Car idling is something that should be understood very well because, at some point, a lot of people ask the question, how long can a car idle? and some ask, what happens during idling? But for a moment, have you ever thought about these two questions maybe when you are warming up the car on a chilly morning or when you are in heavy traffic or you are just waiting for a traffic sign?
Well, the state when your car engine is running but the vehicle is not in motion is called idling. Yes, that’s right. And to pick up and start using a car that hasn’t been in use or that has been left for a long time, you will agree that one needs to idle the car for some time as some sort of warmup for the engine and parts to dust off the sleepiness mode and prepare the car for usage again. But is it scientifically recommended?
Should you leave your car's engine idling? Myth busted!
The answer is not far-fetched. A car should only be made idle for a couple of minutes and advisably be put in motion after a long period of idling. Else when left idle for weeks or months without subsequent putting in motion, its engine will get jammed. And keep in mind that idling for some few minutes always helps clear fumes off the exhaust of diesel-run vehicles. Actually, as the leading automobile listing website in Nigeria, Naijauto.com feels the need to still deeply address these questions – how long can you keep a car idling? Does idling process burn much of fuel? So, read on.
To start with, we need to mention that when idling, a car only consumes a small amount of fuel. So, the real question - How long can my car idle? Well, the true answer is as simple - endlessly. Yup, that’s right.
A car can idle for an infinite period of time or to simply put – endlessly
Your car can idle infinitely, mind you, this is still dependent on some few conditions and situations. Some of these conditions are:
Remember to disconnect the battery in your car before you leave the car in an idling state for months or even weeks, because if you forget and you leave the battery plugged in, then expect that when you come back after the long period of time, you will see a completely drained out battery and will need to be recharged again before you can use it in your car.
If you intend to leave your car idle for months, disconnect the battery!
You can just disconnect your charged battery and leave the car idle for as long as you want. Then, when coming back after the long period of time, you only need to connect the battery back, and the vehicle will definitely run without giving you any issues and without you having to completely recharge the battery for usage.
Well, the thing is, modern vehicles don’t really need idling to be warmed up. And those car models with an automatic transmission don’t even need idling at all, even if it is a cold morning, you are supposed to just rev up your car engine and drive off to your desired destination. So, realistically you should only leave a car idling for just a few minutes. Maybe 30 minutes or thereabouts is okay for idling a car. Anything longer than that will not really be of benefit to your car, rather it will only burn your fuel and the exhaust fumes from your car at that moment will just be causing damage to the environment.
This is why you will find signposts in some areas or car parks, which will indicate a prohibition of car idling, in such places. The government in most nations are making efforts every day to reduce environmental pollution caused by fumes from vehicle exhaust or other poisonous gases from other sources. So, you don’t want to put yourself in trouble if you are in such areas and you are accustomed to leaving your car idling for long periods of time. Thirty minutes is even way too long for car idling.
Car idling has its negative repercussion on the environment
We believe you should take the following precautions in case you are planning or you have the intention to leave your car idling for a longer period of time. Here are the precautions:
And that will be all from us. We hope that you have read through this short guide and by now you have gained more knowledge about what happens during car idling and how long can a car idle. You can check out some of our other car maintenance posts below this article for more tips and advice. Goodluck!
>>> Also check out this post: Reasons your car engine is idling too low or too high and the solutions
Oluwaseun Solomon is a prolific and diligent automobile writer at Naijauto.com. He's also an experienced digital marketer and a creative multimedia developer that specializes in video editing. He currently contributes articles that are very informative and easy to read on topics covering transportation, traffic updates, auto industry updates, and different car reviews here on Naijauto.
When Solomon is not writing, you will either find him compo ... See more
Oluwaseun Solomon is a prolific and diligent automobile writer at Naijauto.com. He's also an experienced digital marketer and a creative multimedia developer that specializes in video editing. He currently contributes articles that are very informative and easy to read on topics covering transportation, traffic updates, auto industry updates, and different car reviews here on Naijauto.
When Solomon is not writing, you will either find him composing music, editing videos or simply enjoying YouTube "TEDx Talk" videos with a chilled drink :)