To Idle or not to Idle, that is the ?

[pmsmechanic]

I rarely idle any of my vehicles. They can warm up going down the road. A carport is enough to keep frost off the windows.

 

[oosik]

During the Alaska Pipeline build vehicles had to be ready to work at a moments notice. Vehicles were either idled 24/7 or were housed in heated warehouses. Many diesel pickups were later sold in Anchorage with less that 1000 operating miles but over 5000 running hours. All vehicle routine maintenance was based upon running hours - not miles.

 

[RalphVa]

I just start and drive away, both cars, pickup and tractor. Just drive gently until warmed up.

If you have ice on the windows and all as we sometimes did with the car parked outside in Vermont, start it and let it run while clearing the glass enough to be able to see. Then get in and go.

 

[RalphVa]

During the Alaska Pipeline build vehicles had to be ready to work at a moments notice. Vehicles were either idled 24/7 or were housed in heated warehouses. Many diesel pickups were later sold in Anchorage with less that 1000 operating miles but over 5000 running hours. All vehicle routine maintenance was based upon running hours - not miles.

In Vermont where we had a house, we'd sometimes walk down the peninsula to the Inn. There's often be a bus or commercial vehicle there left idling overnight. They couldn't park them close enough in to plug them in like we did our diesel.

 

[ModMech]

Absolutely NEVER EVER warm-up, much less idle your vehicle.

Obviously there are climate extremes where people decide they MUST idle the engine, often because use of an engine block heater is not possible, but the amount of moisture build-up can be astonishing and quick, which causes excessive sludge and wear.

 

[GManBart]

This topic always brings up so much crackpot science it's funny...

 

[RNeumann]

So leaving a running vehicle unattended is an infraction in most places and has been on the books for decades. Just like parking too close to a fire hydrant.
The concern with idling is two fold. One, the environmental concerns as a cold motor is not nearly as clean as a warm motor. The second- and more of an issue 25+ years ago was the cam shaft. The old pushrod V8s and others liked a little more oil pressure. All 3 of my Toyotas "idle" over 1100rpm when cold and my tractor manual wants 1500 rpm when cold. All this is for a bit more oil pressure and to warm it up quicker. In fact if you look at most of the advertising of block heaters you will see they say they are better for the environment. Why- it gets the car interior warmed up quicker since the coolant is warm (heater blows warm). The latest research I can find on the subject suggests starting and driving easy instead of idling........of course all this is out the window if you can't see out of it!

 

[jenkinsph]

How long should we not idle it?

That depends on how full your tank is. Excessive not idling will build up saved fuel in your tank and make it overflow. Similar to all those fuel saving gadgets, if you have enough of them then your tank would overflow while driving.

 

[Copperhead]

One of the beauties of Onstar with the GM stuff. Just get on your smart phone and tell it to start the vehicle. It will run for 5 minutes. All locked and secured. I have tried it to see how well it works, and it does work well. But my vehicles all reside in heated garage, so I have no real need to do any of this. I have used the feature, maybe, twice when we went to someone else's place and were there for several hours during cold weather. Before we got ready to leave, remote started the vehicle via the smart phone app.

Another great way to deal with diesel warm up is to get a Webasto or Espar fuel fired coolant heater. Set it on a timer to operate about an hour before you get ready to use the vehicle and it will fire up, using the vehicle fuel system, and have the engine up to 140F in short order. They even have gasoline fired ones for gasoline engine use. Use very little battery and only consume, maybe 1/8 gallon of fuel per hour.

 

[Oldpath05]

I started my 04 Jeep liberty this 8 degree cold morning, in hurry to get to post office, so start and go, didn't that moan and grown the first few miles.