idling a car for more than a few minutes (vehicle, idle, camper)

[Raven1976]

I read different articles that say idling a car for more than a few minutes is not good for the car. Is that true? If so why not? Don't cop cars idle for a long time? and taxis?

[Steve Bagu]

As long as a car is TUNED properly...idleing will not harm the engine...normal water temp...normal oil pressure things are okay.

I sit in traffic at the border anywhere from 1/2 hr to 2 hrs at a time with a couple hundred other cars in line with no problems...wasteing a lot of gas and smog too boot.

Steve

[John From Scranton]

Originally Posted by Steve Bagu

I sit in traffic at the border anywhere from 1/2 hr to 2 hrs at a time with a couple hundred other cars in line with no problems...wasteing a lot of gas and smog too boot.

Steve

Wow thats along time to sit at the border.. Must be alot of people trying to get across..

[UpperPeninsulaRon]

Originally Posted by Raven1976

I read different articles that say idling a car for more than a few minutes is not good for the car. Is that true? If so why not? Don't cop cars idle for a long time? and taxis?

I click the remote start before I get in the shower on cold mornings. When I get in the car I'm a happy camper. Don't know how badly I'm hurthing the vehicle but it has 160,000 miles on it and I am sure in a better mood.

[ferretkona]

This is based on older cars that did not run well when cold. Mechanics say letting them warm up now is giving up miles on the car.

[kenk]

For newer cars...my manual says not to idle but don't drive it too hard until it reaches operating temp. But for older cars it might be a good idea to warm it up. Always refer to the manual for any model specific questions.

[rlrl]

a '72 Plymouth Fury III in Myrtle beach SC in '72, the first car we ever drove with AC and for some reason my dad was idling it and it overheated. I don't know if this was normal back in the day for that to happen(car probably had a 360 V8) while idling. My dad loved the car, thought it was superior to our '66 Ford Galaxie 500. I wanted him to get a Fury but he thought it was too big

[Franklyn]

Originally Posted by rlrl

a '72 Plymouth Fury III in Myrtle beach SC in '72, the first car we ever drove with AC and for some reason my dad was idling it and it overheated.

It was a '72 Mopar. What would you expect?

Just kidding. The fast idle adjustment was probably not set properly for an AC equipt car, is all. In those years a lot of Mopar AC's were installed aftermarket and the local mechanics - working on piece work, not by the hour - didn't always install all the "goodies" - such as electrically controlled two stage idle adjusters.

But Steve Baku is right, in my experience. If it's properly set up [and the air flow past the radiator isn't blocked by a wall or huge truck, or something - a car that idles a long time shouldn't cause undue problems. Except for fuel economy computation purposes.

[43north87west]

Originally Posted by Raven1976

I read different articles that say idling a car for more than a few minutes is not good for the car. Is that true? If so why not? Don't cop cars idle for a long time? and taxis?

Agreed... "well tuned" being the requirement, it isn't bad. The car should take care of itself, especially newer cars with computerized engine management.

[Innovator831021]

Originally Posted by ferretkona

This is based on older cars that did not run well when cold. Mechanics say letting them warm up now is giving up miles on the car.

They make such a cursory claim but provide no technical study on the matter... I don't buy BS like that.