{"id":1341,"date":"2016-03-04T19:56:52","date_gmt":"2016-03-04T19:56:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/?p=1341"},"modified":"2022-12-01T16:53:26","modified_gmt":"2022-12-01T16:53:26","slug":"warming-car-cold-mornings-good-or-bad-idea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/auto\/auto-tips\/warming-car-cold-mornings-good-or-bad-idea\/","title":{"rendered":"Warming Up Your Car on Cold Mornings \u2013 Good or Bad Idea?"},"content":{"rendered":"
While some people insist on warming up their car on cold mornings, it may actually be unnecessary and even harmful to the vehicle\u2019s engine. Of course, any damage to your car\u2019s motor would likely be covered by the manufacturer\u2019s warranty, should it still be in effect, rather than your car insurance<\/a>.<\/p>\n In what has become a bygone era when car engines required a part known as a carburetor, which fed a balanced combination of air and gasoline for them to run, it was common practice to let the vehicle idle for a period of time before hitting the road.<\/p>\n In states like California, although the temperature can reach freezing in some areas during the winter months, snow and frost aren\u2019t as prevalent as they are in the north east or the Midwest. That is \u2013 unless you reside in a mountain or ski community prone to measurable snowfall and sub-freezing temperatures.<\/p>\n Still, with today\u2019s engines, letting your engine idle for five or 10 minutes does nothing more than reduce the life of the engine by stripping away vital oil from its internal components, such as cylinders and pistons, leading to expensive repairs. In the past, the popular belief was that warming the engine to operating temperature would prolong engine life, but that\u2019s no longer the case.<\/p>\n Because modern vehicles come equipped with electronic fuel injection or direct injection, described as the next generation of fuel injection, found on Ford\u2019s EcoBoost and Kia\u2019s GDI, cars built in the last 20 years don\u2019t require much more than 30 seconds to warm up.<\/p>\n As an alternative to a lengthy idle, most mechanics, including Sandy \u201cThe Garage Professor\u201d Ganz, automotive expert and editor of GTsparkplugs.com, recommend driving your vehicle gently for the first few minutes.<\/p>\n In contrast to the old carburetor technology of 30 years ago, engines with electronic fuel injection have built-in sensors whose job it is to compensate for the cold temperature by pumping more gasoline into the air-fuel mixture. The engine continues to run rich with the addition of the increased fuel until it warms up to about 40 degrees Fahrenheit.<\/p>\nDamage to internal components<\/h2>\n
Alternative to idling<\/h2>\n