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Be aware that quite a few states have anti-idling laws. DC is the most strict. 3 minutes. Maryland 5 minutes. Virginia 10 minutes. Most places change the idle time maximums in cold weather. I personally have never seen them enforced.
Virginia prohibits public service and commercial vehicles from idling for more than 3 minutes while parked in commercial or residential urban areas. Exceptions include when the vehicle's propulsion engine is providing auxiliary power for purposes other than heating and air conditioning.
Additionally, VA puts a 10-minute cap on idling for:
Tour buses that are powering their air conditioning systems in hot weather.
Diesel-powered vehicles that revert to idling to reduce issues with restarting.
This does not seem to apply to my car. I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't the same in MD or DC.
Makes it a heck of an easier target when the car is left running
That's not true. The remote starter has several ways to prevent the vehicle from being driven. If the car has an automatic transmission, the only way to put it in gear is by pressing the brake pedal and moving the shifter to drive. But since the key is not in the ignition switch, the soonest one steps on the brake pedal, the engine shuts down. Remote starter are widely used throughout Alaska and Canada, or any other place where it gets cold.
Engine Overheating is a huge issue linked to unnecessary extended idling.
With so many electronics, gadgets, whistles and bells under the hood nowadays, there is little room remaining for fresh air. Modern day vehicles with standard cooling systems are just not engineered to handle long term idling.
In most cases an overheated engine leads to a gaggle of issues which should be avoided if possible.
You can idle newer cars for hours without overheating if you like. The only way for overheating to happen is if there is a malfunction in the cooling system, or there is a problem with the coolant (not the right mixture, a coolant leak, and so on).
It will shorten the life of the alternator, they need airflow to keep the bearings from overheating, and there's not much airflow sitting idling. Of course if it's cold outside this probably doesn't matter as much.
The alternator has a built-in fan (it cools itself when running). Take a look at an alternator with the motor turned off, which is a good thing, because if you touch an alternator fan's blade of some alternators when the motor is running, it will remove some skin from your fingers.
I have an older model Lincoln TownCar, 1996. I took my grandkids and their friends to the State Fair in Tampa, Fl, in February around 2006 -2008. We were in a hurry to catch a tram as we were parked way out in a field with a lot of other cars. This was around noon time. We came back out around 8:00 pm. The car was sitting out in the same place, most everyone had left in our parking area, the lights were on, the engine running and the a/c going full blast and fairly low on gas.
It ran for appproximately 8 hours and I didn't seem to have any ill effects from this episode. I am still driving the car though it has a lot of problems and well over 200,000 miles. But it still cranks everytime, I put in about 1 1/2 qts of oil about every 10 days. No leakage on the driveway, no smoke out the back exhaust, it just burns it. But, circumstance prevents me from getting rid of it right now.
Now as to the stupidity of me jumping out and leaving everything running.......I had 3 teenage girls and a six year old boy in the car.....that pretty much says it all.
I have always wondered about some of the same questions asked and answered here, such as, leaving cars running while you make a quick stop. It just doesn't seem right to me. So, I am glad I read this thread.
It doesn't wear on the engine any more then driving it that same length of time. I've heard it does stress the con rod bearings a bit because they don't wear as evenly at idle, but I don't know.
The biggest effect, I believe, is what I said in it wearing out the catalytic convertors faster. Look in your car's manual and it might tell you how long is too long and why the manufacturer suggests you don't do it.
Most of the oil is in the pan when idling so that's not going to affect anything on the bottom end. Also the heads need very little oil at idle so they won't be affected either. Combine that with the synthetic oils we have today and virtually no harm will be done to an engine with excessive idling.
There is a girl that works with our company. She lost her keys one day, asking everyone if we had seen them.Turns out, she had left her car idling in the parking lot for 5 hours. Didnt seem to hurt the vehicle.
You quoted state law. Municipalities usually have their own laws.
I was responding to a comment about states, but I will check those municipalities later. I'm betting most are similar, at least in Virginia.
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