I used to own a mitsubishi galant and it took me 10 minutes sometimes to get that car warmed up. I have a 2000 civic ex coupe now and i wondered how long do i have to wait before i can hit the engine in the morning? Lets say its been like 60 degrees all night. Do i need to wait for the needle to get up to the 'Cold' or beyond that to the middle? Or can I just step on it in a few minutes? I've never been too sure about this.

And also, can I let the car roll out of the driveway to the end of the block even if its ice cold, as long as I dont step on the gas? Never been sure about this either! thanks!

 

Turn on the engine. Wait about 30 second. Start driving. When i say driving, i mean grandma driving. Drive slowly, don't hit the gas to hard or take it to redline. The best way to warm up the car is to drive it but do not drive it hard. You can start driving it hard after the coolant needle is in the middle.

 

Thanks Agent, I always wondered about this myself. When I first got my car I would ALWAYS let it warm up untill the needle was as high as it would go, thus creating alot of carbon in my system.

 

I was in Autozone the other day, and over the speakers they had this "maintenence awareness" thing come on. The lady talking said it's recommended by most manufacturers that you only let the car sit and warm up for 30-45 seconds, then, like Agent said, take it easy until the temp needle reaches it's usual point. That usually only takes a couple minutes in my 99 Ex

 

I try to wait till the high idle comes down...usually about a 1 min....when it's above 70 I don't really notice it kicking into high though....so i just give it about 30 sec. In extream cold...which we get a lot of her in MN, I let it warm up much longer when I can.

 

I agree with all of you wait like 30-45 sec before you start driving the car gently. In vtec engines the vtec won't even engage until the engine is at normal operating temperature. And the engine gets its best fuel economy and runs more efficiently at a higher temperature anyway. So wait until you see the engine temp needle in the middle to run your civic hard.

 

So you guys are saying that when its 20 deg below zero i should only let my car worm up for 30 or so seconds then drive away taking it easy. I realize my civic worms up quick but I dont think when its that cold I would recomend just driving it away after 30 seconds. At 50 or more thats fine but when it gets -20 I would let it worm atleast 5 minuets or even 10 but i wouldnt let it go much more than that. But i guess everyone has there opinions and really there is not right or wrong answer. Good luck to ya!

 

Honda's only need around 30 seconds to get full oil through out the block. Start it and drive, I have allways done this with no problems at all. Even when boosted I would wait a max 45 seconds.

 

Sure there's a right answer, and it's 30-45 seconds

In the winter (I live in Michigan, cold...) I let it sit longer just so it's warm on the inside when I get in. But it does nothing to benefit the motor, nor does it negatively affect it, it's just not necessary

 

I just jump in and go and take easy for a couple of blocks. I haven't experienced any problems at 244000 miles.