Warming up your car in the winter bad for it?
 

My cousin recently shared this on her social media:

http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life...-harms-engine/

Thoughts on this guys? I'm sure we have a few engine experts here I'd trust more than Good Housekeeping and potentially its sources :biggrin2:

Here's the article for those that don't want to click:

"In the thick of winter, the common wisdom is that when you are gearing up to take your truck out in the cold and snow, you should step outside, start up your engine, and let it idle to warm up. But contrary to popular belief, this does not prolong the life of your engine in fact, it decreases it by stripping oil away from the engine's cylinders and pistons.

In a nutshell, an internal combustion engine works by using pistons to compress a mixture of air and vaporized fuel within a cylinder. The compressed mixture is then ignited to create a combustion event — a little controlled explosion that powers the engine.

When your engine is cold, the gasoline is less likely to evaporate and create the correct ratio of air and vaporized fuel for combustion. Engines with electronic fuel injection have sensors that compensate for the cold by pumping more gasoline into the mixture. The engine continues to run rich in this way until it heats up to about 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

"That's a problem because you're actually putting extra fuel into the combustion chamber to make it burn and some of it can get onto the cylinder walls," Stephen Ciatti, a mechanical engineer who specializes in combustion engines at the Argonne National Laboratory, told Business Insider. "Gasoline is an outstanding solvent and it can actually wash oil off the walls if you run it in those cold idle conditions for an extended period of time."

The life of components like piston rings and cylinder liners can be significantly reduced by gasoline washing away the lubricating oil, not to mention the extra fuel that is used while the engine runs rich. Driving your car is the fastest way to warm the engine up to 40 degrees so it switches back to a normal fuel to air ratio. Even though warm air generated by the radiator will flow into the cabin after a few minutes, idling does surprisingly little to warm the actual engine. The best thing to do is start the car, take a minute to knock the ice off your windows, and get going.

Of course, hopping into your car and gunning it straightaway will put unnecessary strain on your engine. It takes 5 to 15 minutes for your engine to warm up, so take it nice and easy for the first part of your drive.

Warming up your car before driving is a leftover practice from a time when carbureted engines dominated the roads. Carburetors mix gasoline and air to make vaporized fuel to run an engine, but they don't have sensors that tweak the amount of gasoline when it's cold out. As a result, you have to let older cars warm up before driving or they will stall out. But it's been about 30 years since carbureted engines were common in cars.

So unless you're rolling in a 1970s Chevelle — which we assume isn't your daily driver — bundle up, get into that cold car, and get it moving."

A diesel engine will idle for about 10 minutes on the fuel it takes to start it.

Since Good Housekeeping isn't exactly known for it's extensive articles on engine building, and the fact that most of it's readers are tree hugging hippies, I'm going to say that far more of the motivation behind the article stems from the Global warming cult.

I don't think I own a vehicle with less than 200K miles on it. Which is probably twice as many miles as the one that the engineer in the article has on his car. While I'm sure he has an extensive education in some kind of degree that makes him an "expert", I'll stick to the fact that my car is still running with all those miles, it's now warm, I can't reach in and touch the engine (because it DOES get hot)..... I think I'll keep letting it idle.

I'm sure we could get into a debate about it. Everyone will have an opinion. Some based on fact, some on things that they read. All I know is, I've made my living working on motors. I've seen them in all kinds of conditions. Does idling wear them out. Sure it can. I know because I've seen it. But only in cases where they literally idled for hours upon hours on end.

Example: We had an old truck on the farm. It was a '74 Chevy with a 350. When we finally put it out of commission, it had maybe 175K miles on it. Motor was so wore out, that when you cranked on it to start, it almost sounded like a sewing machine. Hardly any compression left. But, in the winter when we were tending to livestock, it sat and ran all day so we had a warm place to go. Did idling wear it out? You bet. Is it gonna ruin the motor in your car to let it run for 15 min before a trip? No way. Is it hard on the motor? Not nearly as hard as firing it up an heading down the road when it's 5 degrees outside. Far more damage will occur to the cylinders when the pistons heat up too fast.

I'll keep letting mine idle.

John and I agree 100% maybe 1000%!!!!!!!!! (and he types faster than I) :beerchug:

I agree with J-mech. Let the oil warm up before you hammer on it.

J, how many miles would that Chevy have had on it had it been running 55 down the road vs sitting in the field? My guess is probably half a million.

I like hour meters for maintenance, but how it's used played into that too.:beerchug:

I have the reflexes of a cat and the speed of a mongoose! LMFAO

Plus, I'm sitting at my desk at work, babysitting my slow ass mechanics who for the last week can't seem to do their job with no supervision.... So... I'm hanging out on here. Believe me, I'd rather be at home. But, nearly 1/3 of my fleet is broke down and they don't seem to be getting anything fixed, so I'll screw off and ride their butt to make sure the work gets done. Sounds fun, but it sucks.....


I don't know. I would say that you are probably correct.
I also have a Dodge diesel with over 500K on it. In the winter, it idles A LOT. I don't like to be cold. :biggrin2: It still runs like a top. Only thing it's ever had put in it is an injection pump. Original injectors. So.... idling hasn't hurt it any.

Now, the garbage trucks here at work, they don't really rack up that many miles compared to an OTR truck. I have collection trucks (not roll-off) that have under 200K on them but nearly 10K hours. The motors seem to get tired at about 20K hours. Now, given the fact that they do stop-and-go driving all day, I'm actually pretty impressed. Seems like on a tractor, the motors start to wear out between 10K and 15K hours on the "newer" machines (like the Case IH Magnum tractors with the Cummins). The older engines didn't make it quite as long. If you find, say an 856 IH, with that many hours on an original motor, your doing good. "We" have come a long way with the diesels... and the gas motors too.

Whoever wrote this is probably isn't mechanically inclined. I let my 04 f-150 sit for around 15 this time of year before work. Gotta get all those fluids warmed up before driving.

What would you think if NASCAR wrote an article on how to keep your house clean...????:bigeyes:

Good House keepin' is a breeze,just open the windows/doors and give er hell with the leaf blower!!:biggrin2:
Thus the statement ya shudda been there,"I dun blowed da doors off"
with my genuine Gee Mmm powered, Sumyoko fueled, Goodyeer tired, Budd wizzer Klub Kadit, big Johnsin' yada yada. :biggrin2:
oh yea don't forgit da warm up/kool down laps,just to keep it on topik

I agree with all of this (what OCC members are saying, not what some feminist magazine says). I let the car warm up for both me and the car. I don't like freezing to death when I go down the road, I like my windows defrosted/defogged, and I don't like all the "funny" noises a turbo car makes when cold i.e. BPV sounds super funny - almost like a duck call :bigeyes:. Oh, and the drive-train noise too. Idling helps radiate some heat through trans, not a lot, but it makes a world of a difference shifting cold vs. preheated.

There is a bill/law in Ohio banning idling in your driveway. I break that law everyday and I doubt it will be enforced. http://akronlegalnews.com/editorial/8899

My first car was a 1972 dodge b100 van with the column shift standard transmission. I learned early on that in order to shift safely, I had to warm the van up for a good 10 minutes in neutral with the clutch up to get the gear oil warm enough to move smoothly. That knowledge was enough to make it clear that oil does not behave the same cold as warm. I always give anything I use at least a few minutes to spread some warmth around before I put it to work. There's a great video on YouTube somewhere about how different oils behave at different temperature extremes.

Secondly, with a toddler, I prefer having the car warm before we get in to go anywhere. Better for her and more comfortable for everyone!

Seems like another case of the mentality of passing a law, will make all problems go away.
Just like putting a tarp on a gravel truck.
Never saw a rock pick itself up out of a truck box and bust my windshield.
----- Maybe rattle off a frame or flat area or out of a tire tread.
But a passed law will stop all problems because it is passed. ----yea right:angry:.
Just like taking guns away but i'll not go there.
pass the law and read it later,
Here ya go boy, just sign this hear contract and we will fill in the blanks.

Just remember these representatives @ election time while sitting inside awaiting
your vehicle windows to defrost/deice so you can safely operate your vehicle.
"Well see judge I just complied with the law by not idling my vehicle,and I couldn't see that school bus full of kids I hit"--------
Will it ever end?

That O.P. article and many like it are all over the net by many authors.

So what is the time difference between idling to 40 degrees versus starting and then driving away at a top speed of 25 or 30 mph?
I am going to guess..............2 or 3 minutes?

Some good responses here (and I knew there would be!). I agree with everyone here; the day I start taking advice from Good Housekeeping is the day I turn in my man card. By virtue of where I work (maybe 5 minutes away) if I didn't let my truck warm up in the morning for 10 minutes or so before I left, it'd never get any real run time. I firmly believe that it'd do (like John said) more damage to jump in and take off in subzero weather than let it warm up a bit. Fluids, tolerances, and more need a few minutes to warm up. But I guess people are going to do what people are going to do. My truck is over 110k miles and still runs like a champ so I plan on continuing to warm up before I pull out of the driveway. :beerchug:

Ohio legislators have nothing better to do.

Looks like the Good Housekeeping article was a re-print (copy) from Popular Mechanics.

Either way, I like to get all machines warmed up before GUNNING it. The old carbureted Cub Cadets get warmed up a few minutes before throttle goes to WOT and I start doing doing task. I usually start EFI gas powered truck start and go.... but I go EASILY until engine is warmed up. It's a few minutes till the highway and I go slow on quiet backroads with little traffic to snarl up. In the case it's so cold (remember Polar Vortex?)... I have the remote starter. That truck will sit there in the driveway warming up because I ain't freezing my arse out there.

I have to agree with everything in this thread, I warm my vehicles up too. You just have to be careful with the new diesels like my 14 Ram with the cummins, as excessive idling can clog the stupid DPF filter:bash2::bash2:

There is a bill/law in Ohio banning idling in your driveway. I break that law everyday and I doubt it will be enforced. http://akronlegalnews.com/editorial/8899[/QUOTE]

I have a few buddys that drive truck over the road, and one of them, their daughter in law watched my kid for me while I was working, one morning I was dropping him off and DEC pulled in to warn him not to let his truck idle in the trailer park- one of his neighbors turned him in.(NY state law is no more than 5 mins at a time) Squeek slammed the door in his face and told him he wasnt even a real cop so take a hike! I told him DEC has more power than the troopers do and that he could have his truck towed so he had better get out side and kiss his a$$ before he had to go bail his truck out! But the entire time he was at the house his state issued suv ran in the driveway because it was cold out!!! Go figure huh??

Not until they figure out the only people obeying the rediculous laws they are passing are the law abiding citizens thst usually have enough common sence and respect not to do the dumb sh¡t in the first place!!

I have a remote car starter on my Outback, and it appears to me that when I use it to warm up the car it runs at higher rpm than at "normal" idle. The normal idle - when I stop at a light for example - is about 800 rpm, whereas when it runs off the starter it's somewhere around 1800. I think it's to get it to warm up faster, and should also address the concerns expressed in the article because it's the same rpm as driving on the freeway, though with no load.

I'm sure it has the same idle speed as it would starting it with the key.
The important thing is engine oil. Synthetic or semi-synthetic of the proper viscosity and I like to have it fresh before the cold weather starts.

I let all of my stuff warm up before I put a load on it. I'm old school and I'm not changing what has worked for me all my life. My big Cat diesels always went 20,000 hours before overhaul and even at that most of the parts were still good to re-use. I think this article is BS. :beerchug:

Yes it is. I looked it up, it's because it's PZEV, it idles at higher RPM(1800) at startup because it needs to heat up the catalytic converter so it can do its job. It heats up the engine faster in the process too. Once you put it in drive and drive around it idles at 800 rpm as usual.

I warm up the car for 10-15 minutes every morning.

My Subaru WRX does something similar (key only no remote start on manual) and I believe its to help heat things up faster. However, if you tap the throttle it will idle back down. I don't make a habit of doing it because the car wants to idle high until things get warmed and moving. My Dad's Power Stroke would do the same thing in the cold. Its part of modern day ECU's and EFI - so I let it do its thing.

Yes, engines idle faster to warm them up.... and because to run in the cold they have to dump a lot of fuel down their throat... little extra RPM helps burn the fuel and warm it up. All engines that are electronic controlled do. Incidentally, so did the old carbureted engines. The choke had a cam that opened the throttle plates up to raise the RPM at idle. This is nothing new guys. Surely you guys are older than 30 and have to remember pumping the gas to start....

On another note, you may also notice that on most all cars since about, oh, 1996-1999 somewhere in there, it will not let the trans shift into overdrive until a certain trans temp is reached.

:Unknown::Unknown::Unknown:

Ok then... :bigeyes:

Ha,LOL, I remember pushing a peddle on the floor to engage the starter and being able to hand crank it if the battery was dead.
Don't know if I should admit that :bigthink:
Air was dirty and sex was clean, phones had a rotary dial and had party lines of @ least 4 families.
you picked it up and listened a minute to see if it was already in use before you dialed.
Sometimes us kids listened longer to catch up on the gossip but got our hinneys paddled good if caught!:angry:

First car I drove about 20 years ago was a Skoda Octavia, even that I just turned the key and it started :Unknown:

Pure EPA or CARB crap! This is what this article is! Almost all machinery were I work (Port of Montréal) Idle 24/7 a week! Some got so many hours on the counter you wouldn't believe it!

Since we normally get serious artic cold weather here (Not this year thank you El Nino) I have block heater on my 2 truck and one of them is a Diesel, I always let them idle at least 15 minutes and both use synthetic oil.

I did 400K with a VW golf diesel before I sell it to a young boy who did 200 more with it so like a good cook I don't change a working recipe....Those green pot smoker can kiss my A$$....:biggrin2:

I had a car that you had to pull the choke and do the tap dance with the pedal to start it.

Cast iron has a strange property it scratches easily when cold but does not heated to 220 that is the more the main reason to warm it up try it it is one of the first demonstrations in auto mech. 101
Heating up the auto trans another reason it is not just a cooler

oh the memories of feathering the throttle to keep her runnin!

I have a girl that is kinda like that.... :bigthink:

:biggrin2::biggrin2::biggrin2:

Time to trade in for a new one if it's that hard to start. :ROTF1::ROTF2::LMAO1:

Good night guys, my car is all warmed up and ready to go. :biggrin2:

That really depends on how you read it.... :biggrin2: :bigeyes::bigeyes:

I warm up my vehicles for ME so I can be comfortable in the cold weather.


Or to put it another way, my vehicles, my rules :beerchug:

:clap::High5:

AND, your fuel!

You got him good!:biggrin2::High5::LMAO1::beerchug:

I'd like to see that engineer start up my International truck and take off down the road. He wouldn't get 2ft. It's a 10-15 min. warm up in cold weather.

I will say this though. My 07 Malibu takes FOREVER to warm up just idling. If I take it out and drive it easy for about a mile, it's warmed up. That's mostly because at 2:30am, I'm not wasting any time leaving work.