When i got my xB in November, I had that blue temp light turn on for like 5 minutes.

it only did it for like 2 weeks. I never seen it turn on anymore in the cold mornings. WTF?

Anyone else??

Mine still stays on for a few mins. and I've had it about 3 months. I always wait till it turns off before driving off... Am I wasting my time or is that what you're supposed to do?

4 months now and it still burns bright

From what I have read about that light, it is there to inform you that the engine is cold and is warming up. It is safe to drive with it on. the sooner you start driving, the faster the light will go away. Right next to the blue temp light, there is a red that informs you when you are overheating.

Inazuma as for you, it is possible the the blub behind that warning light went out. You might want to check just to be sure.

Inazuma as for you, it is possible the the blub behind that warning light went out. You might want to check just to be sure.

I will check it out thanks..

What's up Urban...when you first start her up, and the blue light is on, you should drive the car normally, but keep the RPM's under 3k until the light goes away.

I would strongly advise against letting the car "warm up" by idleing the engine...this is the proven worst thing for any engine to do--let alone a cold one, letting it idle. This kills engines faster than most anything.

My buddy still "warms up" the car everytime he drives it...I tried to convince him that it's just hurting the car--but he refuses to listen. Oh well.

Thanks Jdm...But why do most people warm up their cars. Where did they get the idea?

It was common back in the day, especially in very cold climate areas...

With newer fuel injection cars, once the O2 sensor can read the correct air-fuel mixture, you can drive normally, not aggressive, but normal. The only situation you want to avoid is heavy load under the first 5 minutes of driving...so basically try to avoid steep hills when the car is not yet warm.

The longer you sit idling, the more condensation builds up in the oil. Also, when the engine is cold, the fuel is burnt at a lower temperature, which leads to more carbon build up.

In retrospective--I'd say if you park your car inside a garage, your good to just start her up and go. You *can* idle it enough to adjust your mirrors, steering wheel, etc...but idling it for more than that is just a waste of gas. As long as the car has sufficient oil pressure, it's fine.


Some people just INSIST on warming their cars up by idling them...these are the same people that think 89 and 91 octane make the stock engine perform better. lol.

So putting 89 or 91 octane in our cars isn't a good idea. No benefit at all?

No real benefit, the engine takes 87--that's what we *should* use.

I always thought the higher the octane, the cleaner the fuel was. But I don't know much about cars...I' ve warming up my car :lol:

UrbanDrum Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2004 3:32 am Post subject:

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I always thought the higher the octane, the cleaner the fuel was. But I don't know much about cars...I' ve warming up my car


A lot of people think that. What it is is the higher octane burns more slowly which helps get a complete burn therefore reducing the amount of unburned gas, which is good for your engine, however higher octane won't improve performance and won't help gas mileage more than maybe 1-2 mpg.... if any. I personally just say use 87-89 and you'll be good.

later
brady

Here in Alberta I let my car warm up a bit because it's so damn cold! -25C/-13F lately.

But, if it's doing more harm than good, I guess it's time to change my ways.

quadraphonic Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2004 8:55 pm Post subject:

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Here in Alberta I let my car warm up a bit because it's so damn cold! -25C/-13F lately.

But, if it's doing more harm than good, I guess it's time to change my ways.


In that cold of weather I would let it warm up for at least 45 sec to a minute. Oil gets way to thick when you get that cold, plus the oil in the tranny needs to warm up a bit before driving as well

Well, Canadian cars also come equipped with block heaters that keep the oil from cooling significantly. I plug my car in every night.. you can hear a difference in the starting sound if it hasn't been, that's for sure!

I wish my civic had a block heater :cry: I hate starting it on the cold mornings

Yea..i'm used to California winters...cold for us is about 30 degrees Farenheit at night....that ____ must be summer time for you fellas huh?

Ah...the joys of living in Sunny So. Cal.

plus the oil in the tranny needs to warm up a bit before driving as well
if you have a manual trans its not going to warm up unless you are driving since the clutch disengages the engine from the trans.

The problem with warming up a car is that people let the engine get to operating temperature then take off like they have been driving for 20 minutes. I heard a while back on a car show is to just start the car, drive easily allowing all components of the car warm up together (engine, tranny, suspension, axles, etc.). This way, you can prevent unnecessary stress on the car.

I would say though, most people let their car warm up so the heater is blowing nice & toasty on them.

JDMxB, how is warming up your engine bad (other than what I mentioned)? Isn't that like saying idling at a stoplight on cold mornings damages your engine too? I not trying to be a dick, I just want to know what you have heard. Thx!

i warm up my car every morning til the blue light turn off...

i tried not to, but the shifter feels weird...hard to put in gear...dunno why

i warm up my car every morning til the blue light turn off...

i tried not to, but the shifter feels weird...hard to put in gear...dunno why

Agreed. But i still drive it like that. :D

i believe idling/warming up your car for a long time
will leave carbon build up and deposits at a higher rate
than just driving on your car easily till it gets warm.

i can be wrong.

:roll:

warming up your car is ok, its safe and there is NOTHING wrong with it.
driving with your car cold is ok after about a minute or so if you take it easy

what do you think we do with inspections?!?!?!? we run a cold car!??!?!?
what do you think we do when we drain and replace coolant???? we put in coolant with the motor off and pull it out??!??! WRONG we put in coolant and let the car WARM up and then put in more coolant when needed.
oh no, all the techs must be destroying you cars, its a big plan :shock:
same thing with tranny fluid, we let the car warm up to operating temp

there is nothing wrong with letting your car reach operating temp or driving it cold under light load

please dont tell people wrong information

Hey Franky, I'd check out the bulb on your car. That light always comes on when I cold start in mine and I'm over 5k miles already.

Hey Franky, I'd check out the bulb on your car. That light always comes on when I cold start in mine and I'm over 5k miles already.

It was weird, when i left work today, i started my car and it started working. May have been a bad connection in the bulb. We'll see if it lasts.

The problem with warming up a car is that people let the engine get to operating temperature then take off like they have been driving for 20 minutes. I heard a while back on a car show is to just start the car, drive easily allowing all components of the car warm up together (engine, tranny, suspension, axles, etc.). This way, you can prevent unnecessary stress on the car.

I would say though, most people let their car warm up so the heater is blowing nice & toasty on them.

JDMxB, how is warming up your engine bad (other than what I mentioned)? Isn't that like saying idling at a stoplight on cold mornings damages your engine too? I not trying to be a dick, I just want to know what you have heard. Thx!

At a stoplight is fine--just unneccessary times and especially upon first starting the car. If you have intentions of just letting the car sit and idle with no reason--that's bad.

:roll:

warming up your car is ok, its safe and there is NOTHING wrong with it.
driving with your car cold is ok after about a minute or so if you take it easy

what do you think we do with inspections?!?!?!? we run a cold car!??!?!?
what do you think we do when we drain and replace coolant???? we put in coolant with the motor off and pull it out??!??! WRONG we put in coolant and let the car WARM up and then put in more coolant when needed.
oh no, all the techs must be destroying you cars, its a big plan :shock:
same thing with tranny fluid, we let the car warm up to operating temp

there is nothing wrong with letting your car reach operating temp or driving it cold under light load


Hey buddy--no need to be a smartass-not all of us are "CERTIFIED TECH's".

Here's a thought--how often do you do inspections, or change tranny fluid? I hope not as often as everyday when you drive the car. That's what we I was refering to. No ____, leaving it to idle once in awhile to do maint. is no big deal, but if you do it every single freakin morning--it would pose a problem.

Do what you guys want with your cars--but first read the instruction manual that came with it.
please dont tell people wrong information

plus the oil in the tranny needs to warm up a bit before driving as well
if you have a manual trans its not going to warm up unless you are driving since the clutch disengages the engine from the trans.

i agree with that! i warm mine up for 2-3 minutes and when i start driving, it is a little stiff to shift....after about 5 minutes or so, it is shifting smooth as butter....

Just drive it like a normal car. Its basically the same thing.

Had my XB for bout a month now and I must admit, I was one of those who sat there in the morning til the thing went away. Took a good 5 minutes, but I didn't mind... That was 5 more minutes in the box! I've since taken the advice of the all knowing forum and drive it normal...keeping the rpm's low!

I stopped that habit too. Thanks to this forum I even safe money on fuel now because not only did I stop using 91 octane(@ CA prices) , I don't waste 5-10 minutes of gas in the mornings anymore either. Thanks guys... :wink:

Yup, me too... Went from 89 to 87! thx... Forum doesn't take a percentage of the savings do they? :wink:

Percentage would probably be nice...I'm sure it's not cheap the run a site like this...I hope it pays off with the shop and banners.

The blue light indicates that the engine is still cool, and that heat will be there shortly. As far as letting your car idle when cold out, the jurry will for ever be out on that issue. Some say yes, others no. My theory, i let the car warm up if it is more then a couple of years old, or has a decent amount of miles on it 25K+. But, warm up is not more then a couple of minutes, just to get the juices flowing.

A car sitting idle in Park is not the same as sitting idle in traffic or at a stop light in Drive. In drive, you are still putting a load on the engine, which is why the rpms are different then when you are idling in your dirve way.

OK.
FIRST:
If anyone thinks it is ok for you to start your car cold, and immediately drive off. KEEP DOING it MORON. Starting your car cold, and immediately driving it prodices the WORST wear on an engine. It takes 30 seconds- 1 FULL minute minimum for ALL the oil to reach every part it can lubricate. By driving immediately on those unlubricated parts, you a prematurely wearing components. Granted it may not be wear that is harmful once or twice, but I watch people all day long start their car and immediately drive it after it has been sitting outside for a day or two or even one night. Do you think your internal engine components feel good sliding metal to metal with oil between it, or with no oil? Do THIS TEST:
get 2 butter knives rub them together, now get the same 2 knives, coat them in motor oil. Which sounds better? which moves better? which one do you think after 40K miles of use will be in better shape?

Second:
I have been involved in MANY DYNO runs on many vehicles. We have done octane challenges, and believe it or not HIGHER Octane DOES boost engine performance. I have done Dyno Runs with 89, 92, and 100, 104 octane. The car is noticeably more responsive with higher octane AND the dyno numbers improved ever so slightly, BUT, after multiple runs and heat soak, the higher octane runs still held their HP.

Granted on today's modern technology maybe their isnt a difference between 87 and 89 octane. But no matter what I always use 91. From my 1990 VW with 215,000 miles on the original block, Mobil 1 oil, 91 octane, AND I warm it for at least 2 minutes every day. I do the same thing on my wife's 1992 Jetta and our 2003 Audi. Call me dumb, but the added security "just in case" is worth it to me, especially if it will promote longevity of my vehicles..

Whoa... why so serious :shock: . I actually don't start driving off right away in the mornings. Have to have that CHILL time in the box (look through the CD's, etc)...Thanks for the insight though. I'll probably continue to use 87 octane with about a 1-2 minute warm up.

Whoa... why so serious :shock: . I actually don't start driving off right away in the mornings. Have to have that CHILL time in the box (look through the CD's, etc)...Thanks for the insight though. I'll probably continue to use 87 octane with about a 1-2 minute warm up.

hey Kikaida

Great Avatar :mrgreen:

NAHHHH sorry for sounding so serious, I just want people to know whats up, and add long life to their Scions.

Whoa... why so serious :shock: . I actually don't start driving off right away in the mornings. Have to have that CHILL time in the box (look through the CD's, etc)...Thanks for the insight though. I'll probably continue to use 87 octane with about a 1-2 minute warm up.

hey Kikaida

Great Avatar :mrgreen:

Cool THX! Half Man/Half Machine = Kikaida! Dig the Polar Box!

NAHHHH sorry for sounding so serious, I just want people to know whats up, and add long life to their Scions.

No prob... Can never have too much info! That way, peeps can make up their minds after consuming all the data.

It takes 30 seconds- 1 FULL minute minimum for ALL the oil to reach every part it can lubricate.

"I'll buy that for a dollar"