Is Letting a Car Warm Up in the Cold Bad for the Engine?

Should I warm up my car before driving in winter?

When I first started driving (and almost every year since) my father and brother told me that it’s not good to drive with a cold engine in the winter and that I need to warm it up a bit first. However, I learned today that their preaching may be completely wrong.

Why warming up your car is bad for your engine

According to recent information WQAD articlethe Smart Motors Toyota blog states:

Cold idling can strip oil from the engine’s pistons and cylinders, shortening engine life.

Start the car and the oil pump will circulate the oil within a minute. But when you let the car idle to warm up the interior, oil slowly begins to drain from the engine’s major components because the engine isn’t moving the car.

Not only is it bad for your engine, but modern cars are designed to be driven right after you start, so you don’t need to warm up your car in the cold. Most new cars come with computer-controlled ignition systems that optimize performance and fuel efficiency, helping to warm up the engine and other components quickly in cold weather.

actually more research It taught me that letting the car idle for long periods of time can actually make the engine run cooler than it does while driving. This is because the movement of the car circulates the oil and helps warm the engine, while idling causes the engine to run cooler.

Think twice before using a remote start for your car this winter? Not only will it consume more gas, but it can also shorten the life of your car’s engine. It’s a tough decision for me to make because I hate scraping my car…and of course I don’t want to disappoint my father and brother.

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