How long does it take for oil to reach operating temp?

Hey all!

My MK7 had the oil temp in the MFD, but as we all know the US spec MK6 does not have such a feature.

I always waited until I saw 160-180 on my gauge before starting to get frisky with the throttle but now I have no idea with this car so I have to play it safe and drive for like 20 minutes before I feel safe having fun. I do not let my car idle/warm up for extended periods of time.

Also this car's water temp does not get up nearly as fast as the MK7 (presumably due to a revised water heater in the MK7) but this only has so much to do with the oil heating up as the block does.

So i guess my quesiton is, for those who have a temp gauge installed, any ideas on how long/how many miles before you are at operating temp? lol. Bearing in mind, of course, varying weather, driving habits, etc...

Thanks!

It's dependent on a lot of factors. Stop and go versus highway driving. My general observations that it usually took twice as long as the coolant. So however long it takes for that coolant to get to operating temp wait that much longer. So if it takes 10 mins for the coolant to get to op temp wait another 10 mins after that.

^that is kind of my current take on it! when that coolant gauge reaches the 1/2 way point (operating) i was kind of assuming the oil was just starting to heat up.

Thanks

The next question is, does it heat up faster on the highway or in the city traffic

Sent from phone Tapa

brobst said:

The next question is, does it heat up faster on the highway or in the city traffic

Sent from phone Tapa

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Stop and go. Not crawling 5 mph, but 1st and second upshifting and downshifting. And if you don't manually intervene it'll take longer for dsg because it always wants to get to the highest gear as quick as possible.

^yep I agree with that.

Kinda sucks because i wouldn't necessarily want to intervene manually either, because just like the engine, you want the trans to get to 'operating temp' before beating on that as well!

This car takes a pretty minute to warm up when it's cold out! Thank heavens for the heated cloth seats they are amazing!

exclamation points

riceburner said:

Also this car's water temp does not get up nearly as fast as the MK7 (presumably due to a revised water heater in the MK7)

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Are you talking about how the exhaust manifold is integrated into the head? This video explains it pretty well: https://youtu.be/nNendiDFzSM

My Mk6 (TSI) still heats up a lot faster than my two previous VWs did (both 2.5), but that's probably because of the turbo.

it also depends on the temperature your in... lol The cobb gauge has engine temp and other temps on display for me and in the morning my engine temp could be around 90 degrees or so... and then 6-7 hours later when i go to leave work or something and its 95 degrees out i start my car and my engine temp is showing 120 degrees a minute after start up.

Driving in the city traffic from light to light tends to take like 10 minutes or so to warm up. (Depending on temperature outside) i was warm up as in like 205 degrees as thats basically where it stops warming up and stay around(and fluctuates a few degrees based on moving or stopped).

Also going on a country road or the highway where im not stopped and cruising in 5th or 6th gear it tends to take maybe 5 minutes longer or so to warm up to that ~200 degrees.

I have a euro Mk6 so have oil temp on MFD.

The oil temp shows "---" until it hits 50°C (122°F). The coolant is usually at 90°C(194°F -middle) for 2 mins before the oil hits 50°C.

Normal driving sees it max out at 97°C (207°F), a good hoon takes it to 105°C (221°F), never seen it above 110°C (230°F) yet.

I don't beat on the car until the oil is above 80°C (176°F) Which is normally 2-3 minutes later depending on how much load the car is under.

The car heats up noticeably faster in the summer, I hit a specific corner on the way to work and notice a 5°C difference in oil temp between summer and winter.

P.S. please put °F in the bin