Why is warming up your car bad?

[C.O. Jones]

Warming up the car before driving is definitely easier on wear for the car. The trade off is time and fuel economy. The best thing for a car would be to let it warm up completely before you start driving. Racers warm up their cars completely before they load them. But who's going to waste 20+ minutes doing that?

The arguments about gas dilution and water don't wash. Madern fuel injected engines manage air /fuel mixtures so well that dilution is not a concern like it was in the days of cars with heavily choked carbs, and as far as condensation goes, a hot engine burns off water.

If you look at the results of any engine test for wear, wear is inversely proportional to engine temp.

Don't buy into the car manufacturers line that "idling an engine is bad for your car". Remember what their motivations are, they have to meet EPA mileage standards and obviously a car standing still makes no MPG.

 

[ruking77]

The truth is if one wants to waste fuel idling, it is truly ones nickel.

 

[Patman]

Thankfully, if one wants to waste fuel by idling here in Toronto, and they do it longer than two minutes, they can get fined. We've got a bylaw in effect to stop the needless waste of idling.

We'll run out of gasoline pretty darn quick if everyone in the world with a vehicle wastes fuel by idling too long. If you're cold, put on a pair of gloves and a hat, don't be a wimp. Even when it's -15F outside I don't warm up my car, I just start it and go.

 

[Highroller]

If cars are covered thick in ice or snow just scrape it off or pour hot water on it =P (bad idea). My point is that dont start the car and let it idle while scraping off the ice/snow. Wait after scraping off all the ice and then start the car.

 

[Highroller]

Or you could invest in some really really good car covers that are water/ice proof. That way you just take the car cover along with any snow,water, or ice off with one effort.

 

[chiefsfan]

I have a friend who got a new 1200 watt heater and a good extension cord. He puts the heater in his car on a metal pan in the floor. He puts a timer on it so it goes on about 2 hours before he leaves in the morning. No frost, and a warm inside. Almost as good as a garage.
Just don't be an idiot when you set this up and don't point the heater to anything meltable. I hesitate to give this tip to just anyone, but the posters here seem to be more clever than the average car owner.

 

[ruking77]

quote:

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Thankfully, if one wants to waste fuel by idling here in Toronto, and they do it longer than two minutes, they can get fined. We've got a bylaw in effect to stop the needless waste of idling.

We'll run out of gasoline pretty darn quick if everyone in the world with a vehicle wastes fuel by idling too long. If you're cold, put on a pair of gloves and a hat, don't be a wimp. Even when it's -15F outside I don't warm up my car, I just start it and go.

---

I would guess by your response there are a lot more folks (percentage and volume) that subscribe to the "idling" procedures/behaviors, than say, people like me. If I am idling for longer than 30 secs, I am looking to turn off the machine if it is safe.

 

[Ramblin Fever]

I have to warm up the trucks here in Colorado, cause there is no slow/cautious warm-up driving available where I live.

You leave the driveway and instantly hit a 3k rpm hill to get off the street - don't feel like doing that on only a 30 second idle at 5F.

Been doing this for a long time with several modern cars, all have gone over 200k without issue.

 

[Bryanccfshr]

No one has mentioned the airpollution issue. If in dense area such as anchorage AK.. the air is thick in the morning from 50k cars warming up. Yuck.

 

[chefwong]

For those that below live the in south.....and haven't scraped ice off a car...........

It's much easier when the layer ontop of the windshield is somewhat melting when scraping ice off the glass. While I don't do the 15 minute warmup, it is necessary to get those defrosters working from a safety standpoint...

 

[Jonny Z]

I had the joy of doing that a few weeks ago when it sleeted.

The Prestone de-icer didn't work. Took me 15 mins to take off. Then I skidded out on the road but luckily didn't hit anything - the guy in front of me wasn't so lucky and slammed into the concrete embankment.

Why can't there be an eletrical heater/blower for the windshield. It takes forever for the coolant to heat up.

When you put more of a load on the alternator, it will force the engine to warm up faster.

 

[peterr]

Hmmm. Lots of diverse practices and firmly held beliefs. I tend to think that most of the "You must warm up at idle" or "Idling will destroy your engine" attitudes are wrong for the various reasons stated by others.

In normal winter conditions (around 10 degrees F or -10 celsius) I idle for about 30 seconds (while belting up, adjusting seat or radio or whatever) or as long as it takes to scrape snow or ice off the exterior if necessary. Then I drive off and try to keep RPMs low until the coolant temp gauge shows positive values. My basic thing is that I will use time is available, but that neither rushing off on a cold engine nor delaying my departure for the sake of extended idling achieves much.

The main thing that people who have not driven in cold climates may want to consider is that 3 or 4 minutes of idling in a canadian winter does very little warming up. A gentle drive at 2000 RPM will. While I don't think that a 15 minute idle is a good idea, I don't think it will ruin your car.

And for some posters who questioned -40F, yeah that would happen a fair amount in Ottawa. More to the point those poor ******** in our nation's capital would see -20 F frequently. Here in Toronto we would typically only see a couple of days a year that are below -15 F, but -5F or -10 F happens frequently.

 

[Master ACiD]

i dont think most alternators put out enough power to run a sufficent electric heater. imagine trying to defrost the windows using only 1 of the 2 slots in a pop up toaster and you get the general idea.

 

[Audi Junkie]

If long idling is so great, why not just let it run overnight?

I've used the space heater method for my wife, she leaves at 7:00am. Have not used it this year, the Honda she now has throws heat in under a mile. I have heated seats and leave much later.

 

[tenderloin]

Don't cars come with a "warm up" cycle? By that I mean the car runs at a higher idle speed for a short period of time after a cold start...then the idle drops down to it's "normal" speed. That is how long I let my car run before taking off and driving slowly for a minute or so.

Of course where I live...40's is chilly.....

 

[D189379]

If you've ever started a car after sitting overnight in really cold weather (<-30C), then you've probably noticed the horrific sounding buzzing and whining noises that the engine can make. There's no chance I'm going to start up my car, wait 30 seconds, and drive off ignoring the engines desperate cry for mercy.

 

[RickRS]

quote by C. O. Jones

quote:

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Don't buy into the car manufacturers line that "idling an engine is bad for your car". Remember what their motivations are, they have to meet EPA mileage standards and obviously a car standing still makes no MPG.

---

Huh?

Cars are tested in the EPA lab for the EPA mileage using a standardized test method. If there is any idling involved in the test, EPA would dictate it, not car manufacturers. What you and I get for MPG with our driving habits had absolutely no bearing on the car manufacturers' EPA MPG rating, or CAFE, or whatever.

 

[bottgers]

Highroller

Or you could just start your car and let it warm up with the defroster on for 15 miniutes before you drive. Have fun scraping the ice off your windows!

 

[Zaedock]

ruking77
Member # 1242
posted December 27, 2005 12:59 AM
"The truth is if one wants to waste fuel idling, it is truly ones nickel. "

Come on guys! I think the bozo's driving 80-90 MPH on their way into Boston(when traffic isn't sitting still) wastes more gas than me letting my car warm up for 5 minutes on a cold day. The "wasting fuel" thing is a non-issue for a 5 minute warm up.
I don't think anyone is going to let up on what's right or wrong in this thread. Cool.

 

[bottgers]

I once had a '61 Pontiac Starchief when I was stationed in Grand Forks ND while I was in the Air Force. It had an inline heater, which is similar to a block heater except it's installed in the lower radiator hose and it keeps the coolant warm. It worked even better than a block heater. Even on those sub zero mornings, I had luke warm air from the defroster as soon as I started the engine. I don't even know if the inline heaters are still sold.