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Will Lots of Idling Hurt My Car?

R

Raiden256

Platinum Member
Hey all,

I have a 2002 Nissan Maxima, and my wife had a remote starter installed in it as a gift last spring. I have used it extensively over this winter -- it's great to warm up the car in the morning. The way it works, it will start, then idle for 10 minutes and turn off if you don't put the key in.

I guess my question is -- Since I use it nearly every morning, should I be concerned about all that idling? I had some people say that it's hard on an engine, and I've had some people say that the engine could care less.

Anyone know for sure? Are there implications on how often I should change my oil?

Thanks!
 
I think its actually better for the car, engine heads up slowly, but I dont know anything about cars 😛
 
Two things:

1) You roxor my boxors for driving a Maxima.
2) I doubt it's anything to get too wrapped up in. If the car is idling at 1k RPM or less for 10 minutes that's much less wear on it than 10 min over an average RPM of 2k while everything is under power. It's going to cause more wear than not idling at all obviously but I'm sure any idling is minimal. if you did it an AWFUL lot you'd have to remember to change your oil according not just to time or miles but that fact as well.
 
Dear Tom and Ray:


My husband is retired. And since we enjoy each other's company very much, he always goes to the grocery store with me. While I shop, he stays in the car reading books. The problem is in the summer. In order to keep cool, he keeps the engine running and the air conditioner on. I spend between 30 and 60 minutes in the store. Our car is a 1988 Corolla with 150,000 miles on it. Is this practice doing bad things to the car? -- Joan

Tom: Joan, if he enjoys your company so much, why isn't he in the grocery store WITH you? Seems to me he could stay nice and cool by hanging out in the frozen- food section.

Ray: Actually, he's not doing any harm to the car. Idling creates very little wear and tear on the engine. Ask my brother. He's the King of Idling.

Tom: When the engine is idling, it's turning slowly. The explosions in the cylinders are smaller, it's running cool and there's very little load on the bearings. In fact, if I had to take a wild guess, I'd say an hour of idling is equivalent to about five or 10 minutes of highway driving in terms of wear and tear (someone who's done a Ph.D. dissertation on this will send us the exact figures).

Ray: It does waste a little gas and does create a little more pollution, but idling in the parking lot for an hour won't damage the car.

Tom: And think of the alternative, Joan. Without the air conditioning, after an hour in the car, his BO would wilt your nice, fresh, newly purchased lettuce!

Car Talk's Click and Clack on Idling
 
just idling from cold will tend to hasten the rate of carbon deposition on the cylinder head as the fuel mixture runs rich.
starting up & driving away is better!
 
Here are the facts ;

Warming up your vehicle with a remote starter is harmless to your vehicle if you have a modern fuel injected vehicle in top mechanical condition.

Warming up your vehicle can be harmful if your vehicle is carbureted.

Why ?

Fuel injected vehicles, when operating properly, precisely control fuel flow, this reduces the likelihood of cylinder wall wash-down. (Excess gasoline washes the oil off the cylinder walls)
This also reduces the likelihood of oil dilution and contamination from the excess gasoline.

Carbureted engines tend to do exactly this because of the imprecise fuel metering especially when cold. (Chokes tend to admit too much fuel)
 
I don't know how reputable this guy is, but I just saw him speak on Good Day NY on Fox this morning.

Bob Cerullo ... he gives (or passes along from other sources) some info on cars in general, including idling.
 
It is not bad for the engine, but it is a practice that should be avoided at all costs, its a waste of fuel and very bad for the environment.
 
Originally posted by: Dr Smooth
Dear Tom and Ray:


My husband is retired. And since we enjoy each other's company very much, he always goes to the grocery store with me. While I shop, he stays in the car reading books. The problem is in the summer. In order to keep cool, he keeps the engine running and the air conditioner on. I spend between 30 and 60 minutes in the store. Our car is a 1988 Corolla with 150,000 miles on it. Is this practice doing bad things to the car? -- Joan

Tom: Joan, if he enjoys your company so much, why isn't he in the grocery store WITH you? Seems to me he could stay nice and cool by hanging out in the frozen- food section.

Ray: Actually, he's not doing any harm to the car. Idling creates very little wear and tear on the engine. Ask my brother. He's the King of Idling.

Tom: When the engine is idling, it's turning slowly. The explosions in the cylinders are smaller, it's running cool and there's very little load on the bearings. In fact, if I had to take a wild guess, I'd say an hour of idling is equivalent to about five or 10 minutes of highway driving in terms of wear and tear (someone who's done a Ph.D. dissertation on this will send us the exact figures).

Ray: It does waste a little gas and does create a little more pollution, but idling in the parking lot for an hour won't damage the car.

Tom: And think of the alternative, Joan. Without the air conditioning, after an hour in the car, his BO would wilt your nice, fresh, newly purchased lettuce!

Car Talk's Click and Clack on Idling
Click to expand...



Car Talk rulezzz !

Never miss it on Sunday morning. The 12 hours of blues follows it. The only thing that sucks is that I have to tune a radio to NPR to listen.
🙁
 
Hey Raiden, how much was the total for that installation? I had it put in my wife's van a few years ago, really cheap. It was like $140.00 installed with two remotes. Now I hear I'll need to get another ignition key for her new car, in order to fool the security system. I'm afraid it's going to be way over $200.00 no matter what I do, which is getting up there.

BTW, I idle all our cars a LOT. Not a bit worried about it. These cars are here to serve us, not the other way around!
 
Also from car talk:
Ray: Other folks think it's a good idea to just sit in the driveway with the motor running for five minutes before driving the car. That's also a bad idea. It wastes gas, adds to the pollution, and doesn't do the engine any good. The engine warms up most efficiently while it's being driven, not while its idling.
Click to expand...

 
Originally posted by: aircooled
Also from car talk:
Ray: Other folks think it's a good idea to just sit in the driveway with the motor running for five minutes before driving the car. That's also a bad idea. It wastes gas, adds to the pollution, and doesn't do the engine any good. The engine warms up most efficiently while it's being driven, not while its idling.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Word?
 
Originally posted by: KhoiFather
Originally posted by: aircooled
Also from car talk:
Ray: Other folks think it's a good idea to just sit in the driveway with the motor running for five minutes before driving the car. That's also a bad idea. It wastes gas, adds to the pollution, and doesn't do the engine any good. The engine warms up most efficiently while it's being driven, not while its idling.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Word?
Click to expand...
I usually warm my car up, but I'll do some further investigation - no sense wasting time if I don't have to...?
 
2k2 Max... nice...
I let my car idle 5-10 mins every morning to warm up.. I hate getting in a freezing-ass car when you can't even get warmth from the heater yet... bah. I also plug the sumbitch in, the night before.
 
I have a remote starter on my truck too. Very convenient especially during those freezin' cold mornings. I have to sit there and wait for her to warm up before I drive off anyway, so I just remote start it.
 
No, it is not bad for your engine, it is good for it.

It's good for your engine to warm up. It makes sure your oil is warm and circulated.

When your engine is cold, the clearances inside it are the greatest. When you step on the gas with a cold engine, it allows more blow-by than when warm, and it will contaminate your oil.. Not to mention the massive heat stress everything encounters.

RPMs are what kill. Think about it. At 1000RPM, thats about 16 revolutions per second. That mean each of your pistons is going up and down 16 times per second.

At 3500RPM, that increases to 58 times per second, and at 5500rpm, you're approaching 100 per second.

Roger makes some good points, but even with a carburetored engine and choke.. as long as the choke is operating properly, it shouldn't cause problems.
 
Originally posted by: jumpr
Originally posted by: KhoiFather
Originally posted by: aircooled
Also from car talk:
Ray: Other folks think it's a good idea to just sit in the driveway with the motor running for five minutes before driving the car. That's also a bad idea. It wastes gas, adds to the pollution, and doesn't do the engine any good. The engine warms up most efficiently while it's being driven, not while its idling.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Word?
Click to expand...
I usually warm my car up, but I'll do some further investigation - no sense wasting time if I don't have to...?
Click to expand...

That's a bunch of crap. The engine warms up faster when you're driving, not more efficiently.

Do your engine a favor and keep warming it up. Even 30 seconds is better than none.

It allows your oil to warm up and circulate, and it allows clearances to close up. It helps your rings seal and keep contamination out of the oil.
 
idling is completely pointless to 'warm up' your car.

it does not 'warm up your oil' either.

i just start up and go, even in the coldest weather.
 
Originally posted by: Pepsi90919
idling is completely pointless to 'warm up' your car.

it does not 'warm up your oil' either.

i just start up and go, even in the coldest weather.
Click to expand...
Excuse me?

So you're saying there is no difference in oil viscosity at, say, 50F compared to 150F? The colder it is, the more important it would be to warm the engine up.

It is absolutely not completely pointless, for exactly the reasons I stated above.

Think about it for a second.

I actually feel sorry for someones engine when I see them hop in, start it, and immediately back out and drive off.
 
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