GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/ ... ----People continue to warm up their cars on cold days, even though fuel-injected cars will run better in the long run if you just start them up and drive off, after taking the time to fasten your seat belt-----How true is this ? I still like warming up my Vibe before I take off.

You're supposed to give the oil pressure a few seconds to come up, too. At night, it's easy to gauge because I just wait for the headlight timer to kick on, then I leave.

On cold days, I will run outside when I get up, start the car, set the fan on hi and the heat setting to hottest, and go back in. By the time I shower and dress (about 20 minutes), the car is nice and toasty in the cabin.But on normal days, I try to give it about 5-10 seconds to get the oil flowing and whatnot.According to the Owner's Manual:quote:When your engine has run about 10 seconds to warmup, your vehicle is ready to be driven. Don’t “race”your engine when it’s cold.If the weather is below freezing (32F or 0C), letthe engine run for a few minutes to warm up.

quote:On cold days, I will run outside when I get up, start the car, set the fan on hi and the heat setting to hottest, and go back in. By the time I shower and dress (about 20 minutes), the car is nice and toasty in the cabin.But on normal days, I try to give it about 5-10 seconds to get the oil flowing and whatnot.Are you not afraid someone will borrow your Vibe while its running... with out you...... In BC it is an offence under the motorvehicle act to leave a car running unattended.....

quote:In BC it is an offence under the motorvehicle act to leave a car running unattended..... I think that's true here in Maryland also. Supposed to keep people from making their cars easy targets for car thieves.

But what if you used a remote starter ?

quote:On cold days, I will run outside when I get up, start the car, set the fan on hi and the heat setting to hottest, and go back in. By the time I shower and dress (about 20 minutes), the car is nice and toasty in the cabin.Waste of fuel and bad for the environment. Especially if you're running synthetic oil, the big warmup in cold weather is unnecessary. The newer engines require very little warmup, if any, with or without synthetic oil. Usually idling laws are municipal bylaws. It is illegal where I live to idle more than 3 minutes I believe. Many citizens are fighting 'Drive Throughs' (at McDonalds, Wendys tec.) in the courts. The idling cars pollute the neighborhood air severely.

But our Vibes idles way up @ 2000 rpm... does that make any difference ?

The only reason to start up the car and let it warm up is on the cold cold cold mornings...When you desperately want the heat to start!Sometimes i'll go out, start it up, and set on the defrosters, run inside to finish my coffee, then run out again..

quote:But what if you used a remote starter ? If you don't put your key in and turn it to on,the engine turns off when you press one of the pedals.That's how mine worked.A always wait until the rpm drops to 1800.In summer it's only takes a minute,but in winter time it's 3-4 minutes!But I always wait!

Yeah, I am aware of that. My point was that if you use a remote starter to start warm up your car... your doors can stay locked.Is that still illegal in certain places ? Can insurance company deny your claim if your car got stolen ?

quote:Are you not afraid someone will borrow your Vibe while its running... with out you......Not at all. No theft here. More often than not, I only start it after I've showered. Though it isn't likely to be stolen here, I do get neurotic, and usually won't run it unless someone, myself, or someone else, can peek on it occasionally.quote:In BC it is an offence under the motorvehicle act to leave a car running unattended..... No such laws here. But I consider myself a freind of the environment, and only do this on a rare occasion...

i get up at 7:25, roll out of bed and leave at 7:30, school starts at 8:42 i dont have time to idle, but sometimes i have to because i park my vibe outside and its severly fogged or iced and it just wont come off unless i let it defrost.

Even if you do leave it unattended...could you not use the other remote to lock the doors after you've started it? I haven't tried it so I don't know if it won't let you do that or not, but it'd be worth a shot.

On some cars the remote doesn't work if the car is running, or maybe even if the keys are in the ignition. (No power package for me, so I can't test it out on the vibe)

Can't use the remote with the ignition on.But as previously mentioned, no need to lock it, not likely to get stolen here. *knock on wood.*

quote:But as previously mentioned, no need to lock it, not likely to get stolen here. *knock on wood.*Yeah, who'd steal a car that looks like this:

ROFL!Anti-theft system? I don't need no stinkin' anti-theft system!

Never underestimate the doings of a redneck...that's all I got to say. LOL