Since having our 2007 Toyota Camry LE V6 in my possession, I've noticed that the coolant temperature gauge indicates a fairly rapid rise to normal operating temperature after startup. For Camry V6 owners living in cold climates, this fast coolant warm up could be useful for getting heat into the cabin more quickly.
This morning I went out and clocked the speed of warm up. (Unfortunately, the outside temperature was already 50 degrees F, so warm up would obviously be longer for someone living in, say, Buffalo, New York.) I let the car idle in my driveway for 2 minutes and then, growing bored, shoved off and puttered around my neighborhood, never going more than 20 mph or so. After an additional 1.5 minutes of driving (so about 3 minutes and 30 seconds total), the coolant gauge had partially risen and warmer air was blowing out of the vents...
Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor
joepublic says:
01:03 PM, 10/26/06
For comparison, what's the average car's warm up time like?
jerrywimer says:
06:34 AM, 10/27/06
All of my recent vehicles have been this way, but our 1992 Corolla *was* the first car that I experienced the rapid warmup cycle thing with. Even now that car is about the fastest car ever in terms of time from startup until heat actually comes through the vents. Most vehicles seem to have to get significantly further along in engine temperature before you get real heat than it did- the needle had barely budged from it's "cold" resting state when warm air was flowing.
Of course, two of my last four vehicles have had heated seats, so my posterior hasn't complained about it anyway.
donnatran says:
02:56 PM, 10/27/06
I was recently browsing through some of the major car parts suppliers through www.lammazing.com and I called to speak to a representative. Well, the guy turned out to be a previous racer and mechanic, and what he told me may surprise you:
1. If you use thicker oil (such as synthetic or even 20/50), your parts will be better lubricated and your car will warm up much faster. In fact, he said, even if you leave it for 3-4 HOURS, when you come back there will still be drops of oil left on the contours and no metal to metal action as with 10/40.
2. He also said that, if you do not warm up your car prior to driving off in the morning for at least 1 minute (for a 4 cylinder) or 1.5 minutes (6 cylinder), expect to start having leakages and other problems AT LEAST 1-2 years sooner than you normally would.
joepublic says:
10:48 PM, 10/27/06
I've read that the best thing to do is just to start it up and drive. The engine heats up much faster when it's being used, rather than just idling. Idling unnecessarily wastes gas and contributes unnecessarily to air pollution.
jsmilesrmhs says:
04:50 AM, 10/28/06
Does this car have an engine block heater?
That may be the reason it warms up so fast
hondacura4 says:
07:05 PM, 10/30/06
All of the Toyota products Ive owned have the same trait, 1992 Lexus ES300, 1996 Lexus ES300 and a 2000 Lexus GS400.