The manual says:

For the first week I had my car, I never saw the blue version of the coolant temperature light. Then I started noticing it would come on when I first started driving my car. It sometimes stays on for a few minutes. I checked my fluid levels and they're fine, and I know the manual says it will come on if the coolant temperature is cool, but I'm just curious about this.

Does yours come on every time you start your car? Does it stay on?
Thanks

 

It comes on everytime you start your car because obviously your motors gonna be cool when you first start it up, but down here in FL mine usually goes off after about a minute or so..

 

xx

 

Mine comes on and stays on for like a minish but then goes out and ive had mine for 1 week 2 days :D

 

Thanks y'all. I just thought it was odd because (1) I didn't notice it when I first got the car and (2) it sometimes seems to stay on 'too long' (whatever that means inside my brain) so I just wanted to see what other people were seeing.

Cheers!

 

I'm less than 24 hours into my RS 1.0 and I've had that "quirk" happen where the blue coolant light stays on for a good 3 minutes. Oh well, as long as the durned thing turns off. We wait to drive until the light goes away. Is it okay to drive while the thing is on?

CrimonO2

 

yea you should drive it easy when the light is on, so it properly warms the engine...dont rev over 3000, that was my instructions from the Scion rep when i bought my car

 

Mine comes on when it's started. I generally wait until it goes out to start driving. (about 2-3 minutes) Just a habit.

 

Up here, it takes as long as 10 minutes for the light to go off in the winter.

I don't drive mine until the light goes off. I know the manual says that you should warm the car up while driving it, but that's just against everything I have been taught. Besides, I don't want to drive in the car without the heater, you know?

 

Will something break or go wroing when I drive before the blue light goes off?

 

I follow the rule of idle twenty to thirty seconds after start for oil to circulate before driving off. I then limit my RPM to under 4000 or so until the confounded computer decides that the engine has reached sufficient temp to run at normal settings. High speed idle at start has been around for a while. But it is a stupid thing to have increased engine speed to warm an engine when one is driving at normal speeds. But engineers must have something to ruin or they are not happy.

 

Dude!!! ex-Juneau-ite here. I know what you mean. I've had a few people here in So Cali look at my Toyota truck funny when they saw the plug for the engine block heater sticking out of my grill. Kept asking me, "You have to plug your truck in?"

Nice to know the xA can handle Alaskan winters if need be.

CrimsonO2

 

That's funny! Yes, the xA handles Alaskan winters like a champ! Last winter, my boss got her Hummer H2 stuck three times. My xA: Zero. It doesn't get very cold where I am -- only down into single digits a few weeks out of the year -- but I have considered getting a block heater. What do you think?

 

I think the bigger question would be, would it fit?

CrimsonO2

 

That light doesn't mean that your fluid levels are low. All it is is the engine temperature gauge. In most cars, it's a gauge that looks like the fuel gauge. In these cars, it's only on when the engine is cold. When the engine reaches normal opperating temperatures, it turns off. The only time you really should worry about it is if you are driving and it comes on red. Then you need to pull over because your engine is over-heating.

I've had the light stay on for 15 minutes before. It all depends on how cold it is outside and how hard you are driving. Just like any other car, it's not a good idea to drive hard on a cold engine. But you can still drive around with the light on. In the summer, I usually just go and not worry to much about it. In the winter, I'll let the car warm up and go finish a cup of juice/coffee/water inside where it's warm.

 

So 1 minute for Florida isn't bad?

I was in my garage and another driver glared at me because he wanted me to get out from my spot but I didn't want to go until the light turned off

 

Do NOT wait for the light to go off before you start driving. The best way to warm up your engine is to drive it gently as soon as it is running. And, for those of you who live in colder climates, that means to start driving as soon as you can even when it's COLD (like below zero). Your car will like you for it . . . .

 

What happens if I wait for the light o go off? That's what I have been doing...Did I damage anything?

 

^ nope you won't damage anything... just wasting a little bit of gas is all...

 

Oohhhh....Thanks!! I'm totally new at this car thing.