Featured So don't warm up your car. Just go after 30sec.

On the bright side it's an ideal scenario for those of us who would never think of buying a new car and only buy used. A decade ago the amount of Gen2 Prius available for sale with only 100K miles made me a happy camper. And now 10 years later the price difference between an old Prius with a 100K miles have not gone down at all compared to the price of one with 200K miles.

 

so much for business insider and their stock buy daily recommendation....

duh

Yes, but not in the context of the previous statement.

round and round we go , where we stop - do you know?

there is probably some more to that statement defining when it safe to drive and the driver can actually see out the windshield,,,,,, common sense? what's that?

sure, as long as the inside has no frost on the windshield

how cold and what other conditions....

again what other conditions - geez, what next....

ey yi yi - Where Did the Phrase "Aye Yai Yai" Come From? | Mental Floss
oy vay .....
is there actually one scenario that fits everyone and or every set of conditions and or temperatures?

 

If you’ve got a garage, if at all possible (it isn’t a complete hoarder den), use it. Block heater is good too.

 

The thread appears to be troll bait. This forum is devoted to modern cars made long after the specter of Y2K was past. The original post, on the other hand, is quoting experts from the days before catalytic converters, when 4 bbl carbs were king. I don't see a single point in the OP that applies to a Toyota Hybrid.

I often warm up my car if the windows are frosted or fogged. I can do it with a simple push of a button on the remote. When I'm ready to go I unplug the charging cord take off. If it's very, very cold the ICE might kick in to help out the heat pump, but that's pretty rare here in central California.

As for blanket assertions about oil behavior when cold, doesn't that really depend on the oil that is used and the car design? Synth VS dead dino? Additives? Placement of the oil pickup and so much more?

 

Can confirm. When doing anything major beyond idling in drive; like big hill climbing, the HV battery will deplete quickly.

 

Yes! this .....



....... because when it's THIS cold, & your drives are under 10 minutes for nearly ½ a year sometimes, there is no such thing as warming up .....
we keep the garage at 53°f - use block heaters AND pipe foam for grill blocking.
.

 

I hope it is not true. I often sit in my Prius in the cold with the heat on reading or on the phone, and it fluctuates from battery to engine and back...is this really bad for it?

 

Most every hybrid or PHEV designed would be in trouble if it were bad for it. So - no.
.

 

For mpg it’s disastrous, you’re using gas and getting nowhere.

Toyota seems to think it's detrimental to the engine too, lists "excessive idling" as a criteria for using 5k miles or 6 month oil change interval:



My 2 cents: use that oil change interval anyway.

 

My house gets terrible (zero!) MPG, but I still let it burn gas all winter because that makes me more comfortable inside.

A recommendation to change the oil every 5k could be an acceptable price, if your circumstances involve a lot of time in the car and you're letting the car keep you comfortable.

 

Ah yes I do use that interval anyway...does that mean that I'm not seriously doing damage? lol I dont know where else im gonna do my reading. Gets too stuffy cold or hot without the heat/ac/fans lol

 

Yeah, cars used to be conveyances, .cept more and more now, they're shelter pods.

 

I think what it means, is Toyota thinks an engine sitting idling for protracted period is suffering "somewhat" more wear-and-tear.

 

Either that, or it's not making enough heat to keep unwanted condensing ingredients out of the oil, which then could be harder on the engine, if not changed often enough.

 

LIke many other issue with language, there is no accepted standard for excessive in relation to "idle time". Is 5 minutes idling excessive? Is a big rig idling overnight excessive? Is 15 minutes idling to melt ice from a windshield after scraping most of it off by hand, excessive? Just look at the length of this thread.

 

This issue of the original topic is idling after a cold start. At that time, you want to engine and fluids to come up temperature quickly for efficiency and reduced wear. Idling, when the engine is burning the least amount of fuel, will take longer for that than starting off on your journey. Don't go racing off right away, but since you likely started in a parking lot or residential area, you probably wouldn't be able to realistically do so.

Idling a warmed up engine for extended periods isn't the best thing to do, but it likely is worse for the oil than actually the engine. It is less of a problem in a hybrid. The engine isn't on all that time, and when it is, it is running at a speed above idling. Part of the potential issue when at idling is that the oil pump is running at a slower speed. Which means lower pressure. Plus the areas that rely on oil splashing for lubrication aren't as splishy splashy at the idle speed.

Toyota uses the same oil change interval and language regardless of whether the car is an ICE, hybrid, or PHEV though

In this case, it's more about cars being used as taxis or police patrol.

 

NO. Not bad at all.
Except for the gas you burn.

 

OR.....maybe it just tends to wear out or contaminate the oil sooner ???
I don't believe it is a problem at all .........unless maybe it is done for hours and HOURS over days and DAYS.

 

One thing, during first few blocks on a cold start, engine rpm will hold steady, regardless if you’re pushing gas pedal or not: it’s just running at somewhat fast idle, and propulsion is all from the electric motors.

 

That may depend on the model.
If/when my C runs on electric only, it's top speed is about 10 MPH......maybe less.