Need to warm engine on start up?
 

Hi, I'm a new owner of the NAH and live in NJ. I've been driving the car for about a month now and was wondering whether, upon start-up, I need to warm up / idle the car for the engine? And if so, for how long? Or can I simply start driving when 'Ready' appears?

The ICE almost always kicks in seconds after I start the car and usually ends up turning off after about 20-30 seconds - probably b/c the weather is warm now. I park in a garage which I imagine will help during the wintertime, but my question is generic in that I'd like to know the answer to this regardless of outside ambient temperature. I've tried to search for this on the Net but haven't found anything substantive. Thanks for any help you can provide!

Re: Need to warm engine on start up?
 

Just start driving and be easy on the accelerator for the first 5-10 minutes. Letting it idle to warm up will not help!

Re: Need to warm engine on start up?
 

Hi,

I'm also a NJ NAH owner. There is no way to do a traditional warm-up per say. The warm-up takes place while the blue temperature light is on. This also indicates the warm-up of the catalytic converter, which is important to EV operation.

Hybrids do not like extreme temperatures. In temperatures below 40, it may take as much as 10 to 15 minutes for the blue light to go off before the car will do normal EV mode. This is one reason why MPG tanks as many short trips never have EV at all. At the other end, the NAH relies on the cabin temperature to keep the battery cool and will protect the battery (by not charging it) if the internal temperature exceeds 100 degrees, which often happens in the low to mid 90s. Again, an MPG hit because in those hot temperatures you are actually better off running AC.

Re: Need to warm engine on start up?
 

Hey Yohji I live in NJ also, Based on your question, you must be old school, like me. The days of idling on startup are gone, not many cars on the road have carbs anymore. Fuel injection has eliminated the need to warm up the car. Here are a few tricks you can try. When you're leaving your garage, start the car (check rearview before) and immediately put it in reverse and shift to neutral when you start rolling. The ice (gas engine) will not come on until you pop it out of neutral. Also, when you use AC in really hot temps make sure you are not using re-circulate, if you do, the cabin pressure will not increase and air will not vent thru the rear deck to the battery compartment, all sorts of odd things will happen if your battery gets too hot. Good Luck

Re: Need to warm engine on start up?
 

thanks for the great advice folks - very helpful! this is a great forum... looking forward to more discussions and feedback.

Re: Need to warm engine on start up?
 

Has anyone been able to find an Engine Block Heater that works with the NAH? I know we can get stick on oil pan heater pads. But, I'm thinking that heating the coolant with an EBH may be a better choice, based on what I was reading on this subject in the Prius forums.

Eph

Re: Need to warm engine on start up?
 

Don't forget to use 0W-20 engine oil per the owner's manual.
This will improve cold start performance as well as fuel economy.

You may need to specifically request this at the dealership since not too many Nissan dealerships carry this viscosity grade - yet.

Check out ENEOS 0W-20 manufactured by Nippon Oil.
Nippon Oil supplies factory fill 0W-20 to Toyota and most of the Asian Automakers.
www.eneos.us

Re: Need to warm engine on start up?
 

What article?

Re: Need to warm engine on start up?
 

vehicles, cars, jeep, they are just like athlete. they need to warm up. reason why you need to perform the warming engine on start up; You have all kinds of dissimilar metals in your engine that expand and contract. In other words, they respond to heating and cooling at different rates. Treat a cold engine like crystal. It’s delicate, it’s fragile. Don’t hit it hard, or you’ll chip it or crack it. It’s a workhorse when it’s warmed up. i just got this from the car repair mechanic advise..