When you are outside in cold weather, all you need is your motor to start warming up and functioning as soon as possible. But sometimes, it doesn’t seem to get warmer, not the way it is supposed to be.
Especially for some modern vehicles, their engines need a certain time to reach its ideal temperature so it can work properly. Why does my car take so long to warm up?
If your automobile takes such a long time to warm up, the results are wasting more gas and emissions when you drive your car.
It is important to let the engine be heated completely on some cold days, so you should give it enough warm-up time!
To get the answer you need, read our guide here!
Why Does My Car Take Too Long To Warm Up?
Low on coolant is the most common reason a car takes a long to warm up.
It is used to cool or manage the temperature in different conditions, withstanding the hot weather and helping with the freezing in the winter. Its levels are the first to check if your car takes too long to warm up.
Besides, the cooling system, the radiator, water pump, or the thermostat are also worth a check-up.
Your Engine is Low on Coolant
Coolant, also known as antifreeze, is a radiator fluid that is also as necessary in the winter as in the warm weather.
The heat cores will enhance the air temperature; during freezing days, the low levels will make it less hot for the heater core.
The system by itself will not increase the engine cold levels, but it will flow in the engine and take in some heat, transferring to cool off somewhere before returning to your engine by another pass.
How to check the levels is just easy by looking at an overflow tank. It will show either “low” or “high” on its body.
If the coolant level is low, fill it up when passing some NAPA place so your automobile will heat up faster.
A Problem in Your Cooling System
Some of the signs that tell your cooling place is damaged:
- Your motor is getting overheated
- Water rushing in your cabin. You can identify this issue by noise
- You see no or less hot air pumping into your vents
These problems can happen if you have just changed a new coolant, and maybe the air stuck in the system wasn’t taken out when the coolant system was attached.
In case you don’t know how to change the coolant correctly, you can get it done by a professional mechanic.
Bad Radiator or Failing Water Pump
Examine whether your vehicle has either one of the following signs that cause a bad radiator and water pump:
- The automobile is overheating
- Coolant is starting to get leaked
- There is a sludge build-up in your radiator
- The vehicle is low at motor oil
- The radiator keeps pushing water out
When the car engine slows to warm up, it is not heating up enough and has some leaking problems.
The one responsible for this is radiators which are quite expensive to replace. However, you still need to repair it to make the heating-up process faster.
A water pump can be known as a component that makes your engine oil move around. Most water pumps are practically water and a mixture of antifreeze.
If your water pump is failing, there’s a leak with a crusty put up on the passenger side, and you can notice a noisy sound from that side.
A malfunctioning pump is quite serious as it affects the coolant flow and stops the heating system.
Check Your Thermostat
A thermostat will be an adjustment system working in tandem with the radiator and coolant system.
It will manage the coolant circulation, help protect your vehicle from overheating, and supply the heater core with enough fuel warming the cabin.
Suppose there are some faults in the thermostat, especially with a stuck open situation. In that case, your car takes forever to warm up in the vents as the system is continually being cooled down.
One way you can determine whether your thermostat won’t work well is that the temperature gauge doesn’t rise immediately after you start your automobile for a while.
Ways to Heat up Your Car Faster in Winter
Using a Remote Engine Start
A remote engine start can be a solution for you, and it definitely works. It will allow you to start your motor from your own place, and the warm-up period will also start before you get in.
So you can save time waiting for it, and the remote start can be automatically shut down after some minutes. It also stops the engine when somebody opens the door.
The advantage of this remote is it can reduce the extra fuel, fuel waste and greenhouse gas emissions during heating up.
Engine Block Heater
Whenever your car is taking long to warm up in the winter, you can try a block heater. It is a programmable power with a timer.
You can choose a specific time, and a certain period of time it will start your motor. You can turn it on before leaving in the morning.
The benefit is that it will support the warm-up coolant period inside the engine, so the time it needs to heat the air intake from the vent is fast.
Compared to the remote start, this choice is more friendly to the environment as it just absorbs electric power. Yet, a block heater needs a power cord compatible with your automobile.
Conclusion
It can be a real pet peeve for everybody when waiting for their car takes a long time to warm up in the morning, especially in the winter when you need to leave soon.
Sometimes, you will wait for it for ages, but nothing is happening there. So why does your car take so long to warm up?
The question has already been explained in this article.
We hope you can identify the problem with your engine on our list and fix it in no time!