Cold weather = delayed 4th and 5th gears

[adubya]

tried searching forums, didnt see this question.

after cold nights my engine is slowto start and in sport mode i cant get the car into 4th or5th gears even if im @ 60 km/hr. it takes a couple of minutes before i can get the car into 4th and 5th. the car sits outside overnight unsheltered (cannot do nething bout this)

posted from my playbook

[Kiyomi]

just let the car warm up, it takes longer when its colder out...
usually let the car sit for a couple of minutes.

[adubya]

will try. co-worker suggested new cars didnt need warmup time and that it was bad for new cars

[Booostin]

When its really cold outside it is always best to let your car warm-up for 10-15 minutes before going anywhere.

[Saars]

I have a 6 speed and noticed when I was up North for Christmas that the clutch was really stiff and sluggish when the car was cold. Good thing my cars always warm in my parking garage in London, couldn't stand the sluggish clutch for the week I was back home in Timmins!

[Mzdablkout]

Save a few bucks and invest in a remote starter. You won't regret it.
Love getting in my warm car when it's freezing out :)

[SickoS2K]

Save a few bucks and invest in a remote starter. You won't regret it.
Love getting in my warm car when it's freezing out :)

:like

[shu5892001]

Change to full synthetic atf like redline or amsoil, I have amsoil atf and I don't have that big of a hesitation problem in -20 degrees

[adubya]

all good ideas presented. curious to know if i should change the battery as well to a marine battery

[wildcard50]

This when a block heater is the best thing for your car.

[terapr0]

When its really cold outside it is always best to let your car warm-up for 10-15 minutes before going anywhere.

thats not true at all for new cars....modern engines need 2-3minutes MAX - anything more than that and you're just wasting gas. Of course it will take longer for hot air to start coming through the vents, but theres absolutely no reason to be idling your car for 10 minutes, even if it were -40 outside.


and yea, I too have noticed my clutch gets very sluggish and almost sticky in the mornings. Was up at our place near tremblant over christmas and it was VERY pronounced on the few mornings when it was -20 out.

[stock3]

In an automatic car this is absolutely normal behaviour, changing to synthetic oil will not do anything, as transmission programming controls this, however changing to synthetic ATF will improve cold shift quality. Basically the transmission will stay out of converter lockup gears, in this case 4th and 5th, until the coolant reaches a certain temperature. My car, since it's only got 4 gears, will stay out of 4th. Many other cars are programmed the same way. It's to help with bringing the system up to temp quicker. That is why your friend is right that excessive idling is not necessary and only wastes fuel. Cars are designed to warm up faster when driven, but you should take it easy, I try to stay below 2.5k rpm, until the temperature gauge reaches normal operating temperature.

[htc***]

When its really cold outside it is always best to let your car warm-up for 10-15 minutes before going anywhere.

+1.



thats not true at all for new cars....modern engines need 2-3minutes MAX - anything more than that and you're just wasting gas. Of course it will take longer for hot air to start coming through the vents, but theres absolutely no reason to be idling your car for 10 minutes, even if it were -40 outside.


and yea, I too have noticed my clutch gets very sluggish and almost sticky in the mornings. Was up at our place near tremblant over christmas and it was VERY pronounced on the few mornings when it was -20 out.

Wasting gas will be less money to spend then save a few bucks but causes the transmission problem in the future and spend a lot more money to fix it.



will try. co-worker suggested new cars didnt need warmup time and that it was bad for new cars

Not true.

[stock3]

Wasting gas will be less money to spend then save a few bucks but causes the transmission problem in the future and spend a lot more money to fix it.






Please elaborate how driving a car, without warming it up first will hurt the transmission? Did you know that oil in a manual transmission will not warm up at all, unless the car is in motion? ATF will pick up some heat from torque converter, but it will not be much either. Only driving the car can bring everything to operating temperature.

If you want to idle for 15 minutes, be my guest, but you are deluding yourself that it benefits the car.

[htc***]

Please elaborate how driving a car, without warming it up first will hurt the transmission? Did you know that oil in a manual transmission will not warm up at all, unless the car is in motion? ATF will pick up some heat from torque converter, but it will not be much either. Only driving the car can bring everything to operating temperature.

If you want to idle for 15 minutes, be my guest, but you are deluding yourself that it benefits the car.

Remember, transmission is made from a metal. When everything is freezing cold, things don't move quite as smoothly when it's warm. It might damage the some gears or might break some of the teeth. You're never know. Waste a little gas but you have a warm inside before drive off and you know your transmission is warm too from the engine compartment.

[terapr0]

lol. That couldnt be further from the truth. You arent going to damage some gears or break any teeth from driving around in -10, or even -50 weather. You'd need to soak the teeth in liquid nitrogen for them to become brittle to the point of failure - transmission gears are exceptionally tough. They're mechanically and chemically hardened to withstand the rigors of tens or hundreds of thousands of kilometers of use. To believe they're more brittle in cold reflects nothing but a lack of knowledge in this area, no offense.
As was already pointed out, your transmission doesnt begin to heat up until you actually start moving. the heat is generated from friction - its not close enough to the combustion chambers to benefit from ANY ambient heat generated from the engine.

that being said, if you want to believe you're saving your transmission by letting the car idle for 15 minutes, go right ahead. only thing you're hurting is the environment and your wallet.

[htc***]

lol. That couldnt be further from the truth. You arent going to damage some gears or break any teeth from driving around in -10, or even -50 weather. You'd need to soak the teeth in liquid nitrogen for them to become brittle to the point of failure - transmission gears are exceptionally tough. They're mechanically and chemically hardened to withstand the rigors of tens or hundreds of thousands of kilometers of use. To believe they're more brittle in cold reflects nothing but a lack of knowledge in this area, no offense.
As was already pointed out, your transmission doesnt begin to heat up until you actually start moving. the heat is generated from friction - its not close enough to the combustion chambers to benefit from ANY ambient heat generated from the engine.

that being said, if you want to believe you're saving your transmission by letting the car idle for 15 minutes, go right ahead. only thing you're hurting is the environment and your wallet.


You do what you think its good for your car. I do what I think its good for my car with the fricking freezing cold.

[Shinglez]

No matter what, if I have the chance, I always start my car 10 minutes before I plan on going anywhere. Obviously there are times where this isn't practical, but it is especially important that after a cold night the engine is warm prior to driving.

If I don't heat up my engine, I notice the gearbox is much much stiffer than normal, and the clutch to throttle ratio is a little off.

Not to mention the WAY better gas mileage when you heat up your car..

[nuttygent]

Switched to Amsoil in the gearbox this year, make a very noticeable difference in the extreme cold weather. A bit pricey, but you won't have to change it for a long time.