No, I didn’t spell that incorrectly. I’m not talking about an idol. I’m talking about the kind of idle that involves automobiles.
The other morning while I was out walking, I noticed several cars in my neighborhood that were parked in driveways or on streets. I noticed them because they were running, but were unoccupied. Since it was around the time that many people are leaving for work in the morning, and since it was rather brisk out, I deduced that these cars were idling because people were warming them up.
Although I’ve always been aware that some people do this with their automobiles, this warming up thing where you let the car run for anywhere from a couple of minutes to, in some cases I’ve noticed, nearly a half an hour, it’s a practice that I’ve never taken up. The longest I will let my car idle is the time it takes me to brush snow/scrape ice off of it. These tasks normally take less than a minute… two at the most.
So, I wondered… when the weather turns cold, should I be letting my car warm up before I drive away?
As I often do when I have an automotive question, I went to Click and Clack to see what they had to say about the topic. Here’s what I found:
Unless it’s below freezing, cars don’t need to be warmed up at all. Driving them gently is the best warm up there is. If it’s 25 degrees out, you might want to let it warm up for 30 seconds. If it’s 10 degrees out, warm it up for a minute. If it’s -10 degrees out, move somewhere warmer.
Car Talk’s Guide to Better Fuel Economy
And it’s not just Click and Clack who believe it’s not necessary… and is even counterproductive (adds unnecessary pollution and wastes gas)… to warm up a car. The Car Doctor, the Daily Green, Matthew Wright, who writes the About.com Auto Repair Guide (although a few of his readers disagree with him), and a Peter Christianson, former race-car driver and President of the Young Drivers of Canada* all agree. And, seriously, does anyone know more about cold weather than the Canadians?
If saving money, polluting less, and it’s just not necessary aren’t reasons enough to stop warming up your car, how about the increased chance of your car not being there at all, much less all warm and snuggly, when you go to get in it?
The bone chilling cold has more and more people letting their cars run to keep them warm. That’s driving thieves to steal vehicles left unattended.
…
Police say it’s a crime of opportunity. People steal, because they can. After all, your car is running.
There you have it: It’s not necessary to let your car warm up in the winter months and, by not warming up your car, you can save yourself some money, pollute less, and keep your vehicle more secure.
* This article also contains a lot of other sound advice for driving, especially in the winter.
