Warming up the truck still necessary?

Are you deliberately missing the point? Your heater will work a heck of a lot better/quicker if you drive the vehicle instead of letting it sit with the engine idling. And as I've been saying, it has nothing to do with the engine (except the longer the engine is running with cold coolant, the more crap which ends up in the oil in the form of water and unburned fuel).

 

Sorry, not buying.

 

I start my truck and listen to 1 song. so about 3 mins or so

 

Used oil testing of my second gen showed no problems with fuel or crap in my oil. These oil change intervals covered use between -60°F and 100°F with plenty of idle time in the winters.

 

Wrong !!
Has everything to do with the engine !!
The heater and defroster will only work well by blowing warm air when the engine is at operating temp.
A cold engine blows cold air from the heater and defroster.

↑ wow really showing in more than 1 post you don't get it
I'm done and give up.

 

Last time I checked, the engine didn't need the heater or the defroster to run properly; do you have some kind of a super-secret Tacoma???

 

It looks like you drive a pretty fair number of miles; that will burn/boil off any impurities held in suspension by the oil, so in your case you can get away with long idle times, but that doesn't mean it is good for the engine. Folks who routinely do long idle warm-ups and then drive to the grocery store and back are the ones who will show all kinds of impurities in the oil.

 

Luckily our Tacomas happen to be one of them. There's an auxiliary electric heater to help defrost your windshield before the coolant is hot enough to do it.

 

I think I read here once that the Defrost is electric and comes on almost right away, before having to warm up the engine.

True or False???

 

False-ish. The electric PTC element aids in heating up faster but it is pretty weak, especially in cold climates.

 

I just don't get it Warming both the engine and transmission or not depends on "how cold cold is" where you live at. For example, lest say that it is -10 ºF when you start the engine, plus assuming that there is no frost on the windows and windshield-inside the cabin, plus assuming that outside the cabin there is no frost or ice, or snow, on the windows and windshield, mirror, and so on: in this case you start the engine and one minute later you drive your truck, just after you turn the heat and defrost at full blast. Do you really believe that the air you are blowing on your face and hands is already warm?

If it is that cold and the truck has been parked overnight, what you will notice is that there transmission takes a very long time to shift into the higher hears

You are doing fine
It is your truck, your comfort (being warm before you drive), and your money. Government agencies, and even some (not all) of the automobile manufacturers want you to drive-away as soon as possible. Government agencies don't want you to pollute the air, and some automobile manufacturers are trying to stay within the limits relating to the CAFE Standards.

I always warm up the engines of my truck, car, river boat, and small airplane; but that's me

 

I have heard that but mine doesn’t do shit when it’s below zero.

 

I feel like people are confusing the idea(s) of warming up the engine for the sake of longevity and warming up the engine in extremely cold climates to heat up the cab.
If i lived in Alaska or Canada i would probably start my truck and let it run for a few minutes to help get the cab warm before sitting in it but i live in Phoenix, our overnight lows tonight will be in the mid 40's, I'll start it up and go, engine will be fine.

 

I lived in a cold climate for 36 years. When I was 16-mid20s I would idle the car for 4-5 minutes to defrost in the winter, outside of winter just start engine wait for high idle to kick down and go. After my mid20s I would just wait for high idle to kick down and go slow for the first 5-10 minutes. I had a 40 minute commute at a minimum and the extra idle didn’t seem to make a difference in clearing windshield, fuel economy or engine longevity.

Now I usually let my engines idle still for 20-45 seconds before driving, with turbos and electric cooling fans I try to reduce loads and idle for 15-20 seconds before shutting off my engines now.

My electric car I actually “start” 10-15 minutes before leaving to condition the car mostly to defrost the windshield.

All that being said I think 189,000 is the longest I’ve owned a car or truck. I have only had two cars that notably have burned oil (more than 1/2quart between oil changes), and 1 with a transmission that slipped.

 

I live in the interior of Alaska, and it does get quite cold during the winter, although in recent years it hasn't gotten as cold as in the '90s when in Fairbanks -40 to -65 degrees F could last for a while, specially at night. This winter has been relatively warm, since we got a few days here and there at -25 to -32 degrees, with periods of warm Chinook winds bringing the temperatures up into the teens and the low 20's.

I have never had any of my vehicles, Honda, Toyota, Suzuki, Chevy (had two of them) losing oil. I sold both Chevys, the last one a 2001 Silverado 1500 with a 325 engine. This I sort of gave to a friend of mine, and had 217,000 miles of driving, with countless of hours idling. I drove this truck long distances for several years, and now my friends does the same. It does not burn oil, and even the heated seats, now with "Leatheret" covers, work perfectly.

The remote starters installed at the local shops are set for 25-minute runs. I always warm the engine before driving my wife's Tacoma and RAV4, or my Tundra. I did the same with every vehicle I have owned. When taking photos of the Auroras at night, my Silverado idled from 1 to 3 hours about ten paces from my tripod stand. I would take photos for about 15 minutes, then grab the camera and get in the truck to warm up for about 10 minutes, and then back out to take more photos. If the temperature is -20 and colder, it takes quite a long time for the engine and transmission's gages to move up to a barely warm mark. In fact, the transmission refuses to engage the higher gears as you can see in the numerous articles written about automatic transmission behaviors in cold weather.

I replace the oil and filters at the end of winter (usually in late March/early April), and then before winter sets in (perhaps October-November). Too much idling during the winter months, and oil is not expensive at all.

 

Seeing is good. And if anyone in the vehicle is breathing, a bit of heat on the windshield is necessary to keep it from frosting up.
I wish Toyota (and other automakers) would give us Canadians an electric heater option that would defrost the windshield right away. Electric vehicles clearly have them, so adding it to a truck isn't an issue. If I had that, and buttwarmer seats, I could drive right after starting too.

 

First post. Just bought back into the Toyota truck family with a 2021 TRD Sport after a 20 year absence, and found this cool forum recently. I Had an 87 and 94 4wd when I was younger, and it’s great to be back in a Toyota truck! Thought I would share something that might not have been mentioned. A buddy of mine runs all the maintenance for the border patrol at the Brownsville station, and said every minute of idling is equivalent to 12 miles of driving in terms of engine wear. They replace engines very early because of all the idle time on border patrol vehicles, so keep that in mind when warming up your tacos.

 

Hello First Post and welcome back to Toyota Truck!

I've got the same year/make Tacoma and was compelled to respond!

Well, not really but since you did mention idling for long periods of time, that got my attention.

I "Remote Start" my Sport on cold mornings...and we get them here in Dover, DE.

The heater is preset to defrost/fan speed=3 bars and the temp is set at 68F...this allows the interior to warm up and help the power windows to unfreeze...for the 10 minutes truck is running.

I've never gone a full week of remote starting...just days where temps are in the freezing range.

Border Patrol vehicles do some serious idle times in hot/cold weather...it's a company vehicle and gets abused more so than a privately owned vehicle (POV).

 

Welcome to TacomaWorld