How bad is idling?

[fdcg27]

It is probably not the best use of the engine, and it is a bit wasteful of fuel, but I doubt that engine life would be significantly reduced if the car is idled a bit here and there.
For example, on a An amusing side note is that on a really cold morning, even after only being outside the time it takes to walk 120' down the driveway to get the papers, walk back, and start the car, my still damp hair will actually freeze.
This happens in five minutes or less.

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

In Miami the bulk of the people let it idle alot to keep the kids and everyone else nice and comfy in this jungle heat and blazing sun...There does not seem to be a issue with that as long as the car is serviced on schedule.

 

[buickman50401]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint

I agree, but see Hydrid cars having problems as well. The oil will hardly ever get up to operating temps, and that creates all kinds of wear issues. JMO

I've had that same concern regarding hybrids. Not sure how/what they have done to get around it or if they just figure that the increase wear is balanced by the decreased run times.

 

[HangerHarley]

Originally Posted By: Texan4Life
Originally Posted By: uart
Originally Posted By: Texan4Life
I idle all the time with the car in my sig and don't think twice. Even for hours sleeping a rest stop when traveling for my job.


In Texas?

I could understand that in Alaska or Canada where you need heat, but why in Texas. Is it so you can run the A/C?


You bet your bippy! ...its hot down here


Couldnt have said it better. Nice, Thick oil (?) and all is good.

Originally Posted By: FORD4LIFE
Originally Posted By: Brons2
I don't see the danger inherent in hot restarts that some posters have alluded to. Wear on battery and starter?? My car restarts almost instantaneously when I shut it off to avoid extended idling. Which, I always do even though it's a bit uncomfortable when it's 100F outside.


Shutting the car off for a very short period does not make any sense to me especially in the hot summer or cold winter. No sense at all.


Thought about that, and I can only reach the same conclusion.

Engine fully warmed? .. Just let it run. Dont put the extra stress on your Oil Pump, etc. It has een plennntttyy.. im sure.

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

Originally Posted By: HangerHarley
[/quote]

Couldnt have said it better. Nice, Thick oil (?) and all is good.

Thick oil and all is not good.

No need for thick oil for idling...Any 5W20 Blend should be able to handle it if your car calls for it...If it did not the bulk of the cars in law enforcement and all the rest the cars in Miami-Dade County would be dropping like flies all over the place.

 

[oldmaninsc]

Originally Posted By: CROWNVIC4LIFE


Thick oil and all is not good.

No need for thick oil for idling...Any 5W20 Blend should be able to handle it if your car calls for it...If it did not the bulk of the cars in law enforcement and all the rest the cars in Miami-Dade County would be dropping like flies all over the place.

Exactly. When I would pick my kids up at school I didn't have much of a choice. The line would be about 2 blocks long and you have to sit for a couple of minutes and then move forward a car length or two. There was no place to park and "meet them at the door." This is at a school that was designed for about 1600 and had about 3400 students and due to budget cuts did away with the school buses. Can you say traffic jams boys and girls?

I don't see any sense in shutting off the engine only to start it again two minutes later. If I know I'm going to be sitting for about 10 minutes (and the weather is decent) I'll shut the engine off.
Starters and batteries aren't cheap. Some might say neither is an engine, but I have yet to see an engine blow due to "too much idling." LOL

 

[OneEyeJack]

There is a package delivery company that delivers high value items, kind of a specialty service. There are 2 people in the car and they leave it running at all stops. Over the 20 years of this service they have switched their oci strategy to one based on gallons of gasoline burned. Because of their radios and security systems and the extra electrical loads and the need to run the a/c or heater a lot they keep the engines running. They buy cars 2-3 years old and install their systems. They try to look as anonymous as possible. On deliveries that require a pickup they now always by used Toyotas with the 4.7 V8 which they say they have the best luck of any engine they have used. These pickups get driven 3 shifts a day and 75 to 100k in a year is common. The trucks get used a lot because of the expense of setting one up. The oil they use is Delo 15w40 and Wix filters. They also say it's important to change the air filter as soon as it looks "dusty" at all. Their position on idling, I asked. No problem, the vehicles have a job to do and idling is just part of the job, that an an oci based on gasoline burned.

 

[mikiee]

On a related note, I've always wondered about these remote starters, where people start their car from inside the house and have it idling while they're having their morning coffee. That can't be good for a car especially in the winter time, when the engine is running rich till it warms up.

 

[rslifkin]

I agree. The longest I'll allow it to idle in the morning in the winter is long enough to walk back inside, grab my things, put them in the car, and get in. In other words, about a minute or two. If it NEEDS to idle any longer, then it's cold enough that it should have a block heater, etc.

 

[KieferS]

My ranger is always idling. AC on. GA traffic (14/24 hrs of the day)delivery vehicle. GA heat. blown transmission = only 3 of 5 gears and high rpm. always pedal to the metal. Royal purple 5/30. no issues. 115k miles.
Love my baby

 

[OneEyeJack]

The only time I would worry about idling is right after start up when everything is cold. I try to drive away, at an easy pace, right away. I do understand that if you live were it's really cold all bets are off. You use your vehicle as a tool and that's it.

 

[CrAlt]

We use ford trucks at work. v6 and v8 pickups. v10 and diesel bucket trucks. They ALL idle all the time. Strobe lights, radios, battery chargers, computers, etc would kill the truck's battery if you shut the trucks off.

Other then the diesels ive never heard of an engine failure in the fleet. The trans goes or the truck gets in to a wreck.. If that happens after it has 140K on it they junk em.

My truck is started at the start of my shift and i shut it off at the end. I had it since new and it has 70K on it now. Its a 2003.. All that millage has been put on around town.. no highway use.

They change the oil every 3K with some cheap stuff out of a 55gal drum.

 

[OneEyeJack]

CrAlt, I think even the "cheap stuff" out of the drum, today is pretty good oil. Today's engines are pretty tough and as others have said, will usually outlast the chassis.

The local police have a Ford SUV with a lot of electronics stuff and it spends a lot of time idling and is run three shifts a day. It's driven by the Lt that heads each shift. If they turn it off the batteries go dead because of the electrical load. They change the oil every month without regard to the mileage which means that it gets changed every 2-3k miles. It does not smoke and runs like a new engine. They use dyno 5w-20.

 

[Bryanccfshr]

My work truck scenario is similar to CrAlt's. 4k mile OCI's on Castrol Syntec. Unlimited idling. Cold startups in the winter to warmup while I shower and eat breakfast.

 

[Benzadmiral]

My view is I don't want to waste the gasoline idling if I can help it.

Recently I've been on jury duty. Parking, paid, is in a lot across the street from the Criminal Courts Building. So far, each day they've let me, and about 100 others, go at about 12:15. After the first day, I make sure to have an extra cup of coffee and relax for 20 minutes. Let the rest of the herd thunder out, jump in their cars, and then idle helplessly in line to get out of the lot.

 

[KieferS]

Exactly. anytime I do a ride along with the police department - the cruiser is never shut off. The county is so cheap that these p71 Interceptors have 140k miles on them.... with POLICE USE. they drive great. The engines don't ping or hesitate and sound healthy.
I honestly feel oil does not matters anymore. I believe people come on this site for psychological reasons. I find that men who really care about motor oil pay more attention to detail, quality, creativity and appreciate the ability of tolerances. This site is an opportunity to exercise these values you can't find at many other places and meet like minded people. In all honesty - I don't believe anyone on this site has benefited from a "truly" better running or longer lasting engine because of information from the highly educational but many times - unnecessary threads here. All this is a bunch of anal people trying to find something where there is nothing.

I love you guys

 

[Mr_Incredible]

During the winter I sit at work in the morning and finish my cigar. I idle for heater up to 45 min per day. I do not idle the car in the summer.

There is no difference in the used oil analysis between summer/winter that is outside of of background noise. Not in metals, not in fuel contamination.