How long do you guys let the car run before driving off in both cold and warm weather?

 

Owner's Manual reads 30 seconds.

 

Saw that in the manual too. There's another school of thought, which I read somewhere a number of years ago. Suppossedly, if a car has been sitting parked overnight, the oil settles, and certain parts of the engine may not have sufficient oil. So, it is best to get the car moving soon after starting the engine, in order to get the oil evenly distributed. However, the car should only be driven very slowly to do this; for example, backing out of the garage slowly should be sufficient to get the oil going - do not drive the car off right away. You should still "baby" the car for the first 30 seconds - i.e. move the car after starting, but go very slowly, and once it's moved a little, you can keep going slowly or even stop for the remaining 30 seconds.

Anyway, that's one school of thought. For a personal convenience issue, I find it much more convenient (and takes less patience) to follow this school of thought. Also, leaving the car running inside the garage for 30 seconds will just build up carbon monoxide in the garage.

 

Here in the cold NE, I try to wait a couple of minutes until the RPM stabilizes a little bit.

 

if it's real cold outside, i crack open the garage (for fumes) escape and let it warm up while i brush my teeth before i leave for work. by that time the needle has already moved a notch or two and should be ready for peelin' out of the garage.


p.s.- a lot of cars are being stolen from owners warming up their cars in the morning and going back inside. the police patrol around looking for such cars (hopefully before a thief does) and can slap you with a fine for leaving you car running and unattended. that's why i only crack open my garage door open so not even a person can sqeeze under the door, hit the door opener and steal the car.

 

Start, let it run for about 30 seconds, then back out of driveway at idle (which takes another 30 sec or so).

 

30 seconds... usually when it trops 200rpm
and then drive REAL EASY on the throttle until its warmed up.

30 seconds is enough to get all the fluid moving around.

ppp

 

I always warm up my vehicles for a good min or two.

 

Right now, as long as it takes to scrape the ice off my windows as I don't have a garage Normally about 30 seconds.

 

I personally play it safe and NEVER drive my car until the temp gauge starts to rise, especially in COLD weather.....in warm weather, I'm not as conservative.

Never knew the manual tells you how long to wait before you drive your car....

 

ditto

 

i start then go... it warms up as i drive it down the street.

 

i ususally let it warm up until the needle starts going up. if im in a hurry i turn it on and just drive really slow until it warms up

 

i tend to let it sit for a few seconds before starting at any time to help get the oil into all the places it needs to be.

 

i wait a couple of minutes....then drive slow until fully warmed up. Then I drive it like I stole it!!!