How to Start the Engine on Cold Winter Days?

[geminiz]

What is the proper way to start your engine during winter? Should you let your car idle and warm up until your RPM hits a certain number or the coolant temperature rises?

In the manual on Starting the engine on page 248, it says "Engine should be warmed up by driving, not in idle. For warming up, drive with smoothly turning engine until engine coolant temperature is within normal range."

I thought you are suppose to warm the car up before driving? What is the real answer to this?

[SolaraBlue]

i always start it and let it sit for 5min. or so depending on how cold it is. or untill my rpm's are below 1k

[rollaevo99]

i always start it and let it sit for 5min. or so depending on how cold it is. or untill my rpm's are below 1k

I agreed!

[Biggi_e]

i always wait till it goes under 1krpm or below just like the other 2 guys said

[theprodigy79]

The best way is to idle for around half a minute (that's all it takes for oil to cycle through your engine) and drive slowely until the temp is in normal range... Letting your car idle warms up only the engine (to an extent), but not the wheel bearings, steering, suspension, transmission and tires, which all have to be warmed up as well (and can only be done by actually driving). Idling is also hard on certain components...

An idling engine is an engine not operating at its peak temperature, which means that fuel combustion is incomplete. This leaves fuel residues that can condense on cylinder walls, where they can contaminate oil and damage engine components.

When fuel residues deposit on spark plugs over time, the average plug temperature drops and plugs become fouled more quickly. This, in turn, can increase fuel consumption by 4% to 5%. Excessive idling can also allow water to condense in the vehicle’s exhaust, which can lead to corrosion and reduce the life of the exhaust system. (Source: Natural Resources Canada.)

Excessive idling can cause damage to both gasoline and diesel powered engines.

Check out:

http://www.city.burnaby.bc.ca/cityhall/ ... smart.html

There are reasons your manual says to do what it does...

[Jai_Jai_Binks]

Really depends on where you located and what people's perception is. Toyota still doesn't want us to really idle our engines to do warm up's.
Still some of us continue to do so!

[geminiz]

With my old car, I used to warm it up because I thought it was good for the engine. I loved the automatic starter.

I checked my friend's Cobalt, and his manual says during winter, let the engine warm up for at least 5 minutes.

I guess Japaneses cars don't need to be warmed up huh?
With the Solara, the manual and through research from online.... they are saying exactly what the above 2 posts said.
That is a reason why I didn't install an automatic starter since they tend to run for at least 12-15 minutes before turning off.

http://www.climatechangesask.ca/html/in ... /index.cfm

Q: Is it important to idle my vehicle for a few minutes to warm up the engine in winter?
A: No. Tests show that you need no more than 30 seconds of idling to circulate the engine oil before you drive away on cold days. Anything longer just wastes money and produces needless greenhouse gas emissions. Remember, more than the engine needs to be warmed - so do the tires, transmission, wheel bearings and other moving parts. As well, the catalytic converter doesn't function at its peak until it reaches between 400°C and 800°C. The best way to warm the engine and all other components is to drive your vehicle. Also, using a block heater will allow the engine to start more easily and reach its peak operating temperature faster. In temperatures of -20 degrees Celsius, block heaters can improve overall fuel economy by as much as 10 percent or more.

Q: Isn't it damaging to my vehicle to drive it when it's still very cold?
A: Although it is important to drive away as soon as possible after a cold start, it is true that you should avoid high speeds and rapid acceleration for the first five kilometres or so. The goal is to bring the whole vehicle up to peak operating temperature as quickly as possible while maximizing fuel economy. In fact, a study conducted by the OEE concluded that restarting a vehicle numerous times (as opposed to leaving it idling) has a relatively small impact on engine components such as the battery and starter motor. The study estimates that component wear caused by restarting the engine adds another $10 per year to the cost of driving, which will likely be recovered several times over in fuel-cost savings.

[BradOwens]

i let it idle for 2 min or goes below 1200 rpms on really cold days and drive under 3K until it warms up.

[geminiz]

I just got off the phone with a service representative and he told me that I don't need to rotate my tires until 10,000 miles. I asked then why does the maintenance schedule say to rotate it at 5,000? He said no, you shouldn't rotate it until 10k. Should I take his word or rotate it anyway?

Then I asked him if I need to warm the engine up since the manual said not to, and he said "ofcourse you do, you should warm it up for 2 to 5 minutes."

[Biggi_e]

never knew about these facts but are they all legit?

[geminiz]

never knew about these facts but are they all legit?

You have a good point. I believe the websites claim this to prevent more greenhouse gases polluting the atmosphere. Other than that, I don't see any harm, and probably is better to warm the engine up so that we don't race it while it is still cold.

[Jai_Jai_Binks]

Should I take his word or rotate it anyway?

I rotate every 6K miles (or to better remind me, every other oil-change). Hope that helps you!

[FLUXEMAG]

Cars with FI do not require warm up of any kind after start. However, when cold you can hear the engine sound more pronounced, it means there is greater friction and wear. Something you might worry about on a chevy cobalt block, but not a toyoter. Besides, the wear will occur at high or low RPM, so you may as well be on your way.

I had one instance where my car needed the warmup with FI. I had an integra with transmission problems, it was bad for the auto tranny when I dropped it into gear at 2500RPM idle. My Solara has no such issue.

[Down2TheC]

My '95 4Runner won't go to 4th gear until it's up to op. temp. Quite the pain in the butt since I'm a block from the highway. So in that car I idle it. It'll live.

[geminiz]

Should I take his word or rotate it anyway?

I rotate every 6K miles (or to better remind me, every other oil-change). Hope that helps you!

That is a good idea, that is what I'll do. Thanks for the info.