It's getting very cold.
I am wondering about engine warm-ups

Now I am in the camp that does NOT believe in idling for more than 1 minute.

I do want to warm up engine at as low rpm as possible as quickly as possible.. So I am wondering if NOT turning on the climate control helps or what ?

 

Would probably warm up quicker, but probably not by a whole lot. If there's air blowing through the heater core then that would be helping to cool the coolant down, which you don't want to do if you're trying to warm the car up.

 

I am in your corner re the short warmups. I let the car idle from 15 to 30 seconds before shifting to reverse to back out of the garage. I would guess that warmups would be slightly faster if the ACC were off during the initial warmup, but the difference would be so slight that turning the ACC off and on would not be worth the effort. On the other hand, maybe I'm just lazy.

 

Not knowing how the cooling fan is set up on the tl its hard to say. in most cases anytime the ac compressor is engaged the cooling fan will come on. so although if the ac compressor is running it will produce more heat. having the cooling fan on will stop that.... the heater core in your car acts almost like a mini radiator. it takes coolant and runs it though the core inside the car. at which point a fan blows across the core and provides heat. when cold, that fan is drawing heat out of that core and putting it in the cabin. wither or no that makes a huge difference? i dont know.... i would say that anytime the temp is below 50 let the car idle for at least 30 seconds to warm up, below 20 give it a few minutes.... oil is slower to heat then coolant, and oil is what protects the engine....

 

Cars are designed nowadays to need minimal warmup when started cold. In fact, most manufacturers recommend against extended warmup times.

 

I've noticed that when I'm warming up the car, the fan won't be blowing air until the temperature is warm enough. (In other words, if I have my car set to 75 degs inside on a cold winter day, it won't start warming it until it has enough warm air from the engine to blow inside)

 

it does really hurt u guys if u let ur car sit there for 5 minutes while its warming up and u go do something else.

 

Nope. It doesn't hurt us; it just hurts the car. Well, probably not too much, but it does waste gas and adds a bit to air pollution.

 

How much gas do you think it will waste if you let it sit there idle? If you worry about those things, then you must got problems. Your car so its your decision.


enjoy our TL

 

I have noticed the same thing also.

 

I am enjoying it, and I don't worry about very much. I'm not sure about how much gas it uses, but if you use a cup of gas for a 5 minute idle, and do it every day, that amounts to about 57 gallons per year. Think about it.
You take care.....and have fun with your TL.

 

I usually let my car idling for about 2 minutes before moving it. In Florida. This time turns out to be enough for the coolant temperature to reach the middle of the gauge (fully warmed).
Never run my bike until engine gets at full operational temperature.

 

Do you have a link where to prove your statement?

The only reason I can think on extended warmup times is when you really have the car in idle for 20 minutes. You spend much more time in traffic than warming it up.

And warmups are necessary to have a better lubrication/viscosity not only for the engine, but for the transmission (where a slow driving is encouraged).

You can drive your car cold right away; but who knows what kind of issues might you have when your car goes beyond the warranty.

 

I don't think it'll use cup for 5 minute idle.

Enjoy!

 

We will just have to measure it, won't we.

Enjoy!


Nice avatar. Did jerky do it for you?

 

some guy on a-cl

 

No, but i've read this in internal documentation from various manufacturers to the dealers. I'd have to spend some time & search for it. I don't have access to this stuff at home.

 

same here and Same on my Wife's Durango

BUT, only when you have your Climate Control on AUTO as opposed to Fan, etc.

 

Letting the car warm up by idling only in cold temperatures can seriously dillute the oil with gasoline. The piston rings do no seal as well at idle (rings seal due to chamber pressures & the pressures are low at idle) and the high volume of fuel condenses on the cylinder wall, getting into the crankcase.

The amount of fuel a car uses at cold idle is amazing (fortunately Honda's warm up fast). I saw a Chevy throttle-body injector running with the air cleaner off on a cold day (maybe zero degrees F) and the fuel was puddled maybe a 1/2 inch deep on the throttle plate waiting to get sucked by. You cold hardly see the fuel spray when the Chevy was hot.

I had a couple of cold blooded Jeeps that would add about about a quart of gasoline to the oil over the winter. I would have to change the oil once the lifters started clattering due to low oil pressure. I had a short commute and the Jeep oil was not getting hot enough to boil off the gasoline. The same thing can happen to any car, especially if idled to temperature and not driven enough to heat the oil.

 

If you're parked in a home garage, warming up the car in the garage is a very bad idea because you should not expel all that exhaust into a closed-in space (even if you have the door up, some of that exhaust is going to stay in the garage)--if you feel that you must warm up the car, it is safer to back out into the driveway and idle it there so that the exhaust dissipates.

Hmm, now that's interesting. This morning it was 45 when I started driving and I hit the "Auto" button to hold 68 degrees, but it seemed like no air was coming out so I cancelled the "Auto" and just turned on the fan using the fan speed buttons. I then got some air. I wonder if it is for the reason you cite--very interesting!

 

idling 2 mins in sunny S. FL ?!?!?!

 

Likely - I usually have mine set to auto (sans A/C) - and it doesn't turn on until it can actually start spewing warm air. It's always nice not getting sprayed with chilly air when you're already freezing inside the car!

 

I like to drive my babies when they are hot.

 

hmmm, when i'm on "auto-Hi" and start the car in 35F the fan comes on and blows cold air. what gives? mine in a non-navi, does that make the difference??

 

There's no such setting as "auto-Hi". You are either in auto, and the car does its thing by adjusting the fan speed automatically, or you are in "high", and the fan does its thing the way you told it to.

When you change the fan setting, the A/C comes off of auto. Check it out.

The navi/non-navi doesn't make any difference in this situation.

 

If you keep it at 85 or whatever the number is right before it jumps to "HI" you should be okay. It'll hold the air until it can actually start warming your car's interior. And when you start feeling air, you can bump it back up to HI if you want.

 

are you sure? if i press "auto" then move my temp to "Hi" (max) the fans still do their thing automatically. but if i press a "mode" then it jumps out of auto mode.
even on "auto" 80F, at 35F outside the thing still pumps air when i turn the key.

 

I was thinking "fan high" instead of "temp high". Sorry about that.

If the setting is on Hi, then the air will blow to the bottom, but not out of the center vents, because the A/C senses you want maximum heat.

If you set it at the highest number, as Lore said (which is 86, by the way), you will not get the blast of air until the A/C is ready. At least I didn't on mine when I tested it.

Why would you set it on "Hi". If the temp you want is 75 degrees, and it is 30 degrees outside, leaving it at 75 or changing it to 80, or 86, will not make any difference, but changing it to Hi will definitely force that air out at you.

 

i like your Avatar. perhaps i'll try reading a few pages this week. i remember reading a different thread where a member said that when on Auto and the temp of car is not up to temp required by the heat air setting, the fans dont come on. i know that's not the case with mine. i'll test again tonight (air outside will be around 35F, i'll set heat to Auto-75 and see what happens).

cheers.

 

The difference between the actual temperature and the desired temperature setting will affect the action of the A/C, meaning it will determine which mode setting to use, which fan speed to use, etc. If you are driving along with the A/C set at 70 degrees, and want it a little warmer so you increase the temp setting to 72 degrees, you will not notice any perceptible change in the operation of the A/C, but it will get gradually warmer. If you raised it to 85 degrees, though, different actioins might take place within the A/C system.

Not to make a bad pun, but it is all a matter of degrees.

 

Ron,

my AC is on all the time in Auto mode, unless i move the temp to "Hi", then the AC shuts off. also on "Hi" temp the windows fog easier.

i can use "AC Off" but then windows like to fog.

i'm also not used to having a good "Auto" air system, so i find myself blasting hi fan on Hi temp, then i back off to Auto at 75, etc.

 

You should let the Automatic A/C do its thing, and just sit back, relax, and enjoy it.

Some people make a manual A/C out of our automatic because they like to control it precisely, but I am lazy and don't like to do anything.

The only things I ever do is change the temp setting 1-2 degrees under certain conditions, and also sometimes put the fan on a higher setting to help cool a little quicker, and then it is back to Auto mode for me. You notice I never talk about heat, because here in Florida it doesn't get that cold, but I am sure people in cold climates may have to approach this differently than I do.

The 04TL is set up differently than my 96TL. On the 96, I set it at 73 degrees and never touched it again. In the hot summer, it started blowing air as soon as you turned it on, which at least circulated the air in the car, even if it hadn't cooled down yet, but the 04 waits a little bit until the A/C has cooled down, so sometimes I have to tweak the 04 a little bit.

 

Car's heater is generated by engine...which means if the engine is not hot enough the car won't have any heat!! think about it, you only heard ACC and never heard HC...

 

RTFM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is a useful tool, resembles a book (like the ones in the libray). It has the name of your car on the cover. It even says ACURA. It will explain all this wonderful information to you.

 

RTFM or no RTFM, i'm telling you what my TL just did.

it's 39F outside and car was cold. turned ignition to "on" and set air to "auto 75F" then started the car.

cold air was blowing from front side vents as well as windshield vent. fan was low, but cold air was coming out. so i think if you go try the same you will find what i did. if not then we have a difference in air control for some reason.

cheers.

 

I tend to agree with this. My "range" in fiddling with the AC Controls is from like 73 to 77. But I have found this has more to do with what I'm wearing (Layers in winter vs shorts and a T in summer) than the Car's ability to control the AC properly.

Aside from that, I have been using the Heated seats lately (Which i didnt expect being in SoCal). This is usually HIGH when I first get in, and right around the time the engine is warm, I end up switching it to LOW.

 

This car warms up faster than any car I have ever owned. I believe it has something to do with the way the engine is set up for the ultra low emissions. It gets to the most efficient temperature in just a minute or two it seems. I have 5 other vehicles and each one has a strong gas odor if I let it idle for a minute since the computer is pushing a lot of gas in a cold engine. I never smell anything with the TL. I believe I read it has 3 catalytic converters.

 

I was told by a very knowledgeable mechanic ( my roomy ) that a good reason not to warm up the car for 5-10 minutes is that when you do, the engine warms up and gets all the metal expanded and sealed and happy, then you put that power into the tranny that is not warmed up and you have uneven warming of all the driveline all the way down. He told me 30-60 seconds for the oil to come up to pressure and get flowing, then take off.

That also helps the hvac come up to temp as "work" by the engine warms up faster than idle.

I use the navi timeout as my guage of when to go.. let the warning come on, do your seatbelts, put the bottle of water in the center, click OK on the navi, put 'er in reverse and rush out into wall to wall traffic and sit there.. *g*

 

I was so pissed this morning because it was so cold 37 and i set my heater to 81 and no air coming out at all...i turn the fan on highest...i can hear it blowing really hard but still no air coming out...even when i get to work (15 mins drive) engine pretty warmed up by then...dont understand...so everyone saying it wont blow out AIR until the air is warmed up to the set temp??? I have nav

 

Thought I was just imagining things.

VERY fast indeed.