How important is it to first warm up the car? winter

I think that the current recommendations are to let it idle for only a couple of minutes before driving. If you like to warm it up until the seat gets warm, you're probably putting extra wear on the engine because it isn't under load (it's just "freewheeling"). I think that it is better to have the engine under load when its cold.

Worst case senario - I worked with a guy that liked the car "warm" when he drove it. One cold winter day, he was warming up a company car when he discovered that the doors had locked (locking him out). By the time they found a second set of keys and opened the door, a radiator hose had broken and the engine seized (things got hot for him then LOL).

No. A friend of my father who was the Comm. of Admin for the State of MN and had responisbility over all MN state vehicles confirmed to me that a car, started and idled for 30 seconds and then driven will warm up as fast as one left to sit and idle until warm and without any damage to major engine systems.

Modern cars can basically sit and run all day without problems, but why waste the gas? Some experts also recommend when starting cold, to place the car in drive (FOOT ON BRAKE!!! - well duh!) for about 10-30 seconds which will help fluids flow thru the engine and trans.

Wir welle bleiwe wat mir sin (Letzebuergesch)

The viscosity of cold oil prevents to lubricate your engine properly. So, worm it up before giving a working load.

Ideally, you shold idle it until the temp gauge reach the "Norm". Otherwise you can listen for the sound of working engine. If you're sure you hear that oil started to run about (engine calms down), it's time to go.

Todays cars with fuel injection & all the computer & electronic parts don't really need to be warmed up like cars of the 60's, 70's & 80's.

My brother ( who don't care anything about cars ) has parked outdoors all his life. He starts the car, and 8 seconds later he's driving away.

My dad, who parks in the garage let the pick up truck run about 30 seconds after starting before driving off.

Mother only lets the car run barely 20 seconds & she's off & running.

My car, you can count 1, 2 and the motor is running. By the time I get the seat belt on, sunglasses on, write down what the odometer reading is, get a cassette shoved in the radio about 60 seconds have passed, then I take off.

Generally I've found if its above 20 degree's out and your car is in perfect running order about a 60 second wait after starting is all you need.

Its just a matter of preferance.

Good Luck

========= Harryface =========

1991 Pontiac Bonneville LE 3800 V6 ( C ), Black/Slate Grey _~_~_~_~276,925 miles_~_~_ ~_~_

I'd say give it 2-3 minutes, so that the oil gets a chance to circulate and any knocks and slaps quiet down. My LT1 is noisy as hell because the pistons shrink, so I wait until the noise disappears and then go. I keep the engine below 2000rpm until the temp gauge reaches normal, just to be on the safe side.

Michael,Michael, Michael where did you get this idea !!! What you are suggesting is terribly wrong.

An engine warm up a lot quicker under a light load. You burn fuel more efficiently, and the lubrification of the engine is more effective.

If you can afford it and if you live in a very cold area I suggest you to use Synth. oil or a good dino 5w30.

Let the engine running for about a minute and drive with an egg under the accelerator for the first few miles, THAT is the best thing to do for cold start.

You should follow your owners manual first.

But this is what I got for instructions for my smaller engine car. Viscosities have dropped over the last few decades(i use 5w30), and because of this, oil flows easier compared to the days when you had to warm up your car. Also, since high fuel economy cars burn so little gas when idling, they don't warm up fast(I tested this, 15mins on a cold day, and still not in the normal range), and are designed that way. So, I read on cold days start car let car sit for one minute, and then drive away, without driving at high speeds till car has a few more minutes to warm up.

hth,

tom

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Harry Face wrote in alt.autos.gm

Much of the need for warming up cars came from the days when the only oil available was single viscosity. You would change the viscosity when you changed your oil at the change of seasons. For instance, in the late fall you would go to 10 weight, and in late spring you would go to 30 weight. You would need to warm up the engine to allow the oil to reach the temperature it needed to properly lubricate the engine. Believe me, 30 weight oil flows like molasses at any temperature under 70 or 80 degrees. 10 weight flows like modern 10w-30. The oil would have to warm up so it flowed like 10 weight oil is supposed to flow at normal temperatures. However 10 weight oil, when warmed up too high, is too thin to provide proper lubrication. Thus we have the modern multi viscosity oils, which flow like the lowest rating at all temps and yet retain the lubrication of the higher viscosity listed. Also, the older cars with carburators had a very fast idle for initial warm up. They would drop off of that as soon as you started giving it the gas, and if the car wasn't warm enough, it would stall. So you needed to let it warm up for a minute or two. Modern cars use sensors to tell how much air and fuel are needed, coupled with modern oils long warm ups are not needed.

sniplet

I get in the car, start the engine, put on my seat belt and wait for all the tests to be completed, such as ABS system, then I am good to go. Although if my wife is coming, I may have to idle for longer.

I let mine sit for a few minutes before I start driving. Anyone ever feel their car lurch forward when cranking? Nice cold thick trans fluid sticking to transmission parts. The transmissions also jerky right off the bat. (thunk, oh i didnt wait for fluilds to finish flowing in my transmission) Its best to wait till those fluids to start flowing and fill in all the surfaces before their loaded. Cold starts are where most engine wear occurs.

Not true anymore now that the engines work in closed-loop. As a matter of fact, driving the car will warm it up more quickly because the ECU can use a leaner charge, which heats up the engine and the catalytic converter faster.

However, the recommendation to avoid WOT until the engine has reached normal a temperature still applies.

Personally, I think warming up your car in winter is a waste of time and gas. As long as you drive gently for the first couple of miles you'll be OK. If you happen to have a carbeurated car (unlikely) then you might need to warm it up.

My car, 1997 Buick LeSabre, never gets cold in winter, even up here in the land of snow, Canada, since I plug in the block heater, and it purrs evenly after the coldest night. Mind you, it takes a while for the heater to do its stuff, but with cloth seats it's not that much of a problem, not as it was with my leather-seated '93 Olds Delta, yuck.

Alan

"lbbs" wrote

What you should do is get in your vehicle, start the engine, and if it's cold out, get out and scrape the windows. Jump back in the car and go. There is no need to sit and idle the car for any amount of time. Jump in it and go. That's what is best for the vehicle.

Ian

Depends on what your definition of "cold" is, and what kind of oil you use.

Cold starting an engine that has synthetic oil at 0F isn't good for it. Cold starting an engine with non-synthetic oil at 0F is just plain stupid. At any temperature colder than that, at the least the engine needs to be heated. Ideally, the engine block, the battery, the oil pan, the transmission, and the interior

*all* have heaters at temperatures lower than 0F.

Even a heated engine with non-synthetic oil shouldn't be started at -20F or colder if the oil pan doesn't have a heater. At that temperature the oil has consistency of grape jelly, and lubricates just as well too.

Of course, if the bearing grease and the differential lube aren't the right kind, it makes no difference if you can get the engine to start at -50F or not, because the vehicle won't move anyway.

-- Floyd L. Davidson Ukpeagvik (Barrow, Alaska) snipped-for-privacy@barrow.com

I agree. I get in the car, let it idle for about one minute and slowly take off driving. I DO have a carbureted car too. People that let their cars idle for long periods are actually doing more harm, at least with a carburetor type engine. They start the car and go in the house and le it idle for 15 minutes or more. Well, because no one is stepping on the gas, the engine is isling with the choke closed most of the way. So, until someone steps on the gas to open the choke, the engine is sucking in huge amounts of gas, and that gas is washing all the oil off the cylinder walls and pistons. Worse yet, that gas is getting into the crankcase, diluting the oil, and doing more damage.

Get in the car, start the engine, let it rev for a minute, accellerate a few times, and start driving. If it's severely cold, you might take another minute, but no more. Also, when it's severely cold, I shift into neutral for a part of a minute. That gets the auto-trans fluid moving.

"Floyd Davidson" wrote

Really, I guess I must have been doing things wrong up here in the frozen north for the past 27 years. We just had a nice little cold snap, down to -36C overnight. The old k-car started up quite nicely...didn't even have to plug her in. No synthetic either. Oh sure...things howl and whine a bit as you drive off, but I've never experienced any engine failures on any of the cars that I've owned since living here in Canada.

Wow....all of Canada is doing it wrong. I don't see very many vehicles with oil pan heaters...if any at all. Block heaters work fine...if you really need them.

Ian

Nope. Start it and drive...just don't dog it for the 1st few miles. Been doing that for over 30 years and haven't had any engine problems yet.

In Washington, D.C. you can get a $50 fine for leaving your car idling unattended. If the engine is running someone MUST be in the driver's seat. They're starting a crack-down campaign this week on that, as a matter of fact.