do you warm up your car by idling or driving?

manual says not to warm up by idling (p190). but it also mentions warming up idling in there (p196)

 

On cool humid mornings, it would be helpful to let it idle for a time before driving as this would give the climate control time to warm the windshield. I have noticed that even with the selector turned away from defrost that the xD sends some air that way. I think this is to combat the issue of moisture collecting on the outside of the windshield. When I drive immediately I have to run my wipers for the first mile or two before the moisture stops building up on the outside of the windshield.

That said, I don't let her idle in park.

 

Not sure about other places, but here in AZ it only takes me about 30 seconds for the cold temp light to turn off, even now in october (its about 90º out right now). I always just drive as soon as i start it, however I wont go past 2000rpm when it is cold.

 

when i start it in the morning, i let it sit until the rpms drop below 1800, about 30 secs or so. about the same amount of time to get situated and put on the seat belt, find the right station/cd track and get it into gear. i have a manual tranny.

opposite if it was driving my truck, 1968 chevy with a 350 and 4 barrel carb. i would know right away if i didnt let it warm up enough because if i let off the gas, it would stall.

 

letting it sit at idle just wastes gas. I've never let a car warm up at idle

 

With the Scangauge, I've noticed that it warms up much much faster by driving.
If you may be cold, bring gloves! It's what the glove box is for!

 

for a minute at most to let the tranny warm up a little when its cold. never rev past 2.5k rpms until the light goes off

 

I let it warm up while I drive in the morning Of course I don't go speeding around, drive the speed limit and accelerate slowly and you should be ok.

 

The REAL issue is isn't idling or driving but turning your car off too soon. If you encounter a situation where you start your car but turn it off before the cold temperature light turns off, you will damage the engine.

Once, I had to move my car to the other side of the street because of street cleaning but I shut down the car before the light went off. Next day I started up, the car violently shook and the engine sounded like a farm tractor (chug-a-chug) for a few seconds.

 

that happens because condensation builds up in the engine. when you turn off a hot engine, the water burns off and evaporates while one that is still 'cold' lets the water build up. and of course, water has trouble being combustible

 

when its cold your suppose to warm your car up by driving slowly not idling, when you idle your ride..your ride gets use too being pampered. The only time you let your car idle is when the temperatures are below 0, in the situation as if you wanted to warm your car up.

 

It's basically telling you to drive the car instead of sitting there idling. When the cold light is on, simply keep the revs below 3000. It should warm up after 1-2 minutes of slow city driving. I wouldn't recommend jumping on the freeway immediately though =P I live about 1/2 mile from the freeway and it's enough time to warm it up and then some.

 

the only reason you shuold let your car sit (even in the morning, at least in california/warmer areas such as this) for at most 10 seconds..youre not trying to warm your engine, combustion does that on its own, hence the fact that you shuold drive. the real issue is warming up your oil so that you can properly lubricate the engine. as everyone else as already stated i think its best to drive, but dont go agro. i shift at about 2500 rpm, i dont think going up to 3k is necessary (especially in first) for city driving..

 

I also don't understand the option in the poll in regards to idling in the morning. Not all mornings are cold. The person starting his xD at 7am at Denver is not the same as the person starting at 7am in Las Vegas.

 

regardless of where you reside, your intention isn't to warm up your ENGINE as quickly as possible, but your oil..not only are you trying to pump oil through so it cushions metal on metal contact, but youre cleaning your engine, lubing it, cooling it (once combustion begins to rapidly heat metals etc.)..so yes, depending on the weather, the time in which you warm up your engine will be different, and your idle period should be adjusted, but you shuold still only idle for a SMALL period of time..with no fuel injection comes no combustion, which is where the heat is.