Reluctant upshift to 3rd while cold (auto trans)

[07WYarisRS]

Most fuel injected engines are designed to run with very little to no warm up but how you drive or operate the engine for the first 5 minutes will greatly affect how well and how long the engine lives.
Aluminum pistons and steel cylinder expand at much different rates. An aluminum piston will exspand faster and that can cause serious issues with clearance and causes 4 point scuffing and cold seizures in the worst cases.
ALL the fuel injection system does is dump in an extra rich mixture to help the engine warm up faster regardless if you are driving or not. This extra rich mixture is less harmfull to the cars emmisions system if you are operating under load (when more fuel is being used and not waisted) then just idling.

BUT that being said the person that lets his engine idle for 30 seconds a minute or so is not going to shorten the life of the engine or any components by letting it warm up for a bit.

Operating any engine outside of normal operating temps will shorten the life of the engine, the harder you drive it outside of normal operating temps the faster it will wear it out.
the "COOL" indicator in the gauge cluster is a great indicator of when the engine is warmed up and can be driven normally.

[palsan]

Originally Posted by 07WYarisRS

Most fuel injected engines are designed to run with very little to no warm up but how you drive or operate the engine for the first 5 minutes will greatly affect how well and how long the engine lives.
Aluminum pistons and steel cylinder expand at much different rates. An aluminum piston will exspand faster and that can cause serious issues with clearance and causes 4 point scuffing and cold seizures in the worst cases.
ALL the fuel injection system does is dump in an extra rich mixture to help the engine warm up faster regardless if you are driving or not. This extra rich mixture is less harmfull to the cars emmisions system if you are operating under load (when more fuel is being used and not waisted) then just idling.

BUT that being said the person that lets his engine idle for 30 seconds a minute or so is not going to shorten the life of the engine or any components by letting it warm up for a bit.

Operating any engine outside of normal operating temps will shorten the life of the engine, the harder you drive it outside of normal operating temps the faster it will wear it out.
the "COOL" indicator in the gauge cluster is a great indicator of when the engine is warmed up and can be driven normally.

Plugged in the block heater for the first time last night (low of -2C, 29F).

I have been letting the engine run for about a minute in the driveway before pulling out, then drive slow (~30Km/hr) until the "COOL" indicator goes off. The last few mornings it has taken about 5 minutes. This morning it took less than 2 minutes for the indicator to go off - awsome!

If it's true that starting and running at cold temperatures is hard on the engine, then getting up to "ideal" temp quicker should extend engine life. The block heater seems to have helped get the engine up to temperature quicker.

Soooooo ... the Cdn$175 cost of the block heater, plus a bit of cost on electricity, appears to be a cheap form of engine insurance for cold climate drivers

The only problem is REMEMBERING to plug it in at night and UNPLUGGING it in the morning.

[Bidoup]

Thanks guy for all the info... i have the same "problem" (well can't call that a problem since its normal) and I think i'm gonna let the engine runs 30 sec - 1 min before starting now....

[07WYarisRS]

Right on
I run my block heater with a timer so it comes on at 2am shuts off at 9am
My extention cord is already in the driveway with an LED lighted end on it so it's easy to plug in even in the dark.

I still have to wait a couple minutes every morning just to let the windows defrost but it's nice getting into a car, starting it and having instant warm heater air.

[palsan]

Originally Posted by 07WYarisRS

Right on
I run my block heater with a timer so it comes on at 2am shuts off at 9am
My extention cord is already in the driveway with an LED lighted end on it so it's easy to plug in even in the dark.

I still have to wait a couple minutes every morning just to let the windows defrost but it's nice getting into a car, starting it and having instant warm heater air.

Great idea about the timer.

I didn't notice the instant warm air since I usually have it turned off until a few minutes after start-up. However, that is a huge bonus ... no more cold air in your face until the engine warms up.

[Reddington]

My 1995 corolla will stay in 3rd and not shift to 4th until it warms up. I think its just designed to get it up to optimum temperature quickly

[yarissedan07]

OK,
My car will not shift into 4th upon a cool start!! It's fine once warmed up but I don't have time to wait around, I'm busy. I have had my car 4 years since it was a baby. Only 2 miles when I bought it. Now I Have 59,000 miles. It just started doing this recently???? They told me this is how the car was designed ,but it just started recently!!! I'm not buying this explanation. I wouldn't have bought the car if it did this!!!! Anyone else notice this over time??

[yarissedan07]

OK,
My car will not shift into 4th upon a cool start!! It's fine once warmed up but I don't have time to wait around, I'm busy. I have had my car 4 years since it was a baby. Only 2 miles when I bought it. Now I Have 59,000 miles. It just started doing this recently???? They told me this is how the car was designed ,but it just started recently!!! I'm not buying this explanation. I wouldn't have bought the car if it did this!!!! Anyone else notice this over time??

[BMGYaris]

GUYS you need to READ carefully, he knows that it wont shift into overdrive--4th gear--the issue here is that the car will not naturally move into third gear. I have found def had this problem on my car, i dont have a scanguage but im pretty sure it is getting over 3k rpm sometimes, its get very loud. It doesnt matter how slowly you accelerate, the problem is that while the engine is cold it does not want o shift into third, and i think not shifting into THIRD is a problem isnt it?

so many people dont read and think that he is talking about fourth gear that it is very difficult to know who is giving accurate info and who is not.

[07WYarisRS]

It's not a problem

Until it's up to temps it's going to hold shifts
If it's cold enough it may even hold the shift going into 2nd like my plymouth did.

[PetersRedYaris]

I believe at least 30 sec. to 1 min. should be allowed to let the oil fully circulate. Also, even after the cold engine light goes out the tranny may not be fully warmed up. If you want long life out of your car, I would allow minimal warm up, and drive softly for at least 5 miles.

[41magmag41]

I too have noticed the failure to jump right into 4th (overdrive) on my 2007 sedan. I will agree with you all that it's a operating temp shift. Asked the dealer and Toyota and the transmission has a sensor in it that won't allow the shift to overdrive until the transmission reaches operating temp. I had two Suzukis, and xl7 and grand vitara, that did the same thing. The new age of electronics. Just drive reasonable and when the cool light goes off you should be all set.

[xpeteyjtx]

The repair manual states that 4th gear is prohibited if coolant temp is 60 degrees Celcius (140 degrees Farenheit) or less or if the ATF temperature is 10 degrees Celcius (50 degrees farenheit) or less.

The manual doesn't give a straight-forward explaination about a 3rd gear prohibition. It goes on about different parameters that are checked and a whole bunch of other stuff that I didn't feel like reading.

The bottom line is, 3rd gear may be prohibited, maybe even 2nd in rare instances. 3rd gear for me is sometimes prohibited, it's not a malfunction, don't worry about it.

[Hershey]

our 2008 sedan does the same thing . The 2010 3 door goes as far as 3rd until blue light goes out . Maybe the computer system for the tranny needs a reboot for the shifting points . Unhooked the battery for over 2 hours to no avail .

[yaris-me]

We keep covering the same thing over and over again. The ECU manages the warm up. It runs at a higher idle and delays up shift while cold. Till about 1/8 of a mile it will hold back the up shift. This is NORMAL! It takes 3 to 5 miles to warm up the engine and the engine and transmission will run normally.

[BLH]

My 2007 is the same way.
When cold in the winter. It takes a few slow miles to warm it up enough to go into 3rd.
Forth as mentioned is not available until the cold light goes out.

[Hershey]

ours still occurs during the warmer spring . Shouldn't be the case . Got to take it to TOYO service center soon due to a possible oil leak . May bring up the staying in 2nd gear for about 1/4 > 1/2 mile then going to 3rd and then finally to overdrive when BLUE light disappears .

[Yaris Hilton]

It's normal. The blue "COOL!" light goes out a bit before the transmission upshifts to high. Someone recently posted the coolant temperatures the ECU looks for, something close to 130°F to turn out the COOL! light, and close to 140° to let the tranny shift normally IIRC. Don't bug the service people, they can't change it for you.