Warming up vehicles in winter

[kfili]

First Gen tundra with the bypass and "freezing weather glitch" So I have to warm it up if its near freezing or it'll get thrown into limp mode.

 

[coloyooper]

It’s -27 at my house and I just cold started my truck. I’m going to probably let it warm up for at least 30-40 minutes before I head into town.

I’ve seen what oil looks like at those types of temperatures. Not only that, I hate riding in cold vehicles.

Exactly. My wife’s suburban has all the fancy stuff- seat warmers, steering wheel, you name it. But all I need out of my tacoma is some warm air blowing at me while I drive to work.

 

[Overlander]

I have heard different things, though I let my 2021 Gladiator EcoDiesel warm up for several minutes during winter months before I hit the freeway. Probably not necessary for a modern vehicle to warm up for more than a minute or two, though it just makes sense that the engine oils, fluids, etc. function optimally at a reasonable temperature (i.e., not when ice cold).

 

[AK_Skeeter]

We always plug in our vehicles (engine block, oil pan, transmission, battery heaters) for at least 2 hours and warm them up for 10 minutes and they lasted to beyond 200k.
At 40 below the seats are like concrete. Tires freeze so bumpy ride for the first few miles.

Synthetic oils always. Try pouring 5W30 synthetic versus conventional 5W30 at -40.
Battery tender to keep battery fully charged.
I also store our boat and ATV batteries in a heated building.

The only problem I ever had was my 1993 F150 clutch slave cylinder would rupture if
I drove it colder than -30F.

 

[Machingeaneer]

You're not hurting anything by letting it warm up. If it's really cold I let mine run for 5-10 minutes and it seems to work more smoothly and it's warm inside

 

[Stache Attack]

Seems like new Chrysler and Chevrolet manuals say they don’t want idle warm up they want slow easy driving and I’m sure a block heater helps. I assume this is due to low load cylinder shut offs?

Week and a half ago I idled f150 (once I got it started, jumped off the Cummins and block heater in for 6 hours) -45 ambient think around -64 feels like, yes I do think wind chill effects batteries and oil/coolant temps with how open the fronts of these new pickups are.

Will idle the Cummins until high idle is off and when parking let idle until coolant temp stabilizes.

0w-20 in 4Runner seems to hardly care if it’s plugged in or not. Sounds rough for a minute then levels out.

Thank goodness for block heaters during our cold spells. On an average day I just remote start usually out there in around 10 minutes and I don’t think it hurts combustion engines, but long idles do hurt compression engines.

 

[sasquatch]

When a vehicle is first started the rpm’s are a good bit higher for a bit. When they die down to normal idle range is about when I consider it warmed up and pull off. A lot of lifters tap for a bit at first also until oil makes its way to them.


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[T_Roy]

On cold mornings the truck or sxs is cranked with heater wide open as soon as i wake up. By the time I am dressed and ready to go they are nice and warm.