This car really hates the cold weather
 

I've never had a car that was so finicky in the cold weather. I tend to start my cars and let them idle for ~10 minutes on a cold day like today (around 18*). Ran out this morning to start her up and left her idling for a while during my morning routine.

When I got in I realized it had only gotten a little over the quarter mark on the heat gauge, turned on torque in my phone to check if the coolant was over 60* and it was sitting at 62 so I figured it'd be safe to get moving for the day.

I park on a pretty steep incline, around 30 degrees, and popped into reverse, on a normal day I don't need to press the gas much at all to get out of my drive way, maybe a bit if I have to cut the wheel or something. However this morning when I shifted into reverse (AT) the car literally shuttered and rolled back at a speed too low to even register on the speedometer. I pressed on the gas a bit and felt how sluggish the engine was to move the car, it also made a strange sound in reverse, it almost sounded like the timing belt or something, not a squeak but a kind of grinding sound coupled with a wooshing sound that almost sounded like the intake sucking in air at WOT. (I was nowhere near WOT btw)

Got out of my driveway and popped into drive, car still felt sluggish but it seemed to melt away after a few minutes of driving...

Is this a problem everyone is experiencing? It's mildly concerning because I'm almost afraid to drive my car unless it idles for enough time to get the coolant over 65 degrees, this would obviously be a huge inconvenience.

I'm considering switching to a better oil for the next few months, and recommendations, I have 0w-20 synthetic in now, but would consider putting a better winter oil in.

A little over 1/4 on the heat gauge? :o that's a lot! What I usually do, with any of my other cars, if that warm it up enough so the temp needle jumps just a little bit, then I know i can drive it. Then the car will heat up a lot faster when you drive it. No need to idle and warm up your car until 1/4.

My manual trans car doesn't like to start when I leave it sit out in the cold at work.
It cranked for a solid 7 seconds last night before firing.

That's the thing, considering how long I let it sit I was surprised to find it still preforming so poorly...

I've noticed a few groans from mine the last couple mornings. Dipping down into the low teens. But don't know that any of my automobiles haven't had some cold weather symptoms. I don't let it idle, I start and go, keeping the revs to a minimum.

Yesterday after initial start it backfired 2 or 3 times through the intake right after starting. MT is very stiff and 2nd gear is very hard to hit. I've resorted to double clutching till it warms up. The tires are stiff and out of round till warmed up. Nothing major.

-35c here this morning, car fired up and ran fine.

The radio will not power up if the temp is below -25c however:thumbdown:

Even if you let the engine warm up for half an hour the transmission fluid is still cold and doesn't flow smoothly. This is why you're supposed to drive gently for a while even if your coolant/oil is at temp.

I agree with pheoxs. Sounds like your transmission is cold. The fluid in there is thick and will lead to sluggish feel and unsettling noises. Just be gentle while it warms up after you start driving and I wouldn't worry about it.

0W-20 is pretty much as low as you can go viscosity grade wise! I don't think that would be the problem.

That depends what they calibrated the gauge to. I'd be curious to see what it is compared to actual temps. My other car, temp shows at anything past 75 and has about a solid 50-75 degree window of "good" on the stock gauge. Operating temp is 180.

Not going to hurt anything by warming it up more. Plus you can warm up then :P But yeah, trans fluid is still cold at that point

Quoted for good wisdom. Just get in the car and drive modestly until everything warms up. It's the exact same story when going to the track; you do a warm-up lap to get everything up to temp, not just engine coolant.

Stop warming it up by idling. Start warming it up by driving gingerly.

FWIW, it was ~20 degrees F yesterday and the car started fine. Let it sit for ~14 hours as it got colder (single digit temps this morning) and it started fine. Windows didn't even freeze! Of course, 2nd gear did its thing as it always does.

When the temperature is just above 0*, mine starts up without problems but takes a while to settle down at the normal idle.

When the temp falls below 0*, I have experienced the engine "stumble" for a fraction of a second a few times right after I fire it up.

This car is worse than my carbed bike in the cold...

Idle for no more than 30 seconds then drive easy until everything is warmed up. There is nothing worse on an engine, especially cold, than idling. The oil will never get up to temperature to burn off condensate in it, the transmission will still be stone cold, the oil pressure is low. Just don't do it, its not 1950 anymore. Read the manual, it will say the same thing.