I got a 525i, I live in cold climate, are you supposed to warm up the car?

The reason I ask, my friend with a 528i never warms up his car. He says it's bad for the car to warm it up any longer than 1 minute. Is this true?

Thanks

If heard if you warm it up to long it promotes carbon build-up. I just drive at under 3K rpm for the first 10 minutes.

I fire it up, let it idle ~20seconds with seatwarmers and defrosters on, then putter out at <2k for a minute, then drive normally. Thats the only way it will warm up under 10*F. Only exception is when there is inches of ice on it, then I have to warm it up to defrost the glass.

I've never driven the E34 in winter, but when it's chilly out I let it warm up for 2-3 minutes, then drive it gently for the next 15-20 minutes.

If it's significantly below 40, I have to let the diesel Benz warm up for 5-7 minutes or it runs like crap.

It's best for modern cars to get in and go.

Just keep it under 3.5k RPM until the water temp warms up a bit. Do remember that the oil takes longer to warm up.

Warm it up enough to defrost any winter weather and get in and go.
Baby the car till the engine warms up.

This is what the BMW engineers that designed your car recommend (info is taken from the e34 owners manual). Take note of the 1st and 2nd paragraph: :D

And if your e34 appears to be revving higher than normal and holding gears longer on very cold days...don't fret, it's just an engine warm-up cycle that some of the later BMW's with adaptive trannys and modern TCMs (tranny contol modules) have to facilitate warming up the car:

http://www.bimmerboard.com/members/q/original/Engine%20Warm%20Up%20Cycle.jpg

Oh yeah...the same recommedation applies to the M62 engines as well...no long idling (see yellow highlighted text below):

http://www.bimmerboard.com/members/q/original/Starting%20Cold%20Engine.jpg

I love the last bit where it tells you to basically drive it hard pretty much every day. :rofl

I usually remote start my car 5 minutes before leaving in the morning. I then drive it like your grandma until the car reaches full temperature. But then again, I'm in CA.

HA! I was wondering if anyone was going to catch that little tidbit...

.....but, but officer, it says right here in the owners manual that I'm supposed to bring my revs up to over 3k to blow out the soot! :D

I usually remote start my car 5 minutes before leaving in the morning. I then drive it like your grandma until the car reaches full temperature. But then again, I'm in CA.:eek:

I don't even do that and it's currently 9 degrees here ... I let it idle for 30 seconds and then I go. I can't imagine it being much colder there.

When I lived in Canada I had a engine block heater installed. I'd plug it in at night. It made a big difference, and it beat not starting at all. I still took it easy for a few minutes after I hit the road.

usually with temperatures below plus degrees celsius (dont know how much in F it is :rolleyes), i'll let it idle for about 5 minutes. I'll smoke a cigarette and remove the snow off the car, if there's any. And until it has reached the normal temperature, i dont rev it above 3-3,5k rpm.

With plus degrees, i' sit into the car, buckle up, tune the radio and start moving.

What is the definition of "normal operating temperature" exactly?

When it's cold here (below freezing), my temperature needle typically won't reach the midpoint of the gauge on nearly all of my trips. Only on long trips will it get halfway between red and blue.

Is NOT when it's in the middle of the guage, or is NOT within somewhere near the middle, just not in the red or the blue :) ?

Does that mean it's bad to let your car warm up..?

normal temperature is when the needle is in the midpoint. if it doesnt reach there, the thermostat is f****d up :devillook

My understanding of the main reason they say not to warm it up at idle is you aren't getting a lot of oil flow at idle, and what you are getting isn't warmed up and lubricating very well. Net: you're putting pretty harsh wear on your motor by warming it up at idle. Getting in and driving gets everything going and warmed up. (all of that might be crap, but...)

The main reason I warm up is to get the defrost working, but given the above I almost never do it - I've got a nice scraper now...

Well here it gets like 39F, which is but cold. What do you recommend to get the car heated up. I think the car might need to be idled.

Well here it gets like 39F, which is but cold. What do you recommend to get the car heated up. I think the car might need to be idled.
Oil flow isn't as bad with synthetic...nothing like problems with dino juice.

To warm up the car I would drive it, that seems to work the fastest. :)

I have heard to never use a remote start system on a BMW. Electrical issues in addition is is a waste of natural resources. Also, most people that use them let their car idle until warm in the morning. A very bad habit in my opinion. See above posts as well.

HA! I was wondering if anyone was going to catch that little tidbit...

.....but, but officer, it says right here in the owners manual that I'm supposed to bring my revs up to over 3k to blow out the soot! :D

I cried with laughter the first time I read that in the manual :), don't forget you have to do it for a few kilometres!

Hmmm..... scrape the ice off, start it amd drive sub 3K untill the water temp gets up.

Do any M30 owners leave their car to idle from cold on frozen mornings :rofl, the term hunting idle comes to mind.

The ancillary pumps are all attached to engine so they'e not working full capacity at idle