Should You Warm Up Your Car?

It’s one of those mornings where simply stepping outside makes your fingers hurt from the cold. You can see your breath and your ears turn red in a matter of seconds. You’re faced with a dilemma. Should you warm up your car?

You might have heard that it's necessary to warm up your engine on cold days, or maybe you just don’t want to freeze on your way to work. On the other hand, you have to consider the environment. Should you really burn gas for a few minutes while your vehicle is getting warm? 

Why warm up your car? The reason for warming up your car isn't to make the interior feel like a tropical island. It's to make sure the engine works properly. If you haven't run your car in a few hours, the engine isn't going to be fully lubricated. Cold temperatures thicken oil, which makes it harder for the engine to move it. If you start driving without a lubricated engine, bad things happen. 

Is it necessary for your car? There was definitely a time when you had to let the engine run for a while. Older cars used carburetor engine, and those carburetors didn’t work efficiently when cold. However, newer cars use fuel-injection systems in conjunction with onboard computers. Sensors can read engine temperatures and adjust accordingly. So while older cars need to run for a few minutes to warm up, newer cars don't require nearly as much time to warm up enough to run efficiently.

How long should you let it warm up? – New Subaru vehicles have a gauge that will show you exactly how long your engine takes to warm up. The U.S. department of energy says that you only need to warm the engine for 30 seconds, and after that drive slowly to let the engine gradually warm up. Others argue that even with new cars, you should let the engine warm up for at least one to two minutes. Either way, you shouldn’t be warming up your car for 10 or even 5 minutes. 

Environmental side If it's a matter of comfort, think of the environment. Sure, it's nice to sit in a toasty vehicle, but is it worth the extra carbon monoxide that’s being produced? Warm the engine for your car, rather than for your comfort.

However if you can't see through your windows due to a sheet of frost, you should probably take the time to let your car warm up a bit. An ice scraper can only do so much, and it's dangerous to try and drive without full visibility.