question about the cold engine light

[Yarus Maximus]

Does the light mean I have to idle the engine until it disappears for optimal performance/longevity? Even on hot summer days it takes a good 30-45 seconds for it to turn off. That is quite a bit of fuel each morning.

[BLH]

No. If it is real cold I may wait 30 seconds before driving off.
I believe the manual indicates not to wait.
My Scanguage indicates the cold LED goes off at around 130 degrees water temperature.
Also if you have an Automatic. It will not shift into 4th until the LED goes out.

[R2D2]

I agree with BLH-just drive easy until the engine is warm-no need to idle.

R2

[UTVitz]

It's just warning the engine is not up to operating temperature yet and to drive gently till it's off. I forget the exact number, but pretty much anything under 120 degrees is considered cold to and engine, so outside air temps. have little effect other than shorting the engines internal warm-up time.

[ChilliwackGuy]

Just drive away at a reasonable speed - mine has been starting off at "cold" for the past 2 months - an dit's only 2 months old! The "cold" warning fades within 30-180 seconds.

[big lo]

You should wait until your motor is warm or in this case the cold marker light disappears. Remember your oil needs to be warm as well as the motor to flow correctly. I dont see any problem with turning the engine on and putting the car in first gear or in drive, just let the light go away before punching the gas so you dont have problems in the future. Holla.

[Stove]

Go by what the manual says. Since Toyota doesn't want to cover a bunch of warranty claims, if it hurt the engine to drive the car before the engine was warm the manual would tell you to wait. Drive it normally. Unless your driveway is at the end of a short freeway on-ramp, the light should be out before you need to do any hard acceleration.

[127.0.0.1]

drive normally, try not to wail on it

but do not expect an auto tranny to shift to OD until after the light is
out for 30 seconds. it will stay in 3rd

[dimsum69]

You should wait until your motor is warm or in this case the cold marker light disappears. Remember your oil needs to be warm as well as the motor to flow correctly. I dont see any problem with turning the engine on and putting the car in first gear or in drive, just let the light go away before punching the gas so you dont have problems in the future. Holla.


Most engines get up to proper op temp faster by simply driving for obvious reasons. Idling your car and waiting will just cause you to use more gas during your warm up and add to pollution if you care.

You won't be harming the engine by just turning on and going on your way, like most ppl said, just don't bag on it. You're probably doing more good since your getting things up to proper operating temp so the car can run as intended sooner then later

[RedRide]

Are we all in that much of a hurry that we can't wait 30-45 second before we drive off? Many people seem to expect too much from an EC engine anymore and perhaps they wont be happy until they can get an all electric car and they can just insert a key and drive off.

BTW, I once had a (1976) MGB. The engine would not even idle properly until it warmed up for a couple of minutes. That was the way it was set up and it was completely normal. Now we can't wait a few seconds?

[big lo]

Are we all in that much of a hurry that we can't wait 30-45 second before we drive off? Many people seem to expect too much from an EC engine anymore and perhaps they wont be happy until they can get an all electric car and they can just insert a key and drive off.

BTW, I once had a (1976) MGB. The engine would not even idle properly until it warmed up for a couple of minutes. That was the way it was set up and it was completely normal. Now we can't wait a few seconds?

I agree my dude, waiting a couple of mins is nothing, and better for your engines life.

[fmicle]

Here are a few articles on this subject:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/ask-our-experts/car-engine-warm-up.aspx
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/classifieds/news/automotive/cartalk/stories/DN-cartalk_06emp.ART.State.Edition1.374f73f.html

[Stove]

I agree my dude, waiting a couple of mins is nothing, and better for your engines life.

With modern engines, waiting a few minutes isn't saving your engine.

[yarrr]

Are we all in that much of a hurry that we can't wait 30-45 second before we drive off? Many people seem to expect too much from an EC engine anymore and perhaps they wont be happy until they can get an all electric car and they can just insert a key and drive off.

BTW, I once had a (1976) MGB. The engine would not even idle properly until it warmed up for a couple of minutes. That was the way it was set up and it was completely normal. Now we can't wait a few seconds?

no, i just do what it says in the manual... :iono:

[RedRide]

With modern engines, waiting a few minutes isn't saving your engine.

What is so special about a "modern engine" that it no longer needs any sort of warm up, even for a minute?
Some modern engine's parts are still designed to fit together properly only when the engine is at full operating temp,.
The only thing that is different with today's engines in they have modern electronic control for fuel injection , etc . This makes an engine run good even when very cold giving some a false sense of security when starting off.

All the aticles about not warming up your enging has to do with wasting a bit of gas, not wether or not it can potentially harm it if you don't

It is still prudent to warm it up a bit, how long should be determined by ambient temp. Would you turn the key and imediatly take off if the car was sitting outside in 10 degree temp?
Often, a bit of common sense can go a very long ways. :smile:

[RedRide]

no, i just do what it says in the manual... :iono:

The manual was witten by marketing for the masses who can barely pump their own gas.:wink:

[yarrr]

Ahhh you're right. I apologize. I forgot about the whole "toyota manuals conspiracy." I stopped putting oil in my car once I figured out they were just trying to get money out of me.

[Quaifer]

The majority of engine damage occures when you start your engine. Waiting a few minutes before you drive won't make a difference.

[fmicle]

My $.02: my car sits in the garage which gets quite warm because of the water heater and lack of ventilation. Whenever I start the car I move it out of the garage right away (okay maybe it takes me 5 seconds to shift into reverse and start moving) because I wouldn't want to die from CO poisoning in the garage.

Having said that, I would say waiting 30 seconds, alright, but a few minutes? No way.

As the first article from my previous post shows, warming the engine for a few minutes does more harm than good, so obviously, it shouldn't be done.

[Stove]

What is so special about a "modern engine" that it no longer needs any sort of warm up, even for a minute?
Some modern engine's parts are still designed to fit together properly only when the engine is at full operating temp,.
The only thing that is different with today's engines in they have modern electronic control for fuel injection , etc . This makes an engine run good even when very cold giving some a false sense of security when starting off.

Since you ask. It does need a warm up but the "warm up" is driving it normally until the engine reaches operating temperature. Idling away in the driveway is a thing of the past, just like leaded gasoline. There was a need for lead in the gas as lubrication was an issue in older engines. Lubrication was one of many issues.

With Modern engines the materials, material quality, component design, manufacturing tolerances, surface finishes of components as well as the technology in methods of manufacturing the above have improved over the last 35 years (to use your '76 MG for example). Add to that the addition of emission control components and it all adds up to a different method for how to treat your cars engine and emission controls.

"Driving normally" for the first few minutes is the new "sit in the driveway and idle". BTW, All of the cars I've bought within the last 10 years have recommended this.

Waiting a minute or two isn't going to hurt anything, I never claimed it would, and by all means do it if that's what makes you happy. But it isn't saving your engine and it isn't necessary unless you plan on leaving your driveway like an F-1 driver.:biggrin:

To go to extremes, there are quite a few differences between these two engines besides a few computers and fuel injection (and 100 years:wink:).

[RedRide]

First you have to define "normally" :smile:

A bit of clearification on my position.
I concede that a long warm up is not nessary.
What I am against is starting the engine and "taking off" imediately. I'm just saying let it warm up for a short bit, 30-60 seconds or so depending on the temp.

I do think its time to bury this horse. :smile:

[yarissedan07]

OK,
My car will not shift into 4th upon a cool start!! It's fine once warmed up but I don't have time to wait around, I'm busy. I have had my car 4 years since it was a baby. Only 2 miles when I bought it. Now I Have 59,000 miles. It just started doing this recently???? They told me this is how the car was designed ,but it just started recently!!! I'm not buying this explanation. I wouldn't have bought the car if it did this!!!! Anyone else notice this over time??

[jpmck03]

OK,
My car will not shift into 4th upon a cool start!! It's fine once warmed up but I don't have time to wait around, I'm busy. I have had my car 4 years since it was a baby. Only 2 miles when I bought it. Now I Have 59,000 miles. It just started doing this recently???? They told me this is how the car was designed ,but it just started recently!!! I'm not buying this explanation. I wouldn't have bought the car if it did this!!!! Anyone else notice this over time??

Might have something to do with the lower than average temperatures that the country's been experiencing this winter, ya know?

But, I wouldn't get to worried about it, and don't think it's a reason to regret buying the car IMO. It's just doing what it's designed to do. I'm pretty sure if you check your manual, it spells out what happens with the car and what you are supposed to do when the low temp light is on.

[markweatherill]

I've noticed that the transmission will not change into top gear until the 'cold engine' light has gone out.
In the recent very cold spell, it would wait for much longer, even after the light had gone out. Looking at the transmission fluid temperature, that was taking much longer to warm up than in warmer weather.

I believe the 4th gear lockout is tied to the transmission fluid temperature and not directly to the 'cold engine' light.
That is, it will change into 4th gear once both the engine is warm, and the transmission is also warm. If either are not warmed up enough, it'll lock out 4th gear.

The best way to warm any car up is to drive it. As stated, most engine wear happens at start up. But it isn't (as the informercials would have us believe) due to lack of oil. It's the water and acid condensates from a cold engine that are the culprits. Think about this: idling a cold engine takes longer to warm it up than simply driving the car. In that period the engine is exposed to more harmful condensates, blow-by, etc etc. than if you just got in it and drove.

[markitect]

OK,
My car will not shift into 4th upon a cool start!! It's fine once warmed up but I don't have time to wait around, I'm busy. I have had my car 4 years since it was a baby. Only 2 miles when I bought it. Now I Have 59,000 miles. It just started doing this recently???? They told me this is how the car was designed ,but it just started recently!!! I'm not buying this explanation. I wouldn't have bought the car if it did this!!!! Anyone else notice this over time??

My guess is this is the first time your car has actually been cold. This is normal operation. Mine does this every day in the winter. And you can go 80 in 3rd gear, so I think you'll be ok driving around.

[nemelek]

The Yaris warms up faster than any other car that I have owned.

[swidd]

So... according to that article (Should I let my car warm up each morning (http://www.motherearthnews.com/ask-our-experts/car-engine-warm-up.aspx)), repeated idle warm-up can plug/clog/fuck up the catalytic converter, causing a drop in MPG over time.

I have a slight drop in MPG after four winter seasons with the Yaris; I usually just start up and drive away, but on days with snow, ice or rime covering the windows, I start it up, turn the heater to max, and let the engine idle while I clear the windows of winter juice.

So my question will be: is there a simple way to clean out such gunk from the catalytic converter? Like pouring a bottle of some slime down the gas tank?