Jason's Journal: How to Properly Warm your Engine in Cold Temperatures

Jason McKinsey, Lehman Volvo Cars Service Manager, writes about Volvo trending topics, including this month’s segment on how to properly warm your engine in cold temperatures.

Looking for more information on a particular Volvo service topic? Submit your topic suggestion to Jason at jason@lehmanvolvocarsyork.com.

How to Properly Warm your Engine in Cold Temperatures

By: Jason McKinsey

During these cold winter months, I often see news reports on whether or not you should allow your vehicle’s engine to warm up at idle. This highly debated topic has people on both sides. Some say warming a vehicle at idle will damage the engine, while others express engine damage is inevitable when a vehicle is not warmed at idle. So, which of these statements is correct?
Modern fuel injected engines do not need to be warmed at idle to function properly. The fuel injection computer will adjust the fuel mixture for the current temperature. This allows the engine to operate normally without being warmed, even at extreme low temperatures. With improvements in engine oil quality and changes in oil weights, the engine’s moving parts are protected at low temperatures. Allowing your engine to sit idle for excessive periods of time can cause the fuel to build up on the engine cylinder walls, washing away all necessary oils. This process is known as “fuel wash.” Fuel wash may damage the engine cylinder walls and piston rings, leading to reduced engine performance and excessive oil consumption.

The quickest way to warm up the engine is to drive the car. However, using your Volvo On Call app to start your engine will not affect your Volvo negatively because the engine remains on for only a short period of time. Warming your car for small amounts of time on a cold day will have no noticeable effect on your Volvo.

Making short trips can be harmful because the engine does not have enough time to reach operating temperature, and may cause moisture to get trapped in the engine. Moisture can create a milky appearance to the engine’s oil. Over time, this can cause engine sludge, blockage of the crankcase ventilation system and/or blockage of the oil pickup tube. Each of these are harmful and can reduce the life of your Volvo’s engine. Moisture can also remain in the exhaust system, which causes the exhaust to deteriorate and may require replacement much quicker than a vehicle driven longer distances.

I recommend a good balance of driving techniques such as not keeping your engine idle for long periods of times and avoiding taking short trips to ensure your Volvo’s engine reaches full operating temperature (try taking the long scenic route every now and then to allow extra time for your engine to warm up). With these steps, your Volvo will provide years of great service, even on the coldest of days.

If you have any questions or comments please contact me at jason@lehmanvolvocarsyork.com or 717-755-7676.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lehman Volvo York’s #1 Service Department

Image
Lehman Volvo York is proud to announce its Service Department’s achievement of being titled the ‘#1 Customer Service Satisfaction Volvo Dealer in the Northeast Region’.  This award is given to the Volvo dealer with the highest CSI (Customer Satisfaction Index) scores during the quarter. Lehman Volvo York cannot thank its remarkable customers enough for rating them #1 in the market!  Pictured from Left to Right: Ray Bromley, Bob Reichert,  Jason McKinsey, Keirstin Daily and Darryl Markey. On August 12, Volvo Aftersales Market Manager, Bob Reichert, presented the Lehman Volvo York team the prestigious award. You may see Lehman Volvo York’s plaque and banner proudly displayed in the Service Department. Congratulations to Jason McKinsey (Service Manager), Keirstin Daily (Service Advisor), Darryl Markey (Parts Manager), every talented Volvo Technician, and the rest of the service team on receiving this award! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay up-to-date
Read more

Here is your Volvo Safety...

Image
What you see above is the result of an accident between a tractor trailer, a Volvo XC60...and another tractor trailer. If you think the end result is devastating, just be aware...the driver and passenger of the Volvo XC60 walked away from this accident with only minor injuries. This accident happened in Brussels a couple of days ago, here is some of the report from their newspaper: A car containing a mother and daughter crashed into the back of a truck. The vehicle disappeared completely under the rear end of the heavy truck. To make matters worse, a heavy truck crashed into the Volvo XC60 from behind. The result was a lot of scrap. The emergency services had to rescue the two women from the car, who were trapped for more than one hour. The fire brigade had to cut off the roof of the vehicle before being able to set them free. The two ladies must have had a guardian angel as they got off with only minor injuries. They were taken to the hospital for a routine check up So wh
Read more

How do I get one of those red plates?!

Image
It's a question we get every now and then. "How do I get one of those red plates?"...those red plates you see on various Volvos in Central Pennsylvania are actually Swedish Tourist plates. And the way to get them is to purchase your next new Volvo from Lehman Volvo through the Overseas Delivery program. In addition to being the BEST way to purchase your new Volvo, the Overseas Delivery program provides you with complimentary airfare for 2 to Sweden, a complimentary hotel stay and yes...that little red plate. Its another benefit to the program...Volvo provides you with complimentary European registration and Insuraunce for up to 14 days. And with that, your vehicle becomes a tourist vehicle. Once it reaches the US, Volvo makes sure that your red tag stays with the car, so you have a very cool and unique souvenier to remind you of the time you drove your Volvo in Sweden. Want more info on the Volvo Overseas Delivery program? Check out Lehman Volvo in York WWW
Read more