Is it bad to let my car idle for extended periods of time?

[ThinWRX]

Originally Posted by Norm Peterson

So what's your solution for OP keeping warm when he's working outdoors in the winter . . . in Canada???

Seems to me "wasting gas" would be preferable to frostbite.


Norm

Well, my wasting gas is 13mpg on ethanol doing pulls, not sitting in -30C.

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[F1EA]

Seems like a lot of people don't like reading what the actual question is... or maybe just misunderstand based on what the typical question is...

Anyways; this is a very typical problem/question for people working outdoors in winter in remote places in Canada. Most of the time I've been in these situations it's with rental cars, but also 99% of the locals who have their own cars let their own cars/trucks idle if they need to so I've come across this situation quite a bit. Also had this issue a couple of times during winter road closures. Longer idling doesn't seem to cause any issues, as long as you do proper maintenance and give it a decent running after you've done the idling.

I personally try to avoid unnecessary idling, mostly because... it's too wasteful and polluting. By that I mean I can let it idle for ~5/10 mins if needed, but anything longer and I try to look for a better alternative... go find somewhere to do the work where it's less brutal, wear jacket/gloves inside the car, heat the car then turn it off for a while, park in the sun, go outside and move or find sun to stay warmer, etc etc.

[rtv900]

Originally Posted by F1EA

.
I personally try to avoid unnecessary idling, mostly because... it's too wasteful and polluting.

AOC just tweeted about how she saw Ivanka idling to keep warm, thus adding to the climate CRISIS. She's f-ing pissed!

This crisis is tearing the subaru community apart.

[F1EA]

Originally Posted by rtv900

AOC just tweeted about how she saw Ivanka idling to keep warm, thus adding to the climate CRISIS. She's f-ing pissed!

This crisis is tearing the subaru community apart.

hahahahah well idling is illegal in the city, so she may have actually been committing a crime!

But still... if one can find a way of dealing with the situation without having to do extended idling. I'd rather do that.

[willthetech]

I am sure your concern is about engine wear or issues for idling for too long, not related to laws, nature, etc. Ford has a formula for their heavy duty trucks… 1 hour of idling = 25 miles of normal driving. So If you worry and care about your car, then I would suggest guess how many hours of idling you do and add those extra miles to your oil change cycles.

Example: 20 hours of idling a month (this is a guess estimate including red lights, highway jams, warming up and of course your keeping up warm situation) = 500 miles (again estimated).

[007SubaGuruEJ]

If your car is built with forged internals you absolutely need to warm up the car. Its a good thing.