In winter, my mechanic told me NOT to warm the car up. It's best to just turn on the ignition and go. But I admit, when it's really chilly in the morning, I warm the car up and put on the heater and defrost before I get in. My car is a 2006 Honda Civic.

I have never ever let the car warm up and I've been driving over fifty years.

The advice Jannie received is just the opposite of what I've found to be the prevailing wisdom. The brothers on NPR's "Car Talk" say that driving off immediately without allowing a little time for the oil to get distributed through the engine will age a car faster than anything else. They say you don't have to wait long......maybe 30 seconds in summer and a minute or so in winter, but it's important that you do this.

I've heard it from other sources as well. I used to start the engine and take off, but I stopped doing that when I learned this.

However, I should emphasize that this practice does not "warm up" the engine. You're just distributing the oil and other fluids; you're not raising the temperature of the engine. Warming up the engine to the point where you can use the heater is a bad idea, I'm told.

I just turn on and go.

Don't know if that's the best idea or not, but my last car was an '89 Caravan that we bought new. I drove it until 2006--without warming it up. And in the 18 years we had it, it had one major repair (new transmission). I now have an FJ, and never warm it up, either--since it's a Toyota, I plan to drive it longer than I had my Dodge.

Only if it's really cold outside, otherwise I let it run for maybe 30 seconds before I take off.

DH warms his up though.

I have remote start for my car...Yes, a few minutes before I leave to get in the car, I start the engine.
Not to warm up the engine...but to let the heat or AC make the inside of the car comfortable for me.
So, I guess I could say I warm up the engine - for me, not the car.

PS - car has just crossed the 100,000 mile mark....and works just fine - it's a Suzuki.

I start the engine as soon as I get in the car. Then I buckle my seatbelt and get out my sunglasses, and take off immediately. I allow those few seconds to be the warm up.

Same as Sheila.

My son drives a big rig that he parks on my property near my home.

He lets it warm up for a long time whether the weather is hot or cold.

It uses diesel fuel. Maybe there is a difference.

I am always wishing he would hurry and leave so I can get back to sleep. LOL

One of the suggestions I heard once seemed like a good idea and that was anytime you start the vehicle at least let it run long enough for the gauges to come up to position and let the idiot lights go out. As said this is to build pressure in the fluids and lubricate cylinder walls, tranny, build pressure in brakes and power steering too. I usually am putting the cell phone onto the charger, buckling seat belt, checking mirrors and the like so there's 20-30 seconds normally at least before I take off just out of habit. And don't sit there revving it up! LOL

When weather is cold, I like to let it warm up a bit, at least a minute or two but don't always. I normally have my vehicle garaged so the impact is much less. However I often back it out of the garage so the fumes aren't in there and I'll often let it sit a minute while the door closes. I always drive it slowly to start and even avoid the brakes in cold weather for a bit then press them slowly to check pressure when it's real cold. I've done this my entire driving life with good results but I know that's not proof of anything. When the vehicle is creaking and groaning, I pay attention to it, much like a body.

There's a lot of variables so there's not an absolute guideline. Especially in cold weather, to start a vehicle, slam it into gear and take off fast *is* hard on it, besides being stupid and I don't know of many knowledgeable who will dispute this. There's good treatment and bad treatment. Will your car die from it happening a few times? Probably not. I believe in reasonable maintenance on a vehicle. Sometimes people do little things that are good for it and don't realize it, much less want to admit it! LOL And as said, climate makes a big difference, vehicle treatment and maintenance make a difference too. The point is being reasonable.

What's probably more important than the actual "warm up" is how you drive it when you start out. Again, slamming it into gear and stepping it to the floor is going to be rough on it. In cold weather, putting it in gear and taking off fast will stress it more. But if you start out slowly and let it warm up a bit especially before hitting the freeway will help.

The thing often overlooked is brakes. People who take off without warming up can actually lose braking power. I know people who have been in accidents because of this.

Diesels are different though. The diesel fuel will gel in cold weather, especially if they're not running the right fuel formula. That's the biggest reason for the warmup. Often they're hard starting too which is why often they'll let them run rather than shut them down and in extremely cold weather, again, the fear of fuel gelling is there.

My advice for winter operation is to drive away as soon as the engine will run without trouble. I do recommend that you be reasonable and do not go to high rpm (revolutions per minute AKA revs) until the oil is warm enough to flow well and the pistons cylinder walls have warmed.

The procedure is: Drive out on the street and use moderte acceelertion. By the time you go 10 to 15 blocks, the engine is ready for heavier loads. You can scoot down an acceleration ramp to a freeway after the temperature gage has passed the hslfway mark to normal temp.

One important item for very cold weather: Fully warm the engine before shut down. Its best if it has been driven enough to dry the condensate out of the oil. Frozen water droplets in the oil pump can jam the pump and cause its drive shaft to break.

Idling a car to let it warm up does nothing but waste gas and add to air pollution. Modern day cars (decades now) are computerized to run at differing outside temperature. Proper oil and coolant for your weather conditions is all you need. Driving a car warms it up faster and more efficiently.

Diesel has to be warmed up because diesel has a higher flash point than gasoline to ignite. Without optimal temperature when running deisel it will not thoroughly ignite and the unburned fuel will get into the crankcase mixing with the oil and compromise the lubricating capability thus leading to some easily preventable early onset damage to the whole enchilada.

That's the short answer. Gasoline - no warm-up. Deisel - always and no turning off and on unless absolutely necessary. Just like you see trains warm up and wait at idle.

I usually start the car, then clean the windows. If the windows are heavily iced, and I can't scrape it off, then I warm the car enough to help me get them cleared. If the car is in the garage (we only have room for one inside) then I don't generally warm it up more then 30 seconds or so.