Idle/Warmup/Short Trips

Sean · **Posted:** Wed Dec 21, 2005 11:46 am

Just wondering, how long does everyone (in the north) let your gasser idle in the cold winter mornings. I have about a 1.5 mile drive to class/work in the mornings, and I usually let it warm up for 5-10 minutes, I rarely turn it off before it reaches full operating temp (according to the temp gauge). But I was just curious about what everyones opinions were on idling the engine in the cold mornings. Would it be better to just drive it cold than let it idle and warm up? (I cant imagine so, but i guess it is possible)
The reason I ask is that in highschool i had a 99 escort, and live about .5 miles from school, about a year and a half later it needed fuel injection service (at 35K) and a throttle body cleaning.
From my experience of listening to people who know what they are talking about, short trips are hard on a vehicle, especially in the cold.
I am just not sure exactally why or what is bad about them.

SD-KJ · **Posted:** Wed Dec 21, 2005 12:08 pm

living in South Dakota i was always preached to let the car warm up before driving.

i hope to be getting a remote start sometime for my jeep. But it does sit in a garage all night so its not as bad in the mornings.

-Nick

brpn#1 · **Posted:** Wed Dec 21, 2005 1:43 pm

i have always heard not to do warmup but to drive slow and let everything warm up at the same time.. although temps like today (9 degrees) it was tempting but usually by the time i get down my driveway and private road *all ice/snow still for over a week* its warm enough to use the heater so depends. you guys up north have it WAY colder then we do so maybe engine block heater or something..

MattyMac1 · **Posted:** Wed Dec 21, 2005 1:49 pm

Remote starter here. The temp goes up to normal range in the cold before i drive it. that lets the oil thin out more providing less friction and better lubrication. It's my first remote and i love it. I think I'll get one for every car i own in the future..or jeep..

SchnellRS · **Posted:** Wed Dec 21, 2005 2:28 pm

Here's what I do every day, regardless of temperature.
1. Jump in and start vehicle.
2. Buckel up, turn on radio ( and seats if req'd)
3. Check my mirrors.
4. back out of the garage and take off.

The first 5 miles or so I take it easy but that's about it. Engines are designed to have a load applied to them. They are not designed to idle for long periods of time. Therefore I have always followed the above procedure whether its hot or cold out.

Guyute1210 · **Posted:** Wed Dec 21, 2005 3:10 pm

SchnellRS wrote:

Here's what I do every day, regardless of temperature.
1. Jump in and start vehicle.
2. Buckel up, turn on radio ( and seats if req'd)
3. Check my mirrors.
4. back out of the garage and take off.

The first 5 miles or so I take it easy but that's about it. Engines are designed to have a load applied to them. They are not designed to idle for long periods of time. Therefore I have always followed the above procedure whether its hot or cold out.

I have pretty much always did the same thing regardless of vehicle.

raceinfan · **Posted:** Wed Dec 21, 2005 6:11 pm

mine warms up for 10 min.was told not to just get in & drive gotta get that oil circulating

skogsemt · **Posted:** Wed Dec 21, 2005 6:13 pm

just started plugging mine in- then I let it warm up for just a few minutes..

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Wed Dec 21, 2005 6:15 pm

I never let mine run for more than 5min unless there is ice on the windows. Ill start it, then clear all the windows off. I never let it idle very long. And I take it very easy for the first couple of miles. Even if that little temp gauge says the engine is warm, the tranny is not nor is the rear end.

Myke · **Posted:** Thu Dec 22, 2005 1:40 am

I just floor it for the first ten minutes until it gets in the red (red means its warm right?)

jk

I just hop in and go but if its really cold ill let it idle for about 5 mins so the heat kicks in sooner.

2003KJ · **Posted:** Thu Dec 22, 2005 10:10 am

Even though mine stays in a garage too, and we dont get nearly the cold the northerners get, i'll still let it warm up a bit some mornings...like this week it's been in the teens most mornings. I"ll start it, let it run about 15-20 seconds before I throw it in gear, pull out of the garage, put it back in park, and go inside and brush my teeth and grab my coffee, all while its warming up. Usually bout 5 minutes or so.

I also do not beat the crap out of it when its cold, like I see soo many people doing to their vehicles. They'll get in, slam it in gear, and pedal to the floor....keep in mind the engine's been runnin all of 10 seconds and they're revin it way up there......why dont you just drain the oil out yourself....save the engine the trouble since you're obviously trying to kill it.

Also, short drips do kill the components after a while. I'll bet you smell a rotten eggs smell when you get out? If you do, thats you cat. converter b/c it didn't warm up all the way. Just b/c the temp guage reads normal doesn't mean the rest of the enigne is warmed up to full temp yet....exhaust included. I'll bet if after your short trip, if you popped the hood and started feeling various parts on the engine, they wouldn't feel as hot as they should.

If you do alot of short trips, you'll probably start to notice your exhaust pipe turning black at the tip. Every exhaust on every car will eventually turn black, but those that have gone through alot of short trips turn much blacker, much quicker.

itsajeepthing · **Posted:** Thu Dec 22, 2005 10:35 am

Regardless of if it's really hot or really cold, I usually let it sit for around 1 minute before taking off - baby the gas pedal , shift slowly, until she starts to warm up a bit. If I need to clear snow off the windows, I'll let it idle when I'm doing that (another minute or two). Usually I stop at Timmie's on the way into work, and instead of shutting it off and restarting again, I let it run for the few minutes that I am out of the truck getting my morning java. In my mind, letting it idle for a few minutes causes less wear than turning it off and restarting it again. I don't really know about the letting it idle for 10-20 minutes thing - I was always told it was harder on the vehicle to leave it idling for that amount of time vs. just driving away. Who knows....it probably just boils down to personal preference.

Idle/Warmup/Short Trips

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