Winter Tips For Es300?

[SmoothRide]

Hi guys-Thanks for all the good advice on the octane issue. My next question is if anyone has any tips for winter maintanance. I live in chicago and our winters tend to be extreme. How long do any of you cold weather folks let your engine warm up before heading out? Are there any extra precautions I shold take for the upcoming winter?

thanks again-

Miles

[amf1932]

You really don't have to warm up the car before heading out. A couple of minutes is sufficient. Just drive it easy until the temperature gauge shows it's up to operating temperature.

Keep your tires inflated to the proper PSI.

Make sure you have the proper coolant concentration in your radiator.

The window washer bottle should have an anti-freeze solution instead of plain water.

If you bring your car to a carwash, have them wash the undercarriage if possible. This helps to get the corrosive road salt off the car.

[Ronald]

Use 5W-30 oil instead of 10W-30. Your starter and battery will love you for this. As noted above, be sure to clean the undercarriage if you encounter road salt. This is very important.

Also, if you elect to go through a car wash, be sure the car is dry before you leave it overnight. You may have to open the doors and trunk to wipe off any water along the body. The doors will freeze shut if there is water close to contact points. Take my word on this.

Otherwise, this is a very reliable car and should give you no problems. The leather upholstered seats will be very cold if you park outside, but that's what the seat heaters are for.

Also, be sure you close the ski pass through on the rear seat. When you open the trunk, in a cold Chicago wind, you'll know what I mean.

[SW03ES]

Ditto what all have said.

Don't let the car warm up at all, start and drive. Modern cars are not designed to be warmed up this is a common misconception. It is better for the engine if you just take off. It'll be fully warm in a mile or two.

[93lexuses]

Yeah i just start mine up and go. Well i start it up turn on the heated seats then go.

The window washer bottle should have an anti-freeze solution instead of plain water.

So true. My washer bottle is cracked (which i have to get a new one) because someone put water in it. I guess it froze up in the winter then cracked and now it won't hold anything. When i bought it, it was like that so i really have to get a new one and i keep forgetting until i am riding down the highway and some big truck rides past and splashes that slush crap on my windows. Then i remember and say i can't see. :D

[Fobulous]

Not sure if this is true but i heard that during hard freezes one should not engage the hand brake?

[SpeedRacer959]

Engauging the parking-brake shouldn't be a problem on these cars, but in some cases when the pads are warm when you engauge it, and it's cold out (ie. well below freezing), the brake pads may stick to the disk.

This of course will not be enough of a factor to keep you from moving, but it may make some noise until they heat up and release.

I choose not to set my parking brake in the winter because I've had bad experiences w/ other cars.

-Jimi

[wwest]

I would disconnect the A/C refrigerant pressure sensor.

see why:

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/cars

"wintertime A/C tips"

thread.

And:

"03 Camry - air smells bad "

Can also be helpful.

[NeiLtYmE]

Ditto what all have said.

Don't let the car warm up at all, start and drive. Modern cars are not designed to be warmed up this is a common misconception. It is better for the engine if you just take off. It'll be fully warm in a mile or two.

i kinda disagree....

all the cars ive driven ... When they start up cold in the winter.. The engine runs at higher Rpms...

Newer cars usually start up at about 700-1000 rpms higher than normal idle... then as the engine is heated it drops down..

My lexus starts out at about 2000 rpms... then eventually drops down to about a 1000 and lower after about a minute or little more

started to drive the car right away... as lots of have experienced, provides higher shift points....

warming for about a minute or so...does get this workin a lil smoother than starting it right away...

[SW03ES]

Thats exactly what I'm saying. The higher shift points warm the car up faster, you want to get to optimum operating temp as quickly as possible as 99% of engine wear happens while the engine is cold. It takes 2-3 times longer for the motor to warm up when idling then when being driven.

[amf1932]

I sorta disagree with SW03ES on this point.

Any engine that's very cold should be started and run for about a minute before driving. This is to insure that the lubrication gets to all the points of friction. After driving off you should run the car easily until it reaches operating temperature.

This link explains it better than me: Cold engine

[SW03ES]

Alan-

This is a quote right off of the website you linked to ;)

Start out slowly. A cold engine can burn up to twice as much fuel as a warm engine. And hammering on a cold engine could lead to troubles down the road. Take it easy for the first few minutes of driving until the engine warms up.

Start the car and go. Get into your car and take care of all your pre-drive rituals before starting the car. Letting a cold engine idle is a waste. Adjust the seat and mirrors, light the cigarette, read your directions, buckle up the kids, do whatever you do first. Then start the car and drive. For those in cooler climates, clear off your windows before starting the car. Again, a cold, idling engine will guzzle gas.

They advocate driving carefully, but not idling to warm up.

[amf1932]

My whole point was to say, Maintain moderate speed until engine is warm. ;)

[SW03ES]

Oh, well then we agree ;)

[amf1932]

I agree with you, if you agree with this statement.

Go Easy During Startup: We've all heard the Slick 50 commercials, "Because starting your car is a terrible thing to do." It's actually not that terrible if you follow a few guidelines. First, a cold engine (one that's sat for more than five hours) will have little or no oil left on the moving parts because it has all seeped down into the oil pan. It takes only a few seconds after start-up for the oil pump to adequately lubricate an engine. During those few seconds, however, is when you should keep engine RPMs down to a minimum. How often have you heard (or even been?!) the person who starts his or her car up and immediately floors it? "Helps warm it up," is often the reason given for such behavior. "Helps blow it up," should be your response. Give the engine at least 30 seconds (longer if it has sat for more than 24 hours) before popping it in gear and roaring off.

[SW03ES]

I always wait at least 30 seconds, even in the summer. What I'm saying is there's no point in letting the car idle for 5-10 minutes before driving off. Its better for the engine if you just start moving to fully warm the car up.

[amf1932]

I agree. ;)