warming engine

Just go. Your dealer *should* have told you this. But then again, he or she is just a dealer. It's designed to warm up when driving. It also warms up faster when driving. All you're going to do when sitting, is make your MPG drop a lot and pollute.

 

All modern cars should be started and driven immediately. Conventional cars benefit from maybe 5 seconds to let the oil pressure come up. The Prius does not even start its ICE for ten seconds or so. The moment the Ready light comes on, it's ready to drive.

Having said that, if it's colder than about fifteen degrees below zero, I pre-heat the car to get some heat into the cab before i get into it. This is for me, not for the engine. The engine is fine. But even with winter gloves and socks, I'm too much of a wimp to sit in a car colder than 15 below zero. A heated garage would be nice.

 

On an old fashioned car (I don't like the term "normal" ), you don't have to wait for the engine to warm up, you only need to wait a moment for the oil to distribute itself before putting a load on the engine.

 

You might consider a Block Heater, this will keep your engine block and oil warm. I've heard that this is standard on Canadian models. I'm planning on using it with a timer to pre-warm my engine a few hours before i need to leave in the morning. Even with the lite weight oils these cars require, warm oil would have to cut down on engine ware.

 

Isn't this the function of the coolant thermos? I agree that the oil and block will cool to the ambient temp overnight. But, since the ICE isn't started until after the coolant has been returned and warmed the block, and the oil has been redistributed, it seems that a block heater would be unnecessary.

BTW, are the block heaters in Canada an official Toyota option, or just an after-market or dealer add-on item?

 

Others please correct me if I am wrong, for a normal car, warming up a really cold engine for longer than 1 - 2 minutes can be detrimental to the engine, they call this cold engine idling and something like the deposits got accumulated more so in such state & are more abrasive than if you immediate move the car and its oil right away. They suggest letting the car move by itself slowly for a few minutes (ie: do NOT press on the accelerator, just let it go by itself while engaging the gear in D). Any one else heard of this?

 

Hi Folks,

Years ago BMW motorcycles came out with a statement relating to this question. They also recommended that you could drive shortly after starting up. However, they also reminded everyone that it is just important to warm up all of the other components of the vehicle (e.g., transmission, differential). So, they recommended that you take it easy for the first few miles.

YMMV

 

I think the entire issue of warm-up depends on the motor you have. For most diesels, it's usually a good idea to run them 2-5 mins at temps below 0 F, especially before you work them. Remember carbs? It was also a good idea to warm the motor a bit, so the thing wouldn't buck or stall.

Ah the good 'ole days.

However, just because the motor may be warm, the transmission and axle (On a rear-drive) are NOT. A HD automatic, like the Allison, has a warning that below a certain temp, usually -15 F, a mandatory "preheat" for 5-15 minutes is needed.

What Allison means is to leave the motor running with the transmission in N the entire time until the ATF warms.

Speaking of transmission, anybody know what kind of fluid our CVT has? If it's DexIII or a comparable fluid, I would like to change over to a synthetic ATF.

On the topic of block heaters, although the Prius has a thermos, I don't think it would be that effective below 0 F. As far as I can tell, all Canadian market Prius have block heaters, mine sure does.

If you must park outside, you should plug in to reduce engine wear on start-up and to allow for much faster - and therefore more efficient - warm ups. A block heater timer can be used to click on the heater from 1-4 hours before starting.

Or if your apartment or place of work has plug ins, just leave it plugged in 24x7. That's what I do if I can. Sure is nice to have heated underground parking at my condo and not have to worry about that nonsense!

 

how you warm up your car doesnt matter in the sense of lengthening the life of your engine. as the only factor is how many cooling cycles the metal undergoes.

your oil will circulate even at idle speed. driving moderately when cold will help your mileage, but for most of us, we start the car, clean the windows and go. no need to do anything other than that.

i will say that for once the Prius is ready to drive when i get in. no more waiting for the defroster to work like my other cars.

 

The block heater is an official option in Canada, one of the very few options available.

They may be installed in certain parts of Canada as standard, but not all parts of Canada are frozen most of the year, contrary to popular opinion.

Victoria has a year round average temp of 51 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

I played with the Price Your Toyota vehicle configurator at www.toyota.ca and found out the block heater is an option in BC. It's a "mandatory option" in places like Alberta and Manitoba.

There are plenty of places in the BC interior that would require a block heater.

 

Check out this thread. http://priuschat.com/forums/block-heater-r...ted-vt5605.html Frank strikes me as a very careful and thoughtful person who does his home work. He has a mini scanner and can look into the data like temp S1, S2,S3 & 4 and other data. I saw him demo of the scanner and am hoping we will see one for the gen. 3 Prius real soon. Check it out.

 

frank does know a lot about vehicles and being a Toyota mechanic most definitely helps a lot. he may not work on Priuses for a living (i think he does forklifts or something like that) but he does bring a lot of practical knowledge to the table.

 

I always have to let my car heat up for 2-3 minutes. If I don't, it can cause seroius damage to the turbo. I also have to let it cool down for a few minutes so the bearings in the turbo don't fry. But believe me , It is worth it. :mrgreen:

 

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Damn, you got an EVO? Nice!

 

PSD fluid is not norml Dextron 111 it's Toyotas own blend
2k1-3 is type ATF, T-1V, I've found no supply other than Toyota for this.
2k4 and possible 5 as I do believe are the same takes ATF, WS which I do believe is synthetic.

 

Thanks Frank!

 

jayman,

Haven't you heard, it's the job of Victorians to make people who live anywhere else in Canada annoyed that they don't live in Lotusland.

We're sort of like Californians without the tan.

 

Good point.

Though how do you put up with the rain? I visited an Aunt in Coquitlam once and never again. That sort of constant drizzle would drive me Bucking Fonkers.

We had the same sort of unending rain this year and Manitoba and I hope I never see it again!