both of the CD-players in our cars "remember" where you were in the current CD, when the power is stopped. I think it does this by a "very technical method" whereby the laser position ISN'T moved when the car power is shut off – and thus it picks up right where it left off when you start the car. (Well, maybe not EXACTLY where you left off, but the same place within about 5 seconds, or less.

I've disconnected the car's battery once (to replace it), and with the new battery, the CD left in the player took right off where it left off, despite the car having had no power for several hours.

My point being that our car CD players (different brands, by the way), don't have to electronically store the position of the laser. It just stops right in its tracks, like if you turned off an LP turntable (and if it stopped immediately, dead in it's tracks), and left the needle in the groove. Then when you turned it back on, the needle would still be in the same groove.

[scottb]

Leave it in. The only problem I've had leaving them in is when my wife drives after me and doesn't bother to put the CD back in the case when she replaces it with Barney Sings Sinatra for the kids. The CD is forced to fend for itself on the console with sunglasses, loose change, ink pens, etc.

I've tried to emphasize that some of these discs are out of print, rare, from Spain (I know they were cheap but it sounds good for the argument) etc but to her, it's a CD.

[chris]

I doubt it hurts anything to leave them in-- probably MORE chance or wear and tear removing them and putting them back. But I try to only use CD-Rs in the car anyway, as they tend to get banged around a lot.

The problem here is that it gets too cold and then when the car warms up condensation appears on the disc, which can cause obvious problems.

[catesta]

If you want to be *very* cautious, use cd-r's in your car player. No big loss if they get scratched or your passenger sits on them.

That's what I do.

[Brad]

Chris, where do you live and how cold does it get. I remember this issue came up a few years ago on the old BNBB about whether it was a good idea to leave cd in a car when it gets really cold. I remember the consensus from the experts was that it wasn't a problem. I even remember Aric chiming in about "funk in deep freeze."

[chris]

I'm in Alaska-- it's about -20f here right now-- I don't think it hurts the discs (never had any problem with real damage), but the condensation makes 'em unplayable for a while. I guess maybe if they didn't have a chance to dry after thawing and then got refrozen ther is some remote chance of damage...

[GregK]

I'm in Alaska-- it's about -20f here right now-- I don't think it hurts the discs (never had any problem with real damage), but the condensation makes 'em unplayable for a while. I guess maybe if they didn't have a chance to dry after thawing and then got refrozen ther is some remote chance of damage...

I don't think that this is a real problem to be concerned about, because the disc itself wouldn't be freezing and thawing, it's simply the water (moisture) in the air which is condensing on the disc. If it freezes/thaws, no big deal. The disc itself shouldn't be affected. I am somewhat familiar with this, as I used to live in Canada and experienced many bitterly cold days, and the CDs always seemed to be perfectly fine once the condensation evaporated

[montg]

The only problem I've had leaving them in is when my wife drives after me and doesn't bother to put the CD back in the case when she replaces it with Barney Sings Sinatra for the kids. The CD is forced to fend for itself on the console with sunglasses, loose change, ink pens, etc.

I have the exact same problem. I only use CD-rs in the car. In addition to getting scratched from being thrown around by wife and kids (sometimes chewed on by the one-year-old) I have a contagion isue. I mean, clean CDs for the nice system in the house... CDrs for the car or computer.

[Brad]

I had a similar problem but in the heat. We were on vacation in Florida and I had my cd player with me. I took it from an air conditioned room onto the balcony into the heat and condensation must have formed because it skipped. Eventually the problem disappeared but it was little annoying to say the least.

[connoisseur series500]

Really happy that this topic was brought up as I've often wondered if I were possibly hurting my cds and player by keeping the cd in the system when I turned the car off.

I even keep the cd player on when I turn off the car. Do you guys keep the cds in but turn off or disengage the cd player facade when you leave the car? I just shut everything down midstream.

Once I had my car broken into and my cd player was taken (along with my disc!) Fortunately, it wasn't a rare cd or anything and I was able to get another copy.

[brownie]

I had the same problem that Brad had with the heat. Left the CD player inside the car in the shade during one of those very hot Summer days. Thought I would be back to the car very quickly but things happened. Got back to the car after several hours. The car was in the sun by then. The CD player would not work. It was out of action until the next visit to the garage.

I don't drive to work (Paris transit system works fine) except on Sundays. The car stays in a private parking. I don't leave the CD player in the car there.

I do most of my driving on holidays. The CD player stays inside the car most of the time then.

[Jim Alfredson]

My question to you would be, do you remember what tune you were listening to and go back, or do you start the CD all over again everytime you start the car? 

Both of the CD-players in our cars "remember" where you were in the current CD, when the power is stopped. I think it does this by a "very technical method" whereby the laser position ISN'T moved when the car power is shut off – and thus it picks up right where it left off when you start the car. (Well, maybe not EXACTLY where you left off, but the same place within about 5 seconds, or less.

I've disconnected the car's battery once (to replace it), and with the new battery, the CD left in the player took right off where it left off, despite the car having had no power for several hours.

My point being that our car CD players (different brands, by the way), don't have to electronically store the position of the laser. It just stops right in its tracks, like if you turned off an LP turntable (and if it stopped immediately, dead in it's tracks), and left the needle in the groove. Then when you turned it back on, the needle would still be in the same groove.

Sorry to say, Rooster, but your theory isn't correct. The laser HAS to go back to the beginning of the disc to read the TOC or else it won't know where it is. It won't know how many tracks there are or how long they are or anything. It'll be confused. The radio just stores the actual time the player stopped in memory.

The reason it is off from exactly where you left it is that most radios automatically back up a couple of seconds. Don't ask me why... it's just programmed in.

[Son-of-a-Weizen]

I always thought that it was the label (top) side of the disc that you wanted to keep scratch free......however, I accidentally put a hideous looking gouge in the top of an LD CD-R the other night and it still played fine. Toward the center of the disc it was.

[rockefeller center]

I always thought that it was the label (top) side of the disc that you wanted to keep scratch free......however, I accidentally put a hideous looking gouge in the top of an LD CD-R the other night and it still played fine. Toward the center of the disc it was.

The data is stored on the bottom side of the cd.

http://www.cdrfaq.org/faq02.html#S2-1

[chris]

Actually, the data is on the bottom protected by a finish, but it reflects off the layer on the top, so scratching either side can cause problems. Scratches that run vertically from the center hole are less likely to cause problems. I have scratched CDs both ways and can confirm that they can be a problem, though the bottom side seems to be much more sensitive, as a top scratch has to go deep enough to reach the reflective layer.

[robviti]

it's my understanding that, all things being equal, scratches on the label side of the cd are more apt to cause problems than scratches on the "shiny" side. that's because the data layer is protected by a thick layer of polycarbonate on the shiny side and a protective lacquer layer on the other side:

scratches following the circular reading pattern on the cd are more likely to cause a problem than scratches that are perpendicular to the reading pattern. actually, the scratch itself is not usually the problem, but rather the dirt that collects in the nooks of the scratched area. the dirt is what the laser can't read through. one way to solve this is to wash the cd.

[BruceH]

I've done it for over three years, CDs and CDRs alike and never discovered any sort of problem.

My question to you would be, do you remember what tune you were listening to and go back, or do you start the CD all over again everytime you start the car?

Why, remember the tune of course, and naturally go back to where I left off. Can't stand to start a CD over when I'm only part-way through it.

[chris]

Incidentall, it's VERY rare that I've come across a scratch so deep that a good polishing with brasso and then a rinse with warm water can't cure. OF all the things I've tried (short of a 3500 dollar resurfacing machine), brasso and some elbow-grease is by far the most effective...

[pryan]

I also live in an area where it can become quite frigid, but have yet to experience any problems after leaving CDs in the vehicle.

[Jazzmoose]

Incidentall, it's VERY rare that I've come across a scratch so deep that a good polishing with brasso and then a rinse with warm water can't cure. OF all the things I've tried (short of a 3500 dollar resurfacing machine), brasso and some elbow-grease is by far the most effective...

I've found that with my Kenny G. CDs, sandblasting worked quite well... ...smooth jazz indeed!