Cold weather often means idling vehicles. The problem with idling is that in this day and age it provides only a creature comfort: It isn’t fuel-efficient and it can be harmful to your health and the environment.

Back in the days of carburetors and chokes, many drivers chose to warm up their vehicles because otherwise their engines would balk and stutter in the cold. But ask any auto mechanic today and they will tell you that due to the switch from carburetors to fuel injected engines your vehicle is best warmed up by driving, not by allowing it to idle.

In fact, it takes only 30 seconds of driving for the oil to circulate your engine in its entirety.

Here are a few more facts about idling:

Restart or idle?

True or false? It is more fuel-efficient to allow your car to idle than to turn off and restart the engine.

False. Any time your vehicle is left to idle for more than 10 seconds it is a greater waste of gasoline to leave it running than to switch it off.

Idling hurts your vehicle

To idle you vehicle is to expose your engine to unnecessary harm. The longer you idle the more likely your vehicle is to enter into a “gasoline-rich mode” that decreases not only fuel economy but also performance.

Turn off the engine, save money

Do you like saving money? By eliminating 5 minutes of idle time, you can save $65 per year and 75 litres of gasoline!

Exhaust isn’t good for you

Over the years, studies have shown that children who live close to major roadways have a lower IQ than those who don’t. This is because exhaust is bad for you, particularly at a young age when children still in strollers are more likely to be in close contact with the tailpipe of an idling vehicle. Exhaust has also been linked to increased rates of cancer, heart and lung disease, asthma and allergies.

We here atAlpine Insurance and Financial want to keep you and your vehicle safe!

Source – 8 Facts and Myths About Warming Up Your Car in Winter

Photo – © Stephen Finn – Fotolia.com