Thanks for the tips.....problem is it will be hard to avoid the short trips....the one thing I have done is take the highway every now and then this winter...problem is my temp. gauge still never makes the mid-point even when I do that.

Not good. You'll want to make CCV an every few year maintenance item if thats the case.

Keep the IHKA off I'm telling you it will help get it up to temp.

Or get yourself a winter beater. I drive my 22 years old Ford pickup truck during the winter for short trips.

CCV
 

X5 is at the indy. If its officially just the CCV it will be $750 + tax. I will no later this afternoon.

Confirmed. CCV failure leading to VCG failure. Total cost for replacement (including spark plugs while they are in there) is $1250 + tax. So its being repaired as I type and I am expecting to pick it up this evening. Temperatures are supposed to be -25F with wind chill tonight here in CT. Its about a 4 mile drive from the indy to my house and the car will never get up to temperature. I'm going to be such a hypochondriac about this now.
My normal procedures in below 32F weather will be from now on:
1 - No idle warm-up (yes I have been guilty of doing this the past 2 mos) Basically get into the car and drive.
2 - Make sure IHKA is off so it warms up quicker.
3 - Take the longest way possible to work. My normal route was only 7 miles/17 minutes one way. This in conjunction with my warm up process created the CCV failure. Unfortunately the most round about route on the highway is only 20 miles taking me through downtown Hartford during the morning rush. That addl. 13 miles is going to make all the difference?
4 - Garage the X at night. The garage is not heated but obviously must be substantially warmer than outside.

Hey Jeff -

I would not go crazy taking the longer route everyday.
Once a week, how about, Fridays, the end of the commute week - just to burn off all the moisture.

That would be nice...it would definitely burn-off trying to pass through a major city on a Friday night at 5:30. Any other takers on the concept of a once a week burn-off?

You could also remove the oil cap as one member is doing to vent the warm air from the engine so it doesn't have a chance to condense and turn to water.

Run in sport mode. Higher revs = more heat in my experience (though that's on-track so maybe not directly applicable).

Garage parking will help as the heat from the catalytic converters will keep the space warm for a while. Maybe not all night with the temps you've had lately, but it won't hurt it...

Cap
 

That's an interesting concept.