Do you warm up your car before taking off?

Wonder if they were just being cute, making idle talk?

*

Random thought of the moment--people talk about waiting for rpm to drop below 1000 or somesuch. I don't recall ever waiting for that--nor have I had it "bang into gear". After a few seconds I'm guessing the transmission is pumped up and at pressure, but I think dropping into gear doesn't mean it's banging into gear--the ATF is cold, thick, perhaps flowing in those passageways a bit slower? accumulators doing their thing? not sure, but I don't think I've had an issue with an automatic (and on a manual, it's not that hard to just feather the clutch and take off).

Maybe on the older cars that was a problem, the non-electronically controlled automatics. Or maybe mine are too old, too many miles, and their autos are on their last legs, sliding into gear now. :)
My summer car, 84 Olds with 270k miles on the transmission doesn't slam into gear when it's cold, but it feels like driving through molasses for the first minute at least. That's before we get snow and it's parked but late enough the windows frost up. It shifts harder once warmed up.

My 2005 Silverado shifts harder when cold. This morning was -19c. It got 6 minutes of warmup before I had to leave and the transmission fluid temperature was still only 20F. It took several minutes of driving for the fluid to get up to freezing temperature (32f).

Saw a guy picking up large excavator on a job site. He sat in the frigid cabin for a good 7 minutes before moving it. Somewhere around 5 minutes he gently raised the rpm by maybe 400-500 to warm up faster.
 
Ouch. I'm no fan of sitting around in the cold--which is why I drive off as soon as I can, it'll build heat faster, regardless of how well things are working. I'll even roll down the window to deal with fogging concerns, since I know the reward will be sweet (well, warm).

I've noticed my two autos are showing signs of being slower to engage at the moment. They also are sitting for longer periods of time, maybe that isn't helping. Regardless. Just not sure that it's a big deal that the rpm is not at idle before shifting a "cold" transmission like some worry. Maybe my rural miles means few cold starts, thus I haven't driven something long enough to see what they have?
 
this morning were all in on the "It's cold this morning, be sure to warm up your car" advice. Whatever did we do before the TV was there to advise us about everything?
And next week they'll run a special report telling us how warming your car up unattended is illegal (varies by state, I'm sure). It is in Ohio unless you have a remote starter. If I'm not mistaken, at least by the letter of the law, even using two sets of keys, i.e. locking the car while it runs, doesn't make it okay either.
 
but a remote starter does? That makes no sense at all.
Cars with a factory remote start or a properly installed aftermarket unit will kill the engine if you open the door without using the remote.

My scion with factory remote start kills the engine no matter what, there is no way to get in without killing the engine.

You can't just hop in a car and take off if it's been remote started.
 
My Sonata has a high idle of about 1,500 rpm on below freezing cold starts. If I were to wait for it to drop below 1,000 rpm I would be waiting for 5 minutes. I just let it warm up for 30-60 seconds before putting it in gear.
 
I have a neighbor who lives directly across the street from me. She's a school teacher. Each morning, even in the summer when she's off she remote starts her 2017 Jeep Compass and idles it. Many times until it shuts itself off, then she starts it again before taking off. What a waste of fuel, and she's doing her engine no favors either.
If I owned a Jeep Compass I’d try to wear out the engine as quickly as possible too.
 
It was 1F / -17C this morning. I did not wait for high idle to come down; it was about 10-15 seconds to buckle up and be ready to drop into drive. Just took the first few miles easy, kept it in a gear to keep it around 2k (as I really wanted the heat!).
 
Cars with a factory remote start or a properly installed aftermarket unit will kill the engine if you open the door without using the remote.
All properly-designed remote start systems will LOCK the car before remote-starting the car.

My scion with factory remote start kills the engine no matter what, there is no way to get in without killing the engine.
That's a stupid design by Toyota... :oops:
 
Parked outside or in your garage ?
Outside. I've yet to figure out why but my garage has yet to drop below freezing. I guess it is enclosed enough, and insulated enough, that despite not having a heat source, the waste heat that goes through the walls is enough. Strange. Anyhow, the Tundra is parked outside, and it was +1F this morning, and it cranked just fine. Just moved real slowly, gear oil is kinda awful in these temps. In other days, with my FWD cars, only the transmission really suffered, but MT gear oil is at least a bit thinner, or perhaps there is less of it?
 
I did for a couple of minutes yesterday when I was in Cedar Rapids, IA. Of course, it was like -1 when I left the hotel for my return drive home.

(I have to say I'm shocked more cars are not stolen in Cedar Rapids as nearly every place I stopped, save for a restaurant, had cars idling outside with no one in them. Wouldn't take much for someone to grab a car from the Casey's and have it for the day.)

Really, not longer than it took me to reset my trip odometer, record my mileage in my book and queue up my podcasts for play during the drive. So two to three minutes tops. Car never got below 1k RPMs and the cold engine light was still on.

Transaxle gear selection felt like the gears where in syrup. But by the time I got two miles down the road, about ready to get on the interstate, it was close to normal and I had heat coming out of the vents.

I am grateful for heated seats, I will say that.
 
I've yet to figure out why but my garage has yet to drop below freezing. I guess it is enclosed enough
I would hope a "closed" garage, even one with no insulation, wouldn't be the same temperature as the outside. FWIW, I'm in the process of "insulating" our garage door to help the temperature in ours (mostly because our master bedroom is above the garage). It's gotten colder since I took some measurements but when it was 26º F outside, I measured these temps inside:

Floor (cement, center): 49º F
Ceiling (center): 48º F
Door (metal, center panel): 39º F

It's getting down to the teens at night so I should get add'l temperatures. I have insulated 4 of the 16 panels already (test run for fitting, etc) and doubt it will have any impact.
 
All properly-designed remote start systems will LOCK the car before remote-starting the car.


That's a stupid design by Toyota... :oops:
Toyota does require the door to be locked. If someone were able to unlock it thru an open or broken window it shuts off. The door being locked is only part of the security.

It annoys me that you cant keep the car running when you go to get in it and leave.
 
Toyota does require the door to be locked. If someone were able to unlock it thru an open or broken window it shuts off. The door being locked is only part of the security.

It annoys me that you cant keep the car running when you go to get in it and leave.
The Buick has a remote start feature, but there's something wonky like that about it. I've never used it or studied it in the manual.
 
Honda and Toyota both have the kill feature with the door open...it's a function of the push-button start as opposed to the auto start in and of itself the way I understand it. Any auto start is designed to kill upon application of the brake pedal with no key present. Otherwise, it completely depends on OEM programming. My Highlander I used to have would kill the engine with any door, including the liftgate, opened after remote start. The MDX I have now does the same except for the liftgate...I can open it and load groceries and the engine will run until an actual door is opened.

The auto start vs just start and drive off discussion is all about personal comfort, not mechanical wear concerns nor fuel economy, obviously. We all know the drivetrain will be just fine given proper fluids and not thrashing on the thing when its cold.
 
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