Idling your car anytime of the year is actually not necessary and it’s bad for the environment, but this is even more true in the winter.
Modern cars don’t need to be ‘warmed up’ – electric fuel injection systems has made this a thing of the past. The only time you might want to let it idle a bit longer before putting it in gear is when you are in below-zero conditions, and even then they only recommended about 30 – 60 seconds. Driving your car will warm up the engine more effectively than idling it, and it will get you where you are going faster, which means your engine runs less.
In the winter, idling creates almost twice as much pollution because it is not only releasing just carbon dioxide, but other “volatile organic compounds (VOCs), nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, benzene and other pollutants” are emitted as well.
If you live in an extremely cold region, or if you want your vehicle to warm up faster, consider parking it in a garage or you can use an engine block heater.
4 Reasons To Stop Idling Your Vehicle:
- You engine isn’t warming up faster. This means you aren’t getting any extra heat through your vents by idling, but you will if you drive your car to warm it up.
- Idling causes wear and tear on your engine. Excessive idling can result in stripping oil from critical engine parts, like cylinders and pistons. This results in a shorter engine life.
- You’re wasting your money. Since it idling isn’t helping you warm up your car, all you are doing is wasting gas. Oh, and shortening the life of your vehicle.
- It’s bad for the environment. I wanted to put this one first but I thought I’d speak to your wallet first. The pollution created by idling cars is adding to our overall greenhouse gas emissions which is decreasing our air quality. This is one of many reasons it is illegal to idle in certain areas of Canada and in certain countries around the world.
Sources:
Eco Area | Car Talk. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.cartalk.com/content/eco/tips.html#7
Stop Winter Idling! You Don’t Need It. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://ecogeek.wpengine.com/2011/01/stop-winter-idling-you-dont-need-it/
Why You Shouldn’t Idle Your Car In the Cold | Firestone Complete Auto Care. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://blog.firestonecompleteautocare.com/driving/why-you-shouldnt-idle-car-in-cold/
