Does shutting off your vehicle better than letting it idle?

Question

I hear so many people saying it's so good to shut off your engine while sitting at a stop light. I for one don't see it being so cost effective in the long run. Wouldn't you be putting wear and tear on your starter and engine? They also say that your car doesn't need to warm up. I was always told that you should let it warm up because oils don't move as quick because it's so thick thus not oiling properly makeing parts vulnerable to failure. Am I the only one who thinks that letting your car warm up for five minutes isn't such a bad thing? Am I the only one thinking that shutting my car off after 10 seconds at a red light is pointless because once my starter goes bad, there goes all my savings on gas? A starter for my truck costs $400. Will I save that much before my starter goes bad? Something to think about.

Answer 1

it's not a good idea to turn the engine off, example--suddenly there's a code 3 hauling *** towards you and you're at a red light and the engine's off....you need to move out of their way NOW! You try to turn it on...the engine sputters and refuses.
point made.

Do not sit and warm up the engine, get it moving-the gears and stuff will get the oil going and as it does, the engine will warm up.

Answer 2

With today's new oils and the fact that many mfrs have altered things so now you use 5w-30 instead of 10w oil, the warm up can be reduced to 1 minute or less (so they say). Many have also gone to a synthetic oil which flows better even in the cold so the oil is circulating rather quickly. You should however drive nice and easy when driving cold so as to warm things up before you start pushing it. The vehicle will use more fuel when cold so driving easy will offset higher consumption till warm.

As for shutting off at stoplights, well I don't advocate that as I agree with the too much wear and tear and most stop lights are less than 1 minute. So not really worth it to me but there is evidence that you can actually save over time doing this and it is a built in feature of many hybrid vehicles to save fuel etc. I do however turn off when waiting for a long train at a crossing.


So if you're using the newer oils or synthetics, you can reduce your warmup time and save some fuel that way.

Answer 3

Todays fuel injected engines don't need a warmup and excessive idling does more harm than good. After 10 seconds it costs less to restart than to continuously idle. It has been estimated you could save one tank a year by turning it off rather than idling. Unless your truck is out of tune and hard to start I don't see that it could possibly wear out your starter. Starters are not a high failure item. I have a '68 Mustang with over 300K on it and the original starter. However down here in Texas in the summer I seriously doubt they're going to convince people to shut it off, thereby shutting down the AC. It's hot out there. lol

Answer 4

On long sequence lights that you are familiar with definitely shut your engine off especially if you are not the first in line. Don't you have electronic ignition? Anyway the savings at the gas pump are extraordinary even with rising prices it's still cheap for me to fill up. Try and see

Answer 5

i ask your self what number have spoke back who easily stay in a chilly climate. in some situations the reason a individual has to heat up a motor vehicle isn't as a results of engine, however the ice on the windshield and at cases that ice may be adhered to the windshield (It does not even count with regard to the thickness of the ice. in some situations thicker ice is far less complicated to get rid of than skinny ice is, as a results of fact it fairly is far less complicated to get a starter hollow going ant then get under the ice to chisel it away.) which you would be able to no longer even start to scrap it off till the defrost warms up adequate to soften a hollow interior the ice. There are some stoplights that i've got self belief i'm sitting there in basic terms approximately 5 minutes if I in basic terms pass over going interior the direction of the gentle. So on days my windshield is obvious adequate for me to force authentic away interior the wintry climate I do and that i constantly wish my timing at stoplights are perfect. in an attempt to advantageous people who might desire to be waiting to verify to force wisely may be between the worst issues the government might desire to ever do. Shoot, I had knotted up some cases and concept my windshield replaced into clean adequate and it frosted up on an identical time as i replaced into using. a sort of cases my mom and that i've got been given right into a nasty twist of destiny, as a results of fact i could no longer tell that I by hazard crossed the middle median of a highway. I had had to get to that spot and consider to verify if it replaced into secure to bypass something of ways in the time of and we've been struck authentic away while the nostril of the motor vehicle crossed the median and we've been pushed around something of the line up right into a individual’s driveway. i do never desire to stay via something like that lower back. Edit: Evans - motor vehicle exhaust can kill human beings, yet in an extremely closed ecosystem, as a results of Carbon Monoxide

Answer 6

That used to be true with carbureted motors because so much fuel was wasted upon start-up, but fuel injectors are very precise and efficient. Shut it off.