The G Man

I agree, the best way to lower emission is a warm engine, and the fastest way to warm an engine is to drive it.

mkesc400

its all normal. my sc does the same thing, just don't push it to hard until it gets warmed up, you can drive it after about 30 seconds after you start it

@lpher

Buy a block heater, and youll never look back! Ive had it in all off my Toyota/Lexus cars...

http://wup.defa.com/en/

In my GS300 ive got a "complete setup" that consists of:
* A block heater. (in direct contact with the coolant in the 2JZ's case) Makes shure your engine is never freezing cold, when you want to use it.
* An interior 1350w heater/fan-thingy (i dont know what you guys call 'em)
* A key-chain remote that controls the whole shebang. You tell it when you want to use the car, and it automatically turns on x-hours before you need it, depending on how cold it is outside....pure genious Two pickup times.
* A battery charger. To make shure you battery is in tip top shap at any time.

For those of us that live up north, this is a must have...

I8ABMR

sounds like this is very common for Toyota cars. You should give the car some time to really warm up. I live in the southwest ( much warmer) and when I had my G35 I used to start the car up, go and have my coffee quickly ( less than 3-4 minutes), and then take off to work.

I have to admit it was 73 deg yesterday on the way home from work at 5:45 pm. I hate the cold

IS-SV

Here in the frosty south bay I drove home last night in frigid mid-50 temps, still no need for block heater.

mmarshall

Yes, I agree; in cold climates, a block heater and/or synthetic oil are both good things to have, but there is not always a convienent or adequate outlet for the heater to plug into. Some motels and hotels, in cold-weather areas, provide those outlets as a service to their guests.

IS-SV

More trivia, some places have parking meters with plugs for this purpose too.

mmarshall

Not in CA, I assume, where you are.

And when it is -30 or -40F in a ND or MN winter, a block heater certainly is not trivia.....even with synthetic oil, it may be the only feasable way of getting started.

IS-SV

None in CA, MN yes.

SLegacy99

I disagree. It is a fact that you will be producing significantly more pollution driving your vehicle cold than if you were to let it warm up at idle for 5 minutes. 3 to 5k RPMS vs. 1k. Think about it.

http://green.autoblog.com/2009/12/03...issions-by-u/2

IS-SV

"Ford engineers calculate that using a remote start system could help reduce hydrocarbon, CO and nitrogen oxides emissions by up to 75 percent, since it preheats the catalyst on cold starts (where up to 95 percent of emissions typically occur), prior to those first few accelerations"

Key word is could, but I agree with you that Ford is attempting to do something new with a remote starter as tool to reduce emissions.

IS-SV

Thought about, still don't agree, especially after a 5 minute warmup, in terms of emissions per mile traveled. But it's largely academic at this point, so I see both sides.

SLegacy99

I guess we shall see in time.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

Idling at any temperature is the worst thing you can do to any engine. Oil pressure is very low unless it's extremely cold, fuel doesn't atomize well and injectors like to dribble with short duty cycles, cam chains wear faster from the low frequency acceleration cycles - really, idling just sucks rocks no matter how you slice it. Letting the engine idle to warm the car is for human convenience only.

Ford's engineers are talking out of both sides of their mouths. Nothing warms a catalyst faster than unburned hydrocarbons and nothing will put unburned hydrocarbons in the exhaust faster than driving with a light load on cold cycle. Besides, the engine is running in open loop until the coolant temp gets somewhere close to normal. Again, the fastest way to add heat to the engine is to drive with a light load. Idling produces very little waste heat and all of the control systems depend on the engine being at or near normal operating temperature.

To the OP - Are you running something other than 5w-30 or 0w-30? If you are, I'd consider either tolerating the poor starting, or changing to a lighter oil like 0W or 5W. The engine will turn over faster and build oil pressure sooner than heavier oils do. I'd also check the terminals on the battery AND check the other end of the battery's big wires to be sure they're clean, tight, and not corroded.

Och

iTrader: (3)

Well, but when you start a cold car, your idle is about 1500 rpm until the engine warms up, which is about the same speed as normal driving, doesn't that take care of most of the problems you described?