Toys4RJill

Interesting, I have never really warmed up my engine ever since electronic fuel injection. As for your warming up, some expert engineers in some legit publications claim that warming up for more than 30 seconds actually damages your engine in the long term. Something to do with gas stripping the oil on the cylinder walls.

mmarshall

Depends on the specific type of injection. DI, or Direct Injection, is more likely to cause that, because the gas is sprayed directly into the cylinders, where it is easier to come in contact with lubrication on the cylinder walls, especially if the piston rings are worn a little or don't fit perfectly.

Radio88

Hmm I never heard this! So what makes the difference between idling for a couple minutes and driving off right away-does the load of driving it send more oil into the motor or something?
BTW my Tacoma will only give you 1st and second gears until it warms to just above the cold mark. Not good with people behind you. Better to let her warm up in idle.

mmarshall

Nothing new about it. It's been known for decades that the oil film on the cylinder walls can be diluted or washed away by raw gas in the cylinder.

Well, in general, an engine that has warmed up at least a little (maybe for a minute or so) before you shift into gear and go will probably have significantly fess friction and drag on it than a stone-cold engine. Studies have shown that most of engine wear occurs on cold starts and warm-ups, especially if not done correctly.


Yeah, that can be a PITA. My IS300 (also a Toyota-designed transmission) was like that...on a cold day, only the first couple of gears until the temperature gauge was near the bottom of the normal range, with impatient people behind you. Want I did to get around that was to drive around the parking garage (where I left it while I was at work) a couple of times to warm it up a little, then hit the street.

Toys4RJill

I have always been under the impression that driving off is better. Over the years I have read about this and I think Toyota car manuals start that you should drive off but I have not looked in a while.

Here is an article on the subject, there are others.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars...-harms-engine/

Htony

Idling until inside cabin is warm is too much. We all know idling pollutes most. I just drive off as soon as rpm starts dropping. You can warm up the car faster by driving.
If too cold use seat heater, steering wheel heater. By the time I reach at freeway, engine is all warmed up. By doing this I never had any problems on engines or tranny.
Can use timed block heater to warm the engine quickly. Let the heater come on couple hours B4 you go out to start the vehicle.

Toys4RJill

What does this mean?

MattyG

You may be talking to people in Southern Ontario and the Northern US, who have no clue what an Alberta winter and its wild temperature swings are like (-30C or lower). I use the rule that the car and its current condition tell me what I should do. I find Toyota vehicles are pretty good about not ramping up to high idle right away and block heaters are a great idea.

My former neighbor wanted her Buick Encore (a 2015 model) toasty warm and she would program it to pre-start and idle for 10 - 15 minutes at a time while she got ready for work. An older lady who didn't want to put up with the cold. Go figure, she's Canadian and lives in a winter country and can't stand a little bit of cold.

My GS does not have a block heater - it's a US car. I use synthetic oil, Toyota coolant and won't run in extreme temperatures but in most mild conditions in Southern Ab, I let it run 30 seconds to 1 minute and it warms up gently under load at under 2000 rpm.

Also for people to remember, it's not just the drivetrain, it's also the rest of the car: suspension, tires etc. A used car drives different in extreme cold vs a brand new car.

I have no idea why you do this and what incantations you must whisper to your car, but in decades of winter driving in extreme conditions - never heard of this strange ritual. It either goes into gear or it doesn't. Coasting it in neutral down an incline is not going to do nothing. If you are talking about shifting to neutral when the car is cold and on higher idle to remove the load on the drivetrain, yes I do this where I will shift to neutral at a stoplight and back into drive when I want to go.

Radio88

I should say that we are discussing this with regard to what is best for the vehicle and not so much driver comfort in very cold weather. I live in San Francisco so that isn't an issue. I feel my little 2 minute startup is not going to destroy my car. I could see a 5 minute warmup but that's another story. I have read over in the Tacoma forums guys who idle theirs for 10-15 minutes straight! That is an issue.
As was stated by mmarshall, my car has 0W-20 oil and it's synthetic, so it gets around the motor immediately. I guess the little warmup is more for my OCD than for the car
Off to look at Jill's article.

mmarshall

It means "before".