You usually only need to let a modern car idle for about 30 seconds to 1 minute in the winter, then drive gently to finish warming it up.

How Long To Warm Up (The Short Answer)

For most fuel‑injected cars (late 1980s and newer):

  • Idle about 15–60 seconds so oil can circulate through the engine.
  • Then drive gently (no hard revs or high speed) for the first 5–10 minutes; this warms the engine and drivetrain faster and more efficiently than idling in place.

Think of it as: start, buckle up, clear your windows, and go calmly.

What About Very Cold Weather?

When it’s truly frigid (well below freezing):

  • You can extend idle time to about 1–2 minutes so oil thickened by the cold starts flowing easily.
  • If you need to melt ice and clear the windshield, it’s fine to let the car run a few extra minutes for visibility and comfort, especially around or below 0 °F / −18 °C.
  • Even then, the engine still warms up fastest once you’re driving lightly, not idling for 15–20 minutes.

Older, carbureted cars (pre‑80s tech) are the main exception—they sometimes do need longer warm‑ups, but those are rare on today’s roads.

Why Long Idling Is A Bad Idea

Letting the car sit and idle for 10–20 minutes feels comforting, but it has drawbacks:

  • Wastes fuel and money while the car isn’t moving.
  • Increases emissions and pollution compared with a short idle plus gentle driving.
  • Can contribute to carbon buildup and extra wear, because engines are not optimized to sit at cold idle for long periods.

A good mental rule: warm you up as much as you like, but warm the engine mostly by driving.

Real‑World Example

Imagine a typical winter morning around freezing:

  1. Start car, let it idle while you put on your seatbelt and scrape the glass (about 30–60 seconds).
  1. Once you can see clearly, drive away smoothly, keeping revs low for the first few minutes.
  1. The temp gauge begins to move off “cold” within a short drive, and cabin heat ramps up quicker than if you’d just sat in the driveway idling.

Forum & “Latest Advice” Flavor

Recent advice from mechanics, dealer blogs, and winter‑driving guides is surprisingly consistent:

  • Modern engines with synthetic or modern oils don’t need long warm‑ups, even in cold climates like Canada or the northern US.
  • Many professionals explicitly recommend: “Start, wait about 30 seconds, then drive gently,” calling long idling an outdated habit carried over from carburetor days.

In short, the winter “warm‑up” your car really wants is a short idle plus an easy first few miles, not a long smoky idle in the driveway.

TL;DR: For a modern car in winter, 30–60 seconds of idling is usually enough; after that, gentle driving is the best and safest way to warm everything up.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.