car warm up process, what do you do?

[killster1]

I just turn the car on and start to drive within 10 seconds or so, this morning it was 44F didn't accelerate but let it go for a block in drive at 15mph (it doesnt usually go 15mph with out hitting the gas) before gradually speeding up to 90mph.

i see some people warming up their car for over 5 minutes.

 

[Paperdoc]

With modern cars, what you do is just fine. The very first thing an engine needs is for the oil drained down into the pan to be recirculated up and lube everything. This will happen within seconds of starting. After that all of the adjustments that help to optimize performance as the engine changes temperature rapidly are done automatically by the extensive computer-based sensor and control system. which updates itself and its settings continuously. 5 minutes' warming before use was appropriate decades ago before all these control systems existed, but not now.

 

[pauldun170]

Start car.
Buckle seat belt.
Usually connect phone (usb) to kick off Android auto
Drive
Short shift and keep revs low until engine (coolant) temp gauge gets to happy place.
Drive fairly casual until oil temps hit 190.

 

[Torn Mind]

I wait until the startup idle drops down to about 1000 rpms or less if it's a Toyota Matrix/Corolla I'm driving.
That takes about 3-4 mins.

I have driven outright cold and it drove like shit, so I don't do that.

 

[herm0016]

if its below 0, i try to let it warm up for at least a 10 min cycle of the remote start. below freezing, just sit a min. in the driveway but above that i'm not too concerned.

 

[deadlyapp]

I live in texas, that's enough of a warm up for the car.

 

[repoman0]

My user’s manuals specifically say to not warm the car up, just drive and keep the rpm below 3000 or 4000 depending on the car until oil is warmed up … and one of those is a pseudo-motorsport 8200 rpm finicky beast. Idling barely warms things up, just sits there accumulating wear. Much better off taking off and getting things up to temp faster.

 

[RLGL]

Minnesota, year-round:
Start engine
Back out of the garage
Fasten seatbelt
Head down the driveway and beyond.

 

[BoomerD]

hit the remote start button...let it warm up 10-15 minutes...get in and drive. Do I HAVE to do it that way? Yes...my wife is a wuss when it comes to getting in a cold truck.

 

[pete6032]

No need to warm the engine up in modern vehicles. Just wasting gas. I drive mine gingerly for a bit but I am going immediately after I start the engine.

 

[Hail The Brain Slug]

I just wait for the high idle to do it's first drop (in my car it's 1500->1200) and then drive lightly until coolant is at temp. The high idle only occurs from a cold start and generally takes 20-30 seconds, enough time for me to roll out of the garage, close the garage door, set up navigation/Amazon music on Android auto, set up my tunerview phone, etc.

If it's extremely cold the high idle will take longer, but I also have to clear ice from the windshield so it still works out with no inconvenience to me.

From my understanding the high idle is an emissions feature to heat up the catalytic converter, so it's not really important to wait for it for longevity of the car, it just happens to be easier to drive manual when the high idle has dropped and it's fast enough I have so many other things I need to do before starting anyway.

 

[pete6032]

Should You Warm Up Your Car Before Driving? - Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports fills you in on whether you should warm up your car before driving. Letting your car idle might not be the hottest idea.

www.consumerreports.org

 

[BonzaiDuck]

My unnatural preoccupation for the last two years or so has been my 1995 Isuzu Trooper LS. So I nitpick and fret over every little thing.

For about the last year or so, I was focused on sticky valve lifters and the clatter that occurs at startup. For that last year, I've run Marvel Mystery Oil in the crankcase, carefully measured so that the overall oil viscosity is about 35. I have done this for the last 3,000 miles, changing the oil every 1,500 to 2,000 miles -- certainly deemed unnecessary by most members here.

The valve clatter has been completely eradicated, and the Trooper has never run as well as it does now at 192,300 on the odometer. So because I was attentive to any progress of a continuous MMO oil flush -- yes -- I wait for as long as ten minutes for the SUV to warm up, since all cars have some of that noise when started cold.

Besides. I need time to raise up my Android tablet on the dashboard, let Google Maps find my route of the day, and take time to pick the day's rock-n-roll tunes.

I'm retired. I have no problem for waiting 10 minutes before I get the Trooper rolling down the street.

 

[MtnMan]

I drive a turbo diesel, and it really won't warm up just idling. There are actually 3 glow plugs in the coolant stream to help the engine warm up.

If it's cold enough I need to wait for the glow plug light to go out before starting, I will let it idle for 30 - 60 seconds and stay below 3000 RPM until it is close to operating temp. This is to ensure the turbo is getting the lubrication it needs.

 

[Thump553]

I've lived in cold climates all of my driving life. I had new cars and barely running heaps, With rare exception I have never warmed up a car. I start it up and drive very gently until the car is warmed up at least. The rare exception was when the car ran very rough when first started (generally pre-fuel injection cars), then I would let it run for a bit until the idle smoothed out, no longer than a minute or so.

A related question-back in the old days when it got really frigid (ten degrees or so) the common wisdom was not to put your parking brake on because the cable might freeze and snap. I did so snap my parking brake cables a few times. Do modern cars even have parking brake cables these days?

 

[Hail The Brain Slug]

Do modern cars even have parking brake cables these days?

Many new cars still have manual-lever handbrakes that still use a cable. There are more and more cars going to electronic parking brakes, which use some servos in the rear brake caliper to apply pressure on the piston to push the brake pads against the rotor.

 

[Scarpozzi]

I hand my wife my keys and a scraper.

 

[sdifox]

I hand my wife my keys and a scraper.

Stop licking metal in freezing temperatures?

 

[MtnMan]

I've lived in cold climates all of my driving life. I had new cars and barely running heaps, With rare exception I have never warmed up a car. I start it up and drive very gently until the car is warmed up at least. The rare exception was when the car ran very rough when first started (generally pre-fuel injection cars), then I would let it run for a bit until the idle smoothed out, no longer than a minute or so.

A related question-back in the old days when it got really frigid (ten degrees or so) the common wisdom was not to put your parking brake on because the cable might freeze and snap. I did so snap my parking brake cables a few times. Do modern cars even have parking brake cables these days?

Or ice would freeze the cable in place, so the cable wouldn't release the brakes, especially if you had been driving on slushy roads.

 

[Paperdoc]

All cars still have some form of "Parking Brake". But in fact it is a two-function device: its main purpose is as a backup totally mechanical person-operated brake if the normal braking system fails. For that reason I grew up calling it the "Emergency Brake". Recently I had reason to use that for an atypical situation. I had an old (1999) car to dispose of by selling to a wrecking yard / metal recycling centre. I drove it there - a short distance. But its final failure I was unwilling to fix was a bad leak in one rear brake line, so the hydraulic brakes were useless. For that brief trip I drove slowly in light traffic and used the hand brake. I warned the yard crew about this to they'd know when they drove it on their lot to final storage space.

 

[Hail The Brain Slug]

All cars still have some form of "Parking Brake". But in fact it is a two-function device: its main purpose is as a backup totally mechanical person-operated brake if the normal braking system fails. For that reason I grew up calling it the "Emergency Brake". Recently I had reason to use that for an atypical situation. I had an old (1999) car to dispose of by selling to a wrecking yard / metal recycling centre. I drove it there - a short distance. But its final failure I was unwilling to fix was a bad leak in one rear brake line, so the hydraulic brakes were useless. For that brief trip I drove slowly in light traffic and used the hand brake. I warned the yard crew about this to they'd know when they drove it on their lot to final storage space.

Cable operated handbrakes/parking brakes are not emergency brakes and should not be relied upon for primary braking functions. What you did is blatantly dangerous, careless, and depending on local or state law even illegal. You got lucky.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Start Car, Clear ice from windows, sweep snow from roof, once visibility is adequate, back out of driveway.

 

[KentState]

I just pre-condition the car for about 10 minutes before I leave to warm up the interior. The regenerative braking is not as strong until the batteries warm, but that's about the only thing that's different.

 

[mindless1]

Depends on the temperature. At 44F, I start the vehicle first thing after getting in, then buckle seat belt, pick music, check that mirrors are right, no warning lights on dash, look around to make sure no fast moving pedestrians that weren't nearby when I entered the vehicle.

At that point, 20 seconds have gone by. If it is 44F I drive off at normal speed. If it is below freezing, I drive off at slower speed for another half a minute. If it is around 15F or lower, I let it idle for 1-2 minutes before driving at slow speed.

If there is also frost or ice on the windshield, I wait however many minutes it takes to melt most of it, will use windshield washer fluid to speed that up if in a hurry, unless the vehicle tries to run the wipers when the washer pump is ran, then don't want to risk tearing wiper blades if frozen to the windshield. A little dry silicone spray on them a few times a winter helps keep ice from sticking, as does teflon blades. If I expect sub-freezing temp precipitation and have the opportunity, I fold back the wipers off the windshield instead.

 

[zinfamous]

Push button, jam her into reverse, foot to the floor and then pop the clutch so I can unleash all the torques on my neighborhood.