I have heard those claims since the early 90's. So, earlier this year when it was about 25 below zero I put my van in drive after about 45 seconds. The transmission fluid was so cold and thick that the engine bogged down and quit. I tried other idle times on similar cold day to find the minimum the van needs to drive, and I found 10 minutes is the shortest time for it to warm up enough to drive. It is a fuel injected and computer controlled vehicle.
I asked my regular mechanic about that and he said that while modern engines don't need that much warm up time, your transmission still does. Driving before the tranny fluid warms up enough is just asking for your tranny to go out sooner.
I asked my regular mechanic about that and he said that while modern engines don't need that much warm up time, your transmission still does. Driving before the tranny fluid warms up enough is just asking for your tranny to go out sooner.