frozen engine starting

[Noodle Boy]

my aurion is kept outside on the driveway because i have to keep things inside my garage. i often start the engine in near-freezing conditions in the morning and was wondering whether thats good or bad. also, should i leave it to warm up before i drive it or not?

[DJKOR]

The engine won't freeze under normal liveable environmental conditions. As long as you haven't changed the coolant to anything that doesn't contain anti-freeze and follow the engine oil recommendations, you will be perfectly fine. Car engines are built to handle freezing cold environments.

For all conditions, cold or not, I always recommend letting the engine idle after first turning it on until the idle revs drop to 1000RPM or lower and until the temperature gauge moves onto the scale and is sitting on or above the cold line. In warmer conditions, this only takes about 30 seconds, but in colder conditions just expect to wait a little longer. After that, just drive it gently till it gets to operating temperature.

[Noodle Boy]

thanks buddy, i should follow what you said.

[450HP/tonne]

Car engines are built to handle freezing cold environments.

I remember seeing some testing videos when I was working at Holden and thought it was in the TV program Billion Dollar Baby. The closest was testing at

. The test I saw had the car cold soaking in a freezer (shipping container) at high altitude, the car was started and within seconds was at wide open throttle driving down a runway (maybe the same as the above video) until it was time to brake to stop going over a mountain. But like DJKOR said, be gentle until in the normal range.

Anyway, there was a Top Gear Test which saw a Citron making it to -40°C before dying. Manufacturers are still smart and make genuine accessory "block heaters" (that plug into mains power) for vehicles operating in environments that may have trouble starting. Even the coldest parts of Australia there is no need for this (and I had no troubles with -12°C last year ... thank god for electric blankets!).

[SuperDave]

First question, is how cold is the engine when you start it?

[Noodle Boy]

when i start it in the morning, the weather would be something like 3-6C-some days im lucky to see around 10C on the LCD screen. the temp guage needle would sit all the way down-dunno how cold that is under the bonnet.

[Buff Hamster]

when i start it in the morning, the weather would be something like 3-6C-some days im lucky to see around 10C on the LCD screen. the temp guage needle would sit all the way down-dunno how cold that is under the bonnet.

You're lucky that you get to see 10c in the morning. The range i see in the morning for the past months is 1-6c.

[fuel miser]

During winter in Bathurst it is not unusual to see the temp at -2 to -4 with spikes colder than this, max day temps could be around 5 to 10.

Whilst my car has the luxury of the garage and is usually at least 10 to 15 degrees hotter than this when I back out, I must say the following.

Which is worse for your engine stinking hot with limited air flow in city traffic (air con on even worse) or cold and warmed up by starting and driving immediately?

In my opinion for what it's worth the hot scenario is much worse. I have never warmed a car up before driving and that takes in almost 30 years of driving. Warming it up = wasted time and money.

The tolerances(mechanical)in the cold engine may be a little greater but it is the opposite in the hot engine. (due to temp expansion.)

The oils made and the one in your car are rated to work between certain temp ranges and provide the required protection at both end of their working range.

[Noodle Boy]

thanks for all of your answers.i should consider them.