SHOULD I SHUT OFF THE MOTOR WHEN I'M IDLING MY CAR HERE'S THE RULE OF THUMB: If you're in a drive-through restaurant/business
line or waiting for someone and you'll be parked and sitting for 10 seconds
or longer... turn off your car's engine. Why?? For every two minutes a car is idling, it uses about the same amount of fuel
it takes to go about one mile. Research indicates that the average person
idles their car five to 10 minutes a day. People usually idle their cars more
in the winter than in the summer. But even in winter, you don't need to let
your car sit and idle for five minutes to "warm it up" when 30 seconds will
do just fine. But you're not going anywhere. Idling gets ZERO miles per gallon. The recommendation is: If you are going to be parked for more than 30
seconds, turn off the engine. Ten seconds of idling can use more fuel than
turning off the engine and restarting it. And when you start your engine,
don't step down on the accelerator, just simply turn the key to start. An alternative to idling is to park your car, walk inside, do your business
and then go back to your car. Here are some other Myths associated with idling. 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. Fuel is only partially combusted when idling because
an engine does not operate at its peak temperature. This leads to the build
up of fuel residues on cylinder walls that can damage engine components
and increase fuel consumption. 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 (N1,600) 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 more than ten seconds of idling uses more fuel than
restarting the engine.
Source: www.consumerenergycenter.org/myths/idling.html

surely many of us are guilty of this? Yeah, actually it's like a normal thing for us which we ve been doing in error. U know, letting the car 'warm up' for like 5minutes before dfiving it every morning. My neighbour even revs his engine cos according to him it's a german machine. Lol. I came across the article above and i was like.........wooowwww!!!

okay comments later

This contradicts all I have been told since I started driving. Thanks Bro, I am learning, cheers!

symbianDON: SHOULD I SHUT OFF THE MOTOR WHEN I'M IDLING MY CAR HERE'S THE RULE OF THUMB: If you're in a drive-through restaurant/business
line or waiting for someone and you'll be parked and sitting for 10 seconds
or longer... turn off your car's engine. Why?? For every two minutes a car is idling, it uses about the same amount of fuel
it takes to go about one mile. Research indicates that the average person
idles their car five to 10 minutes a day. People usually idle their cars more
in the winter than in the summer. But even in winter, you don't need to let
your car sit and idle for five minutes to "warm it up" when 30 seconds will
do just fine. But you're not going anywhere. Idling gets ZERO miles per gallon. The recommendation is: If you are going to be parked for more than 30
seconds, turn off the engine. Ten seconds of idling can use more fuel than
turning off the engine and restarting it. And when you start your engine,
don't step down on the accelerator, just simply turn the key to start. An alternative to idling is to park your car, walk inside, do your business
and then go back to your car. Here are some other Myths associated with idling. 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. Fuel is only partially combusted when idling because
an engine does not operate at its peak temperature. This leads to the build
up of fuel residues on cylinder walls that can damage engine components
and increase fuel consumption. 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 (N1,600) 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 more than ten seconds of idling uses more fuel than
restarting the engine.
Source: www.consumerenergycenter.org/myths/idling.html

Very advisable but there really is nothing wrong with driving off almost immediately you start your car engine. Just make sure that you keep the revs low within the 750 to 1500 rev band until the engine sufficiently attains it operating temperature.

wwwkaycom:
This contradicts all I have been told since I started driving. Thanks Bro, I am learning, cheers!

same here. interesting article BTW. Just wish it had more facts to back up some of these claims.

Its a well known fact that racing a cold engine is the easiest way to early wear and tear. but I suppose the article is trying to point out that the time spent warming up the engine (up to five minutes idling in my case) actually does more damage.

Warming up cars is generally a bad idea. You should drive off as soon as the engine is running albeit in low rpms until the drivetrain is up to running temperature.

As far as shutting off the engine while idling, I don't subscribe to that. Newer cars are doing it but the components were designed for that. The key thing is to have your enigen well services and in good running condition.

Wow

symbianDON:
SHOULD I SHUT OFF THE MOTOR WHEN I'M IDLING MY CAR HERE'S THE RULE OF THUMB: If you're in a drive-through restaurant/business
line or waiting for someone and you'll be parked and sitting for 10 seconds
or longer... turn off your car's engine. Why?? For every two minutes a car is idling, it uses about the same amount of fuel
it takes to go about one mile. Research indicates that the average person
idles their car five to 10 minutes a day. People usually idle their cars more
in the winter than in the summer. But even in winter, you don't need to let
your car sit and idle for five minutes to "warm it up" when 30 seconds will
do just fine. But you're not going anywhere. Idling gets ZERO miles per gallon. The recommendation is: If you are going to be parked for more than 30
seconds, turn off the engine. Ten seconds of idling can use more fuel than
turning off the engine and restarting it. And when you start your engine,
don't step down on the accelerator, just simply turn the key to start. An alternative to idling is to park your car, walk inside, do your business
and then go back to your car. Here are some other Myths associated with idling. 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. Fuel is only partially combusted when idling because
an engine does not operate at its peak temperature. This leads to the build
up of fuel residues on cylinder walls that can damage engine components
and increase fuel consumption . 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 (N1,600) 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 more than ten seconds of idling uses more fuel than
restarting the engine.
Source: www.consumerenergycenter.org/myths/idling.html

Gazzuzz, Nurey, Kingreign... What's your thoughts on the bolded?

symbianDON:
SHOULD I SHUT OFF THE MOTOR WHEN I'M IDLING MY CAR HERE'S THE RULE OF THUMB: If you're in a drive-through restaurant/business
line or waiting for someone and you'll be parked and sitting for 10 seconds
or longer... turn off your car's engine. Why?? For every two minutes a car is idling, it uses about the same amount of fuel
it takes to go about one mile. Research indicates that the average person
idles their car five to 10 minutes a day. People usually idle their cars more
in the winter than in the summer. But even in winter, you don't need to let
your car sit and idle for five minutes to "warm it up" when 30 seconds will
do just fine. But you're not going anywhere. Idling gets ZERO miles per gallon. The recommendation is: If you are going to be parked for more than 30
seconds, turn off the engine. Ten seconds of idling can use more fuel than
turning off the engine and restarting it. And when you start your engine,
don't step down on the accelerator, just simply turn the key to start. An alternative to idling is to park your car, walk inside, do your business
and then go back to your car. Here are some other Myths associated with idling. 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. Fuel is only partially combusted when idling because
an engine does not operate at its peak temperature. This leads to the build
up of fuel residues on cylinder walls that can damage engine components
and increase fuel consumption. 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 (N1,600) 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 more than ten seconds of idling uses more fuel than
restarting the engine.
Source: www.consumerenergycenter.org/myths/idling.html

On the contrary, I learnt that starting a car consumes more fuel than running it for 30 seconds. That's why some even advised that it's economical to leave the engine running when you're stopped at traffic lights. I stand to be corrected, though.

paix:
On the contrary, I learnt that starting a car consumes more fuel than running it for 30 seconds. That's why some even advised that it's economical to leave the engine running when you're stopped at traffic lights. I stand to be corrected, though.

no sir. try to Google idling vs starting my car.