Should you warm up your car in the winter?

[ColtonBH]

Heres a cold themed article from Business Insider that by now probably most of us have read. I know that I personally warm up my car in the cold Wisconsin mornings, usually letting it run for about 5 minutes, the thought being that running the engine with no load when the oil is as thick as molasses puts far less stress on it than driving it under the same conditions. In short, it says gasoline is dissolving any oil on the cylinder walls, reducing lubrication and increasing wear. To the best of my knowledge, they are pulling this information out of their rear ends. Does anyone know if there is any truth to this article, and what do you all do in the winter?

[Mach540]

Maybe true, but I put my auto start in for a reason, and I'm gonna use it, dammit!

But that is really maybe a couple dozen times each winter where it actually sits and warms up for me. I usually forget, Or the keys are in the car.

Kind of a non-issue I would think for most people anyways. You get in the car, start it, and go.

[auaq]

I don't. Engine started, into gear, and then drive. This makes the coolant, engine and tranny oil to get upto operating temperature quicker than letting it idle for a pro long period of time and waiting for warm up. This way you're not washing down the cylinder walls. You don't have to drive it hard for the first few miles though, just drive it like you normally do.

[Wojtek79]

Same here. Idle for 15sec tops then drive easy until warm

[JaxPlanet]

+1 When I bought my first BMW it was CPO which included a subscription to a magazine BMW publishes for owners. There was an article that stated that the car did not need to warm up before driving but you should go easy on it until it reached normal operating temperature. I think the only reason for waiting for the engine to warm up is to get the heater to blow warm air. I wish I had a remote start

[sooch]

I have frost on my windshield virtually every morning for 6 months in Maine. No my 5 series doesn't have a garage and hasn't since I started college/graduated. I warm the car up for the time it takes me to clear it off. If I am pushing snow off it may warm up for 5 minutes, if I'm scraping off ice it may be 2 minutes. Or if people are with me (gf) I warm it up longer. Personally I haven't noticed any more wear and tear, if anything my gas consumption goes down. I really don't care if I lose 1mpg if it means I'm comfortable going to or from work.

[auaq]

+1 When I bought my first BMW it was CPO which included a subscription to a magazine BMW publishes for owners. There was an article that stated that the car did not need to warm up before driving but you should go easy on it until it reached normal operating temperature. I think the only reason for waiting for the engine to warm up is to get the heater to blow warm air. I wish I had a remote start

That's one of the main reasons why people will go out and start their car and let it run for a while just to get some heat coming into the cabin, but again if you start driving it actually doesn't take long before you start getting some luke warm air coming in already.

[JimLev]

You southern guys don't know what winter really is. Try going out when it's 10F and see what it's really like.....like Sooch said.
Those articles about driving it right after starting the engine were more for not wasting fuel.
Cylinder wash down?? That mainly happens when the engine is flooded and won't start.
Idling uses less fuel that driving. The oil squirters keep the cylinder walls oiled so that's not an issue.
End of rant.....the Subie has remote start, when the ice and snow melts off the windows I'll leave the warm house.

[newguy1]

My M Sport Touring is spending its first winter outside and really doesn't like it..I usually let it run for a minute or 2, then just take it easy until the temp gauge gets up past the quarter mark..I miss heated seats, badly…..

[Cora540]

Usually just let the idle from cold start drop down to 500 and then I'm off casually, after about 2 miles of driving I hit the freeway on-ramp and usually its warmed up by then, and then its WOT. Perks of being up at 4AM everyday, nobody on the freeway.

[vinyldude]

Yes, you should warm up your engine in the winter, but you should do it with a heater installed to the engine block before you even start the engine.

[angeleye540i]

Yeah I warm until, at a minimum, idle drops, but preferably, if not in a huge rush, until coolant is above the blue, which I'm now seeing is around 50~C, I always drive lightly until not just the coolant is steady at 12(for a while), but when the gear box heats up (which takes alittle longer as there are no explosions inside of it)... Preferably take it easy until ALL my fluids are up to temp... After all things are always more brittle in the cold and don't always like changing temp quickly... Been warming up for 12 years now and have 184K on the clock and car runs extremely well strong smooth Etc. I'll continue doing my same warm up routine... Sometimes I even go start the car, let it warm up, 45 mins or so before I wanna drive it... Let the motor heat up... Then kill the motor and let the heat dissipate into The gearbox heating it up while cooling itself off... Then 45 mins to an hour later, crank up, the motors oil maintains a good amt of heat on the inside such that; coolant and gearbox come alive quick and are "primed" (for lack of a better word) for action...

[JimLev]

So how many of you northerners are warming up your car this morning?
My outside and garage temps.

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[Leonator134]

I let the suburban run for however long depending on the situation. I also don't care about its longevity so there's that.

[philly98540]

I just start it and drive off easy. I almost never warm up the car by letting sit and idle.

[auaq]

^ That's what I said and what I do. I have found that both the 530i and the M5 will warm up quicker than you think it would when it's sitting and idling for quite some time.

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On the other hand, my brother's 2005 Corolla .... sucks, cause it's a Yota! I find it's the opposite. I have to let it idle for some time before I can feel the heat inside. Only then I can drive.

[tantumaude]

-23C (-8 F or so) the last couple of days, a bit better today. I started mine up, ran it for 30 seconds (love how even the MID display slows down) and drove off, taking it easy (never above 3000 rpm, no WOT) until warmed up...been doing that with every car I've ever owned.

Driving it warms it up faster than idling, so that aspect is beneficial. As long as you're not driving hard, the car will warm up fast and safely.

[auaq]

Yep, common sense tells not to drive hard but it does help in quicker warm up for the engine and for the transmission as well.

[TeddyRuxpin]

I remember being on an E38 forum and leaning that BMW themselves recommend not letting it idle, and just driving off immediately - according to the manual. However, I never checked that for myself!

[sooch]

-14 when I woke up this morning. You bet your ass I let it warm up for 5 minutes while I got ready. Gloves, 2 coats, and a winter hat were on for the drive to work. Shifting the car felt like dragging an anchor through mud- all the way to work even after the car was warmed up. Brakes were stiff as a board and the power steering creaked the whole way to work.

God forbid I "ruined" my cylinder walls by letting my car idle in that -14 temp....