How Long Do You Warm Your Lexus Up Every Morning?

[aaron.q.wang]

I searched on the website and found people always have different opinion on warm the engine up. Do you think it is necessary to warm car up before driving on the road? If necessary, how long do you warm it up? From the manual of my 96 Lexus es 300, it says you need to warm it up for 10 mintues. Is it true???

Since the very cold winter where i live with, I warm up my Lexus for 3 minutes and then drive it with the speed less than 40km/h for the other 5 minutes to let my lexus Es 300 fully warmed. I think my method is good for the car and the gas. Can anybody has experience on this give me some idea about your way to warm car?

Thank you for your comments.

[meeters]

I've never really warmed up my 99 es300. I start it in the garage (with the door open), put on the seat belt, connect the mp3 player, turn on the seat heaters, etc. By then the idle has dropped down to under 2k, I back out of the drive way and take off. I drive gently until it shifts into OD.

[NeiLtYmE]

no need to warm up long intervals. about a minute or so... and definetely drive very gently until the temp gauge becomes normal... this can take up to 20 minutes

i do about 3 ish minutes too... especially if im cleaning snow or ice off my car in the morning, if i havent driven in more than a day, or if its extremely cold. below 16 degrees is where i become a bit more precautious.

[NeiLtYmE]

the manual actually says warm up 10 minutes ???

i guess i missed that one. does it say why they ask that the car be left idle for a whole 10 minutes? that sound very extreme. think that if you added up all those minutes of idling in the morning or at cold start up... thats like an hour every week or more. the most gas use is at start up ... a whole 10 minutes will stab your fuel economy like nothing else but a hitchcock movie

[jragosta]

I searched on the website and found people always have different opinion on warm the engine up. Do you think it is necessary to warm car up before driving on the road? If necessary, how long do you warm it up? From the manual of my 96 Lexus es 300, it says you need to warm it up for 10 mintues. Is it true???

Since the very cold winter where i live with, I warm up my Lexus for 3 minutes and then drive it with the speed less than 40km/h for the other 5 minutes to let my lexus Es 300 fully warmed. I think my method is good for the car and the gas. Can anybody has experience on this give me some idea about your way to warm car?

Thank you for your comments.

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10 minutes is ridiculous.

Most modern engines are designed to be warmed up for half a minute to a minute and then driven reasonably gently (no fast acceleration, etc) for a while 50 km/h sounds overly cautious to me - but maybe I'm just too aggressive.

[DobieG]

I warm it up for about 2-3 minutes; by then the rpms are at 1K. If I don't let it warm up, the transmission clunks when shifting from Park to Drive/Reverse. I've also noticed that the actual movement of the shifter feels tight, as well. After it's warmed up, pulling the shifter from Park to Drive/Reverse is much smoother.

[NeiLtYmE]

yeah... those im a bit more careful with this car since oddly the car was programmed to sustain a higher rpm's during colder start ups. its kinda uncomfy when your trying to drive gently and the rpms in second gear are @ 2500-2900. it automatically make you feel like your being agressive. But it does aide in charging up the battery faster on those real cold days. I drive other cars durning cold start up and they are funny when the temps get down at 5, 10 degrees.

[SW03ES]

Run a search, there was a huge thread about this last year. Lots of good info on there.

[NeiLtYmE]

thank clunk is experienced when your dogbone mount is a bit weak. i get that too..... and you can get rid of that clunk by shifting to drive first and then shifting to reverse right after. this makes it much smoother and you dont have to feel that thump.

[mxl4729]

I would say you should not be warming up your car for more then 1 min. after that you are doing more bad then good. just take it slow till your temp gauge is at normal temp

[DobieG]

thank clunk is experienced when your dogbone mount is a bit weak.  i get that too..... and you can get rid of that clunk by shifting to drive first and then shifting to reverse right after.  this makes it much smoother and you dont have to feel that thump.

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Thanks for the info. The clunk isn't noticeable at all when the engine is warmed up (between 1-1.5 rpm). It's only evident when I don't let the car warm up after it's been sitting for several hours or overnight. Is that still the dogbone mount? Also, where is the dogbone located? I know it's behind the radiator by the oil filter, but what does it look like? I wasn't really able to see anything resembling a dogbone...

[LexKid630]

During the cold winter months i warm my cars up for about 5-10 minutes. Mainly so i don't have to drive in a cold car LOL. I have read in many places that warming the engine up before driving is excellent for the car. It makes the oil thinner and easier to flow through the engine parts. Even with warming it up i can still tell when taking off that its under some stress. But it must be better than no warming at all. During the summer when it's warm i turn on the A/C for a minute or 2, but the engine is warm to begin with so it's not that needed i don't think.

[camlex]

Life is not good as you guys have, 15 Sec. and that engine catch the fire.

[VGR]

the manual of my 96 Lexus es 300, it says you need to warm it up for 10 mintues.

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No Toyota / Lexus manual has ever said "you need to warm it up for 10 mintues."

Look at the manual again - perhaps you misread it.

[aaron.q.wang]

No Toyota / Lexus manual has ever said "you need to warm it up for 10 mintues."

Look at the manual again - perhaps you misread it.

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Thank you guys above for your comments.

My 1996 ES 300 Manuel is French edition, on page 108 under the subtitle "DEMARRAGE ET CONDUITE", it says:

"......

2. Une fois que le moteur a tourne pendant environ dix minutes, le vehicule est pret a demarrer.

Par temps de gel, laisser chauffer le moteur pendant quelques minutes avant la conduite. Ne pas quitter le vehicule pendant que le moteur chauffe."

[sonewsy]

Warm it up for 10-30 seconds, longer if I pull up to mailbox and check mail. Then I drive it under 40 mph for five minutes until I hit 95 S.

[dickholy]

i live in buffalo and the weather is extremely cold especially in the morning. i always warm it up for like 10 mins before i move it. i park it in the yard. i got es300 97`, so i know this senior grader need such a special care.

[Sal's Dad]

When it's chilly (under 20F or so) my 2000 S300 will stall if I put it in gear without warming up for a couple minutes.

Even then, it's a bit disconcerting driving local streets at 30mph, with the engine racing till it warms up... seems to do this even at warmer (like 40F) temperatures.

Sal's Dad

[SW03ES]

I have read in many places that warming the engine up before driving is excellent for the car. It makes the oil thinner and easier to flow through the engine parts.

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You thought wax was a gimmick too though ;)

just kidding lol

There's no reason to warm the car up. The majority of engine wear happens when the engine is cold, it takes the car longer to warm up when its idling then when its driving slowly, so its best to start it, let it fun for 10 seconds or so, and take off. The Lexus transmission is designed to hold gears longer when its cold to warm the engine up faster.

[vcv10guy]

Ya I let it idle for about 10-15 seconds or until the RPMs drop from 2000 to about 1500 or so (when the engines cold, if warm no more than 10 secs). Then I take off driving at normal rate of speed.

[ArmyofOne]

Ya I let it idle for about 10-15 seconds or until the RPMs drop from 2000 to about 1500 or so (when the engines cold, if warm no more than 10 secs).  Then I take off driving at normal rate of speed.

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Step 1: Walk to car.

Step 2: Unlock door.

Step 3: Insert key in ignition.

Step 4: Turn key.

Step 5: Close door.

Step 6: Shift to "D".

Step 7: drive away.

the time it takes for you to do step 4-7 is all the time required to let the engine idle. idling is worse for your engine than driving it while its cold.

[jragosta]

Step 1: Walk to car.

Step 2: Unlock door.

Step 3: Insert key in ignition.

Step 4: Turn key.

Step 5: Close door.

Step 6: Shift to "D".

Step 7: drive away.

the time it takes for you to do step 4-7 is all the time required to let the engine idle.  idling is worse for your engine than driving it while its cold.

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Mostly correct. However, you forgot a step: Fasten seat belt.

[ArmyofOne]

Step 1: Walk to car.

Step 2: Unlock door.

Step 3: Insert key in ignition.

Step 4: Turn key.

Step 5: Close door.

Step 6: Shift to "D".

Step 7: drive away.

the time it takes for you to do step 4-7 is all the time required to let the engine idle.  idling is worse for your engine than driving it while its cold.

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Mostly correct. However, you forgot a step: Fasten seat belt.

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oops... :P