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Warming Up

5K views 15 replies 15 participants last post by  TopElimn8r 
#1 ·
How do you guys feel about letting your E/M/T warming up in this chilly winter weather? Depending on how much of a rush I'm in, I usually give it at least 10-15 minutes before I take off. I feel like the truck "losens up" quicker if I wait rather then just turning the key and taking off.
 
#3 ·
I think it depends on if it is garaged or out in the cold and what the temps are. For me it is about 15 F outside in the morning around 7am when I leave. In the garage it is about 5 degrees warmer than outside. I start it up and let it run for about 5 minutes. That shuld be enough to get the oil moved around and everything moving. I don't care about heat as much as just letting the engine cycle through the elevated rpm then settle back down before taking off. I don't have to clean off snow or ice so that makes life easy.
 
#4 ·
I always give it 10 minutes to warm up from late fall to early spring unless it it extremely cold then she gets 15 or so.I usueally give it 4-5 minutes even in the heat of summer just to give all fluids and moving parts a bit to get up to operating temp
 
#6 ·
I rarely warm up any of my cars as I believe it to be pointless. The only benefit in my opinion is heat in the car (brownie points with my wife :lol:). I usually get in and take off within 30-60 seconds. I use synthetic oil and the weather gets down to -25 and - 45 with the windchill. The above assumes the windows are clear/defrosted which isn't always the case.

:frozen:
 
#7 ·
I usually start and go. If it's really cold out and I have time, I'll usually sit until the idle settles below 1k RPM. If I'm late, I'll wait for it to settle below 1.5k. If the engine feels tight, I try not to rev above 2k RPM until it loosens up a little. I was told a while ago that modern engines don't need to be warmed up and warming them up just wastes gas. I don't completely agree. Until the engine warms up, it shouldn't be run hard. I like the wording from the following snipet from a CNN Car Care Myth article:

Myth: Wait, it's still warming up

Some people insist that your car will last longer if you let it idle until the engine reaches normal operating temperature. It's true that running cold is harder on an engine than running warm. The oil is thicker, and it takes a little time - very little, really - for it to flow to all the parts of the engine that need it.

But letting the car sit while the engine is running doesn't help anything. It just wastes gas and pumps out needless fumes. You might as well get on your way.

All you need to do is drive your car gently until the engine is warmed up. No smoky burn-outs first thing in the morning. Just go easy and keep those engine RPMs down until everything's toasty, and you'll be just fine.

Five to ten minutes of easy driving is about all it takes before most cars are ready to rev, says Sinclair.

Driving gently for a few minutes helps your brakes, too, says Sinclair. They also need a chance to warm up.

"Brakes go to from zero to 200 degrees or so in an instant with a hard stop," he says.

That kind of sudden temperature change promotes warping of brake rotors, he says. Better to make a few slow stops at first so the brakes can heat up gradually.
 
#8 ·
MN winters are tough, so after work it gets 1ish minute since it's outside all day, but when it's garaged it's rarely below 15 so I usually just let it come down to normal idle speed and take off. I don't need to have the interior warm when I leave so i don't see the benefit beyond the initial minute or so. My remote start works from an office window, so I can start it and then walk outside which is nice.
 
#12 ·
I heard from those "Car Talk" guys:

With the cold New England winter weather about to swoop down on us, I
have a queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. Why, you ask? Because
every winter when my boyfriend and I get into my car, I start it, then
I put the car in gear after about 30 seconds and drive off. This
drives my boyfriend nuts, and I have to hear about "how bad it is for
my car" to put it into Drive before it warms up. He will start his car
and sit there for a good five to 10 minutes before he shifts into
Drive. My question is this: Am I really doing harm to my car by not
letting the engine run for 10 minutes? If not, how can I prove this to
him? I found an article in The New York Times a couple of years ago
that stated that nothing is gained by sitting in a freezing-cold car
while the motor is running before you shift into Drive. He thinks that
the reporter at the Times didn't know what he was talking about. But
he just might listen to you if you say it's OK. Please help! It's cold
here in Boston! -- Lisa

RAY: How do you prove it to him, Lisa? Hand him this column and ask
him to read the following aloud:

TOM: Dear Lisa's Boyfriend: You have your head so far up your tailpipe
on this one, it may be coming out your air intake.

RAY: How's that, Lisa? Will that do it? You're absolutely right, as is
the reporter from The New York Times. On modern, fuel-injected cars --
basically anything made in the past 20 years -- you're not helping the
car at all by warming it up for five or 10 minutes.

TOM: On older, carbureted cars, that kind of extended warm-up can
actually cause damage to the engine by diluting the oil with excess
fuel. So it's even worse if you have a really old heap.

RAY: But with modern cars, all you're doing with a long warm-up is
wasting gas, increasing pollution, raising the temperature of the
planet and making yourself 10 minutes late for your chiropractic
appointment. The proper procedure is to start the car. If it starts
and keeps running, put it in Drive and go. Go gently (don't back out
of your driveway and floor it right onto a highway entrance ramp),
because you'll be warming it up during your first few minutes of
driving, but DO drive it.

TOM: If it's bitterly cold out, like 10 or 20 degrees Fahrenheit or
lower, you can let it warm up for a minute or two to allow the oil to
thin out a bit and circulate completely. But other than that, if it
runs, driving it gently is the best way to warm it up.

RAY: So tell your boyfriend he not only needs to get off your case
about this, but he needs to stop warming up the car himself.

TOM: AND, to make up for all the misplaced grief he's given you over
the years, he needs to start going to bed 10 minutes before you do, to
warm up the bed for you on cold winter nights. That's a warm-up
activity he can do that's actually useful!
 
#13 ·
Also I have heard that any time of the year its best to let the car run for approx. 30seconds to get the cars computer to adjust properly to air temp, fuel, etc. That way it runs more efficiently when your driving around town.

My wifes car sounds like a type writer when she starts it because she used to turn the key, put it in drive and hammer the gas, during her years at Syracuse University. I witnessed the car abuse. I used to check and change her oil so I know that was always good. Im convinced that it was becuase of the below freezing temps and the turn the key and go.

So I always let my Escape run for 30seconds minimum to get the fluids moving. And when I start driving, especially in the cold winter I take it easy till I see the temp gauge move up.
 
#15 ·
My wife brought in our '09 Escape for an update on the Sync system, and she asked the service guy about warming up. He said the vehicle must be warmed up for at least 10 minutes. He said that the power steering fluid needs to warm up and if it doesn't it will be very thick and increase the pressure with in the system. This can lead to leaks and damage of the piping. He said it happened in another system (brakes maybe, my wife couldn't remember) but they added an overflow after 2008 to take the extra pressure. This hasn't been done on the steering system.

Goes against everything I've been told and researched about warming the vehicle up. Our Escape came with factory auto-start, and today the temp. guage in the vehicle read -22 C in the garage, we let it warm up for three minutes and the temp gauge was well off the cold mark.

What do you guys think, is this service guy blowing smoke? What he said sounds plausible, but how warm could the power steering fluid get by idling? Seems to me the quickest way to warm up the brakes, trans, and steering fluids would be gentle driving and get them moving.
 
#16 ·
Your service guy is misinformed or just plain dumb. I'm not going to say i know it all but i have been working in powertrain development for almost 15 years.

sasky7777 said:
My wife brought in our '09 Escape for an update on the Sync system, and she asked the service guy about warming up. He said the vehicle must be warmed up for at least 10 minutes. He said that the power steering fluid needs to warm up and if it doesn't it will be very thick and increase the pressure with in the system. This can lead to leaks and damage of the piping. He said it happened in another system (brakes maybe, my wife couldn't remember) but they added an overflow after 2008 to take the extra pressure. This hasn't been done on the steering system.
If you honestly think that we do not do our best to prepare a system for these harsh conditions you are definately wrong. In the past i have seen testing where they take the power steering system an run the engine at full throttle usually above 5000 rpm and pump 25f fluid into the system and simulate full lock turns. I have seen system pressures exceed the rated pressure by 400 psi. They do this over and over for hundreds of hours. Yes we do see some part failures in this but these are the absolute extreme conditions. So if you plan on mounting a large chiller unit on your vehicle and going out in below freezing temps and doing full turn lock, full throttle donuts for hours then i would worry about your system. I'm not saying that a power steering system will never fail but trust me we put these systems thru hell to try to ensure they don't fail.

As far as warming the vehicle up goes i'm a firm believer that yes start the engine let it run for approx 10 to 15 seconds. This will allow the fluids to get moving (that is the vital part). The engine will warm quicker while under load. I could write a novel on this as to what we do.

Can you start an cold engine immediately drop it in drive and do full throttle burn outs? Yes however, there will be increased wear under these circumstances.

If it is cold out go out and start your vehicle give it a few seconds to get the fluids moving. Then drive "normal". This is the best recipe i could give for good longevity.

Didn't the 2009 escape come with electric assist steering or is it the 2010? Not sure. :bag:
 
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