My friend doesn't think his car gets warmed enough to work and will break down sooner

[ERdept]

My buddy lives about 1 mile from work.

Even at these short distances, the engine operating temp will be attained I assume because you see the oil temp go up to its normal range, then on the way home, same thing.

His fear is that the engine is not warmed enough and the car will be likely to break because the car never got into it's operating temp.

Is this false, because the oil temp gauge shows he did attain the normal aoil temp, thus, this means the engine is within operating temps, even though the trip was one mile.

[lsocoee]

My commute is about the same and my engine does not get fully warmed up. It does warm up. Right when I pull into the parking lot, I feel like I can turn on the heater and get some warm air.

I don't think we are doing any damage to our trucks. I could get my truck to the normal temp by driving another few minutes, but why would driving extra miles save my engine? Whether I'm driving for 5 minutes or 50 minutes, my truck still might take 10 minutes to fully warm up.

I might also say that our trucks might last based upon age and not mileage. A Tacoma with highway miles might get to 300K, but I don't think my city miles will let my truck get much more than 150K. Either way, I think our trucks will last 15 years.

[cycledrum]

Coolant warms up pretty quickly, but it takes much longer for the engine (metal parts) to fully warm up.

If your friend drives easy in that 1 mile, should be fine.

It's the people I see who start the car, soon as it fires up, they stuff it in gear, back out then go hard on the gas .... they'll have engine problems.
In fact one guy who drives like that blew head gaskets on his ... he's out of a car after $2,800 repair bills (not a smart dude to begin with).

------
One thing to note ... if your truck or car ever overheats, just pull over and shut it off ASAP. Do not drive even 10 seconds in the red zone, you can ruin a motor in 3 minutes driving in the red zone.

My '88 toyota pickup 'kissed' the red zone on 2 occasions due to an old, crapping out head gasket. I got off easy with only a head gasket replacement ... still cost over $900 parts and labor

Had I driven the truck for a minute or so in the red zone, my repair bill may have been over 2 to 3 thousand dollars which would have meant trading in the car and buying another at a time when I'm not ready to buy.

[Janster]

When you say, "Oil Temp" - are you sure it's the oil temperature and not the oil pressure?

If it is oil pressure - it won't necessarily be a good guide to whether the engine is warmed up or not. Oil pressure will be high at first (when cold) and drop down when the engine is warm. It will also vary with engine rpm's. The oil pressure will raise with higher rpm's.

I wouldn't necessarily worry about it. These trucks are built to withstand all sorts of scenarios. As long as the engine is getting the oil it needs to stay lubricated, everything will function normally.

When the truck is *warmed up* - it simply means the truck will run more efficiently.

[river rat]

I suggest changing your oil more frequently, and try to get it out on the road longer--maybe every week or two--just for a good warm-up cruise.
Other than that, I don't think I'd worry about it.


Rob

[concrete jedi]

buy a bike

[WilsonTheDog]

Originally Posted by concrete jedi

buy a bike

Seriously, that's the truth. I live 5 miles away and both my wife and I work there or else I'd consider a bike during good weather. But 1 mile, I'd definitely ride, walk, run. Would mean less gym visits.

As stated above, more frequent oil changes would be in order but other than that, not much else you can do.

[ERdept]

He can't because he's in sales. So, once at the office drives to his appointments.

But, his concern is the daily short drive to just get to work, not really back from it.

Again, he's afraid that the normal operating temp isn't reached in the first trip to the office, and contributes to either oil or parts breakdown.

[WilsonTheDog]

^Honestly, I don't really see a problem. I mean, what's the alternative, anyway? There's nothing he can really do about it other than maybe move up the maintenance schedules a bit.

[gdawg25]

Originally Posted by ERdept

My buddy lives about 1 mile from work.

Even at these short distances, the engine operating temp will be attained I assume because you see the oil temp go up to its normal range, then on the way home, same thing.

His fear is that the engine is not warmed enough and the car will be likely to break because the car never got into it's operating temp.

Is this false, because the oil temp gauge shows he did attain the normal aoil temp, thus, this means the engine is within operating temps, even though the trip was one mile.

Easy solution...let the car warm up before leaving if he is so worried about it. If its above freezing he shouldn't be worried about it.

[river rat]

Originally Posted by gdawg25

Easy solution...let the car warm up before leaving if he is so worried about it. If its above freezing he shouldn't be worried about it.

Can try that, too. It's a Toyota. I don't think he'll kill it so easily.
If he's looking for something to worry about, I could have sold him my old 2000 Blazer. It seemed to break just sitting in the garage.


Rob

[ERdept]

Originally Posted by gdawg25

Easy solution...let the car warm up before leaving if he is so worried about it. If its above freezing he shouldn't be worried about it.

Cali. Never freezes in LA. Only the people are cold.

[gdawg25]

Originally Posted by ERdept

Cali. Never freezes in LA. Only the people are cold.

Then what is he worried about? Tell him to let it idle for 2 minutes before he takes off.

[thegarse]

Hi All,

Tom and Ray had this discussion on their radio show pretty recently. Basically, condensation can build up in your engine, oil, and exhaust system. When your vehicle is fully warmed up this condensation evaporates, but when you take a short trip it could be building up in your cad converter and possibly other parts. If you have a short commute, they recommended that at least once a week you drive your car for about 30-40 miles and make sure that nothing settles in potentially causing rust.

Best,

thegarse

P.S. only on TW because my next vehicle will be a DC TRD Sport. My TSX's days are numbered.

[edave5]

everyone should be letting their engines warm up before putting it into gear no matter how short/far your commute is. that's what remote starters are good for, fire it up 10 minutes before you walk out your front door. 10 minutes in idle is not using much gas at all either, in fact, your engine runs more efficient when warm, hence the thermostat.

[Angus_NB]

Letting a modern engine idle for 10 minutes to warm up is a waste of gas and not necessary. Idling for 10 minutes is equivalent to driving for about 3 minutes.
The worse thing that will happen is you will get more condensation build up in your oil and exhaust system. It's cheaper to change the oil more often than let the vehicle idle every day for 10 minutes. The exhaust is stainless steel. You may shorten it's life span by a couple of months.

[Ridgerunner]

My rule is to idle until temp needle just starts to move up, then take off using soft throttle until fully warm. My engine is very happy. It tells me all the time So initial idle on my truck is 3-4 minutes.

[robrjohnson]

I got this off the CarTalk site in tip titled "Stop Your Idling":

"This tip also applies to warming up the car. Unless it's below freezing, cars don't need to be warmed up at all. Driving them gently is the best warm up there is. If it's 25 degrees out, you might want to let it warm up for 30 seconds. If it's 10 degrees out, warm it up for a minute. If it's -10 degrees out, move somewhere warmer."

[eordonez]

Originally Posted by ERdept

He can't because he's in sales. So, once at the office drives to his appointments.

But, his concern is the daily short drive to just get to work, not really back from it.

Again, he's afraid that the normal operating temp isn't reached in the first trip to the office, and contributes to either oil or parts breakdown.

What about turning on the car 5 min, before driving it, just to pre-warm it

[TacoTurd]

This is a silly thread. The ECU is way ahead of us and the guy in question apparently drives all over after his short commute, so collecting condensation isn't an issue either.

I can tell you that if you let your truck idle 10 minutes every time you start it, you will have soot problems on your right rear fender. Unreal how rich these things run.

I am also amazed how quickly the aluminum engine warms up. My big ole merkin V-8 takes 10 minutes to move the needle. I swear taco hits middle of the gauge by the time I get to the end of the street.