What in the snow covered outhouse is this? I don’t believe it but I would if John says so!! 
I have been warming up winter vehicles for decades with no issue other than a comfortable ride and parts moving better.
Why in Gods name do they have remote start?!?!?!?!?!
Excessive idling has never been a good thing. Thats why buying county trucks with low miles and a million hours are always a bad buy.
But I will warm my truck up all day long for at least a few minutes, maybe 10 on a cold cold morning. Have to get that oil moving
Yeah I agree with Bearcat. I have heard for decades that too much idling is bad, but I will let it warm up a little bit before taking off.
ive have literally had over 40 vehicles in my lifetime. Never once had an engine issue. Plenty of other issues with suspensions, transmissions, other components but no major engine issues. I wont be changing anything regardless of what some engineer might say.
I do the same as what the other guys above say – warm up for 5-10 minutes and go. im sure idling for 30 minutes regularly is bad
It’s all about the environment. You’re killing trees letting it idle unnecessarily.
All jokes aside, let it warm up. 10 minutes is plenty. Like Bearcat says, gotta get that oil flowing before putting the hammer down.
ive have literally had over 40 vehicles in my lifetime.
Wow, that’s a lot of vehicles. I think I’m on number 5 now since I started driving at 16 years old.
That’s a interesting read. Prior to auto start, I never use to let a car warm up for to long before driving. Since I have auto start, I often start it about 5 minutes prior to needing to leave. I may have to rethink that a little.
There is definitely some validity to this but I do think it’s blown way out of proportion. It basically says that driving warms up your engine faster so it reduces the amount of extra fuel dumped into the cylinder that strips away the protective oil layer. So basically the only concern is the difference in the amount of time it takes the engine to warm up. If you drive it to warm it up it is doing the same damage, but for a slightly shorter period of time.
I would argue though if you drive it hard when it’s cold to warm it up you are likely causing more damage than if you just idled it.
The other thing that happens with excessive idling is blow-by. In time it will reduce the flash point of your oil and reduce its viscosity. A good synthetic oil will negate this issue with its ability yo absorb sunburnt fuel as long as you are changing it regularly.
I’ve made it a point to change our oil in the winter with about 30% fewer miles between changes because of the blow-by from idling.
It’s all about the environment. You’re killing trees letting it idle unnecessarily.
Sorry Suzuki was busy at work. Its probably more about the above than you think. I would agree running it for 20-30 minutes may not be great for it, but I let mine warm for 5-10 minutes quite often. So I would not change what you are doing just because of this article.
If everybody just changed there oil like we were taught by our elders a lot of car problems would not happen. Maintain your vehicle like your supposed to and change fluids when recommended or earlier and things would be better.
I’m guessing the Utah Department of Environmental Quality has never started and subsequently driven a car when it was -20 out…
Cars with turbos in the exhaust system require real care in cold engine W O T use. The oil flowing inside the turbo can go very hot in seconds if you floor the pedal to pass a group of cars. Depending on the turbo quality ? You can cook the oil running close to the metal walls inside the turbo. Enough WOT for passing will reduce the cooling abilities of the flowing oil. Then a warning light comes on to see the dealer. It can also reduce power to a low level. Been there with a 2018 Honda Accord. Common problem. I pass lots of slow drivers.
My 350 smallblock gets an average of 120hrs a year put on her, 90% of those hours are idle. 1762 hrs on the meter now.
Treehuggers trying to save oil…
So reading between the lines. When it is -20 out I should start my truck, wait 30 seconds, put it in natural and red line it until it gets to temp. This would warm up the engine the quickest. So this must be the best thing for it. Just driving I normally don’t go over 3K RPM. Redline is over double. 
Why in Gods name do they have remote start?!?!?!?!?!
Do car starter start up your vehicle and put it into higher idle than normal?
When the temp hits 30, I remote start my F150 every single morning (for the 15 min maximum) for about 5 months. Not to mention roughly 4 days a week of 30-45 min idle time sitting in my truck having a lunch break. If idling is bad, I sure haven’t seen it, as my truck is just about to turn over to 300k.
Yes, you don’t HAVE to warm it up, but it’s a comfort thing for me and I’ll keep letting her buck.
Wow, that’s a lot of vehicles. I think I’m on number 5 now since I started driving at 16 years old.
Yeah that is a tremendous number of vehicles. I wrote down all that I personally drove (not my wife’s vehicles that I have paid for over the years that she drove) and it was 16 and Im confident I am much older than he is. 40 is a ton. If I included my wifes vehicles it might get to 30, but I doubt it.
Do car starter start up your vehicle and put it into higher idle than normal?
No sir they do not.
No sir they do not.
Older carbureted vehicles did. They went into a high idle until warmed up.
Well I didn’t even read the whole article. When Chucks Auto is a reference you know that they must be right. Hells bells when it comes to not being able to see because my truck is -20 on the inside and when I breath the windows frost over. When everyone is pissed because I don’t stop at the light or I run over there puppy, I’ll just yell out my frozen window that Chuck said this was the right thing to do for the environment.
Older carbureted vehicles did. They went into a high idle until warmed up.
Yes they did. I would say when current vehicles start it does raise the idle only after start up for just a second or two.
Rodwork wrote:
Do car starter start up your vehicle and put it into higher idle than normal?No sir they do not.
Now that I think about it I want to say my brother’s diesel did. That thing sounded like a jet engine warming up with the huge turbo he put on it.
Diesel might be different. We don’t do a lot with them at my shop, or tuning might have some factor also.
Well I didn’t even read the whole article. When Chucks Auto is a reference you know that they must be right. Hells bells when it comes to not being able to see because my truck is -20 on the inside and when I breath the windows frost over. When everyone is pissed because I don’t stop at the light or I run over there puppy, I’ll just yell out my frozen window that Chuck said this was the right thing to do for the environment.
If you read it you could argue against something it actually said though 
When my temp gauge just starts moving, my 08 silverado will drop from high idle at about 700 rpm down to 500 rpm. This can take awhile when its really cold out, usually at least 5 minutes on below zero days.
Warming the truck keeps the windows from fogging up from the inside especially when it is real cold.
If you read it you could argue against something it actually said though
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I don’t care what Chuck said. I keep a big old barrel of leaded gas out back to keep my cylinders nice and slickery. Still these are the same arguments from 10 years ago, nothing new. For some it might be worth listening to, but I know I cant just start driving on startup. I’m not in it for the engine wear or reduced emissions, I need a heater blowing warm air so I can see.
Look at old police cars, they run at idle for 8 hours a day. People have no problems buying a police car at auction and driving the wheels off it. Just saying.
If this were really true there would be a massive class action suit against the mfgs for remote start.
So can someone convince me that warming IS good in very cold temps-I agree with the ‘does not hurt cowd’
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