I apologize if this has already been asked, but the search feature keeps failing from my phone.

My question is how many of you warm up your 3 before taking off in the morning ? Is it wasteful or beneficial ?

 

real cold?,,, if it idles at 600-800 i just idle down the small road im on and go 20?. i pull over for the race car on my tail till im warm.

no i never let it sit and idle. its made to move! just dont flog it for a few miles!

 

I warm up all my vehicles when it is cold because it allows all the fluids to circulate and get warm, and I don't have to worry about it being cold inside.

 

just warm up driving slow for a few miles.
i never saw a op manual that said to let it sit and idle, not a good idea.

 

I do and always have. My dad still does and always has. Not sure if it's needed but I've never had an issue with starting any vehicle I've owned and let it run for 5 minutes or so.

To play Devils advocate tho, my wife never has and starts and goes no matter what the outside temp is. Her 2006 Tahoe with well over 115k miles hasn't leaked any where yet besides the Hydro boost going out. Where's my H3 I've replaced a leaking front pinion seal, both trans cool lines replaced because leaks and a water pump.

So now that I've thought about it maybe warming up my truck is a waste of time lol.

 

Thanks for your input everyone. I usually let the vehicle idle, the more I research online the more it seems unnecessary. Seems like 1~2 minutes might be the best median of the two.

 

With doing outdoor work as a small business in harsh elements I leave Happy warm up frequently as needed.
It is -6 to -11 degrees f. With wind gusting to 30 below zero at times.

Chris

 

I will let it warm up for a couple of minutes, I also put my tranny in neutral for the last 30 or so seconds of warm up to allow the fluid in the tranny to cycle. Not sure if it does anything, just something a old tranny builder recommended, and I have done it for years now.

 

Yesterday it was 3 degrees F when I fired up the H3 (fired is a poor term, should say when I nagged it to finally agree to come to life). 5 seconds later I was slowly heading down my street for work.

The old warm up your car stuff.... is just that. A carryover from the days of carburetors. My 69 GMC would start when super cold, but she wouldn't move for a couple minutes until that carb got heated up. If you tried to drop it in gear before that, she would stall trying to move. Had a 71 Olds 88 that was the same way. Shoot, my 79 Chevy Silverado wasn't any better.

There are piles of data out there about this issue and computer controlled fuel injected vehicles. Any fuel you think you might save by letting them warm up is offset by the fact that your vehicle can warm up while it is rolling. Cold temps are built into the designed range of operation. No need to burn fuel sitting still.

Kinda like the same carryover about changing your oil every 3000 miles... people just can't let go of those OLD technologies. I would think you youngsters would jump all on board with the NEW and stop living in the past.

 

I use my remote start in the morning everyday winter and summer so that my ride is nice and warm or nice and cool. Remote start is set for 20min runtime and will shut down....will do it 3 or 4 times. I've always let my vehicles...especially SUV's (Durangos are very very sluggish until transmission fluid is circulated and warmed) but probably no need to do it, especially on a non-carbureted engine.....