While the Camry and GTI stay ice and frost free in the garage, the truck does not. I don't care if it's wasting fuel, it is getting warmed up to clear the windows. It also has real bad piston slap that sounds like the block is going to blow apart when it's cold and warming it up quiets that. It's also almost impossible to get it in 2nd gear below 30* and you don't warm it up.
Warming up your car in winter....?!?
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In cold weather or first starting in the morning, I wait for 20 seconds to allow the synthetic oil to get to the top of the engine, then I leave, in cold weather driving slower to give the transmission time to be able to shift in to high gear before I hit the highway.
Originally Posted by Delta
While the Camry and GTI stay ice and frost free in the garage, the truck does not. I don't care if it's wasting fuel, it is getting warmed up to clear the windows. It also has real bad piston slap that sounds like the block is going to blow apart when it's cold and warming it up quiets that. It's also almost impossible to get it in 2nd gear below 30* and you don't warm it up.
That's a common GM "feature" of that era, wrist pins & pistons slapping furiously when they're cold, my MGM has it too (to a not severe extent, just a little racket). Just a reminder to not beat on it until it's warmed up (& things have expanded enough)-or risk something important cracking & breaking off...
While the Camry and GTI stay ice and frost free in the garage, the truck does not. I don't care if it's wasting fuel, it is getting warmed up to clear the windows. It also has real bad piston slap that sounds like the block is going to blow apart when it's cold and warming it up quiets that. It's also almost impossible to get it in 2nd gear below 30* and you don't warm it up.
That's a common GM "feature" of that era, wrist pins & pistons slapping furiously when they're cold, my MGM has it too (to a not severe extent, just a little racket). Just a reminder to not beat on it until it's warmed up (& things have expanded enough)-or risk something important cracking & breaking off...
I do believe in taking care of my vehicles, but they are still just tools (expensive ones) to make my life easier. Like most members here, I tend to be overboard on regular maintenance compared to "normal people". If I had a garage, whatever vehicle I am driving would be parked in it. I don't though. So I warm my cars up if there is frost or snow.
My '01 Civic takes a long time to warm up to sufficiently defrost the windshield; close to 5-10 mins of driving on a 20 degree day. But 10 or 15 minutes of idling while I'm getting ready for work cuts that down considerably. It won't get "warm" idling (temp gauge will not move) , but will still defrost the windshield. My Frontier will be blowing warm air from a dead cold start within the first mile of driving. So it doesn't need a long time to idle to clear the windshield. I don't warm up my cars if the windshield is clear. I crank them, put on my seatbelt, and go easy until they're warm. My commute also doesn't consist of freeway driving. Most of it is under 45mph.
Is idling an engine "good" for them? Probably not. But I bought my cars to take care of me, not the other way around.
My '01 Civic takes a long time to warm up to sufficiently defrost the windshield; close to 5-10 mins of driving on a 20 degree day. But 10 or 15 minutes of idling while I'm getting ready for work cuts that down considerably. It won't get "warm" idling (temp gauge will not move) , but will still defrost the windshield. My Frontier will be blowing warm air from a dead cold start within the first mile of driving. So it doesn't need a long time to idle to clear the windshield. I don't warm up my cars if the windshield is clear. I crank them, put on my seatbelt, and go easy until they're warm. My commute also doesn't consist of freeway driving. Most of it is under 45mph.
Is idling an engine "good" for them? Probably not. But I bought my cars to take care of me, not the other way around.
Originally Posted by hallstevenson
Originally Posted by Virtus_Probi
When I use my remote start, the car will shut itself off as soon as any door is opened, including the rear hatch...I suppose that must be an anti-theft thing, but it is sure a PITA for me.
I think your remote start is broken, wired wrong, or mis-configured. That is NOT normal behavior with any remote-start I've ever heard of. Most will shut off if you put your foot on the brake before inserting and turning the key. That is an anti-theft arrangement (and takes getting used to).
I presume it's in a Toyota, if that's the case, it's 100% normal and working properly. Pretty stupid to program it that way, but that's they way Toyota programs their remote start systems. Perhaps it is to discourage their use?
Originally Posted by Virtus_Probi
When I use my remote start, the car will shut itself off as soon as any door is opened, including the rear hatch...I suppose that must be an anti-theft thing, but it is sure a PITA for me.
I think your remote start is broken, wired wrong, or mis-configured. That is NOT normal behavior with any remote-start I've ever heard of. Most will shut off if you put your foot on the brake before inserting and turning the key. That is an anti-theft arrangement (and takes getting used to).
I presume it's in a Toyota, if that's the case, it's 100% normal and working properly. Pretty stupid to program it that way, but that's they way Toyota programs their remote start systems. Perhaps it is to discourage their use?
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Patman
Staff member
Originally Posted by JohnnyJohnson
Retire and stop worry about those early morning starts I'll tell you after being retired for over 12 years its great.
I'm just 3 1/2 years away from retirement, and spending winters in Florida at that point, so warming up my car will be a thing of the past. But for now, I have a habit of letting my Honda reach a coolant temp of about 50F before pulling away. That's usually only about 30 seconds but if it's extremely cold it might be a minute. I don't believe it letting it idle for 15-20 minutes though, I'd never do that.
Retire and stop worry about those early morning starts I'll tell you after being retired for over 12 years its great.
I'm just 3 1/2 years away from retirement, and spending winters in Florida at that point, so warming up my car will be a thing of the past. But for now, I have a habit of letting my Honda reach a coolant temp of about 50F before pulling away. That's usually only about 30 seconds but if it's extremely cold it might be a minute. I don't believe it letting it idle for 15-20 minutes though, I'd never do that.
Originally Posted by KrisZ
I presume it's in a Toyota, if that's the case, it's 100% normal and working properly. Pretty stupid to program it that way, but that's they way Toyota programs their remote start systems. Perhaps it is to discourage their use?
I saw the follow-up post from the person with the Highlander and theirs does the same. That's really strange behavior.... More of an annoyance than anything (and wear on the battery and starter).
Could you disconnect the door switch to bypass this ? Used to be a plunger-type mechanism that primarily was used to turn on the interior lights (I think). Now many cars seem to have this function built into the door handle so they turn on when you pull the handle.
I presume it's in a Toyota, if that's the case, it's 100% normal and working properly. Pretty stupid to program it that way, but that's they way Toyota programs their remote start systems. Perhaps it is to discourage their use?
I saw the follow-up post from the person with the Highlander and theirs does the same. That's really strange behavior.... More of an annoyance than anything (and wear on the battery and starter).
Could you disconnect the door switch to bypass this ? Used to be a plunger-type mechanism that primarily was used to turn on the interior lights (I think). Now many cars seem to have this function built into the door handle so they turn on when you pull the handle.
Originally Posted by Shannow
Have posted over and over the studies that show that low load, 2-3,000 RPM operation leads to far quicker warmup than sitting idling.
Yes. On a cold day, it's pretty much impossible to warm up our Civic by idling. If I'm driving it and stop at a stop light, I can watch the temperature slowly drop as the car sits there.
Modern engines are becoming so efficient that they just don't produce enough waste heat to warm up without load. I believe the diesel version of our Forester has an electric heater for that reason.
Have posted over and over the studies that show that low load, 2-3,000 RPM operation leads to far quicker warmup than sitting idling.
Yes. On a cold day, it's pretty much impossible to warm up our Civic by idling. If I'm driving it and stop at a stop light, I can watch the temperature slowly drop as the car sits there.
Modern engines are becoming so efficient that they just don't produce enough waste heat to warm up without load. I believe the diesel version of our Forester has an electric heater for that reason.
ROFL..my lord. True comedy reading all the posters who comment on this advice by taking it out of context.
Originally Posted by emg
Originally Posted by Shannow
Have posted over and over the studies that show that low load, 2-3,000 RPM operation leads to far quicker warmup than sitting idling.
Yes. On a cold day, it's pretty much impossible to warm up our Civic by idling. If I'm driving it and stop at a stop light, I can watch the temperature slowly drop as the car sits there.
Modern engines are becoming so efficient that they just don't produce enough waste heat to warm up without load. I believe the diesel version of our Forester has an electric heater for that reason.
This is why I do my warm up with the heater off. Then once hot water is available, you can quickly defrost and go.
Some cars are also water jacketing the exhaust and water cooling the alternator so they have enough heat.
Originally Posted by Shannow
Have posted over and over the studies that show that low load, 2-3,000 RPM operation leads to far quicker warmup than sitting idling.
Yes. On a cold day, it's pretty much impossible to warm up our Civic by idling. If I'm driving it and stop at a stop light, I can watch the temperature slowly drop as the car sits there.
Modern engines are becoming so efficient that they just don't produce enough waste heat to warm up without load. I believe the diesel version of our Forester has an electric heater for that reason.
This is why I do my warm up with the heater off. Then once hot water is available, you can quickly defrost and go.
Some cars are also water jacketing the exhaust and water cooling the alternator so they have enough heat.
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In my experience most engines will only warm up so much when idling in cold temps. If its really cold (say -20F) they seem to hit a wall and only get so warm. They really don't "fully" warm up till their driven. Even after hitting operating coolant temp, the engine oil takes awhile to catch up (and the transmission even longer).
For:
> -20C (-4F) and colder, the block heater gets plugged in 3-4 hours prior to start up.
> 0C (32F) to -19C (-2.2F), I let it idle long enough to clear the frost from the inside and clear the outside.
For any temperature below 0C (32F) after the above conditions are met I idle drive through the neighborhood to get all the components working and then ease into the throttle after that. None of my engines see past 50% of redline unless coolant and oil etc is fully warmed.
> -20C (-4F) and colder, the block heater gets plugged in 3-4 hours prior to start up.
> 0C (32F) to -19C (-2.2F), I let it idle long enough to clear the frost from the inside and clear the outside.
For any temperature below 0C (32F) after the above conditions are met I idle drive through the neighborhood to get all the components working and then ease into the throttle after that. None of my engines see past 50% of redline unless coolant and oil etc is fully warmed.
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Originally Posted by gonefishing
In my experience most engines will only warm up so much when idling in cold temps. If its really cold (say -20F) they seem to hit a wall and only get so warm. They really don't "fully" warm up till their driven. Even after hitting operating coolant temp, the engine oil takes awhile to catch up (and the transmission even longer).
Heck, even driving sometimes it never gets warm enough even when driven. Around 15*F or so I have to block off the grille (S10) to keep heat in it. Going down the mountain you can watch (and feel) the temperature go down. My VW does this too.
In my experience most engines will only warm up so much when idling in cold temps. If its really cold (say -20F) they seem to hit a wall and only get so warm. They really don't "fully" warm up till their driven. Even after hitting operating coolant temp, the engine oil takes awhile to catch up (and the transmission even longer).
Heck, even driving sometimes it never gets warm enough even when driven. Around 15*F or so I have to block off the grille (S10) to keep heat in it. Going down the mountain you can watch (and feel) the temperature go down. My VW does this too.
Originally Posted by thooks
None of us would enjoy being woken up at 2:40 am and asked to run full speed 9 seconds later with someone's boot on their neck. Don't ask a mechanical device to do it, either..
Funny you say that. 2:40 is my wake up time, and I have to MOVE to hit the workplace 30 min. later,
None of us would enjoy being woken up at 2:40 am and asked to run full speed 9 seconds later with someone's boot on their neck. Don't ask a mechanical device to do it, either..
Funny you say that. 2:40 is my wake up time, and I have to MOVE to hit the workplace 30 min. later,
For what ever it is or is not worth ..........
A late Uncle of mine owned and drove gasoline ( mostly Chevy & GMC ) semi trucks hauling grain . He did most of his own maintenance / repairs . All money was coming out of his back pocket .
He was driving carbonated vehicles , late 1960's , maybe early 1970's . Would get around 300,000 miles out of an engine .
His SOP ( especially in cold weather ) was go out to the truck and start it . He had a block of wood , cut the proper length , so he could prop the throttle / gas pedal open to run the engine at about a 1500 RPM idle .
He would go back in the house & drink another cup of coffee for 15 - 20 minutes . Then go back out to the truck and take off ( after checking the tires , etc. ) .
Seemed to work for him .
A late Uncle of mine owned and drove gasoline ( mostly Chevy & GMC ) semi trucks hauling grain . He did most of his own maintenance / repairs . All money was coming out of his back pocket .
He was driving carbonated vehicles , late 1960's , maybe early 1970's . Would get around 300,000 miles out of an engine .
His SOP ( especially in cold weather ) was go out to the truck and start it . He had a block of wood , cut the proper length , so he could prop the throttle / gas pedal open to run the engine at about a 1500 RPM idle .
He would go back in the house & drink another cup of coffee for 15 - 20 minutes . Then go back out to the truck and take off ( after checking the tires , etc. ) .
Seemed to work for him .
We're right on time for the numerous threads about the same subject this time of year....and the same people letting us know which camp they live in. Good stuff.
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