It depends for me.

If it is just cold out, I start it and go.

Now if theres a foot of snow on it, I start it first, brush the now off, then go.

I've noticed that the patriot warms up really quickly. Usually By the time I get to the light thats about a half mile away, the air starts to blow warm.

 

usually give it sometime,

if theres snow to brush off,
will let it run as i brush it off,
sometimes, will drink my coffee as it warms up, or have a smoke.
how much i let it warm will vary,
if my teeth are chattering, that heat never comes on fast enough,

 

Mechanically, there is no reason to wait (long). I like to wait until the engine idle drops under 1000rpm, which is longer as the temp drops. For automatic vehicles it makes gear engagement softer and I know the cats are warming up and engine controls are getting better. For manual trans vehicles, the first 1-2 shift is smoother as the engine drops at a normal rate vs. slower or not at all when cold.

If I let my vehicles warm up for more than a minute, it is for my comfort/convenience. I have a remote starter on my pickup that generally is parked outside which can be on for 10-15 minutes for my convenience.

 

Mechanically, there is no reason to wait (long). I like to wait until the engine idle drops under 1000rpm, which is longer as the temp drops.

Exactly how I do it. Start it up and wait until the needle just passes the 1000 rpm mark. Then I turn on the A/C, stereo, shift and go. This takes about 15-20 seconds.

 

Start and go--I'm horrible like that, but I am always in a hurry.

 

I agree with APT, that's me too, once the RPM hits 1,000, I go. They say today's engines do not need a warm up, and warm up better under normal driving conditions.

 

Here's the deal, as long as you have oil pressure you should be good to go. In cold climates, the faster you warm up the oil, the better. That means starting your engine, wait several seconds or wait for RPM, and driving normally (don't rod on it). If you can plug you vehicle in, that would be ideal.

Basically the recommended oil for our Patrioits is 5W20. With out explaining this to death, the 5W20 designation tells us how the oil will act at 0 degrees and 210 degrees. The 5 for examples is basically the viscosity (fluidness or thinness), of the oil at 0 degrees. A 0W20 oil is more viscous at 0 degrees than the 5W20. So the quicker you warm up you engine, the better the oil flows, so don't let it idle. Long periods ofidleing will increase wear on your engine. In the end, it probably doesn't matter, since most of us will trade our rigs out before we experince this wear and those of us who will keep their Riots forever, will hopefully be able to take advantage of the lifetime warrenty. I'm conflicted; hate ideling, love auto starts.

Can I ramble or what! :blah:

 

When I drive ours the whole family is along for the ride. We have ours in a garage I usually open door start, then come back in and help with a 3, 2 year old put their boots and coats on. Then it's out the door and away we go. So guessing around 3-5 minutes. So shortly after we get on the road we are getting heat. My diesel truck I let warm up a little longer before driving. I've always let my vehicles get a little warm up first. The only problems I've had was a injector sensor. So can't complain.

 

I Start, let it run for 30 seconds or so then start driving her easy out of the neighborhood. I usually start getting heat as I hit the main roads. I've done this with all of my cars because they warm up faster (which means I get heat faster). Plus I'm not wasting gas just letting it idle for 5 minutes (I know, @.4 gals per hour idle rate, it's not much, but every little bit helps in the long run).

 

The only vehicle I let "warm" is the Willys. Not for the engine, but I have to let the 80 weight in the transmission roll around a little or it is impossible to shift at -20f. It is like silly putty in the transmission at -20f.

 

Above 40 degrees F, I just let the engine rpms settle then go.

Down to about 32 (freezing) degrees F, I let the rpms drop and let it run 30 seconds to a minute.

If you are talking singles digits to below 0 F. I am going to let it run 1 to 2 minutes or up to 5 (depending on how cold) and then drive very slowly until the engine and other components begins to warm.

There is more to warming up a car than just engine oil flow (although that is the single most important factor) and I think that should be something to keep in mind a little.

The transmission is warming, the exhaust, the belts the pulleys. It is my opinion that a little warmth in the engine compartment helps prevent overall wear and tear on other non-engine components. I will add though my FDII warms up faster than any vehicle I have ever owned and that is probably partly due to the engine oil cooler sharing the wealth of heat generated by the engine. Even in extreme cold that needle moves off of C in less than a minute.

I also use 0w20 full synth in order to increase the ease of oil flow.

Of course, longer times are in play if I have to wait for the defroster and my manual efforts to clear the windows.

5 minutes seems a bit excessive unless it is -30 out.

 

my Honda Civic's auto-transmission shifts MUCH better if the car is warmed up. if the temperature is cold outside, i will let the car run for 5 minutes.

 

hmmmm...

I wonder if I can hook-up the oil line to my heated seats

seems like UPKEV described MY start methods perfectly.

I need to get the remote start installed on my Pat. I remember some mornings having to remote start my car and let it idle 5 minutes. Thats the time it took me to shovel a path from my front door to my car! *lol*

 

I always use my remote start in the summer to get all the hot air out(about 2 minutes) In the winter about 3 or 5 minutes depending on the temp but I love my remote start.I especially like showing the manager at the Jeep dealership. She said there was no way to add a remote start so of course I had to show her and she was suprised. Just as I was suprised when they told me I already had an alarm system besides my viper!! I would have only installed a car starter otherwise oh well

 

Here's my take on this after having driven for over 50 years in the north east.

Let the engine idle long enough to get the oil warmed into the cylinder heads, with today's engines this should only be for a couple of minutes.

Do not rev the engine when it is cold. Keep from doing jack rabbit starts. Once the temp gauge comes up from the bottom, you are good to go.

Letting the car sit outside idling, to let the heater warm the car while you sit inside with a cup of coffee, may be comfortable but could result in shorter engine life. If you DO want to do this, you should change over to the new oils like Mobil One. My dealer recommends that synthetic oil be used when the car will be idling a lot, for example if you use it for deliveries.

I do love how quickly my car warms up in cold weather and the heated seats are a God send!

 

warm-up & rad blocker

With the chilly weather coming in, I noticed a gradual increase in warm-up time & decrease in mpg, not surprisingly. So I dusted off the DIY rad blocker panels from last Winter, and installed 2 of 3 panels between the rad & front grill: to speed-up warm up and to reduce slide in mpg. With the Fall ambient temp of 10 deg C (50 F), I tried 66% rad coverage, instead of of 90% blockage in the depth of winter. With this partial block, the coolant temp never exceeds the top center mark of the OEM temp gauge.

Last winter, the rad blocker exceeded its purposes: Reduced warm-up time; Retained most of the engine compartment heat for near-summer-like mpg; AND reduced the salt slush/spray from coating the rad & engine. All for $10 of materials and 2 hrs of work (spreaded over couple of days).

See link for construction and measurements, post-reply #15 onwards. Before the finger-numbing season arrives...

http://www.jeeppatriot.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9277

 

Gotta love remote start! I know guys who use remote start not just to warm the engine for a few minutes, but to melt the friggin snow too! NOT me though - wastes too much gas.
In "cold" weather (below 10 degrees F ?), I let the engine run for maybe 5 minutes before driving off. Other then that, I just start 'er up and go. Drive the 1st few minutes "easy" to give the lubricants a chance to flow (old habits die hard).

 

I use my auto start to start the Jeep in Cali to cool it off, and in Utah, to warm it up - heat.

The only engines I ever really baby'd were the ones in Cessna's since they were stretched pretty thin for power and had a carburetor. I've read before that with a fuel injected system that idling a vehicle really doesn't do much but waste fuel. I just do it because I don't like a cold vehicle when I get in!

Here is a link to something similar I've read, one I'd rather not link since it is a tree hugger one, but it's late and I don't feel like trying to search the subject indepth:

http://outofgreen.ca/news/2009/01/

Any opinions?

Disclaimer: Nothing wrong with tree huggers, just that I know some people would go to the site and have a bias... no agenda here!

 

I like to let my vehicles warm up for about 5-10 minutes before taking off, simply just to make sure everything is well lubricated, warmed up, and if there are any problems I have the time to notice. That's just me though, lot easier to notice a rough idle, cough, misfire, etc... when the vehicle is warming up, instead of just taking off and wondering what the hell is wrong with your ride.

 

At low temp, I start it up, let it idle for around 30 sec to 1 minute and then, I drive slowly for a couple of KM. I find that it warms faster than letting the Patriot idle for 5 minutes or more.

A good reading: http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/transportation/idling/warm-up.cfm?attr=8

Contrary to popular belief, excessive idling is not an effective way to warm up your vehicle, even in cold weather. The best way to warm it up is to drive it. In fact, with today's computer-controlled engines, even on cold winter days, usually no more than two to three minutes of idling is enough warm-up time needed for the average vehicle before starting to drive – but make sure that windows are free from snow and properly defrosted before driving away!