Does Driving With A Cold Engine Damage It?

[SAM LOVERS HER TOYOTAS]

HI GUYS

I was just wondering...i never have enough time to warm up my car each morning before work as im a typical woman always running late lol! I drive 2/3 miles to work and i tend to use my heater on cold mornings to keep my feet warm and demist my windows! Would this cause any damage or affect my engine in any way??? I've only had my 1.6 SR 2006 for a couple of months now and she came with a full history which im intending to up-keep myself rather than pay a dealer coz its a lot cheaper yet i will buy all the service parts from my toyota dealer and keep the receipts...i just want to take good care of her...i intend to change my engine oil every 6 months due to my regular short run stop N start driving (if anyone can recommend what oils best for the job?)...and i intend to change my gearbox oil before winter which your supposed to every 20k i heard...and i will be putting in some Cataclean at my fill up this week...So i really do intend on looking after her...she's only done 45k and is still a baby and drives like a dream...she had an oil service before i bought her at the dealer and looking at the oil now its still running pretty white clear rather than golden brown!!! Please let me know what you guys think. Thanks n cheers in advance!

Sammy

[AE_92]

HI GUYS

I was just wondering...i never have enough time to warm up my car each morning before work as im a typical woman always running late lol! I drive 2/3 miles to work and i tend to use my heater on cold mornings to keep my feet warm and demist my windows! Would this cause any damage or affect my engine in any way??? I've only had my 1.6 SR 2006 for a couple of months now and she came with a full history which im intending to up-keep myself rather than pay a dealer coz its a lot cheaper yet i will buy all the service parts from my toyota dealer and keep the receipts...i just want to take good care of her...i intend to change my engine oil every 6 months due to my regular short run stop N start driving (if anyone can recommend what oils best for the job?)...and i intend to change my gearbox oil before winter which your supposed to every 20k i heard...and i will be putting in some Cataclean at my fill up this week...So i really do intend on looking after her...she's only done 45k and is still a baby and drives like a dream...she had an oil service before i bought her at the dealer and looking at the oil now its still running pretty white clear rather than golden brown!!! Please let me know what you guys think. Thanks n cheers in advance!

Sammy

as long as you don't start the car from cold and redline it (rev the engine to its max rpm) then it should be ok

you should only rev it to 3,000rpm max while the engine is cold

hope that helps

[kev25v6]

Just dont thrash the engine from cold and you wont get any problems. People have cars over in Alaska where it is a lot colder than here and they drive fine.Oil and filter every 12 months is fine for 95 percent of cars, alot of people dont even bother changing the oil and their cars still work. Ive never changed the gearbox oil on any of my cars, never even had it checked.Unless its an automatic I would not bother with the expense of having it changed. Dont bother with any fuel supplements, they dont make any difference to the car, only to your wallet. For my cars i change the oil/air/pollen filter every 12 months, spark plugs/fuel filter every 24 months, not had one brake down on me yet.

[Corrolla18]

As previously stated would not recomend hard driving till engines up to op temp. However as for oil changes I would say the more often the better - when I did my IMI qualies at college the tutor there used to say that a modern motor will run clean for all it's usefull life with regular oil changes. I do mine every 3k. You probably can service a car every 12 months(dependant on milage)and many manufacturers recomend this, but I would not class this as good maintanence.

[rallyfan1986]

10,000 miles is a good figure to go for with oil changes

and toyota oil and filter would be the best one to go for

[mcchunkers]

As previously stated would not recomend hard driving till engines up to op temp. However as for oil changes I would say the more often the better - when I did my IMI qualies at college the tutor there used to say that a modern motor will run clean for all it's usefull life with regular oil changes. I do mine every 3k. You probably can service a car every 12 months(dependant on milage)and many manufacturers recomend this, but I would not class this as good maintanence.

every 3k? bit on the overkill side mate - assuming that you drive the average 10/12k miles a year, then 6 month/6k mile intervals are fine i'd say, but four oil changes a year = throwing money down the drain. unless you can 'aquire' good oil cheaper than the rest of us lol. ah well, whatever floats yer boat...

[CorollaD4D]

your questions have been answered just take it easy on the cold start. where did you hear/who told you gear box oil needs change every 20K?

also cataclean once or every now and then is ok but in my experience don't get to fancy with toyotas and they're fine. just do the regular servicing etc and the rest should look after itself.

with your oil changes rather than doing it every 6months just do it after 7-8K and that's fine. Use toyota oil and filters they are good.

[richard.c]

Hi,

Re cold Starting - are you parked in the road, driveway or garage ?

If you are in a garage you can use one of those small oil filled tubular heaters under the engine during the cold weather, the engine and cabin then warm up in a minute or so.

If you are on a driveway can you let the engine run for 5 mins before you set off, without somewone nicking it ?

Failing any of those, then as previoulsy said just don't go mad with the revs until the temp gauge gets up to normal - should be there in 2 miles.

If cold starting / initial running was such a problem you would have known about it before now.

I've driven straight off in cars parked on driveways for many years - 150k to 200k miles no problems.

Re servicing - yes Toyoata parts are good, but at what price, check out your local Motor Factors - they have some good stuff, but don,t just go for the cheapest.

With either, always ask about some discount, even Toyota will give some when pushed ( I always ask for the standard parts prices not the gold plated priced ones )

Your car is like mine 4years old around 40k, check your service book, you will see you should be changing the gearbox oil, easy, just two drain/filler plugs, and the brake fluid also needs changing.

Check the conditions of the brake pads and discs for your own peace of mind.

Engine oil, well you sound as though you will be doing well under 10k a year so unless the oil is getting really black in 6 months, then changing one a year should be fine.

Lots of independant garages will only do basic things as a standard service so check what was done last time.

Spark plugs and Cabin Pollen filter also need doing - mine was totally choked.

Also consider one of those Air Conditioner cleaner spray cans about a £8; you stick it in the cabin and release with the fan recirculating - I tried one, certainly a lot fresher.

Also look under the bonnet lid to see if you have a sticker saying Longlife coolant in use - thats good for 100k, if not then again nows the time to change.

[technoprospirit]

if you look in the owners manual it actually suggests just driving it instead of leaving it to warm up on cold days

[acetip]

HI GUYS

I was just wondering...i never have enough time to warm up my car each morning before work as im a typical woman always running late lol! I drive 2/3 miles to work and i tend to use my heater on cold mornings to keep my feet warm and demist my windows! Would this cause any damage or affect my engine in any way??? I've only had my 1.6 SR 2006 for a couple of months now and she came with a full history which im intending to up-keep myself rather than pay a dealer coz its a lot cheaper yet i will buy all the service parts from my toyota dealer and keep the receipts...i just want to take good care of her...i intend to change my engine oil every 6 months due to my regular short run stop N start driving (if anyone can recommend what oils best for the job?)...and i intend to change my gearbox oil before winter which your supposed to every 20k i heard...and i will be putting in some Cataclean at my fill up this week...So i really do intend on looking after her...she's only done 45k and is still a baby and drives like a dream...she had an oil service before i bought her at the dealer and looking at the oil now its still running pretty white clear rather than golden brown!!! Please let me know what you guys think. Thanks n cheers in advance!

Sammy

hi sammy

warming your engine up before driving off is not going to do your engine a lot of good.start your engine up as soon as you get in it, then put on your seat belt etc then drive off,take it nice and steady till temp gauge shows normal,this takes less than a mile with a 1.6 vvi (a least with mine it does)if your using a 5w-30 Castrol or Mobil oil you will not need to change less than every 12 months,if under 10000 mles.

as you do very short runs to work,it would pay to give the car a longer run when chance occurs to clear things out.

dont use any additives in system.dont use supermarket petrol.

if your gearbox oil level is ok there is no need to change it,it should last for 100000 plus but if you feel happier doing it, then go for it.

[Jamesbelfast]

I would suggest allowing the engine to idle for around 30 seconds or so before driving off. This gives time for the engine oil to reach all parts of the engine before it is asked to take any load. Avoid harsh acceleration until the temp needle starts to rise and all should be fine.

When it comes to changing engine oil don't be fooled into thinking if it still looks clean then it's OK. Engine oil even the best quality can become contaminated with a broad range of combustion pollutants, acids and water long before it even begins to look dirty. And always change the filter - no point in flushing out a dirty oil filter with clean oil - is there!

Apart from lubricating many people tend to forget the second most important role engine oil does inside an engine and that's to cool all the moving components. Good quality clean unpolluted oil does this job so much better. Obviously short runs where the engine is liable to be running richer will tend to get contaminated much sooner.

As a rule changing engine oil evry 6 months or every 6,000 whichever comes first prevents the build up of contamination and in fact makes for less air-borne pollution via the exhaust.:)

[SAM LOVERS HER TOYOTAS]

Wow...some of the most lengthy and interesting feedback that i've received ever...THANKS Guys...took me a while to read through them all! I know where i am now...cheers!!!

Sammy

p/s And Richard C...good to hear from you again...nearly got the popcorn out with yours lol...are you planning on doing your own services? I've read and re-read the service history book to see what needs carrying out at intervals...thats where i found out about the gearbox oil change at 20k...kinda makes sense...when i asked my local Toyota dealer what they carry out on a minor service i nearly laughed...£150+vat and you dont get much at all...Quoted me £20 p/month for a 3 year service plan...2 minors n 1 major...=£720.00...Hmmmm...think about the parts i could buy!

[dervdave]

Please let me know what you guys think.

I think you should worrying Sammy, just use and have the car serviced as normal :)

[richard.c]

Hi,

if your gearbox oil level is ok there is no need to change it,it should last for 100000 plus but if you feel happier doing it, then go for it.

Well don't know where you get the 100k from for the gearbox oil ...?

Both the Haynes manual and the Toyota service book for my 2006 1.6 3ZZ FE state it should be changed at 40k.

Do some come with a long life gear oil like the red coolant ?

Wonder if Sams 20k is because the power plant is expected to have a harder life ? or is it really just a level check at 20k ?

Sam - if you want to do your own servicing then 99% of it is real easy and you know a proper job has been done.

Folk tend to think Mr.T does some magic work on their cars when being serviced - only regard the price !

Do things one at a time rather than trying doing a total service in a day, build up you tool box steadily, a good set of spanners, a torque wrench and an oil filter remover for starters.

Add a few things to your xmas list - like decent a trolley jack and axle stands, Machine Mart do some good ones

After 4 years and then for however long you keep it, as long as you have the parts receipts doubt the dealer service stamp will have that much effect on the resale price.