Just seeing what others opinions are around here.
My commute is so short that, especially during the cold months, my cars temp gauge barely starts to come off cold.
What are the long term and short term effects on the car?

 

Short term - fuel waste
Long term excessive wear/piston slap.

Why not warm the vehicle up before leaving for your short commute?

 

Radiator block. Ie cardboard.

 

Let it idle longer before you go to work.

 

Check with the dealership to see if they offer a 'Block warmer' (They plug into a household electrical outlet). They are usually offered in cold climates to keep the block and fluids warm so that you don't have to put excessive wear either by driving the car cold all the time or by letting it warm up by idle. If they don't have this accessory I would just idle the car to temp. Yes it will cause some wear, but not nearly as much as not driving your entire commute refrigerator cold.

 

I know I can let it idle before I leave, I usually do. I was just asking what the negative affects were to driving it cold

 

Honda does not recommend idling. If it starts, they say drive it. That info is directly from the owners manual.

 

I usually let miy EX coupe idle for 4-5 mins. Just enough to get the fluids moving and bump the needle just above the C. I've never felt comfortable driving a cold car that I just fired up. Especially after it sits all night in 25* weather. I'll have to check out the owner's manual and see what mine says.

 

your car warms up faster driving it anyways instead of letting it sit idle, just dont rev it above 3000 rpm

 

^^
I agree. Drive it cold, keep the revs low. Idling it will waste more gas, it will not warm up nearly as quickly as driving it.

I'm having the same problem with my 97 cx. My work commute is roughtly 10 minutes which doesn't help. I plan to replace the Thermostat and replace the coolant. I would suggest the same if you don't know if they were done before.

Use a honda thermostat if you decide to replace it. The cheap aftermarket ones tend not to function as well.

 

this /\

 

I've always been under the assumption (from common hear-say) that driving a cold vehicle would put wear and tear on components quicker, being under load and what not when it's not up to operating temperature... not sure if there's any truth to this, like I said it's just something you always hear people say.

I do agree with some of the other posts though, I've never felt good/safe/etc driving a cold vehicle. It just doesn't seem like it's the right thing to do... I don't know...

 

^^Sure. The owners manual is just a suggestion from Honda.

 

This article basically talks about what most of you have already mentioned.

http://www.dadacanada.com/idling-fac...ing-myths.html

 

Honda wouldn't say to drive it cold if it was bad for the engine.

 

^^ lately It's been so cold that my brakes have been freezing up. I have to drive it in circles in reverse (because I cant go forward) and slam on the brakes so they warm up, then drive off and continue until they've warmed up enough.
Drive it. It warms up faster and you get better gas mileage than idling.

 

^^ That's funny? Sounds like you have major issues. I have never had that happen. You live in Antarctica?

 

Nope haha Colorado, yeah it's fine when its warmed up. But I go out to drive at about 2am so its usually way below freezing. My e brake bobs up and down sometimes too ha. I have no idea what the problem is and neither does my mechanic. But I'm not to worried. I'm going to do a rear disc swap and I have to replace my brakes soon anyways. I'll probably figure it out then. Haha.

 

wish there was a like button

mine idles at almost 2k when really cold so when im driving (short gear trans) it cruses at like 1500 so in my case driving is better then idling

 

the e-brake bobing is from slack in the ebrake cables tighten em up really easy look it up the cable is causing the handle to raise mine did the same thing fixed it right up

 

Here in Germany letting your car idle is illegal even in the winter, so I doubt it is that bad for your car. PLus I dont think my neighbor would like straight pipe idle at 6:30 am

 

At the beginning of this post, OP implied his car would not even come close to reaching operating temperature by the time his car reached his end destination.

This is an ineffective way to 'drive the car up to temperature', as you have to actually reach that temperature or something near it for that to work.

Driving virtually all cars up to temp is the best way to bring them up to proper operating temperature. I definitely agree with that. But procedure is not etched in stone for a reason. It doesn't mean any other method is death for your car. You just don't use the same methods in all circumstances. It doesn't work... you have to find out what does work the best and use that.

The 'least' harmful way to bring the car up to temperature is obviously what we are shooting for. Idling is capable of warming the engine block, oil & coolant but is not efficient at warming any type of transmission fluid. It also causes more wear on engine parts than a proper loaded ignition warm up would. It also causes excessive emissions (one of the reasons it is quite frowned upon in Europe),

Driving a car with parts and fluid barely in the double digits does pretty much the same thing.

Many bearings (including wheel bearings) do not suffer any damage simply by being operated cold. They are lubricated with proper grease to protect them at severely cold temperatures. If we're referring to internal engine bearings, their negative wear condition is going to depend on their oil supply & viscosity.

I still have a strong recommendation for a heating system:

A factory or aftermarket block heating system keeps the oil, trans fluid, & coolant at a much more appropriate temperature, allowing the vehicle to operate with far greater minimum wear. It is also possible to retrofit a unit to a differential housing to gain benefits there as well.

This setup will also increase fuel economy, and virtually eliminate any extra wear related specifically to your environment.

Cost may be a concern, but if the dealer doesn't have them, I would look at an aftermarket parts supplier like summitracing.com for generic/multi-car use systems

 

Yup did that its tightened all the way. Still slackin. ^^My cars the same.. better to drive at 1500-2k than idle at 2k for those first couple min

 

OP. Here is my "cold weather procedure. Enter car and start engine. Adjust seat,set air flow to recycle, fan OFF.(This allows coolant to remain in the block/radiator loop) Put on seatbelt.Check mirrors.Activate lights.Release parking brake. Then I drive. After almost 1 mile, my coolant starts showing temperature,and I move the heater control to hot side.Next I go to allowing external air in.Finally after about 1.5 miles,I go to fan position 1.If your coolant temperature gauge is not moving after 1 mile, and about 25 mph,I would look at the thermostat.

 

Just start and drive. Condensation may build up a little and the oil may get polluted faster but as long as you get it hot every couple days you'll be fine. Many people drive their cars this way and don't have any issues.

If you're really concerned consider switching to a 0w-30 or 0w-20 oil.

The block heater is not a bad idea. I believe NAPA still sells them for Civics. Installs into the front coolant drain plug on the block.