cold weather idle

[DonD]

Well, I set the remote start timeout to max (10 minutes), I just happened to reach my car before the timeout limit.
Passenger cabin was just beginning to get comfortable.

Last year (last winter season) when I sent my oil for analysis at Blackstone labs - there were no findings related to oil dilution in their comments.
I plan to do another oil analysis this winter - I suspect there will be no abnormal fuel dilution in my oil, but the data will speak to that.

My concern level is about 1 out of 10

Glad it's working for you.
On the other hand, that is a sample size of 2. I'd bet more car engine designers would agree with me. Don

 

[killinghall]

The best way to warm up a car is to start driving it, not letting it idle for minutes on end.

 

[D.J.]

The best way to warm up a car is to start driving it, not letting it idle for minutes on end.

yup. this is true, and I would never say otherwise. (for the car).


For my comfort though, that's a different story.

 

[D.J.]

Glad it's working for you.
On the other hand, that is a sample size of 2. I'd bet more car engine designers would agree with me. Don

I too agree with you, and the engineers (for the car, or for the engine). I never disagreed. I just warm it up much much longer for the sole purpose of comfort

 

[vipeboy2000]

speaking of idling.... i can idle sometimes upwards of 30 min creeping in traffic..... lol.

 

[DonD]

speaking of idling.... i can idle sometimes upwards of 30 min creeping in traffic..... lol.

Some things can't be helped. I'd guess wishing the matter would get better for you is not realistic. Don

 

[DonD]

If this thread is representative, it appears that forum members can present differing and valid views w/o getting into a bitching session, which is a good thing. Don

 

[JSolo]

speaking of idling.... i can idle sometimes upwards of 30 min creeping in traffic..... lol.

Do you leave ISG on or off? Can't imagine restarting the engine is too healthy when creeping along in more stop than go traffic.

 

[95oRANGEcRUSH]

If you set your interior temperature to max the heated seats should come on automatically.

I’ve never paid any attention to see if you can set the temp to high before turning the car off from your last drive, remote start it the next time you need to drive and have this work.

@Crisis @D.J.

 

[D.J.]

Do you leave ISG (Idle Stop and Go) on or off? Can't imagine restarting the engine is too healthy when creeping along in more stop than go traffic.

In very cold weather, the ISG conditions are rarely met. It takes a very long time to get the battery temperature sensor above 2°C, and you may never get it warm enough for ISG to operate. Also, if you have the vent positioned to defrost, ISG does not operate.

The quoted attachment below was supposed to show as a picture, I guess you have to click it *fixed it. Image attached

View attachment 64873

ATTACH=full]64873[/ATTACH]

 

[D.J.]

If you set your interior temperature to max the heated seats should come on automatically.

I’ve never paid any attention to see if you can set the temp to high before turning the car off from your last drive, remote start it the next time you need to drive and have this work.

@Crisis @D.J.

Cool and nifty new feature

This behaviour is not present in my old 2018 model.

 

[JSolo]

^^Thanks for reiterating all the isg conditions. Completely forgot about that as it's SOP to disable isg as soon as car is started. As bad as chicago traffic is, I rarely travel in conditions that are true stop and go, usually more like a crawl.

 

[killinghall]

I too agree with you, and the engineers (for the car, or for the engine). I never disagreed. I just warm it up much much longer for the sole purpose of comfort

Are you wearing sufficient clothing in the thick of winter? Please don't go around wearing shorts and singlets!

 

[RM7]

The best way to warm up a car is to start driving it, not letting it idle for minutes on end.

I get so tired of hearing this bullsh*t. I live in AK and when the car is coated in frost and there is also frost on the inside, you aren't going anywhere till you can scrape this and it does not loosen up or come off just with an ice-scraper. And then when you start driving, the car DOES NOT heat up unless you can put a significant load on it, but that's a matter of where you live and it's simply not always possible to do this. You also aren't supposed to put a significant load on the vehicle above a few thousand RPMs until it's had a chance to warm up, so it's kind of a catch 22. It's especially bad if you live somewhere at higher elevation, because your car will not warm up going downhill. But there are many situations that are similar as far as not being able to put much load on the car. I mean, yeah, you could drive up hills in circles a few times....or you could start your car while you are on the way to it or doing something else and save a little time. Idling in place DOES warm it because it prevents the airflow from removing the heat from the engine. No, engine block heaters/plug-ins are generally not a thing here, that's Fairbanks, but you simply can't just "get in your car and go". It takes a few min of running the steering wheel heater just to get it to a temp where you can grab the wheel. Any time one reads about this, it's generally someone that doesn't drive in -10F that's trying to make the point.

 

[DonD]

I get so tired of hearing this bullsh*t. I live in AK and when the car is coated in frost and there is also frost on the inside, you aren't going anywhere till you can scrape this and it does not loosen up or come off just with an ice-scraper. And then when you start driving, the car DOES NOT heat up unless you can put a significant load on it, but that's a matter of where you live and it's simply not always possible to do this. It's especially bad if you live somewhere at higher elevation, because your car will not warm up going downhill. Idling in place DOES warm it because it prevents the airflow from removing the heat from the engine. No, engine block heaters/plug-ins are generally not a thing here, that's Fairbanks, but you simply can't just "get in your car and go". It takes a few min of running the steering wheel heater just to get it to a temp where you can grab the wheel.

You certainly have a point but for the vast majority of US drivers, getting in and driving moderately until the car is warmed up is the best practice. Don

 

[D.J.]

The other day, I was specifically watching the actual coolant temperature via OBDII, and compared it to what the onboard thermometer reads.

Interesting just how wide of a range (normal) operating temperature is.

Anything over 72°C is shown on the display as - normal. My engine never gets to over 105°C - so I don't know at what temperature the needle would begin to rise above the "normal" position.

Just sharing for anyone who might have been curious, from -25°C to +56°C, no movement of the needle. The needle just begins to move at 56°C (133°F)

 

[DonD]

Thanks D. J. Don

 

[Yves998]

I have this same intermittent problem on very cold days. The start up idle will not drop even when sitting for several minutes. If I turn the car off then restart the idle is back to normal.

I’m having the same problem yesterday. The idle rpm at stop in D or P wouldn’t even drop to normal even if the trans temp is 120+ and water temp is 200+. I restarted the car and the rpm went down to normal immediately.