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Do you warm up your CRV before driving?

28K views 18 replies 18 participants last post by  jdcrv  
#1 ·
Do you warm up your CRV before driving? If so, how long?

So I've read and watched some video regarding the "Break-in" process. During the first 1,000 miles, I warmed up (about 3-4 minutes) my CRV before driving. Now it's over 2,000 miles. I just warm it up for about 1-2 minutes. Is it still necessary to warm cars before driving?
 
#2 ·
At 2550 miles i warm it up each 10mins or as long as the timer allowes during my morning Cup of Joe. Car should be ok with 2-3mins or in some cases 30 seconds. But i am not about to count how long during my morning ritual. This discussions going to open the floodgates. Just do what ever you are comfortable with. Maybe 2-3 mins until you get to 1000miles.
 
#3 ·
As many will probably tell you, warming up a modern engine is not necessary. It is generally a waste of fuel and contributes to air pollution as the car isn't moving or doing anything useful. Our engines will come up to temperature much more quickly while being driven than they will at idle and this will get the engine operating more efficiently sooner.

All that being said, it is generally recommended that you drive somewhat gently until the engine is up to operating temperatures, so no hot-rodding it or flooring it until the engine and drive train are warmed up.

When I start my CR-V I let it idle until just after the legal warning comes up on the center display. That gives it enough time to stabilize a bit and since I'm first backing out of the garage slowly and then proceeding out of the neighborhood carefully it gives it time to start warming up without pushing it too hard at all. I think that's a pretty good balance for taking good care of it.
 
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#4 ·
I had a similar question not too long ago. The community here helped me understand that warming up the engine of my new CR-V (or most modern engines for that matter) is not needed, and that just driving it lightly while temp builds up to regular operating levels is fine.

This video also helped with the reasoning behind it: https://youtu.be/xKALgXDwou4



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#5 ·
Totally unnecessary to warm up a car. The only time it's worth doing, is if you have to clear a few inches of snow off it.
 
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#6 ·
Totally unnecessary in any modern vehicle... last one I had to warm up was my '79 Vette with a Holley Carb
 
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#8 ·
I warm mine up by first telling her how dirty she is and how good she looks. Then I slowly caress her soft leather wheel before I push her button. That usually starts her right up and gets the juices flowing. Then stick her in drive and go to town right away. Like my home life, i'm usually to town in only a couple minutes.
 
#16 · (Edited)
There is no good reason to "warm up" the engine. That is a left over from days past when you had thick oil and cast iron blocks with aluminum pistons that had to expand and conform to the cylinders and for that old thick oil to thin out and circulate properly.

The best procedure is to start the engine but just take your time slipping it into gear. Note that the computer will not let it jerk into gear now, there is a programed delay for good reason. Then there is the oil, its 0W-20. Even when"cold" it will flow nicely. Also, the oil is made to "stick" to parts so that moving parts do have lubrication on start up. The oil pressure builds very quickly having oil to the parts even before the transmission is allowed to shift into gear. Driving "reasonably" as you first take off is always a good idea.

I spent over 40 years looking inside more engines than many will ever see. I worked with the engineers that designed them, the technical people who tested them in the dyno rooms and the field service people who repaired and serviced them. If you want to waste money and do no good for your engine then you start it up and let it sit there and idle for ten minutes. Its you car and your dime but you really aren't helping anything. Not the air, not your pocketbook and not the longevity of your engine. Why do you think new car engines today routinely go 200,000 plus miles without issue?
 
#19 ·
Is this really all we have to talk about here now? Warming up a car for a preset period of time? Gimme a break! I guess next we'll be talking about how we only drive on Sundays and to the market once a wk. Oh and let's change that oil every 1000 mi just because.
Just get in the car and drive it. It's not gonna become a 1965 Cobra AC so no need to treat it as such. Have a nice day!
 
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