How long do peoples cars take to warm up??

[S3 Dave]

After reading the recent thread about cool running. It started to make me wonder!! It takes me between about 8 and 15mins to drive to work on mainly 40mph roads with a short bit of dual track about 2 miles at 80mph. When I am approaching work my temp is approx 70 ish and rising slowly. Its obviously going to take longer now as it is only 6 degrees in the morning and lots of cold air will mean the car will take longer to warm up. Also with the heaters on this will also take heat out of engine.
How long do other peoples cars take to get to 90??????????????
Do you think I need to visit the thermostat fairy??

 

[klepto]

On a cold day my engine gets to 90 degrees at around the 6 mile point, driving 1 mile at 40 then 5 miles at 60mph. Can be quicker but never had it take longer. Journey time wise its is around 2 minutes at 40 mph then around 5 mins at 60mph. I would of thought after 15 mins of driving the car should be fully warmed up even if going at 40mph. I dont go above 2.5k rpm when the engine isnt warm. Just a habit dont know if it really makes much diffrence tho but thats 60mph for me and i'm in no rush to get to work

 

[Meza]

I had a Rover k series vvc before this Audi 1.8, and the Rover warmed up so much quicker in comparison. By the time I'm getting to work the S3's only just getting out from under it's duvet, while I'm shaking my head at the MPG display!

 

[Bellic]

i noticed the rovers do get to temperature quick

 

[Meza]

It's a pretty light ally block (in the Rover), and they have a teacup and a half of coolant in them! Great combination for dispensing with head gaskets. I think the radiator is totally shut off when you start from cold to bring them to temp quickly - not sure if that is common to most engines though?

 

[Bellic]

yeah until thermostat opens then gets to radiator

 

[jonS3]

3 miles and mines on 90 on the analogue dial, it never used to get there until I changed the thermostat...

 

[LaSarthe&Back]

3 miles and mines on 90 on the analogue dial, it never used to get there until I changed the thermostat...

Same here. It only ever got to 90 on a hot (30-35deg) day stuck in traffic! Duff 'stat. Changed it now bang on 90 all the time.

As for warming up. I keep the heaters off until it's been on 90 for a little while. My journey is just 12 miles on country back roads, so I need oil temp ASAP.

Warmed up to "Turbo-time" after 3-4 miles.

 

[mattyboy199]

mine takes about 10-15minutes in traffic to hit 90, is it just my car or does everyone elses dispense white exhaust fumes until its warm ?

 

[LaSarthe&Back]

mine takes about 10-15minutes in traffic to hit 90, is it just my car or does everyone elses dispense white exhaust fumes until its warm ?

It's a little more fumey on start up because of the overfuelling to heat the engine up. But you shouldn't be getting white smoke..

 

[mattyboy199]

no its not white smoke just fumes if it was white smoke it wouldnt go away, the same as any other car on the road just seems my car produces alot !

 

[Dan Gliballs]

Don't forget that OIL temp gauge ASWELL people

 

[abdus]

no its not white smoke just fumes if it was white smoke it wouldnt go away, the same as any other car on the road just seems my car produces alot !

that's only water vapour in the exhaust system. It only happens when the weather is cold and when you start your car in the morning...No problem at all.

 

[jcs356]

Don't forget that OIL temp gauge ASWELL people

Unfortunately we don't get one of those as standard on the S3. IIRC you can get the oil temp on the aircon unit with some fiddling??

 

[Dan Gliballs]

Unfortunately we don't get one of those as standard on the S3. IIRC you can get the oil temp on the aircon unit with some fiddling??

Really?? Aah right, assumed the S3 gauges were similar to the S4 ones

 

[mattyboy199]

all performance cars should have an oil temp gauge i think, my mate has a Focus RS, where the engine temp gauge should be he has a boost gauge which is totally pointless unless you ve blown your turbo in which this will indicate.

 

[TheSpaceCowboy]

Mine takes about 2 mins to reach around 60c nominal and about 5 to reach 90c, but during that time I dont drive I just let it idle it out (screw the environment!). Talking of rovers my mates got a 1.4 K series 25 and just had to change the head gasket to the land rover one!

 

[god_thats_quick]

Don't think the S3 has oil temp gauge full stop. If it is on the climate someone please let me know. My car takes about 10 miles of careful driving to get upto temp on cold days 90 on the coolant is no way near getting the oil up to temp i reckon.

 

[comdw]

Noticed mine is up to 90 much quicker since replacing the thermostat - takes about my full journey to work which is all of 3 miles / 8 minutes! Remember the dial on the dash will read 90 as soon as the actual temp is >80. For accurate coolant temp use readout 49 on the climate control.

I think as the thermostats get old they stick open or just allow coolant through even when cold, although I couldn't see evidence of that on the one I took off...

 

[nky_84]

thats an important point about the difference between oil temp and water temp. Water temp can be at 90 whilst the oil is still freezing!

Dont think Oil temp can be checked on the climate control display but
51 is Engine Coolant Temperature (ECT) in deg C.

 

[S3 Dave]

Checked mine again today. Had to drive to the centre of Birmingham:-(. It rises up to about 75 then I guess when the stat opens if I'm going steady it will drop back down again to about 70/65! and struggle to get back anywhere near to 90. Once the car is at 90 should it stay there?? Looking like the thermostat is tired.

 

[jojo]

Checked mine again today. Had to drive to the centre of Birmingham:-(. It rises up to about 75 then I guess when the stat opens if I'm going steady it will drop back down again to about 70/65! and struggle to get back anywhere near to 90. Once the car is at 90 should it stay there?? Looking like the thermostat is tired.

Dave, once it hits 90, it should stay there!, even though the water temp probably goes up or down by 10 degrees, the needle should be planted at 90. I drove my S3 to work which was around 6 miles, and it was upto 90 within 2.5 miles, even in this cold weather. I'm thinking you might have a knackered waterpump with broken impellor, which is a common problem with 1.8T's, especially if it's struggling to get past 75 on the readout.

 

[S3 Dave]

Dave, once it hits 90, it should stay there!, even though the water temp probably goes up or down by 10 degrees, the needle should be planted at 90. I drove my S3 to work which was around 6 miles, and it was upto 90 within 2.5 miles, even in this cold weather. I'm thinking you might have a knackered waterpump with broken impellor, which is a common problem with 1.8T's, especially if it's struggling to get past 75 on the readout.

If my pump was Knackered then I would of boiled it today!! I had a new pump with cambelt last summer so It can't be that plus I would have a serious overheating issue!! I'm thinking thermostat is up the swanny will check 2mrw on the aircon display!!

 

[Stewart]

Agree with Dave, if the water pump was knackered then you would be suffering with over heating problems, not cool running. It's definitely thermostat and/or temp sender.

 

[jojo]

If my pump was Knackered then I would of boiled it today!! I had a new pump with cambelt last summer so It can't be that plus I would have a serious overheating issue!! I'm thinking thermostat is up the swanny will check 2mrw on the aircon display!!

That's cool(literally), I'm just taking a wild guess at your problems, we can eliminate that one then. :icon_thumright:

 

[Meza]

How do you check the temp on the aircon display?

 

[comdw]

Agree with Dave, if the water pump was knackered then you would be suffering with over heating problems, not cool running. It's definitely thermostat and/or temp sender.

True, but whether the sensor read out would actually indicate overheating would depend on where the sensor is in the coolant circuit (the hot coolant may not be moving at all and it might stay cold near the sensor?)

 

[S3 Dave]

OK, Today I used the Aircon display no.51 which is actual engine coolant temp!! It rose steadily and quite quickly to 90 and stayed there. My temp gauge only moved to about 70 and fluctuated and eventually started towards the 90. On the way home I did the same it rose steadily and stayed at 90 and the display on gauge 70-75 and only when i stop does it rise to 90. Interestingly if i then turn fans on HI and the needle falls to 80 but the digital display still bang on 90. I'm thinking sender unit or lose or poor connection. It seems any slight deviation in temp and the needle is all over the place. Any ideas??Also..........

Where is the temp sender located??,Is it easily changed?? Is it possible to clean connections/unit itself???

 

[S3 Dave]

OK, Today I used the Aircon display no.51 which is actual engine coolant temp!! It rose steadily and quite quickly to 90 and stayed there. My temp gauge only moved to about 70 and fluctuated and eventually started towards the 90. On the way home I did the same it rose steadily and stayed at 90 and the display on gauge 70-75 and only when i stop does it rise to 90. Interestingly if i then turn fans on HI and the needle falls to 80 but the digital display still bang on 90. I'm thinking sender unit or lose or poor connection. It seems any slight deviation in temp and the needle is all over the place. Any ideas??Also..........

Where is the temp sender located??,Is it easily changed?? Is it possible to clean connections/unit itself???

Just been out again and tried the same again, this time used no 49 and hey presto the same if not less than gauge. So its got to be thermostat!!!
How much are they from the stealer's and are they all the same for all 1.8t engines?? My local dealer is vw not Audi so hoping its the same as the golf!!

 

[comdw]

If its any help, I got my stat from GSF and it was under a tenner. Almost certainly the same for all the 1.8T engines.

However if you temperature reading is jumping about instead of changing steadily (on the CC readout 49), its more likely to be the sensor. A fault on VAG-COM should show up if the sensor is giving inconsistent readings. Note that the needle on the dash may appear to jump as it has set positions for a given temperature range - e.g. any actual temp of between 80 and 105 and the needle will stay dead centre on 90.

If readout 49 appears well behaved and indicates the coolant isn't getting to temperature, then stick with the plan of changing the stat.

 

[debaser]

When I turn on the ignition, the car sits there revving at a bit more than idle. It usually takes about 2 minutes for it to come down (you can hear the DV do its thing as it finishes).

I only drive after it's done that. Takes about 10 minutes to reach 90, always do low rev shifts in that time