Driving on cold engine

Ok, so we've all discussed how long to let your car warm up before driving it and there are many opinions. For the record (keep in mind I'm more curious about once you start driving), I start my car, let it idle until the RPMs drop (or a bit longer if it takes my AA a second to connect), then I'm off. On super cold mornings maybe a minute longer.

What I'm curious to get the opinion of everyone is after you start driving. For me, I take it easy until the temp gauge is one line before operating temp (210). And I certainly don't push the engine until it's at full operating temp. If my trip is a bit shorter, I'll switch to manual mode so the RPMs hold around 2500 then switch to automatic when the engine is near operating temp. If my trip is longer than 10 miles, it's full automatic the whole time.

I've read some folks don't go over 2000 rpm but I don't see how that's possible without driving like a snail. Also, I've noticed the car holds much higher RPMs until it's a bit warmer.

I think 2000 is unrealistic with this motor. I just take it easy when its cold. My opinion is its going to get up to temp faster driving it then letting it idle. So in the long run its better. Do notice when cold it seems like the transmission wants to hold gears a lot longer which is kind of annoying.

No punching it is really the only rule I follow. Just baby it until my blue light goes out (no gauge here).

I've noticed the gears holding longer when cold as well. My commute runs at 45 for the first five minutes or so and then I'm on the freeway going 75. The blue light is out by then but the engine isn't completely warmed up yet. It seems to hold in fifth (?) longer than normal but this is the only time I notice it.

7eregrine said:

No punching it is really the only rule I follow. Just baby it until my blue light goes out (no gauge here).

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Exactly!

Iwannacx5 said:

I've noticed the gears holding longer when cold as well. It seems to hold in fifth (?) longer than normal but this is the only time I notice it.

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Keep in mind it's not just the engine that's cold, but the transmission and the rest of the drivetrain as well.
The fluids will be thicker, thus they won't flow as easily.
As an example, the four speed transmission in my 2002 Pathfinder won't go into overdrive when it's really cold. This is normal. It will drive like this for 5-10 minutes before it shifts into o/d.
Babying your vehicle a little bit until everything warms up seems to be the consensus for driving when cold.

Since this transmission is electronically controlled Im sure its designed to work this way. Maybe aides in warming it up faster. Someone should ask Dave.

Im sure itll ostracize me, but I drive it after I start it. No delay. I just take it easy and dont push it until the blue light is off. This is the first car Ive had that revs higher at start up so I looked it up in the owners manual during my first week of ownership. It said it was normal and that you could drive it without issue at that point, so I do.

Caveat: I live in central FL and the car is garage kept. The coldest the car ever gets is about 65 degrees, maybe 60 even during an overnight freeze

ruthrj said:

Im sure itll ostracize me, but I drive it after I start it. No delay. I just take it easy and dont push it until the blue light is off. This is the first car Ive had that revs higher at start up so I looked it up in the owners manual during my first week of ownership. It said it was normal and that you could drive it without issue at that point, so I do.

Caveat: I live in central FL and the car is garage kept. The coldest the car ever gets is about 65 degrees, maybe 60 even during an overnight freeze

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LoL. No worries. we won't give you a hard time. There is no real danger being done if you don't wait for it. My wife doesn't and her 5..errr 6 now I guess...year old car is no worse for wear. I just like to.

Happy New Year Friends

Happy new year bud!

And honestly its not that cold at 60! I agree youre just fine taking it easy.

RULE = no full or near full acceleration or anything over 3000 RPM ...until...engine is fully warmed.
WARMED = when OIL temp hits 130+F degrees.
WHY = engines are made of many different metal alloys that expand a different rates. Engines are designed taking into account the different rates of expansion. Once properly warmed the all alloys will mate together as engineered.
OIL vs COOLANT TEMP = coolant heats up rapidly due to the fact it is warmed by due to it's relationship to the combustion chambers. When water temp reaches full temperature the engine is not fully warmed up! Oil temps take a lot longer to heat up but once it does then internal components are at normal operating temperatures.
DRIVELINE = by the time the engine oil temp is at 130+ degrees the rest of the drive line would have warmed up if the car was being driven. So unless you live in areas where temps are normally below 0 degrees you should be good to go once the oil is at 130+ degrees
HOW TO KNOW OIL TEMPS = Some cars provide a way to read oil temps like my Z06(I consider this one of my most important gauges). Unfortunately the CX-5 doesn't offer a gauge to read oil temps. So how do you know what the oil temp is...maybe a scan tool with live data could show this if Mazda engineers designed the engine with an oil temp sensor.

Now you have a good process follow and know why it is important to properly warm the engine and drive line components.

***Since oil temps reading on the Mazda will be difficult or impossible to read then the only other option is to take it easy for 15-20 minutes(depending on ambient temps) (no full throttle and no 3000+RPM) which is what most people will do if they are looking for longevity out of their car.

Once I get a chance I will hook up my scan tool with live date to see if and oil temp reading is available I'll be glad to provide feedback as to what I found.

For anyone who doesn't believe proper engine temps matter....Just Send It

3000 is hard because of how this thing wants to hold gears when cold...... but yes thats what I would do in a manual or manual mode. Thats why it annoys me in auto.

And yes I can see oil temps with the scan tool but I dont drive around with it connected all the time.

7eregrine said:

No punching it is really the only rule I follow. Just baby it until my blue light goes out (no gauge here).

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This. Also keep in mind diff and transmission are bigger issues than the engine.

SignatureCX5 said:

RULE = no full or near full acceleration or anything over 3000 RPM ...until...engine is fully warmed.
WARMED = when OIL temp hits 130+F degrees...

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One really cool feature of my previous Subaru Legacy was it had the oil temp in the head unit - so one could monitor at will. Of course, a little annoying switching back-and-forth between and music and oil. I, of course, became semi-obsessed with monitoring oil temp.

What's really interesting to me is that Mazda installed the blue light to show the engine is cold. The only thing the manual says about this light is that:

"The light illuminates continuously when the engine coolant temperature is low and turns off after the engine is warm."

I would assume this is Mazda telling the average driver to take it easy when blue and drive as you normally would when the light's off. That's why I was curious what everyone else does because I still try to keep the RPM to around 2500 or less until the engine is a bit warmer than even the blue light turning off. But maybe, Mazda knows a lot of folks won't and put that blue light there to help. Why else?

It could be even more simple than that. I think was put there to show when your heater is available, but we enthusiasts found its more helpful than that.

Average consumer contacting Mazda support: my heat doesnt work for a while after I start my car. Response from support: is that blue light on? Oh.

I figured the blue light was just replacing the gauge. So you at least have some indication the car is cold or hot. Ive seen this on other makes as well.

My VW actually has oil temp that you can show on the infotainment or even the gauge cluster. Pretty sure its just inferred and Im sure its the same with the CX-5 when using a scan tool.