Is it good to let the car idle for a long time?
What do you guys do for the winter to let the car warm up?
I let it idle for like 3 mins and then drive off slow till it warms up good.

 

I usually hit the auto-start from the house and let it warm up for at least 3 minutes or so on a normal day (even over the summer). In the winter i will let it warm up for longer depending on whether or not there is snow/ice on it. I leave it running while i am cleaning it off, taking in the garbage pals, etc...

 

doesn't hurt to warm up the car before leaving....if you idle for too long..just wastes more gas..however, its not good to rev the engine while in Park.

 

In the winter, I leave the car running for only as long as it takes me to clear the car completely of snow and ice - which is usually a few minutes. Anything longer than two or three minutes will just waste gas (and you use the most when the car is left idling in Park!). And as someone else said, I'm just sure not to accelerate too quickly or to drive too fast until the car is up to running temp. The car usually warms up faster if you just drive it anyway.

In warmer months, I always wait around 30 seconds before putting the car into gear to ensure that all of the fluids are running through the engine before I put it into Drive.

 

why?

 

for this question, ask KRIS, he claims to never shut off his car

Also, the manual says dont idle the car for more than 1 minute, otherwise you are just wasting gas. It says that after 1 minute you can drive the car nomally under any weather conditions.

 

yeah, i read that somewhere... he claims that the way he works, its better to just leave it idling compared to shutting it off and on continuously which will eventually hurt the car.

 

i dont think idling can damage the car if you dont leave it sitting there for hours...

 

Actually, it does make sense to leave your car idling if you are running in and out of the car all day (although you are running tons of gas and it's not great for the environment). But keeping the car going all the time helps prevent rust and keeps the parts running (notice how taxis always seem to be in pretty good shape even though they are run 24 hours a day?) Of course, proper maintenance is always necessary.

Edit: And yeah --- what DOES kris do job-wise that he runs his car all day?

 

In the winter is the only time that I let the car warm up but 3 mins isn't going to do much. You live in Canada so your winters are cold like New Englands probably even colder. If it is really cold I usually let the car warm up for 15mins at the minimum.

 

i always idle my car for about 3-5 mins or whenever it is in between the normal operating temp. and cold. I have been doing this till i been driving and i havent had any problems with any cars that i owned since.

 

I just read an article yesterday where a woman wrote in about her husband leaving his keys in the car with it running for 6 hours at his office one day. They said the only harm is the wasted gas, not much different than driving for six hours.

 

I usually leave my car running for about 10-15 minutes if the outside temp drops to the teens or single digit and about the same after a snow or ice storm. This usually gives it enough time to melt the ice on the windshield.

If the temps in the mid 30's+, I would usually get going no more than 1 minute after I have started.

Speaking of leaving your car running, we just had an article in our local paper that said there has been a string of auto thefts from houses in the Easton area who's owner started the engine and left it running as they went inside. This particular incident mentioned that the thief called the house on the cell phone that they left in the car and laughed at them. He only hung up after one of the parents picked up the phone to tell him that his mother raised a terrible son.

As sad as the situation, I couldn't help but laugh since this was a Seinfeld moment...sort of.

 

mine idles all day long except for lunch (for work) it doesnt hurt any thing other than gas (if you can do some hwy driving to burn off the moisture in the exhaust)
so far 165,600 miles and counting

 

WOW! any problems at all?

 

besides him being on his fourth tranny, I don't think he has any problems with it. The car was out of commission for a few weeks when his third tranny died because acura refused to replace the tranny on a car with that many miles...

that didn't stop kris!!! he replaced the tranny in his own garage by himself...call him crazy, but I have no doubt in my mind that he's capable...once mine dies I'm on my way down to wisconsin!!!

 

vishnus11,

can't remember exactly;...my previous car, an integra 92, i would rev up the engine all the time for fun (automatic). then, one day when i was at the mechanic (ASE certified Honda technician with +20 years) he said to me, "don't you know thats bad for the car. " too young to question authority then and never found out why..stuck with me though. bad for the transmission ?? throwing the timing off ?? don't know.....sorry, bro.

 

I let my car idle for 15 minutes or more while I’m waiting for my kids to get out of school.