Quick question that I don't see discussed for the 5th gen. I snagged one of the last 2024 5th gens and have noticed that it "seems" to take longer to warm up to operating temperature, at least according to the engine coolant temperature gauge. Not a big deal. Just curious. I've had 4 other 5th gens and my recollection is that they warmed up much more quickly. Thanks

I would say my 2023 comes up pretty quick. My wife and I drive to the local park for a walk in the mornings. About a 5 to 7 minute drive and the gauge is almost at the normal temp when we get there. Now, a cold morning in the teens or single digits will take a bit longer....

My 2 other cars show oil temp, not coolant, and they take quite a bit longer to come up to operating temp.

Thanks. I'll keep an eye on it as the temps continue to drop.

Hey, this problem has been discussed in several threads and they all seemingly seem to agree that the 4Runner takes longer than the average vehicle to come up to full operating temperature. This will be most noticeable in colder climates when temperatures are below freezing. In my personal experience, in anything colder than -20C (-4F) it can take upwards of 10-15 minutes of combination idle/driving time to hit full operating temp, but is warm enough to produce heat in about half that time.

Thanks for the info. I'm in Minnesota so that aligns with what I'm seeing as temperatures are under 20F. Drives just fine and I'm not concerned. It just seems "different" from the other 4Runners I've had. My scan tool dongle just showed up. So, I'll see what the data says.

From day 1 in my 2023 4Runner, I felt like this is the longest to warm up vehicle I've ever owned (other than maybe previous 4Runners). I assumed this was because of the mechanical fan, trying to cool down an already cold engine as you're driving from a cold start.

Here in 30 degree winter mornings, with my ~12 minute drive to work, the heater is hardly blowing any slightly warm air by the time I get to work. As a bandaid for that, the heated seat and heated steering wheel are appreciated.

I monitor my coolant temp using an OBD dongle and Torque Pro. Here's what I found during a cold startup on a morning that was -32C (-26F). My block heater was plugged in overnight for this test. I did a 10 minute warm up at idle for this test.

Run Time: Temp

Pre-start:-30C (-22F) coolant near sensor was cold as it wasn't near the block heater.
1 min: -9C (15F) - The warm coolant had begun to circulate at this point.
2 min: 3C (38F)
3 min: 13C (55F)
4 min: 21C (69F)
5 min: 28C (82F)
6 min: 34C (93F)
7 min: 38C (100F)
8 min: 43C (109F)
9 min: 46C (115F)
10 min: 49C (120F) at this point warm air was blowing from the vents and I drove away. The cab was absolutely not warm, but progressing and blowing warm air.

As you can see, the coolant that was heated by the block heater circulated quickly on startup and the temperature increased by +33C (+60F)in 2 minutes.

Wow. Thank you very much for the info! Much appreciated!

extremely unhealthy to drive on cold engine. piston/cylinder gap is to big.

Opinions vary. I'll let the vehicle idle for the time it takes for me to get belted in and settled. Then I drive like the old man that I am until the interior starts warming up.