I'm the type of person that will go out and start my jeep when it's very cold, and let it it warm up for about five mintues, I think this helps the engine alot more than just jumping in your car and leaving. I read reviews, saying that it is bad for the engine to idle and warm up, so what is it, is letting your jeep warm up better than just jumping in it and going or not?

 

I think the warming up is more for the driver than required by the engine.

 

When my jeep is happy, so am i

 

I always tend to be more conservative while in open loop. I'm sure the XJ's time spent in that mode is short lived though. My Subaru is a pissed off ******* in open loop but the XJ doesn't seem to care.

 

True.

 

Which is true?

 

This is true.

 

I'm not trying to ruffle your feathers, but what makes you think that? Just trying to understand why there are mixed reviews. And also do you agree with this review? http://antranik.org/the-myth-of-warming-up-your-engine/

 

I tend to start engine and wait a minute first thing in the morning, mine is diesel so runs different anyway.
Once on the move keep revs low until temp creeps up.

 

I think the article lays out a pretty good argument against a long idle warm-up period. He is not saying fire it up and then race it down the street. Rather start it up. Give it 10-30 seconds and then drive light until it reaches operating temp.

The statement "the engine oil provides the best protection against friction between all the moving metal parts when it’s completely warmed up." I'm not sure I completely agree with that. The oil would be providing protection before it is completely warmed up, but when its really cold I can see more wear occurring until oil is warmed up and it would warm up faster driving vs. just idling.

 

I think he is mistaking an engine for a camel.
Cut the BS. Warm your engine up for a few minutes in cold weather. You need the flow of lubricants in all the systems (engine, trans, steering). You will not have proper lubrications with very cold thick lubricants. Letting it idle maintains a minimum stress condition till the fluids can flow freely and at proper pressure and volumes. The balance of the engine construction needs to expand to normal operating volumes and clearances. The Cat needs to heat up to effectively treat exhaust by products. The throttle body enrichment needs to lean down to be most kind to the environment. While it is warming up you can clean off the exterior windows and allow the defroster to do the inside job (how many putzes have I seen driving down the road taking our lives at risk trying to look out through snow laden windows). Really, what's your hurry? Give your XJ a break, it deserves it. Run easy the at the start of your trip to let the TCase and diff fluids have an opportunity to normallize and circulate. The Peep has 655250 Km on the dial and still runnin daily. End of debate.

 

I agree with you 100% especially with the windows iced over,

What throws me off the worse is when he said. (This is a terrible habit because your engine struggles to warm up in subfreezing temperatures, and until it does, it may take up to 15 minutes and all the while it is experiencing extreme wear and tear.)
Kinda funny when my jeep made it 300,000 miles with all the extreme wear.

 

I start mine up, turn the heat off, let it sit for no more than a minute then drive off casually. She warms up real quick that way..quicker than sitting at idle.

Plus you're just wasting gas when youre at idle.

 

I usually just let it run for 30 seconds to a minute, just to let things get lubricated or whatever. Lately though been letting it run for a good 10 minutes, just for some heat in the cab (-20s up in North Dakota!).

 

Warming up is best done user a light load. Leaving the vehicle running for long periods at idle causes moisture build up in the cat and the rest of the exhaust.

I'm not saying jump in fire it up and go, you want to give it a 30 seconds to a minute to idle down. After its short warm up drive conservatively for a few minutes. You aren't just warming the engine, all lubricated and greased parts are going to need to warm up and running the engine alone won't warm them all up.

I spent years working in dealerships in the snowbelt and have seen cars left at idle for 45 minutes to an hour. You can literally hear the moisture in the exhaust, the cars sound like they are gargling. When you hit the gas water blasts out the tail pipe. That said, when you see water pour out of the exhaust of a car in front of you as they accelerate from a stop sign or traffic light you can almost guarantee they let it idle for a while before they drove it.