It is always good to idle for about 30 seconds to get the oil pressure up and oil flowing. Occaisionally starting and going won't really hurt anything but don't do it all the time.

 

i haven't warmed my car for years without there being ice to defrost.

 

The car idles high as part of its warm up/emissions thing. You want to see some thing scary, when I let me truck idle when cold it runs on 3 of the 6 cylinders to warm up faster, its damn scary the first time.

 

What kind of truck is this???

 

You can start driving as soon as you start the car, no harm done there. Just don't rev over 3000 rpm for the first couple of miles so that the oil has time to warm up and work its magic around the engine. Someone with more knowledge can explain the idling but basicly that is just to keep the engine running when it is cold, it has nothing to do with whether you can drive the car or not.

Preheating is recommended in the cold. Notice that even if you use preheating, like I do for the whole winter, it is just to ease up the starting and setting more comfortable driving conditions in the car (my systems heats up the interior too). You still have to take it easy for the first minutes of driving.

 

You can start driving as soon as you start the car, no harm done there. Just don't rev over 3000 rpm for the first couple of miles so that the oil has time to warm up and work its magic around the engine. Someone with more knowledge can explain the idling but basicly that is just to keep the engine running when it is cold, it has nothing to do with whether you can drive the car or not.

Preheating is recommended in the cold. Notice that even if you use preheating, like I do for the whole winter, it is just to ease up the starting and setting more comfortable driving conditions in the car (my systems heats up the interior too). You still have to take it easy for the first minutes of driving.

so that means you have a coolant heater instead of, or in combination with a block heater, i take it?

 

For the first start of the day, I always start the car with little or no throttle and let it sit and idle until the Secondary Air Injection Pump (SAIP) shuts off. In normal operation that takes about 90 seconds. I'm usually running behind too but I still let it run until everything settles down...

 

I have a hard time shifting (5 speed) in cold weather. Anybody else?

 

That's not too surprising, because the gear oil in the stickshifts is pretty thick. Have you ever gotten it changed?

 

Anyway, anyone with an oil pressure gauge (such as me) can tell you that the oil pressure stabilizes within 5 seconds. Likewise, the oil gets everywhere it needs to go within 5 seconds. Warmup might make the engine happier, but it's not necessary to prevent wear.

 

How long does it seem to take until the pressure reflects full oil temp ? I know on my Audi which had oil pressure and oil temp guages it took almost a full 5 minutes on the highway in the winter to get to full temp.

 

The problem when I first start the car is that it idles at 1,100 RPM. I wouldn't have a problem with it, but as soon as I put the car in gear, it lurches downward and really fights the brakes, much more than after the warmup program - It's like the idle speed is trying too hard. Nonetheless, I don't like it and usually wait 60 seconds for it to lower to 800rpm...

 

Okay, but it's not about what you like; it's about what the car likes.

Has your car not made it clear to you yet who's wearing the pants in your relationship?

 

I never warm up my car and I live in Toronto too. But I have stated to do it because of my transmission. My transmission has been giving me a lot of problems lately and it seems like it needs to be warmed up a bit before I drive it.

 

the tip trans will not warm up by letting the engine warm up, it may shift sooner and easier because trans is computer controlled and shifting function is dictated by temps of engine
if thats what you meant
btw i always let it come down from high idle /saip finished running (appx +- 60 secs)then drive off,regardless

 

I don't know, I don't pay much attention to the oil gauge on the highway; it's the oil pressure while idling in traffic that I'm more worried about, and that seems to take 5-10 minutes to drop to 20psi.

 

For many years most auto manufacturers, including VW have recommended to NOT "warm up" your car. It does nothing for the car, and wastes gas while it adds to polution.

Just drive very conservatively for the first few minutes. Try to avoid high revs when starting out, and just baby your ride for a minute or so. It never hurts to pat the dash board and wish your car a good morning either! (grin).

 

1. Any idle longer than a few seconds at any temperature above 0 deg F is a waste of fuel. This is why remote starters are idiocy.
2. A car will warm up hotter being gently driven for 5 minutes than idled for 15. It'll also waste less fuel, because more of the fuel is being used for locomotion, obviously.
3. If you live somewhere that goes below zero, some sort of engine heater (a block heater, a coolant heater, or the like) is a great idea.
4. Synthetic oils will continue to flow at temperatures several 10s of degrees below zero. Conventional oils too, but their pour points are a little higher. Unless you're in South Dakota in January, however, you have nothing to worry about with your oil flowing. In your average New England winter, for example, you don't have to "warm up the oil to get it flowing".

You will not damage a car if you up and drive it gently without a warmup. The things your dad told you about cars are wrong.

 

x2. Read the owners manual, it states to start the car and drive immediately. It's better for the environment and the car!

 

x2 on what ctobio said. The reason that our dads said to warm up our cars is that their cars were carbureted and needed to warm up to run right. With the advent of fuel injection, warm up periods have become a moot point. Just let it idle for about 1 min and don't bag on it until it is up to temp and you will be fine. Also, plugging it in over night works wonders.

 

^I'm curious, too. My 2001 ZR2 never ran on less than 6 cylinders unless it was experiencing electrical problems. (Which weren't all too uncommon before I traded it in)

 

^Isn't the Cummins a straight-six?

edit: nevermind, it wasn't mentioned that it was a "V" in question...

:banghead:

 

When the temperature here gets below -20C (which it does sometimes) my 5 spd doesn't like life AT ALL. Neither does the power steering or clutch, but that's life in the cold.

Normally I'll start the car, let it idle for about 10-20 seconds, and then drive conservatively until the temp needle moves. Then getting on the turbo helps warm up the inside of the car faster.

And that's all that remote starters are for. People that don't care about the environment over their own comfort on cold days. They'll start and idle their car for several minutes just to warm up the interior.

 

I used to have a 73 Ford that would puke it's power steering fluid at -25F if you touched the steering wheel before it warmed up. Kept 4 or 5 bottles in the trunk all winter long.

On the 5 speed, an oil change may help. My last manual was a 90 Jetta, and it would get a bit stiff in the winter sometimes.

 

emmisions

I agree with what others have said.

 

Shutting the car off is a whole different story, if i baby the car (not going past 3k rpms) then i'll typically shut the car off right away. but if i drive back from school, work or hit boost alot i'll wait 2 minutes to shut the car off, if you're N/A then dont worry about it but if you're boostin it's not a bad habit to get into, 2 minutes of my time is worth taking care of the car.

i boost daily and break things weekly and don't have the cash right now to support the habit so i gotta baby the car :angel:

 

[This is my first post (woo hoo!), picking up a New To Me 2006 Passat Lux on Saturday.]
Are you doing this to just lower the EGTs? I'm coming from a TDI, where it was a cardinal sin to shut it off unless EGTs went down, but on that car, it took all of 10 seconds. Is the 2.0t the same? Why are you idling so long?

 

personal preference. dpends on how bad you were beating on the car. Most times, I only wait about a minute to shut down because the last mile was a lazy one.

 

Never heard of a coolant heater. Some up here have block heaters, mine even does, but I never use it. It's hardly ever THAT cold where I am. I just tough it out like a Real Man (TM)...with my electric seat heaters on maximum, of course.

Nethed: Normally, after you've been driving 'briskly' (read: using the turbo), you'll want to idle the car for a minute before shutting it down. Some let it idle longer (helps once you've seen the turbo glowing orange) and some will usually drive the 'last mile' at a slow pace and then shut it down after only a few seconds after parking. I do the latter. The reason for this is the turbo gets so hot it can break down the oil (coking) if it's exposed for too long. This will clog the oil lines and pickups and eventually cause engine destruction.

Keeping the car idling keeps the oil circulating so this doesn't occur. You can also buy electrically timed oil pumps that do the same thing, or a 'turbo timer' which will keep the car idling after you leave for a pre-determined amount of time. (Make sure your e-brake works good if you have a stick-shift. )