How long should you let your car warm up?

[dpk777]

A few minutes?

Is it bad if you don't let it warm up enough before you start driving?

 

[notfred]

10 seconds or so, jsut enough to get everything nice and oily.

 

[StageLeft]

I've heard 30-60 seconds, and that it is a bad idea to let it fully warm up before starting to drive. Personally I wait as long as it takes me to put it into gear and take the hand brake off.

 

[Hammer]

none, i don't like to wait

 

[notfred]

and that it is a bad idea to let it fully warm up before starting to drive

Where do people come up with crap like this?

 

[CraigRT]

I wait 10 seconds or so.
in the winter i wait a few mins while i wait inside just cause it's freez'n!

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: notfred

and that it is a bad idea to let it fully warm up before starting to drive

Where do people come up with crap like this?

I dunno I read it somewhere. It had to do with acidic gases or something. Quite an interesting read, but since I never wait that long anyway I didn't bothe to read it all.

 

[KGB1]

Originally posted by: dpk777
A few minutes?

Is it bad if you don't let it warm up enough before you start driving?

In GM's I'd wait 1:30 seconds

In Ford's I'd wait 1 minute

In Toyota, Nissan, Honda, (and their subsidiries) 30 seconds

In BMW, Mercedes 1 good minute.

 

[iamwiz82]

i give it enough to settle it's idle, especially in the cold.

 

[glen]

This has been discussed ad-nausium.
You don't need to warm up your car any more.

 

[toph99]

however long it takes for me to scrape the ice/brush the snow off of it. I'm contemplating getting a remote car started for those freeze-your-balls-off days when i don't feel like driving with a -30 degree steering wheel.

also it depends on the motor. My 4.6 doesn't seem to care what it's like outside, but my friend's honda(aluminum heads, block and pistons) needs to warm up quite a bit before he starts going

 

[glen]

From Tom and Ray:

Dear Tom and Ray:



We have a marital dispute and need your help in settling it. My wife and I have a running disagreement over whether it's better to let the car idle for a few minutes after starting it in cold weather or to begin operating it immediately. My wife has spent several years in northern climates, including Minneapolis. She contends that the car will stall unless it is allowed to warm up. I (who have never lived outside the confines of the sunny south) contend that the best thing to do is to get moving as soon as possible Who is correct? Marshall and Lana

Ray: What a convivial confluence of connubial conditions. You're both correct!

Tom: In places like Minneapolis, where the label on your long underwear freezes to the top part of your butt in the winter, it makes sense to let the car idle for a minute or two. In sub-freezing temperatures, an engine may stall unless it's given an opportunity to run briefly before you impose a load on it.

Ray: But in more southern climates (like Iowa, for example) warming up the car may not be necessary. And in fact, all you're doing when you warm it up under those conditions is wasting gasoline and creating pollution.

Tom: So how do you know when your car needs to be warmed up? The car will tell you. If it stalls, it needs to be warmed up.

Ray: If you can drive away without stalling, then no warm up is required. And in fact, the best way to fully "warm up" the engine is by driving the car gently for five to ten minutes.

Tom: Most cars, in above-freezing temperatures, shouldn't need any time to warm up. So if it's above 32 F and your car stalls when you try to drive away, you may have some other problem, and it's probably worth getting the car checked out.

Ray: And by the way Marshall and Lana, congratulations! You're the first marriage this week we HAVEN'T broken up.

 

[slycat]

until u hear it hum down...
the rpm needle drops and u can hear the high hum give way to a lower one.

 

[etech]

Wasn't there a thread on this recently?

Anyway, wait until your oil pressure stabalizes and then go. Drive easy until the temp gauge starts to climb.

 

[dmcowen674]

Takes two minutes to reach peak operating temp on most engines at 1000 rpm, then the thermostat would begin to open slowly.

 

Takes two minutes to reach peak operating temp on most engines at 1000 rpm, then the thermostat would begin to open slowly.

What planet are you from ?

No engine warms up in two minutes.

 

[Chaotic42]

Originally posted by: slycat
until u hear it hum down...
the rpm needle drops and u can hear the high hum give way to a lower one.

In these 25F days, that takes about 3 minutes. My car warms up very, very slowly.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

When in doubt, go with Tom and Ray. Very good at these things.

 

[bmacd]

i usually let it warm for 5-10 minutes here in michigan, just long enough so that the heat is nice and warm and the window is defrosted.

-=bmacd=-

 

[isekii]

i give about 5-10 min as well

goes from about 2400 rpm to about 1200 rpm

 

[KingNothing]

My car's temperature needle doesn't hit normal position for about 10 minutes of normal driving when it's below freezing out. I have a 95 Geo Prizm, stick.

Besides, when it's cold out, I'd like to get into a warm car with clear windows before I start driving. It's not as if letting it idle for 5-10 minutes is going to do any damage, right?

 

[StageLeft]

My old 89 accord (5 speed) used to idle real high when cold. There were two ways to lower the idle - warm it up (obviously), but another one was if you floored it up to 4,000+ then it would seem to forget that it was cold and carry on without issue!

 

[jcuadrado]

10 to 20 seconds is good enough.

 

[Spac3d]

Originally posted by: KGB

Originally posted by: dpk777
A few minutes?

Is it bad if you don't let it warm up enough before you start driving?

In GM's I'd wait 1:30 seconds

In Ford's I'd wait 1 minute

In Toyota, Nissan, Honda, (and their subsidiries) 30 seconds

In BMW, Mercedes 1 good minute.

um what is a good minute as opposed to a normal minute??

I usually warm my car up for 5 minutes to get the engine running and so I don't freeze

I kinda want a remote starter since I no longer have a garage

Spac3d

 

[Scarpozzi]

I let it warm up long enough for my oil pressure guage to hit 45-50lbs.