How long do you warm up the car in the morning?

[smurfy]

Alright, I'm a bit confused about this one... I've been taught that one should always warm up the car for "a couple of minutes" in the morning in the winter, and in the past, I have always warmed up my cars for about 5 minutes before driving off... When I bought the Vibe some 5 months ago, i was reassured by the dealership that with newer cars, you don't need to let the engine idle for more than 30 seconds before driving off, and that longer idling is wasteful (in terms of fuel) and unnecessary. I've also been told recently by an experienced Toyota mechanic that I should warm the car until the idle speed drops on the VVTi engine from 1800RPM to about 800RPM, before driving off... this seems a bit excessive to me, as in the cold of winter, it can take up to 10 minutes before this happens... What is everyone's take on this? Should i wait for the idle speed to drop before driving off, or should i just go about 30 seconds, as recommended by the dealer... on a related note, does shifting into "D" from "P" at 1800RPM damage the automatic transmission in any way?

[Atomb]

I'm not so sure that waiting for 800rpm is the answer. I remember cool early fall days where this would take a minute or 2 and i know that you don't have to let a car warm up in early October!I've heard various things also. The one that makes sense to me is to give it a few minutes to get the oil up into the engine (conveniently, when you first start a cold engine, the lack of oil causes higher friction which heats up the oil which gets it fluid faster which then allows it up into the engine!). I've then heard that slowly driving your car is better at this point as it warms up grease/etc. in other parts faster to warm up the entire car, along with the oil.So the rule i follow is to let the engine warm for a minute or 2 (a bit longer on the -23C days like yesterday!) to get the oil up and into the engine. Then I drive carefully/slowly for the next while until i notice my idle is lower at stop lights/signs. You can also feel the car 'warm up' and can gauge your driving style accordingly.The block heater helps speed this whole process up noticably!Considering the nice temps you've been having in Vancouver lately....you're ok with a few minutes ...for now!

[Mavrik]

I would recommend letting it warm up at least for a few mins, I know my Vibe takes a minute or two to idle down from 1800rpm to 800rpm. I am guilty of the start and go though... unless its really cold which it has been lately.

[nismo]

I was told by my dealer and many of my friends that you should let your car idle for like 2 minutes. Any more, you're just wasting gas.Inder

[Mase]

Of course it only gets down to the ump-teen degrees f down here overnight, but I usually let my car idle for about 3-5mins just to circulate the fluids. After that, I drive nice and easy and shift before 3k until the temp reads about 1/4 the way up. Then I drive it normally.

[Mavrik]

when its really cold and the windows are frosted over, I let it idle for about 10 mins but wow... it loves gas.

[Mase]

Any 04+ GT owners notice the air pump doesn't turn on if the temp is below 30f/-1c? The air pump shutting off after 2mins of spooling used to be my cue that the engine was warm enough to drive off on.

[Merzbow]

I warm mine up about 6 minutes every morning before school and after school for about 5 minutes...

[GKvibe]

I just start it up and go, Oh yeah, my garage is heated. got to love it.....

[nismo]

Yeah, you suck. My garage isn't even attached! Inder

[ColonelPanic]

I have no choice but to let mine warm up for several minutes until the dealer can figure out what's wrong with my engine... If I just jump in it and fire it up and take off, it sounds like the engine is going to destroy itself. Something's going on with the valves, but no clue what the problem is.Let it run for a few, and it's fine. So yeah, I'll let mine run for about 5-10 before taking off.

[ToolGuy]

Some states "warming up unattended" is illegal...My very first car I let warm up a few minutes each drive because I babied it, until it idled down. For the most part, you really do not have to let them warm up even on extremely cold days. Should you, well sure on the extremely cold days. Does the average person, nope. Does the manf design engines so you have to, no. Turn the key and go is normal. Will you ever see any effects from the turn key and go method, probably not in the life of that engine. Get an engine block/coolant heater if you feel needed. My wife drives the Vibe and never lets is warm up, no issues with it. My PT is leased and I too turn and go unless it is really cold, 1 minute tops warm up.My other cars sure I let them warm a bit just because I want all the oil up were it should be before driving like a race car!

[ColonelPanic]

Quote, originally posted by MiVibe-ToolGuy »Some states "warming up unattended" is illegal...That's a good point... AFAIK, it *is* illegal in the city I work to leave a car unattended and running... Not so sure about where I live, they don't seem to care about much so if it was a law I doubt they'd bother enforcing it. I always fire the car up and lock the doors with an extra key... Yeah it's still running unattended, but with the doors locked, it'll take the theif 10 more seconds to drive off in the Vibe.

[futseal04]

I usually start mine up right after I get out of the shower in the morning, so it runs for about 10-15 minutes.

[Jahntassa]

Remote starters are fun. Since I installed mine last January, it's tough going without it the past two weeks (been in the shop, waiting on a replacement Flywheel)The car really won't care if you start it and go, but lift will take anywhere from 2-10 minutes depending on what you're doing when you get going. I'll generally remotestart mine anywhere from 5-10 minutes before I head outside. You can get vaguely cheap remote start systems nowadays...it's definitely something to look into, and i'm sure it would be fine under the "unattended but running".. Though..not sure.

[Mr. Poopypants]

Did you install yours yourself or have someone do it. I was thinking about installing one myself but I am weary about messing with ignition wires.

[PhillyVibeGT]

Around five minutes for me, but I have always done this with my cars, it just seems like a good practice to have.

[Jahntassa]

Quote, originally posted by Mr. Poopypants »Did you install yours yourself or have someone do it. I was thinking about installing one myself but I am weary about messing with ignition wires.I'm your friendly Circuit City car audio installer, I did it myself! As far as installing a remote start, though. It's not too bad. If you want, I can send you the step-by-step directions I sent Mike when he installed his remote start. If you want a remote start system, I'd suggest tracking down a DEI Rattler 369D. You'll see it as just a Rattler 369D. You can probably get them from anywhere that sells Viper alarms. The 369D is your basic Remote Start with Keyless system. That way, you don't need two remotes, it'll control the doors and everything through it's own remote.You can also go to Circuit City and pay around $90-$100 for the Code Alarm CSI-400. The rough equivalent to the Rattler. Either one of these I can write up specific step-by-step instructions so there's very little confusion. Mike did his remote start back in his fledgeling days of electronics, and my car was the first Remote Start I did at Circuit City. Now, I do almost 2-3 per week.

[sidewinder]

I really must be the odd one here. I let mine/wife's car warm up quite awhile ( 10-15 min )when the temps drop below 30 degrees. The engine is always a little noisy when cold and usually quiets down after warming up. Also our trips are short ( 2/3 miles )and I want the engine to warm up enough to evaporate any moisture in the form of in the exhaust system and engine. I probably have more time at idle warming up the car than actual time driving to work. And unless my wife is different than most women her comfort zone is 80 degrees and she likes the heater to be blowing warm air when she gets into the car. This has always worked well for me.

[ToolGuy]

Quote, originally posted by sidewinder »Also our trips are short ( 2/3 miles )and I want the engine to warm up enough to evaporate any moisture in the form of in the exhaust system and engine. I probably have more time at idle warming up the car than actual time driving to work. This is about the only exception to warming up engines, I would do the same and it takes engine temps above 200 to burn off the moisture.Warming up, unless really cold out is a real old school thinking and was a result mostly for vehicles that had manual or automatic chokes and were carburatted. Mostly if the engine is driven and not driven hard durung the first few minutes of driving it will be fine. If you one does it, fine it will not hurt, just sheding some history on the subject.

[Mr. Poopypants]

Quote, originally posted by Jahntassa »I'm your friendly Circuit City car audio installer, I did it myself! As far as installing a remote start, though. It's not too bad. If you want, I can send you the step-by-step directions I sent Mike when he installed his remote start. If you want a remote start system, I'd suggest tracking down a DEI Rattler 369D. You'll see it as just a Rattler 369D. You can probably get them from anywhere that sells Viper alarms. The 369D is your basic Remote Start with Keyless system. That way, you don't need two remotes, it'll control the doors and everything through it's own remote.You can also go to Circuit City and pay around $90-$100 for the Code Alarm CSI-400. The rough equivalent to the Rattler. Either one of these I can write up specific step-by-step instructions so there's very little confusion. Mike did his remote start back in his fledgeling days of electronics, and my car was the first Remote Start I did at Circuit City. Now, I do almost 2-3 per week.Please do send me instructions, I have installed everything in my car, why not a remote starter. You can post them or send them to my email address if you want.

[ArcsVibe]

In the morning a few seconds (heated garage )After work at least 5 minutes, longer in very cold weather..