Raheel

It snows here and when it gets cold I usually Turn on the car and leave it running and Wait for the car to warm up before putting it in Gear and driving it... Usually 10-15 mins until the Temp Gauge is almost in the middle.. I was wondering if I get a new 2004 TL Do I Need to do this or do most people just do this because there used to it.. Also In Hot day's should I turn on my A/C on High when I get in or Should I Drive the car for a while and than Turn A/C On?

fsttyms1

you dont need to let the car warm up that long 30 sec to a min is more than enough when its cold out to not do any damage. to let it warm up that long i think is for the drivers comfort as far as the ac it can be on when you start the car

AcidHorse

I don't think there would be a difference turning the A/C on whne you first start the car on hot days. Here in DFW it's always standard practice to leave the A/C on HI so all the time.

As far as when the weather gets cold, I warm my car up for 15-20 seconds and drive off. I carefully keep the RPM's under 2K for a mile or so.

I've read somewhere that it's more harmful to have the car sit there warming up for a long time.

FTM-1

It may be awhile before the 2004 TL show up. But its no need to warm up the car only if you have frost or snow on the windshield that needs to be removed. The car will warm up very quickly when cold after about a mile in real cold Temps just drive slower. As for the A/C question the TL models have Auto Climate Control Function Feature. I am sure the 2004 will have the same thing when set it will cool the car to the preset desired Temp when the car is started. But the other way to cool down your car is to start it up crack windows to let out hot air set A/C to MAX fan speed if extreme heat put in REC mode until cool & then push to fresh air mode & set desired fan speed. The TL will cool down quickly anyway.

Yaron2

I also warm up my car in the morning ..... for maybe 3 minutes or so 15-20 is way way too long!!!

Ray_Khan

letting it idle for too long will lead to carbon deposits in the engine. Like everyone else here says, 30 seconds to a minute is fine for a warm up. I tend to wait until the oil temp rises before I push the car too hard.

Raheel

Thanks for th reply I will be telling my dad and mom as this is what they tend to do when it snows.. Its just that I thought if I start the Heater right after I start the car that its bad and that the A/C Messes up your car if you start it up right afterwards... Than Again my parents have old cars.

Southbound

Starting the heater doesn't put any extra strain on the engine. UNLESS you run the defroster. Then it kicks in the air conditioning compressor to blow DRY air on the windshield. The heater just changes damper doors behind the dash to direct air to the vents from the heater coil instead of fresh air or air conditioned air. the heater coil is running all the time with coolant circulating through it. It will blow COLD air on startup until the coolant temp warms up, but will not have ANY affect on the engine. I also agree that letting an engine idle for 15 minutes is asking for carbon deposits and is more harmful than driving the car after a short warmup period. I would let it warm up 30sec-1min as others have suggested and then keep the rpms down under 2k-3k until the coolant temp rises to normal. The thin 5-W-20 oil circulates quickly! It should do that within a mile or so... The TL warms up quicker than any other car that I have owned. The high compression ratio creates a lot of heat before the thermostat kicks in. ONLY let it warm up for several minutes if you are stuck in an extreme ice/snow situation and can't scrape the windshield until the defroster has done it's job for several minutes...

P.S. I pity those who go through that EVERY morning. I used to live in the midwest... but Southern California has been home now for several years... I can't say that I EVER miss winter!!!

Raheel

Thanks for the info you guys I Appreciate it..