When i got my xB in November, I had that blue temp light turn on for like 5 minutes.

it only did it for like 2 weeks. I never seen it turn on anymore in the cold mornings. WTF?

Anyone else??

 

Mine still stays on for a few mins. and I've had it about 3 months. I always wait till it turns off before driving off... Am I wasting my time or is that what you're supposed to do?

 

4 months now and it still burns bright

 

From what I have read about that light, it is there to inform you that the engine is cold and is warming up. It is safe to drive with it on. the sooner you start driving, the faster the light will go away. Right next to the blue temp light, there is a red that informs you when you are overheating.

Inazuma as for you, it is possible the the blub behind that warning light went out. You might want to check just to be sure.

 

I will check it out thanks..

 

What's up Urban...when you first start her up, and the blue light is on, you should drive the car normally, but keep the RPM's under 3k until the light goes away.

I would strongly advise against letting the car "warm up" by idleing the engine...this is the proven worst thing for any engine to do--let alone a cold one, letting it idle. This kills engines faster than most anything.

My buddy still "warms up" the car everytime he drives it...I tried to convince him that it's just hurting the car--but he refuses to listen. Oh well.

 

Thanks Jdm...But why do most people warm up their cars. Where did they get the idea?

 

It was common back in the day, especially in very cold climate areas...

With newer fuel injection cars, once the O2 sensor can read the correct air-fuel mixture, you can drive normally, not aggressive, but normal. The only situation you want to avoid is heavy load under the first 5 minutes of driving...so basically try to avoid steep hills when the car is not yet warm.

The longer you sit idling, the more condensation builds up in the oil. Also, when the engine is cold, the fuel is burnt at a lower temperature, which leads to more carbon build up.

In retrospective--I'd say if you park your car inside a garage, your good to just start her up and go. You *can* idle it enough to adjust your mirrors, steering wheel, etc...but idling it for more than that is just a waste of gas. As long as the car has sufficient oil pressure, it's fine.


Some people just INSIST on warming their cars up by idling them...these are the same people that think 89 and 91 octane make the stock engine perform better. lol.

 

So putting 89 or 91 octane in our cars isn't a good idea. No benefit at all?

 

No real benefit, the engine takes 87--that's what we *should* use.

 

I always thought the higher the octane, the cleaner the fuel was. But I don't know much about cars...I' ve warming up my car

 

A lot of people think that. What it is is the higher octane burns more slowly which helps get a complete burn therefore reducing the amount of unburned gas, which is good for your engine, however higher octane won't improve performance and won't help gas mileage more than maybe 1-2 mpg.... if any. I personally just say use 87-89 and you'll be good.

later
brady

 

Here in Alberta I let my car warm up a bit because it's so damn cold! -25C/-13F lately.

But, if it's doing more harm than good, I guess it's time to change my ways.

 

In that cold of weather I would let it warm up for at least 45 sec to a minute. Oil gets way to thick when you get that cold, plus the oil in the tranny needs to warm up a bit before driving as well

 

Well, Canadian cars also come equipped with block heaters that keep the oil from cooling significantly. I plug my car in every night.. you can hear a difference in the starting sound if it hasn't been, that's for sure!

 

I wish my civic had a block heater I hate starting it on the cold mornings

 

Yea..i'm used to California winters...cold for us is about 30 degrees Farenheit at night....that ____ must be summer time for you fellas huh?

Ah...the joys of living in Sunny So. Cal.

 

if you have a manual trans its not going to warm up unless you are driving since the clutch disengages the engine from the trans.

 

The problem with warming up a car is that people let the engine get to operating temperature then take off like they have been driving for 20 minutes. I heard a while back on a car show is to just start the car, drive easily allowing all components of the car warm up together (engine, tranny, suspension, axles, etc.). This way, you can prevent unnecessary stress on the car.

I would say though, most people let their car warm up so the heater is blowing nice & toasty on them.

JDMxB, how is warming up your engine bad (other than what I mentioned)? Isn't that like saying idling at a stoplight on cold mornings damages your engine too? I not trying to be a dick, I just want to know what you have heard. Thx!

 

i warm up my car every morning til the blue light turn off...

i tried not to, but the shifter feels weird...hard to put in gear...dunno why