Start the Car! Or Not? Why You Don’t Need to Let Your Car Warm Up in the Morning
If you grew up in the 80s or earlier, you undoubtedly witnessed your parents “warming up” the car on particularly chilly Canadian winter mornings. Many people did this in order to prevent their engines from stalling as they had not had time to sufficiently warm up, and for fluid (such as oil) to run through the engine.
But it’s 2015, and between concerns about the environment, not to mention the rising price of gasoline, many of us are wondering:
Do you still need to warm up your car when it’s cold out?
The short answer: Unless your car pre-dates the 1980s, no.
The long answer: Cars that were released before 1990 had carburetors. A carburetor is a mechanism that mixes fuel (gasoline) with air, by moderating the amount of air or fuel so that the car will run efficiently. In essence, it is what ensures your car doesn’t waste fuel or use too little, thereby damaging other engine parts.
The main reason that you needed to “warm up” older cars was to give the carburetor adequate time to heat up and begin to function properly before you started to drive. Not doing so could affect your engine performance, and even cause your car to seize or engine to fail.
Nowadays, cars are equipped with automatic fuel injectors, which perform the same basic mechanism as the carburetor once did. These electronic pieces work much faster and spring to life essentially as soon as the car is started. So, if your car starts, you can drive it, even in the coldest temperatures.
Still not convinced?
If the knowledge that your car will be able to run properly isn’t enough to get you to stop warming up the car on cold days, then instead consider the impact it has on the environment.
Environmental groups estimate that the average American spends as many as 16 minutes a day idling in their car, be it in traffic, at stop lights, or allowing their car to warm up. The amount of CO2 that this emits is considered significant, and obviously all CO2 emissions add to issues impacting the climate.
So, while your passengers (and maybe even you!) might not be too happy sitting in a cold car first thing in the morning, remember that you are not doing your car, or the environment, any favours by giving your car time to warm up on cold days.
Related Articles