I am in Maryland, Temperature hits below 32F in morning. it takes 4 minutes to warm the engine. It is a bit longer than I expected. Is it true for all small engine? Is it a way to warm it faster?

Second question,
the MPG drop below 30 recently. Is low temp the matter affect MPG?

Consider a block heater -- a well known device in the frozen north. You plug the car in at night, it heats the engine a little, keeps the oil viscous and decreases warm up time.

But changing the plugs will do nothing.

Plastic wrap around the radiator. Works like a charm. :wink:

Get a remote start and call it good.

Drive it at low rpms. I shift at 2,000 rpms unitl it warms up. Mine heats up before I hit the end of my block that way.

it is best to just drive the car....

just because the engine is warm, the tranny/brakes/clutch....are still cold...

it is best to warm up all systems by driving the car (take it easy untill all fluids get up to operating temps...)

yes a block heater will work it'll also help start your car faster too well it did on all the cars with carbs dunno know about the cars with fuel injection

I warmed the engine 5+ minutes then start driving it to work. The heater is still cold until running over 5 minutes at 65 mph on highway(this morning, Temp is 20 degree ). Does it sound normal to you guys?

i second the remote start..... turn car on while you're inside the house getting ready...

I warmed the engine 5+ minutes then start driving it to work. The heater is still cold until running over 5 minutes at 65 mph on highway(this morning, Temp is 20 degree ). Does it sound normal to you guys?
Yeah unfortunately that's the way it is with these cars. I wonder what temp the thermostat opens up at :?:

You are driving witha 1.5 litre engine. There is little excess heat generated when compared to larger engines. I drove a one litre Geo Metro and sometimes it would only be making decent heat ten to twelve miles down the road. The coolant would get to thermostat temperature on the highway but the would drop when going through towns. It is the coolant temperature which provides heat in the cabin and the smaller engines will produce less heat for cabin heating.

All the advice which I have read indicates that one should allow the engine to run for a minute or less after start to allow oil circulation to be established. Then drive at reasonable engine speeds until coolant and oil temperatures are satisfactory. Unfortunately the automatic transmission in these xA-xB cars are locked out of overdrive until a temperature is reached which will satisfy the brain of the car. I encounter higher engine speeds than I like during this time.

I am in Maryland, Temperature hits below 32F in morning. it takes 4 minutes to warm the engine. It is a bit longer than I expected. Is it true for all small engine? Is it a way to warm it faster?

Second question,
the MPG drop below 30 recently. Is low temp the matter affect MPG?

I feel your pain man. It was 12F in NY yesterday morning.
:shock:
I have found that synthetic oil (or a blend)
really helps it start better in the cold weather.

However, I always let it warm up for a few minutes
then drive conservatively until the engine comes up to temperature.

I live in Maryland and Im experiencing the same thing that you are with my box. However, I have remote start and I dont have a problem as long as I remote start it before leaving. :)

I install remote starts for a living, if youre interested I can help you out.

- Brian

I notice the AT has higher shift points when cold.

The best bet besides surand wrap, low rpm's and anything else is a remote starter for your car ! rite when you put your wallet keys into your clean pants point your alarm at the window and press start. So by the time you get your coffee and start heading out the door not only is your engine warm but your heater is nice and toasty too! They aren't very expensive they run about $80.00 and up. Some require proffesional instalation and some of the $100.00 ones come with a cd-rom instruction disk oh how to self install!

Good luck man hope it works out!

i wouldnt recomend the "diy" ones, unless you know EXACTLY what you're doing. also, if you use the diy remote start, you have a good chance of voiding your warranty.

i have experienced this in my best buy days, not all of our installers were mecp certified, only 2 were. some warranty's the installer has to be certified or it voids the warranty.

just another thought.

if you want, check some of the sponsored section out for remote start installs, i know a couple places in jersey that are sponsors on here. JG auto customs (smartass is his s/n here) and sound of tri-state. check them out.

Jim.

I warmed the engine 5+ minutes then start driving it to work. The heater is still cold until running over 5 minutes at 65 mph on highway(this morning, Temp is 20 degree ). Does it sound normal to you guys?
Yeah unfortunately that's the way it is with these cars. I wonder what temp the thermostat opens up at :?:

the xB t-stat is an 82c valve opening....
normal opening range 176 - 183 f

the full close temp is 171f (77c)

the plastic wrap or card board blocking the rad. can be bad....

you could cause too little cooling and the alum. parts of the motor will warp...

There are a couple of comments about bigger engines warming up faster than the little ones...but my own experience differs from this.

Granted: my experience compares a 1978 Ford LTD I had years ago with a 1995 Saturn and my current 2005 xB, so the sample size is small, but that old Ford took FOREVER to warm up, while both my little cars are warmed up before I get five miles from my house. Sometimes, if I let the car run for a couple of minutes while I lock up the house and open the driveway gates, I'm getting warm air before I get two blocks down the road. I think the smaller engines are less of a heat sink - which means they'll heat up quicker.

(this includes on the days earlier this week when the high temps were around 15 degrees F)

Fugli, the TCM xB rolling toaster lives in a heated garage.

What a life!

Just warm your car as you drive and drive slowly until the light disappear. According to the owner's manual, you don't have to warm the car.

i wouldnt recomend the "diy" ones, unless you know EXACTLY what you're doing. also, if you use the diy remote start, you have a good chance of voiding your warranty.

i have experienced this in my best buy days, not all of our installers were mecp certified, only 2 were. some warranty's the installer has to be certified or it voids the warranty.
Jim.

DEI does not require that the installer be an MECP certified installer, in fact Ive never read this from DEI, Audiovox, Alpine or Code Alarm in the 8 years Ive been installing. What have you read that? You do not void your factory warranty by adding a remote start to your vehicle.

<--- First Class MECP certified installer.

I warmed the engine 5+ minutes then start driving it to work. The heater is still cold until running over 5 minutes at 65 mph on highway(this morning, Temp is 20 degree ). Does it sound normal to you guys?
Yeah unfortunately that's the way it is with these cars. I wonder what temp the thermostat opens up at :?:

the xB t-stat is an 82c valve opening....
normal opening range 176 - 183 f

the full close temp is 171f (77c)
Thanks for the info 8)

i wouldnt recomend the "diy" ones, unless you know EXACTLY what you're doing. also, if you use the diy remote start, you have a good chance of voiding your warranty.

i have experienced this in my best buy days, not all of our installers were mecp certified, only 2 were. some warranty's the installer has to be certified or it voids the warranty.
Jim.

DEI does not require that the installer be an MECP certified installer, in fact Ive never read this from DEI, Audiovox, Alpine or Code Alarm in the 8 years Ive been installing. What have you read that? You do not void your factory warranty by adding a remote start to your vehicle.

<--- First Class MECP certified installer.

i wouldnt recomend the "diy" ones, unless you know EXACTLY what you're doing. also, if you use the diy remote start, you have a good chance of voiding your warranty.

i have experienced this in my best buy days, not all of our installers were mecp certified, only 2 were. some warranty's the installer has to be certified or it voids the warranty.
Jim.

DEI does not require that the installer be an MECP certified installer, in fact Ive never read this from DEI, Audiovox, Alpine or Code Alarm in the 8 years Ive been installing. What have you read that? You do not void your factory warranty by adding a remote start to your vehicle.

<--- First Class MECP certified installer.


car, not alarm, ke, or rs unit. we had a HUGE problem with a 04 lincoln town car.

i hope to get a remote start soon

I what also have a remote start and its awesome, except when I had the heat on to long on my way home and turned the air on. I had it blowing cold air in my car, it was so cold

I warmed the engine 5+ minutes then start driving it to work. The heater is still cold until running over 5 minutes at 65 mph on highway(this morning, Temp is 20 degree ). Does it sound normal to you guys?
Yeah unfortunately that's the way it is with these cars. I wonder what temp the thermostat opens up at :?:

the xB t-stat is an 82c valve opening....
normal opening range 176 - 183 f

the full close temp is 171f (77c)
Thanks for the info 8)

any time Munch.....

I what also have a remote start and its awesome, except when I had the heat on to long on my way home and turned the air on. I had it blowing cold air in my car, it was so cold

my mom does that all the time....

your mom has remote start?

thanks for all your advise.

man... good thing i have a car-hold! (garage)