We report the observation of thermally induced metal-insulator transition (T-MIT) in VO2 nanowires which are fabricated using standard optical lithography followed by focused Ion Beam (FIB) milling. We also observed the current induced voltage jumps in current-voltage characteristics at temperatures far below the structural phase transition temperature (∼ 300K) on the nanowires. These voltage jumps are seen in a simple circuit without any inductive component. The current threshold, where the jumps occur, increases with increasing temperature. A detailed analysis of this anomalous transport in terms of cooling and heating rate during measurement will be presented in the light of enhanced precursor phenomenon in phase transitions in low dimensional systems. © 2013 American Institute of Physics.