how long do you let your car warm up for?

[matt_kluger]

I have been told two different things from people - 1. let you car sit for 5 minutes to warm it up before driving, and 2. drive it after you start it and don't go above 2K rpm till it's normal temp....

The manual says not to let it idle and to warm it up by driving... what does everyone do?

I usually just drive mine and be gentle on the pedal, but in Canberra during winter it usually is frosted over and -1 every morning, so not sure if i should let her sit for a bit or what...

i remember seeing some ad where it said 80% engine wear is done in the first 10 minutes of a cold start up....

chrs

Matt :)

[Kenneth]

I have been told two different things from people - 1. let you car sit for 5 minutes to warm it up before driving, and 2. drive it after you start it and don't go above 2K rpm till it's normal temp....

The manual says not to let it idle and to warm it up by driving... what does everyone do?

I usually just drive mine and be gentle on the pedal, but in Canberra during winter it usually is frosted over and -1 every morning, so not sure if i should let her sit for a bit or what...

i remember seeing some ad where it said 80% engine wear is done in the first 10 minutes of a cold start up....

chrs

Matt :)

were those ads promoting some kind of product :P if they were.. i would question the credibility of the 80%.. i used to leave the car running for a minute or two but im usually LATE so i dont have the luxury of waiting so i just try to drive slowly in the 1st few km till it gets to normal temp.

[ELEGNT]

i let mine idle for about 30 secs then drive it but dont go over about 2.5k until its at normal running temp

but in canberra when its that cold i would let it sit till atlease half of its normal temp

Edited April 26, 2009 by ELEGNT

[2008camrydriver]

I usually let mine idle for 30 secs or soand then go gently till warmed up, however if it's really cold I'llusally leave it idling while I de-ice the windows, which is usually a few minutes. I think I as long as you keep up with your oil changes the motor will be fine.

[DJKOR]

My manual also states as well to not let the car idle to warm up, but rather to drive it instead. I reckon this is more biased towards reducing emissions. At cold, the oil will still be circulating though and doing it's job (the reason behind a multi-viscosity oil), so as long as you take it easy, you should be fine.

After starting my car, I usually wait for the idle revs to drop to about 1000 RPM before putting it into gear and driving off. On a cold start, the revs can go as high as 2000 RPM on my Aurion and at that point it doesn't feel like a smart time to put it into gear. Once it hits 1000 though, it gets a little quieter and seems more suitable. I then drive gently trying not to go higher than 2500-3000 RPM, and it will usually warm up after a good couple of kilometres.

By the way, that ad you were referring to was the Castrol Magnatec ads.

[2.7LUX]

Well I say let it sit there for 2 - 3 minutes. Until the revs come down to about 1,000rpm. If what they say in the manual is true then you should turn your car off when sitting in traffic or at a set of traffic lights... isn't that the same as letting your car idle???

Here in Picton it gets to any where from -1 to -7 in winter. So when I'm getting ready for work every morn I go out at 6:30 and start the car put the heater on full blast on the windscreen to melt the ice off and put the rear demister on and then leave at 6:35, 5 min later. The ice is melted the car has warmed up and its nice and warm inside.

I don't care what anyone says I will always let my car warm up first before I go anywhere.. How would you like it if you didn't get a chance to warm up and had to do a 5 km run with out warming up? :D (I love my lux)

[mbruce]

I agree. Back in Tasmania we used to do the same thing, start and have the heat on full to melt all the ice. But now we live in far north Queensland its not an issue, because its 30+ inside the garage by the time we fire up, even hotter in summer. Just lately as it getting cooler my Camry and parents Aurion have been going up to 2000 rpm on start up, but quickly it comes back to 1000.

[black turkey]

nonsense guys! we live in a world of little patients and less time! we cant afford to wait the few minutes to warm the car up by idling! instead do it the fastest way

, and dont worry about engine wear, we drive toyotas and remember toyota=reliability.

[Shahzan]

how i warm my ae86 would be wait till my temp gauge starts moving den i go... i dun wait till its hot... as soon as the needles move, i go...

[spillige]

i say this in all honesty i redline mine on start up some times, like the guy above said we drive toyotas there Indestructible.........

[DJKOR]

i say this in all honesty i redline mine on start up some times, like the guy above said we drive toyotas there Indestructible.........

I've done it once or twice in my Aurion from having to enter the highway nearby in the morning, etc. It doesn't seem to have done any damage, but only time will tell. If it's anywhere near as durable as my old Camry, I think it would be fine. I used to flog that car... now that thing was indestructible. Still no problems with 300,000km on the clock.

Not that I'm saying it's fine, just that these engines are fairly hardy if you ever happened to do that. But to keep with the original question, you will be fine to drive your car gently until it warms up.

[CME-LFT]

I usually wait until the needle hits the first line on the guage........but one weird thing i did notice, if i drive the car slowly as soon as it starts rather than waiting for it to warm up, it seems to go quicker for the rest of the day.........or maybe im just trippin!

[ELEGNT]

i say this in all honesty i redline mine on start up some times, like the guy above said we drive toyotas there Indestructible.........

expect another 5000km out of your engine and start saving for another one

[ASG14]

I usually wait 3-5 minutes till it;s almost warmed up,BUT that is because I'm supercharged and do not like driving the car cold.

In the winter, I have let it warm up for 20 minutes on occasion to melt all the ice and snow off the car.

[spillige]

i say this in all honesty i redline mine on start up some times, like the guy above said we drive toyotas there Indestructible.........

expect another 5000km out of your engine and start saving for another one

ive rung this things neck since i got it on 18000ks, its now done double that and still pures like a kitten but thanks for careing sweety

[Evo7]

i think i look after my car the most on start-up...

i get everything done and sorted before i need to leave, and start-up the car, and just hang around outside of the car checking everything that its all in order...

by the time i have done all this, the temperature has already come up to the 1/4 mark, and then i just get in, and take it nice and easy :D

Evo

[whitestivo]

My car warms up for the 30 seconds to a minute it takes me to reverse from my garage out to the street, then shut the gates.

My rule is no hard driving until my temp gauge is up to normal level. Even if that means there's ricer in a kia/excel/mirage/1zz (ha!) beside me at the lights, i'll let them go.

And that happens far more often than you would believe in my area.

whitestivo

[2.7LUX]

come on guys... how hard can it be.. when you are getting ready for work and you know you have 3-5min before you leave..you pick up your keys walk out side and start the car and then go back inside and continue getting ready.

When you come out the ice or frost is gone the car inside is warm and the car is warm and ready for the drive to work... :D

[myztik]

i dont know about leaving my car running without me inside or or near it. quite afraid of some idiot coming up and then driving it away while i get ready for work.

[Hiro]

I just get in it and go, in the morning I have to turn out from my street into a fairly busy main road so the minute or so spent sitting there idling is enough to get the temp needle headed in the right direction (unless it's a _really_ cold morning).

I tend to give it a bootful leaving work (being in an industrial estate helps), but it's a 300,000km engine so it can't exactly do much more harm :P

[Modena]

I have been told two different things from people - 1. let you car sit for 5 minutes to warm it up before driving, and 2. drive it after you start it and don't go above 2K rpm till it's normal temp....

The manual says not to let it idle and to warm it up by driving... what does everyone do?

I usually just drive mine and be gentle on the pedal, but in Canberra during winter it usually is frosted over and -1 every morning, so not sure if i should let her sit for a bit or what...

i remember seeing some ad where it said 80% engine wear is done in the first 10 minutes of a cold start up....

chrs

Matt :)

Usually a minute.

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