Why You Shouldnt Warm Up Your Car In The Winter
While stepping into a warm cabin can help make any drive a more comfortable one, its better to bundle yourself up and hit the road straight away. This is because while your cars engine may be on when you let it warm up, it is working harder than it would be if you just started driving right when you started the car.
Modern gasoline engines work by using a system of cylinders and pistons controlled by tiny explosions taking place within the engine. These explosions, caused by igniting the gasoline and air by your cars spark plugs in the combustion chamber, are what generate the power needed to move your car, truck or SUV when you step on the accelerator.
As with many other components of your vehicle, the cold weather of winter will affect this process. In sub-zero temperatures, like those found in parts of the country like the northeast or midwest during the wintertime, the gasoline in your vehicle will have difficulty going through this combustion process. When this occurs, the fuel injection system will overcompensate and begin to pump more gas than needed to heat your car to its optimal working temperature, which can end up corroding your cylinder walls more quickly than usual. On top of that, you will also most likely find yourself taking more trips to fill up at the pump, as the extra fuel needed to bring your cars temperature to optimal levels can begin to add up.
Should I Start My Car Every Few Hours In Cold Weather
How often should I start my car and let it idle in cold weather? Answer: Dont. Experts at AAA, a federation of motor clubs, say its not a good idea to warm your car up to keep it from freezing. Drivers should start their engine and allow it to idle only for the time it takes you to fasten your seat belt.
Is It Better To Idle Or Turn Your Car Off
In most cases, its typically better to turn off your vehicle than to let it sit idle. Manufacturers stopped using carburetors in vehicles in the mid-90s. Anyone driving a carburetor-free vehicle will save fuel and create less pollution by turning off their vehicle.
Whether you want to protect your vehicle or the environment, you also must consider the law. Some states and local communities prohibit vehicles from idling to limit the creation of pollution.
For example, your first offense of running your car longer than three minutes in Washington D.C. could result in a $500 fine. This will quickly eat up any fuel savings you were hoping to experience!
Recommended Reading: How To Fix Car Clear Coat
A Few Tips On Starting A Diesel Engine On A Cold Morning:
1. Glow Plugs and Block Warmers: On a chilly day, the vast majority of diesel engines can be started with glow plugs or block heaters. Glow plugs work by heating the internal combustion chamber, allowing for proper compression and, eventually, ignition.
2. Wait for the Glow Plugs to Warm Up: If the combustion chamber isnt sufficiently heated with glow plugs, cold fuel sprayed over the semi-heated plugs will cause the diesel fuel to gel and stick to the cylinder heads. The wall of the heads or the surface may be damaged as a result of this.
3. Install a Second Battery: Make sure you have a fully charged battery or a separate battery specifically for the glow plugs installed. Glow plugs require a significant amount of power from your vehicles battery to operate. The capacity of a battery to keep a charge decreases as the temperature drops. At 75-80 degrees Fahrenheit, a battery will have 100 percent power available, but at 0 degrees Fahrenheit, it will only have 46 percent. Installing a second battery could mean the difference between the motor starting and not starting.
When oil fully oxidizes, the additives separate and begin to chemically break down, resulting in black engine sludge. If a diesel engine is not unclogged and cleaned, sludge will eventually ruin it. As a result, it is critical to change the oil on a frequent basis, especially in colder locations.
Should I Let My Vehicle Warm Up On Cold Mornings
There are opinions all over the map on this one. Some say allowing the car to idle too long washes the cylinders down with the gas, causing excessive wear and it wastes gas.
Lets look at this from a factual perspective. If its a given, then different metals expand and contract at different rates. The cast iron engine block sitting under the aluminum heads will actually move around slightly under heavy loads. This movement is diminished somewhat when temperatures are stabilized such as after warm up.
It is certainly more comfortable to get in a warmer vehicle with the frost off the inside and ice or snow off the outside. Am I advocating a warm up of 15 to 30 minutes? No. Maybe a 3 to 10 minute depending how cold it is.
Certainly dont try to drive a car with a supercharger or turbo charger with cold engine oil. The tiny needle bearings turn 10 to 15,000 RPM and they like warm oil to protect them from excessive friction.
We all know a diesel engine wont produce much power until it builds a little heat in the engine. They will rattle and make you think it will die when you press the throttle on a cold engine.
For me, Ill warm the engine and take care of my bearings.
Don’t Miss: Transfer Title Az
Should I Start My Car Every Day In The Winter
You dont typically need to start your car every day during the winter months. Cars and their complex systems are generally safe from cold weather. However, if you live in an area that experienced extreme sub-freezing temperatures, its a good idea to start your car once a day.
Old or weak batteries dont do well in frigid temperatures and are more likely to fail. Not starting your vehicle during a day or two of freezing weather, and youll need to find someone with jumper cables.
Benefits Of A Remote Start System In The Summer
What you may not know is that you can also use your remote start system in your car during the summer months. While you wouldnt want to let your car idle for a long time before you go to take it for a drive in the summer months it starting it before you take off does have some advantages.
The best advantage of starting your car up in the hot summer months is that it allows your air conditioning to get a chance to cool down the inside of your vehicle before you hop inside of it. This means that in the hot summer months when its 100 degrees out you can have your car cooled off before you ever step foot inside it.
Being able to start your car remotely in the summer months is a benefit to anyone that lives in southern climates that may get temperatures reaching or exceeding 120 degrees F because you can significantly lower the temperatures of the inside of your vehicle before you get inside of it.
Anyone that has hopped into a car that has been baking in the sun for hours knows how uncomfortable it can be to touch your steering wheel or gear shifter when it feels like it is on fire. Having your air conditioning on your car running for a bit before you get into it can keep you from having to experience that again.
Read Also: Cancelling Geico Insurance
How Long Should You Warm Up Your Car
This question depends on a lot of factors. How cold is it outside? How large is your engine? Is your car fuel injected ? All of these factors will impact how long you should be warming up your car before you go take it for a drive.
If it is the wintertime and it is negative 20 degrees F outside, then you would want to warm up your car for a bit longer to give it a chance to be able to warm up. Generally warming your car up for about 5 minutes should be sufficient if it is not subzero temperatures out. If it is subzero outside, then you may want to warm up your car for 10 minutes to allow your engine to get up to temp before driving it.
The type of oil that you go with also has an impact on how quickly it will go to fluid form. Synthetic engine oil performs better than conventional engine oil at low temperatures. To learn more about the differences and how often you should change your engine oil check out my other article.
One thing that you dont want to do is let your car idle for a very long time. There is a sweet spot that you want to try to get into. If you let your car idle for a really long time before you take off in it you would be wasting gas while it is idling.
Letting your car idle for too long can also actually hurt your engine as well if it is not able to get up to normal operating temperatures quickly. If your engine is not able to get up to the normal operating temperature, then your oil will still be thick until it can get up to operating temps.
Why Idling Doesnt Warm The Oil
Oils job is to lubricate, remove heat and keep metal parts from touching. As soon as the oil light goes out, youve got enough oil pressure in the engine to prevent metal parts from touching. When an engine is under load, oil friction creates heat and oil flow moves that heat away from engine parts. But an idling engine puts very little load on the oil which means idling friction creates little heat. So idling doesnt really warm your oil very well. In fact, its the least effective way to warm the oil.
Warming your oil warming by idling is even less effective in extremely cold temperatures. The oil picks up little heat in the engine before it drains back down into a cold sump. There its exposed to frigid temps that remove whatever heat it just accumulated.
In extremely cold weather the oil in the sump can lose more BTUs than it picked up when circulating through an idling engine.
newer engines use lower viscosity 0W-20 and 5W-20 oil that flows better than older 10W-30 oils when cold.
Idling loads the oil with gas
A cold engine needs a rich air/fuel mixture to ignite and overcome the heat loss produced by the cold metal combustion chamber. That rich mixture acts as a solvent and washes oil off the cylinder walls, so you actually get less lubrication during and idling warm-up.
Recommended Reading: Cigarette Burns In Car
How Long Should You Let Your Car Warm Up
Within seconds, your car is ready for normal driving, which means you can reach highway speeds immediately. Some experts recommend letting your car idle for up to 30 seconds before getting going, but thats the longest you should wait. Any longer than that, and youre just wasting gas.
Excessive idling will reduce your fuel economy. Colder air alone makes it more challenging for your vehicle to attain those numbers, and excessive idling certainly does not help.
What Will Happen If You Dont Warm Up Your Carbureted Car Before Driving
Gasoline is a solvent, so when extra fuel gets onto the cylinder walls it washes away the oil from the cylinder and the pistons. If theres no oil on the cylinder walls it wont protect the component. When the oil is at a lower temperature its more difficult for it to be replaced.
The more you drive with your engine cold the faster the cylinder and piston will wear out. Simply leaving the engine to idle doesnt warm it up efficiently, so the cars application will remain cold until you start driving.
If your car runs rich with gas it can cause oil dilution. This happens when fuel passes through the pistons and mixes in with the oil. Diluted oil can result in a thinner consistency with less film strength. This results in application wear and accelerates the oxidation of the oil which means the liquid will break down quicker.
Also Check: Car Salesman Average Commission
Driving Your Car Will Warm It Up Quicker Than Idling
Of course, hopping into a cold car is never a fun task. Although driving your car will actually warm up your engine faster than idling, it still means driving for a period of time in a cold vehicle. And, it also means dealing with the frost on your car windows before they warm up. Fortunately, you can easily defrost your windows in 30 seconds with this simple car window defrosting trick.
Is It Good To Warm Up Car Before Driving
When youre getting out of the house to drive a car in winter, it shouldnt warm up beyond 30 seconds. When your vehicle is run, your engine will warm up sooner, according to EPA and DOE. In fact, it makes more sense to switch off and start your engine over if youre leaving it idling after restarting it.
Recommended Reading: Can You Change Interior Color Your Car
Should I Warm Up My Car In The Winter
From leaving your windshield wipers up before a storm to throwing salt on your driveway to melt the ice, chances are there are several DIY tips and tricks to help you take on the challenges of winter weather. But while some tips like these can provide you with some benefits to help protect your vehicle, its not always the case.
For many car owners, heading outside a few minutes before using their vehicles to turn on the cars engine and to warm it up is as common of a routine as taking a trip to the gas station when your tank is low. While letting your cars engine run and your heater do its thing can often make for a more comfortable ride, it can actually be hurting your vehicle. In fact, unless you have an older vehicle that utilizes carburetors and not more modern fuel injection systems, letting your car idle for extended periods, such as letting it warm up to a comfortable cabin temperature, can , leaving you more at risk for a potential breakdown or other costly repairs sooner rather than later.
Should You Warm Up Your Car In The Winter
With winter in full swing, car owners around the country are finding themselves eager to get out and enjoy the sights and sounds of the season. No matter where youre heading, its important to prepare not only yourself for the cold weather but its also vital to ensure your vehicle is ready for everything the winter has to offer. From dealing with freezing temperatures, falling snow and icy roadways, taking the time to winterize your vehicle can not only help keep you safe but can also help you avoid any unexpected repairs in the future.
But while even the best winter vehicles can benefit from a variety of minor winter maintenance tasks, like getting a pair of winter tires, installing a pair of winter wiper blades, some popular winter car-care methods may actually be harming your vehicle instead of helping it.
You May Like: Az Title Transfer
Theres No Need To Wait Long Usually
most experts agree: with modern cars, you dont need to idle for a long period before you drive off in the cold weather. technological advances like fuel injection and better motor oil mean you can hit the road quickly if youve got a vehicle made in the last 30 years or so.
most car manufacturers recommend taking off after the engine has been running for 30 seconds. then you should drive gently until your vehicle is fully warm. this actually warms up your car much faster than if you were just idling it while parked.
its also better for your fuel economy. think about it when your vehicle is stationary and idling, you are getting zero miles per gallon. thats as bad as it gets! plus, there are reasons why extended idling can actually be bad for your car, which well get into later.
Benefits Of A Remote Start System In The Winter
One way that you can get around braving the cold in the winter months to warm up your car is by using a remote start system. If you have a remote start system installed in your car you can remotely start your car from afar. This allows you to be able to have your car started and warmed up before you ever set foot in it.
A remote start system is nice because it allows your car to get the engine up to normal operating temperatures. Remote start systems also allow your car a chance to be able to get your heating system a chance to warm up the inside of your car before you get into it as well. To check out the . Having a remote starter really nice in the winter months if you live in a cold climate because you dont have to sit in a cold car and wait for it to get warm. The car will already be warm when you get inside it. If your car is like my car you can also have your heated seats on and already heated whenever you hop inside your car.
Don’t Miss: Carcareone Card Accepted
