RMATIC09

Ok, every morning i sit in my car and let the engine idle a bit before driving. What i dont understand is , with my foot off both pedals, if i turn my steering wheel, my rpm's might jump to 800 or so. I dont get how the steeringwheel can effect the engine like that?

Lung Fu Mo Shi

It's compensating for the power steering load.

You also don't need to let it idle.

elduderino

You have hydraulic power steering driven by a belt-driven pump.

The pump has a very low and consistent load while idling.

As soon as you turn the wheel, especially since you are not moving, and it's HARD to turn the wheel, the hydralic pump gets a load, and creates drag on the engine RPM - just as LFMS said.

Same as turning the climate control on and off - when the compressor turns on and off your RPM will change.

samir786

No point in letting the engine idle.

achan268888

i have the same issue but asked sve advisor, and he say it is the pwr steering pump.. same answer from others. it is normal

AZTSX

i heard it is good to let your engine warm up before driving after not driving it for a long period of time

RMATIC09

Thanks alot, i dont let it idle over 2 minutes, i just have a habit of doing it. I dont feel comfortable driving after 9 hours of cold weather right away.

fatcat

Just curious - If you don't let the car idle, wouldn't it strain the engine?

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

The engines today are designed to maintain good lubrication when cold. Letting the car idle would just make it take longer to warm up the car. Plus, with how quickly the TSX warms up, it's not necessary to idle the engine to warm it up.

ric

It used to be the tradition to "warm up" the car, particularly in cold climates in the winter, in an effort to get the oil warm enough to move. However, I doubt that many owner's manuels counsel one to routinely warm up the engine.

RMATIC09

If i recall it claims not to let the engine warm up for more then 1 minute, becuase "for every minute you let your car idle, it eats up as much gas as when you turn the car on"

A-Q-R

I won't mind compensating gas for engine reliability

PixelHarmony

Myth #1: The engine should be warmed up before driving. Reality: Idling is not an effective way to warm up your vehicle, even in cold weather. The best way to do this is to drive the vehicle. With today's modern engines, you need no more than 30 seconds of idling on winter days before driving away.


Myth #2: Idling is good for your engine. Reality: Excessive idling can actually damage your engine components, including cylinders, spark plugs and exhaust systems.


Myth #3: Shutting off and restarting your vehicle is hard on the engine and uses more gas than if you leave it running. Reality: Frequent restarting has little impact on engine components like the battery and the starter motor. Component wear caused by restarting the engine is estimated to add $10 per year to the cost of driving, money that will likely be recovered several times over in fuel savings from reduced idling. The bottom line is that over ten seconds of idling uses more fuel than restarting the engine.

RMATIC09

Nice find

fatcat

Good info.

aaronng

The real way to warm up is:
1) Start the car. Let it run while you put on your seat belt, look at your mirrors and get into gear.
2) Drive it like normal until the needle hits the middle of the temp gauge.
3) Once in the middle, shift only at 7000rpm in order to maintain power.

The car warms up really fast when driving gently, about 1-2 minutes of gentle driving. When left to idle, it takes over 5 minutes to get it to reach the middle of the gauge! Let your warming up procedure be "driving gently", instead of "leave to idle".

TSXsurf

..but where is the info from? I wouldnt call it a find if there isn't a source cited.

I am not sure about the 10 seconds verses turning the car on and off, but i thats just my opinion and Im sure relative to the situation. I agree that turning the car off isn't as bad as people want to believe.