1997 GMC Suburban Owner's Manual - Page 223

You can run the engine to keep warm, but be careful. Snow can trap exhaust gases under your vehicle. This can cause deadly (carbon monoxide) gas CO to get inside. CO could overcomeyou and kill you. You can't see it or smell it,so you might not know it is in your vehicle. Clear away snow from around the base your vehicle, especially any of that is blocking your exhaust pipe. And check around again from time to time to be sure snow doesn't collect there. Open a window just a little on the sidethe of vehicle that's away from the wind. This help will keep CO out. Run your engine only as long as you must. This saves fuel. When you run the engine, make it go a little faster than just idle. That is, push the accelerator slightly. This uses less fuel for the heat that you get and it keeps the battery (or batteries) charged.You will need a well-charged battery (or batteries) to restart the vehicle, and possibly for signalinglater on with your headlamps. Let the heater run for awhile. If you have a diesel engine, you may have to run it at a higher speed to get enough heat. Then, shut the engine off and close the window almost all the way to preserve the heat. Start the engine again and repeat this only when you feel really uncomfortable from the cold. But do it as little as possible. Preserve the fuel as long as you can. To help keep warm, you can get out of the vehicle and do some fairly vigorous exercises every half hour or so until help comes. 4-41