Maxima 2009, takes long to warm up at 30F, switch to 0w30?

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Hello,
I have my Maxima 09 for a year now, it had 80k miles at that time and now sitting at 91K miles. The car, from maintenance records, was meticulously maintained by the original only owner who had it before me (a lady) and had her oil and filter changed around every 4k miles exclusively at a Nissan dealership using conventional Nissan 5w30. When I got it I also had the CVT fluid drain and refill, did a coolant flush at Nissan using the Nissan green coolant 50/50. Car is very well maintained and very clean.

My first oil change 3 months after purchase was with a synthetic Mobil 1 extended performance 5w30 then the last 2 OCI were with Pennzoil UP 5w30 and Nissan oil filters.

Now since it's pretty cold here, morning temperature ranging from 30F to 20F car takes a long time to warm up, car is not kept at a garage, I sit boringly in a cold car for a whole 5 to 8 minutes sometimes waiting for the thing to warm up, sometimes I have to leave faster, and for maybe at least 3 to 4 miles till I see temp gauge in the normal operating position. I try to be very calm with the car til it heats up (which is REAL PITA in morning crazy traffic). Car (engine and/or transmission doesn't feel and sound right until it heats up), I log up real live data from ECU through my OBDII port, once car is warmed up it sits stable at 195F and oil around 180F-190F when fully warmed up and stays there, can not really blame the thermostat for the issue.

Is this normal? should I think about switch to 0w30 oil?

Thanks
 
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I really doubt the oil is going to make any difference... and I doubt your thermostat is working improperly as the car would almost set a P0128 code if it was running cool/taking too long to warm up.

5-8 minutes to warm up at 25 degree temps doesn't sound extreme. My Impala, also with a 3.5 V6, also parked outside at temps around that, takes maybe 10 minutes of stop and go driving in the morning to warm up. Call it 4 miles. The second half of the 8 mile commute, of which only 1.5 miles are on the highway, has pretty good heat but I wouldn't really say the car is "warm". Just acceptable. Overall, it takes me about 25 minutes to travel 7 miles due to traffic, and only the last 1.5 do I have good heat due to all the idling.

I'd say your car is working perfectly fine.
 
I need to ask what idea goes with switching to a 0w-30 and what would it accomplish??
 
OP/mahanddeem,

These are the steps:
-start the car
-clean windows for your and others safety (if ice or snow)
-get inside the car
-keep the rpm at 2,500-3,000 for 2-5 minutes or until warm air comes. (I'm not familiar with the Nissan design, but depending on the car design, this may or not help the AT/CVT to warm-up)
-please tell us the OBDII results/temps

My 2013 Mazda5 at 23F (Yup, it gets cold in GA sometimes) needed 3 minutes to give warm air.
 
Originally Posted by 14Accent
I really doubt the oil is going to make any difference... and I doubt your thermostat is working improperly as the car would almost set a P0128 code if it was running cool/taking too long to warm up.

5-8 minutes to warm up at 25 degree temps doesn't sound extreme. My Impala, also with a 3.5 V6, also parked outside at temps around that, takes maybe 10 minutes of stop and go driving in the morning to warm up. Call it 4 miles. The second half of the 8 mile commute, of which only 1.5 miles are on the highway, has pretty good heat but I wouldn't really say the car is "warm". Just acceptable. Overall, it takes me about 25 minutes to travel 7 miles due to traffic, and only the last 1.5 do I have good heat due to all the idling.

I'd say your car is working perfectly fine.


Thanks, seems your car is a late warmer too like mine
 
Originally Posted by CT8
I need to ask what idea goes with switching to a 0w-30 and what would it accomplish??


Better oil flow at colder temp?
 
Originally Posted by pandus13
OP/mahanddeem,

These are the steps:
-start the car
-clean windows for your and others safety (if ice or snow)
-get inside the car
-keep the rpm at 2,500-3,000 for 2-5 minutes or until warm air comes. (I'm not familiar with the Nissan design, but depending on the car design, this may or not help the AT/CVT to warm-up)
-please tell us the OBDII results/temps

My 2013 Mazda5 at 23F (Yup, it gets cold in GA sometimes) needed 3 minutes to give warm air.


1. I do start the car, never drove when engine was off
grin2.gif

2. Obviously, though fumes from exhaust is not good for your health (lungs and brain) when venturing around a warming engine in 25F morning (rich mixture)
3. I do, never drove from the trunk
lol.gif

4. Safe for the engine to rev it when cold? I just let it idle at its own (usually 1600-1700 RPM)
 
If anything it is the thermostat, but I would guess everything is fine. 3 to 5 min of idling is not long to warmup at 20 deg. Revving it a bit helps it warm up a lot faster. You could get an engine block heater.
 
Originally Posted by wallyuwl
If anything it is the thermostat, but I would guess everything is fine. 3 to 5 min of idling is not long to warmup at 20 deg. Revving it a bit helps it warm up a lot faster. You could get an engine block heater.


Block heater is not an option in my case, apartment complex parking lot.
 
Originally Posted by mahanddeem
... Is this normal? should I think about switch to 0w30 oil? ...
Yes, it's probably normal. Switching to 0W-30 won't hasten warm-up or change oil flow at Maryland temperatures.

Partially blocking the grill would help a little, but if you do that, be careful not to overdo it. Take it out if necessary to avoid overheating on warmish days.
 
0w30 wont make much a difference. It wont hurt to use 0w30. Fastest way to warm up a car is to get in it and drive it. Block heater and plugging it in will help...so will a car starter, if u want it warm for comfort. My Venza and Corolla take long to warm up. My corolla has a block heater and venza has a car starter. I use the car starter sometimes (if im going somewhere with my kids 3 yo & 9 months). Most times I just get in and go. Idling just wastes gas and takes longer to warm up. If you need to get out and not drive easy, id say your best option is a block heater, plug ur car in for 4 hrs before leaving (plug in night before and use a timer).

Edit: Wait I see its 20-30 F..thats not that cold, not sure a block heater will be useful.
I see you mention bh not possible either,my bad.

If its for comfort, get a car starter and start ur car 10 mins before you go out.

In those temps I just drive normally fwiw.
 
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You use 5W30 and want to switch to 0W30 to warm up faster?

With winter temps in MD, 10W should work and if you are chasing viscosity to warm up faster then 10W would work better than 0W. I would think dino 10W would warm-up even faster. overall how significant? TBD ...
 
It's more miles than minutes to warm up, especially when it is cold outside. Our Honda V6 pumps out warm air in about 1.5 miles. Our Subaru B4 takes 3-4. Also consider that cold air will not feel warm until the engine is fully heated because the temperature gradient might be 70-90 degrees difference between the outside air and what you perceive as warm air. When it is extremely cold outside (e.g. -20 or -30F), your car may never feel warm even at highway speeds.
 
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Rolla nailed it. Start car, clean windows, drive off. An engine under load will heat up orders of magnitude faster than one that's just idling. And if you've only got a couple miles to drive as someone else does, umm, maybe wear gloves? 0w oil will not help anything warm up faster. Only driving will. After 30 seconds of idling for oil to circulate, your engine is ready. Idling for more than 3 minutes or so is actually harming your engine because you're getting more liquid fuel on the cylinder walls and therefore into the crankcase and oil.

Repeat: start engine, wait 30 seconds, drive off. Best of all worlds, other than a heated garage or living where you don't need a heated garage!
lol.gif
 
Originally Posted by SubieRubyRoo
Rolla nailed it. Start car, clean windows, drive off. An engine under load will heat up orders of magnitude faster than one that's just idling. And if you've only got a couple miles to drive as someone else does, umm, maybe wear gloves? 0w oil will not help anything warm up faster. Only driving will. After 30 seconds of idling for oil to circulate, your engine is ready. Idling for more than 3 minutes or so is actually harming your engine because you're getting more liquid fuel on the cylinder walls and therefore into the crankcase and oil.

Repeat: start engine, wait 30 seconds, drive off. Best of all worlds, other than a heated garage or living where you don't need a heated garage!
lol.gif



This is exactly right. I probably don't even wait 30 seconds. I fire it up, wait for the PS pump to hush up (not loud, you can just tell when the fluid is thick) which maybe takes 5-10 seconds, during which time the trans fluid pump has had time to prime, and I take off. The more time spent under load, the faster the warmup and heat.
 
What wiper blades are you using
lol.gif


A 0w might help but not enough to merit the swap. Just make time to drive it on the highway at least once a week to get it up to temperature for 20-30 minutes.
 
Originally Posted by 14Accent
Originally Posted by SubieRubyRoo
Rolla nailed it. Start car, clean windows, drive off. An engine under load will heat up orders of magnitude faster than one that's just idling. And if you've only got a couple miles to drive as someone else does, umm, maybe wear gloves? 0w oil will not help anything warm up faster. Only driving will. After 30 seconds of idling for oil to circulate, your engine is ready. Idling for more than 3 minutes or so is actually harming your engine because you're getting more liquid fuel on the cylinder walls and therefore into the crankcase and oil.

Repeat: start engine, wait 30 seconds, drive off. Best of all worlds, other than a heated garage or living where you don't need a heated garage!
lol.gif



This is exactly right. I probably don't even wait 30 seconds. I fire it up, wait for the PS pump to hush up (not loud, you can just tell when the fluid is thick) which maybe takes 5-10 seconds, during which time the trans fluid pump has had time to prime, and I take off. The more time spent under load, the faster the warmup and heat.


This is exactly right. I don't even wait. I get in, start the car, put on seat belt, adjust radio, turn on seat heaters and then just put it in drive and go. Usually the idle drops a little after start up. Probably like 10 seconds or so from startup to drive. There's no need to warm up an engine. Just a waste of gas to let it sit there and idle. to warm up. As others said, fastest way to warm it up is to drive it. I usually start getting some heat after 2-3 minutes but usually full heat is at about 5 minutes or so of driving. Idling the car doesn't really generate much engine heat. Just give it a light throttle til it's all warmed up.
 
When I owned my 2004 Altima 2.5 S from '04-'15, it took longer to warm up than any car I've owned(that I can remember).But when it was warm, it was fine.

However, when this Altima was fully warmed up from lots of driving, it was never quite as hot as the best I've had. Most of the vehicles I've owned would choke ya with heat in the winter time.

I never had a T-Stat code come up in 11 yrs of ownership and I always maintained the cooling system from Day One. The 2015 in my signature is better and we love this cars factory remote engine start(RES).

Lastly, just keep your coolant topped off.
 
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Originally Posted by mahanddeem
Originally Posted by wallyuwl
If anything it is the thermostat, but I would guess everything is fine. 3 to 5 min of idling is not long to warmup at 20 deg. Revving it a bit helps it warm up a lot faster. You could get an engine block heater.


Block heater is not an option in my case, apartment complex parking lot.

Change the thermostat or wear more clothes when entering the vehicle. Another option is to replace the coolant with a 50-50 mix. There is a small chance too strong of a coolant mix was used last time. Years ago I didn't add much water to the coolant blend and recall the engine needing more time to warm up. I thought it would be better for the engine at an approx 80-20 blend and I was wrong.
 
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