BEWARE: Short Drives & Cold Starts : How They Damage Your Engine & Cost You Money
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- Опубліковано 7 лют 2025
- Did you know that cold starts & short trips silently wreck your car's engine? Get the low down on why it happens and how you can reduce the risk from these common driving situations.
Many drivers unintentionally cause long-term wear and tear without realizing the consequences.
Whether it’s wasting fuel, damaging the battery, or clogging vital components like catalytic converters and particulate filters, these habits take a serious toll.
In this guide, we’ll break down what happens inside your engine during a cold start, why short trips are so damaging, and how you can avoid costly problems. Learn how to protect your car, save on repairs, and extend your engine’s lifespan-all by making a few simple changes to your driving habits.
So, what exactly happens inside your engine during a cold start? Why are short trips so harmful?
What Is a Cold Start or Short Journey?
A cold start occurs when you start the engine after it has been sitting long enough for its internal temperature to drop to ambient levels. A short journey, on the other hand, is any trip where the engine spends most of the time operating below its optimal temperature. This varies depending on engine type, weather, and driving conditions, but the key concern is insufficient time for the engine to reach and maintain its designed operating temperature.
In colder weather, warm-up times increase. Some engines may reach optimal temperatures in as little as five minutes, while others take 10 to 15 minutes or more. Relying solely on coolant temperature gauges can be misleading, as oil-essential for lubrication and protection-takes longer to heat up than the engine coolant.
The Damage Cold Starts Cause
Cold starts create a cascade of issues that, if left unchecked, can lead to long-term harm:
Oil Inefficiency: Cold oil lacks the optimal viscosity needed to lubricate engine components properly. This can lead to increased metal-to-metal contact, causing accelerated wear, especially on cylinder walls and piston rings.
Fuel Inefficiency: During the initial moments after ignition, the engine runs rich (burning more fuel than air). This incomplete combustion generates excess soot, which clogs components like the exhaust catalyst and particulate filters.
Piston Slap and Component Wear: Metal components like pistons and cylinders expand as they warm. When cold, they fit less snugly, leading to a phenomenon known as piston slap, which increases wear on engine components over time.
Condensation and Oil Dilution: Cold starts can lead to condensation forming in the engine, diluting the oil and reducing its effectiveness. Without a chance to burn off, these contaminants degrade the oil and increase engine wear.
Short Journeys and the Bigger Picture
Short trips exacerbate the problems associated with cold starts. Engines don’t have time to warm up fully, meaning these harmful processes occur more frequently:
Battery Strain: Starting the engine repeatedly on short trips drains the battery, especially in cold weather when heating and defrosting systems demand more power. Without sufficient recharging time, the battery depletes faster.
Exhaust System Stress: Catalytic converters and particulate filters require high temperatures to function effectively. Short trips prevent them from reaching optimal conditions, leading to soot build-up and potential damage.
Fuel Waste: Cold starts are fuel-hungry. A series of short trips consumes far more fuel than a single long journey covering the same distance.
How to Protect Your Engine
Avoid Frequent Short Trips: Combine errands to minimize cold starts, giving your engine enough time to warm up and stay at optimal temperature.
Use Quality Engine Oil: Ensure your oil is rated for cold-weather performance, especially in winter months, to improve lubrication during cold starts.
Invest in Regular Maintenance: Keep your battery, oil, and filters in top condition to handle the stress of cold starts more effectively.
Warm-Up Tips: Drive gently during the first few minutes rather than idling your engine, as driving warms up the engine faster and more efficiently.
Understanding the science of cold starts and short journeys helps build mechanical sympathy. By making small changes to your driving habits, you can extend the life of your engine and save money on costly repairs down the road.
• ❄️Reasons Why Bad Cold... What happens during a cold start.
#CarCareTips #ColdStartProblems #CarBatteryCare #ShortJourneys #SaveYourEngine #FuelEfficiency #PreventCarProblems
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Legal Notice: Unless we have inspected your car we can only provide generic theory. All information is provided without warranty, please check any recommendations made with a mechanic locally to verify it would be legal in your area or region and that it would be suitable for your car and your needs.
I think the main thing is not to drive off immediately after starting the engine but to wait 10 to 20 seconds for the oil to circulate through the engine which i always do.
i wait my rpm to go down to normal, usually takes 30 seconds and i take off
@@MacLewis-v1o Very true. Let me add to that: 10-20 seconds max, any longer is unnecessary and will prematurely wear your engine. At low RPM you’re getting low oil pressure, add in cold winter oil temperatures to that equation and you have a bunch of wear on the engine.
Many people seem to think they should let their car idle in the winter to help it heat up before driving it, but in reality you’re actually damaging it. It boils down to don’t overdo it.
The manual of my Alfa Romeo mito says start driving right away... My outlander phev engine goes on and off every few seconds.. I think the enginenever warmed up only fill the battery enough to drive a few km's.
The manual of our Mclaren doesn't say anything about this.. only not let it run idle for 10 minutes and cool the car down with slow driving/braking before turning off after a hard drive.
If it's 0 degrees F it takes longer than 10-20 seconds to warm up. You're looking at 3-5 minutes or longer especially if you're in Alaska or Vermont. Cars today are tested for cold starts in sub-zero conditions. Short journeys? I don't know what he's talking about here. Cold starts? 50/50.
@@peterboytRaKs The 10-20 seconds is not to warm up the car, it’s to get the oil pressure up and to circulate the oil a few times
A car takes about ~15 minutes to warm up under load. When idling, it’ll take much longer, and during winter, even longer. In fact, my diesel goes down in temperature during winter when idling after driving, and barely goes up in temp when idling from a cold start.
You should drive the car after 10-20 seconds of idling, especially in winter as cold starts damage your engine way more so you want to put some heat into the oil fast.
In order to avoid those problems I push the car to the shops and back, its a short journey, so I manage.
😂
I just let it idle for hour then drive 5 minute to the shop
At least you don't idle it in closed garage sitting in your car.
I always idle for an hour before making my way to the car.
Kenjas, al ajde... 😂
😂😂
@@liberty0758 Sarkazam.
The engine is warmed up when the oil reaches operating temperature, not the coolant. If you push your engine straight after the coolant reaches 90 degrees, you are definitely prematurely damaging your engine. Also on a cold start the oil lubricates the engine in the 1st second, yes, but not properly. The best thing to do on Every cold start is get in the car, start it up, then put on your seat belt , radio, get your phone out and whatever else you do and Then start driving. This will take you about 10 seconds by which time the oil has had time to go trough the engine quite a few times and there's some lubrication. Older cars used to have a gauge for the oil temp as well as the coolant but the dumb manufactures removed them for whatever reason.
You can hear the cam shaft at cold start. If the slight rattling sound disappears, you can drive off. Probably after 2 seconds. And drive like a grandpa the first 5 km.
@@xtrbg Not true, in cold weather oil temperature and coolant temperature follow each other, so you are probably safe to push your engine when coolant is at 90.
@jakob6960 this is correct
My Seat Ibiza 1.0 this has an oil temp gauge in the trip computer and there's a huge difference between the coolant temp rising and oil temp rising despite it being a tiny engine.
You can get a gauge that displays oil temp and other data like battery voltage that simply plugs into your car's OBD2 diagnostic port. I bought a cheap one on Amazon and it's been working great. When you turn off the car is shuts down and when you start the car it comes back on automatically. Only thing I wish it displayed that it doesn't is oil pressure. It displays the oil temperature though. In cold weather I use an engine block heater and magnetic oil pan heater. I plug those in a few hours before starting the car and that warms the fluids pretty good. My coolant and oil are at full operating temps about 2 miles away when I use those electric heaters. The transmission fluid is still cold so I drive the car gently for the first 5 miles.
its best just never to use the car... it will last much longer (sarcasm)
That's why I spent thousands on a vehicle. So, I wouldn't have to drive it in the winter. Besides. I don't have a heated garage to keep my car in in the winter. So, I never drive it. Of course, if you live in the Amazon, and wrap your engine in warm palm leaves, there wouldn't be any cold starts. That's why I'm taking my family and moving to the deep tropics where there aren't any roads to drive on. 😵💫
its best to also not buy a car... keep the money in your pocket.
@@nmlker I could take the bus. It's free around here.
I KNEW I was doing something wrong!
That ia an excuse of you being poor.
I have a lot of mechanical sympathy, so I have 2 cars. My pride and joy, the 3.0 L supercharged Jag F-type S will not start without going on a long journey, sitting on a Noco charger until the opportunity presents itself. The second car is a trusty 21 YO, 2.0 L Honda Accord which is used most of the time, paying particular attention to frequent oil changes. I will always warm up the engine and pamper it until it reaches normal operating temperature. It's used for short trips, and occasionally for long journeys. This recipe works for me. Thanks for confirming my beliefs.
We have to idle,, 🚕 🚖 Taxis 12,, hours a day..... hotels,,, service.. these are heavy duty Lincoln Towne cars,, limos.. crown vics. We use 10. W. 50.. F. Sythn. Oils..helps alot.. these all have 500.000. Miles plus ➕️. Use the best gas 93..
You just admitted confirmation bias lmao
Yes I do oil changes every 3k because I live in a small town and everything is within a couple miles..
Jaguar lol that is too bad
Fagmatic sports cars
I'd been a very care car guy back in those days..
After covid, my mindset changed, life is too short for us to worry about car/workhorse.
Just be gentle when it's cold, don't fix if it wasn't spoil.
Better care on your own health..
I have a 40-minute commute that is 25 to 30 miles of mostly highways. Keeps my engine happy.
I'm mechanically sympathetic with my engines as many have commented here. Recently I had my work van taken off me (fleet has gone electric) which I used to travel the 9 total miles to and from work so had to buy another car to do this trip. I had a 2.5 five-cylinder S80 Volvo that I absolutely loved but it was far too thirsty to do the short trips. I would have had to do at least double the mileage to work for me to be happy that I'd got the oil, exhaust etc hot enough to not damage the car. So, I bit the bullet and bought the cheapest easiest car I thought would get me to work. I've now got a 2015 Nissan Leaf (electric) which is absolutely perfect for the job I bought it for. No warming up, costs, £6 a week to charge in winter (less in summer) and I can set it to pre-heat the car before I set off. BUT. before everyone starts having a go, I'm not a convert. The Nissan is great for the short 10-mile journey to work, but forget it for anything longer. Even my brand new 2024 Pegeuot E-Expert van that had 53 miles on it when I picked it up a few weeks ago claims to have 136 miles of range every time I charge it, but will only do around 90 if you use it like a conventional diesel especially if you don't want to freeze to death! So, my point. Electric cars for very short to/from work trips are the way to go if you want to mitigate expensive engine damage and/or repairs. But they aren't going to replace the trusty ICE yet!
this is why i hate road tax. it's better if we own more cars, not fewer. a better vehicle for the job. big thristy 7 seat suv for when taking out the family and small commuter cars for commuting. way more efficient than driving wagons everywhere that are ok at everything but not great at one thing.
I would say hybrid is the way to go before batteries get lighter more durable and safer (if ever). A hybrid you don't have to charge and you're not having to deal with multiple vehicles, especially if you already have another nicer car that you like, having two more for long distance and short distance commutes just doesn't make sense. The hybrid will use electric assist so it doesn't stress the engine and it'll charge with regen braking so that's also not much of an issue. Probably best to get the plug in version for very short trips to use the electric only mode for those.
That old Volvo would have been much cheaper to run. It's not about what you spend on fuel. It's about what you spend TOTAL.
Electric cars: road legal golf carts with heat and A/C.
@ryanpayne7707 Yep. But it gets me to and from work cheaply.
Maybe certain car brands are more susceptible than others. I have a 22 year old Honda. I live in a very cold climate during the winter. All I do are short drives. I never let my car warm up. I just do the scheduled maintenance. Never had an engine problem.
helped a lot that many car manufacturers removed coolant and oil temp gauges. apparently they are not stylish and confuse customers. also dead car means new car.
@@JohnnyTheCache I'm pretty sure that last thing you said is reason #1, the other thing is lies they say to justify it 😉
Speaking of volkswagon.
I have a 2011 Ford Fiesta, it has no temp guage, so annoying.
@@Simon-fr4ts I have an 06 Volvo V70 and it lacks one also
@@Simon-fr4ts I had a 2013 Chevy Sonic. It had a fuel gauge, tachometer, and a digital speedometer- nothing else.
My 2001 Rover 75 has an FBH pre heater. (factory fitted)
In the winter we can remotely switch it on from our house while chomping breakfast.
It warms the cabin and the glass and the engine while the neighbours are scraping the ice of theirs.
Such a laugh sometimes !!
It warms the engine to 62C so is already warm prior to starting.
50mpg and no DPF
Had the Rover since 2005 and we are keeping it a very long time yet.
It owes us nothing and does the opposite of depreciating 😎
Happy days
@@UKpitbull They use celsius and miles, they also use the word chomp. Pretty obvious he's from here from how he speaks, that gen of Rovers also didn't sell very well elsewhere
Here in Norway many of us use block heaters and 12V charger systems.
Pre-warms the engine and keeps the battery full in the colder months.
II would like to see a block heater etc.
I thought you were all EV Drivers? 😅
Just change the oil every 3k then you needn't worry about cold starts. It's the water that gathers in the engine and oil while not being used does the damage.
This is why I have a Plug In Hybrid. I do many short journeys for my work, so can do all,of those on electric only, but often go on longer trips, so have the flexibility of the petrol engine when needed.
Even when the petrol engine does a cold start, the system will not allow the revs to build over around 1500 until it’s warmed up.
PHEVs are can be far worse in this respect depending how they are used. It is handy to be able to move the car or do a short journey without starting the engine. But in other cases of mixed EV/ICE mode the engine oil may never reach temperature, worst case is if the engine cuts in after running in EV mode towards the end of the journey. Either use full EV mode (if the journey is short enough) or keep the engine running from the off.
Embrace the freedom of a car with no engine
This is the comment I was searching for. I’m wondering how those short trips made solely on battery power affect the engine/vehicle as a whole? Thinking about getting a PHEV as my commute to work is very short.
@CHeath44 Check out "Engineering Explained", he has a video on hybrids including oil temp profiles and why they can be worse for the engine.
@@user-xu5vl5th9n It sounds like the poster does this perfectly. The fact he often goes on longer trips is also key. That's why I didn't get a PHEV.
I use the Torque app to monitor my engine temperatures, and during this winter's temperatures, it is not usual for the motor oil to be 30°celcius colder than the coolant temperature for at least 20 minutes of driving, this can allow moisture in the crankcase and unburnt fuel from being evaporated by the PCV system. Fuel dilution of motor oil is the major reason engines fail.
If you can increase your engine RPMs once the coolant temperature hits normal operating temperatures (at least 75°C or higher), this will help bring the oil temperatures up faster and help remove the water and unburnt fuel out of the oil.
The clearest and most thorough anwer to this question that I've ever heard.
I have a TON of mechanical sympathy for my engine (1.6 TDI DGTE) so I refuse to rev it above 2500rpm until the coolant has at least got up to operating temperature and just letting it start and fluids to travel for at least 10-15s before setting off.
It actually makes me wince when I hear someone pull off their drive the second it’s fired up and then proceed to rev the nuts out of it because it’s a slight hill…
I get stressed enough as it is if I even hear the starter motor take an extra 3-4 rotations before the engine fires up 😅
I had a neighbour who'd get in their Hyundai SUV and rev it up hard to get up the hill straight away
Guy across the street used to have a a TDI, and no matter how cold a winter morning it was, he would would drive off the split second the engine started, and he would accelerate sharply, revving it up in 1st. A long time later, one time I heard that car idling cold, it sounded horrible, like banging a hammer on an anvil. Short time later I noticed he has an other car. That one he'd let idle a few seconds before driving off calmly. Some prefer to learn the hard way 🤷♂
Reminds me of a neighbor...the amount of time he lets it warm up before driving away is the exact same time it takes for his hand to go from the ignition key to the gear shifter.
Looking forward to finding this one out. I try and do a few miles longer when I can as I know I don’t drive that far generally to top the battery up and hopefully prolong the damage to the car if possible.
A few miles more won't cut it. In wintertime, you need 30 miles of highway driving to warm up the oil fully.
Instead of driving my normal 20km route to work, I took a 200km detour to save fuel.
I drive over 50 miles round trip back and forth to work. My car gets warmed up.
In extreme cold weather, i hit the remote start button, at least 5 minutes beforehand. As i get dressed and gather my lunch box.
I also use full synthetic oil, change it often, and drive conservative.
@@Karrpilot letting you car idle 5 minutes on a cold engine is a very bad idea. Car needs to be driven conservatively to warm up gently. Car needs to go through gears and engine needs to work to warm up. By idling on a cold engine you prolong time it takes o do so and thus you add more wear and tear to your engine.
10 second idling : very good
5 minutes : no go!
@@guillaumeromain6694 Back in the day, before i had a remote start, i would start my car, brush off the snow and ice, let it run maybe 5 minutes, and then take off. I got 263K on my last car before getting rid of it 15 years later. I must be doing something right.
there are engine heaters, i think ive heard of such for electric car battery too. probably can be programmed to auto warm up as you get out of bed in morning before going to work
I've been known to park my car in a heated airport hangar while at work during extreme cold. It helps that I work nights and we don't have too many flights.
Its key to have an engine warmer installed. I have one from Defa. Its a gamechanger. Warms up the inside of the car too.
Block heater is a good investment in cold climates. It was 0 degrees this morning and still after about 2 minutes of driving, I started to feel some heat.
All the head gasket failures I've had on my own vehicles have been caused by failure of the fire rings on 1 & 4 cylinders. Looking at the witness marks, it's very clear to me it's caused by fatigue due to the thermal cycles the engine has experienced. The alloy heads expand far more than a cast iron blocks, which puts shear stress on the gasket which increases with distance from the centre. Similar issues occur in aircraft where an airframe has a pressurisation cycle life as well as an absolute hours life.
If you really wanna have best (reasonable) cold start have a car with engine preheater. This will heat engine block slowly and uniformly avoiding stress caused by rapid heating, plus you will get warm air from start.
Electric car
Hello from Burry Port, 15 miles west of Swansea. I'm very vigilant about oil and filter changes in both my car and motorbike. I've been using fully synthetic 10W40 for both and have also been adding molybdenum disulphide with the car, as it tends to do shorter round trips of about 12 miles. Last time, however, I added ZX1 engine treatment, which I now also use in the bike, as it's compatible with wet clutches. The car is an owned from new 1997 Peugeot 306 turbo diesel, with 86,000 miles on the clock. At 67, I'll likely die before it and the bike, both of which never get going immediately, as it takes a while to back them out of my garage. I met a guy a while ago, who showed me his ZX10R Kawasaki in his shed. He started it from cold and all but redlined the engine ! I can see the ad on eBay now - one careful owner, always garaged. Jesus will not save the next owner's sanity.
I have a little work scooter max speed 30 kmph. After 12.000 km 2-4km journeys nothing in standard service would make it drive better. I found out the tiny exhaust header got clogged probably the cat too. Finally after trying (many) the one potent fuel system cleaner that actually ripped the inside of the exhaust clean it drives better than new now. Took 2 months regular fillups from a jerrycan mixed, but once I saw a positive change in cold starting I kept running on it. Now it starts like new drives like a charm. Saves me work and an exhaust I did not feel like replacing 🎉
Back in the olden days, before the PCV valve came into use, an engine would be a sludge factory if it didn't warm up properly. My father drove his Pontiac 2 1/2 miles to work one way every day and seldom took it out for a prolonged drive. When he took the valve plates off the side of the engine once, there was wall-to-wall sludge.
One of the things I love about my plug in hybrid - I basically never have to put the engine under load until the oil is at operating temperature. I can let it warm while idling at stop lights or while maintaining speed which requires like
This is not an advert or recommendation but one feature I really liked on my Merc A class was that it reported coolant, oil and transmission temperatures so I could properly judge the correct warming before I could relax on giving it a bit of the loud pedal 🤓
Thanks for doing these videos. You always give me things to think about. I have a 4 cylinder engine with an oil temperature and pressure gauge. As you know, it takes quite a while for the engine oil to get near "operating temperature". It's too bad that most cars do not have an oil temperature gauge, because that is the number that really matters. One thing you implied is that the oil starts lubricating just fine as soon as there is some heat in the oil. Not sure that is true. If the oil is not up to temperature, won't you be tripping the oil pressure release valve and then not actually cycling the oil through the engine, but dumping the overpressure oil back into the oil pan? My car definitely will do this.
Every long journey starts with a short journey with a cold engine
@@macky4074 Yes, but the question is, how much of the car's lifespan the engine spent operating under favourable versus unfavourable conditions.
When doing only short trips the unfavourable conditions add up to almost 100% of the operating time. Where as when doing long trips the unfavourable conditions make up only a few percent of the operating time.
@@christiannasca3520 damage is damage, if you start and drive the car 100.000 times and drive each trip 100miles it would have also done 100.000 cold starts and 100.000 5-10min journeys until the car has reached operating temperature, but then adding on the extra milage on top of that damage would equal more damage than just cutting your journey short as a running engine always creates friction even at optimal temperature. The best way to keep an engine in good condition is not to rev it too much or too little.
@@paulbryant4518 Wrong.
If you drive your car for 100 miles from a cold start, 99% of the wear occurs during the first few miles. Once the engine reaches optimal temperature there is only minimal wear. Two moving metal parts separated by an oil film don't touch and don't wear.
If, on the other hand, doing only short trips, by the time the engine has driven 100 miles (of short trips) the engine has suffered 100 times the damage of one long trip.
Ever wondered why some cars reach 500.000 miles or more, while others develop all sorts of problems after 50.000 miles? It's not the model or brand. It's just the usage profile: One has been driven on long distance trips only, the other on short trips. The amount of time or miles they have spent under unfavourable conditions is probably the same. The amount of time or miles a car spends under favourable conditions contributes almost nothing to the engine wear.
Using some lateral thinking - that's why 100,000 mile cars that are 3 years old can be great bargains!
@@ph8077 For any age and mileage of a car you can divide the mileage by the age in days and get an estimated average mileage per day or, further dividing it, per trip.
The longer the average trip, the better!
Such number says more about the wear on the engine than any other measurement.
OIL DILUTION! So basically our driveway is one way only. So if you need to use one car and it’s blocked by another car you have to move both cars essentially. After doing this I noticed the next day the car that was moved would idle very rough and sound like a bag of nails. After doing research I thought it was the battery but to my shock I noticed it was oil dilution as when the car is cold the car is trying to keep engine alive with the rich air/fuel mixture but it’s basically washing down all the oil in the cylinders during this process. So imagine all that fuel left unburnt basically so when you start it again there’s very little compression as the oil has been washed away. So if you are forced to move the car rather take the car on a short drive around the block to help warm it or if you can’t let it idle for a few mins rather than just switching off right away.
and if you have a wet belt... say goodbye to the wetbelt... this is the problem most people don't understand. Cars are NOT for short journeys!
Absolutely, my OCD is so bad that if I EVER start my car, I have to drive it fully to get her up to temp, then drive her a little hard to clear her throat, then drive normal and cooldowns 10 mins, then pull up home and idle for 10 seconds. Switch off perfect 😊
Sounds more to me like you have very poor sealing piston rings. There should not be that much fuel in the oil after a few cold starts in a row.
@TTAutowerks94 😂😂 geesch man your life must be miserable
@TTAutowerks94 So cool👍. Isn't it easier to switch to hybrid!😀
The high idle at cold start is to warm up the catalytic converter. Basically it retards the ignition timing so the exhaust gasses are hotter than they would be with normal advanced timing. Nothing to do with stalling.
@filmboy18
My J VXR does this, literally shakes the windows of my house.
@@filmboy18 spot on - as soon as he made that comment all credibility was lost and I stopped watching
I hope your aware that Toyotas and Hondas are also included in these short journey and they are still reliable and the people who use these cars are ones that don't know any thing about cold start. If this was an issue we would have had more issues with these cars and so cold short journey in Japan and similar places.
I always let my car warm up for a minute or so. I have a 2013 Accord that takes 0W-20 synthetic oil. Even though it's pretty much circulating immediately, I drive it as gently as I can for the first few miles, keeping the rpms under 2500 (2000 if possible). Takes me about 10 minutes to get to the highway and by then the temp gauge shows I'm close to operating temp. My morning commute is about 35 mins long, mostly highway, unless the highways are at a standstill, then my commute consists of mostly stop and go driving. I am definitely trying to protect my car as much as possible, and get tips and advice from my mechanic. Most days I don't even go out during lunch breaks because of the extra wear and tear. Cars are just too expensive, especially these days, to not take care of them.
The way I handle it is, I have oil that is constantly being warmed by fire in my cauldron. And a custom oven I keep my engine block in. So when I go to start the engine I have the warm oil cycle through the engine, then I start the engine up and let it idle for 3 minutes. This way the block doesn’t need to expand or contract as much. I’ve found that this gets me about another 14 miles out of the engine more than it would have gotten had I just kept it in my garage. 😊
Hi there good advice thank you for this content...I have an F Pace jag I can control from my phone so I start it up once out the shower for 10 mins on my drive, by the way it stays locked whilst running great feature love it.🤔👍
I’ve got a 2011 VW T5 and it does not have a temperature coolant gauge on the dashboard and it’s always really really annoyed me, I’ve owned loads of vehicles and never had one without a gauge, surely they don’t do it to save a few £
@@LurgsHowToGuides I think my 2016 Volvo V40 didn't have one either which I also found really annoying. I can't imagine why they omit it. No dipstick for engine oil either.
Wear and tear is part of mechanical propulsion. The engine will eventually wear out and so will the driver! It’s a fact of life!
I have a CTek dongle on all 4 of my cars. They all get a random charge every month or so. Makes it seconds to connect the CTek charger.
All trips have a short trip into them were you can have potential damage. If live in a busy city full of traffic most probably you will maximize the issues as your engine will take a lot more to get to it's normal operating parameters.
I am driving a borrowed 2010 VW Golf and this is the first car I have ever driven that tells you the oil temperature. On a cold Sydney day it takes 20-30mins to get the oil temperature to over 90c operating temperature and the drive includes highway driving. But driving from work at the end of the day the engine warms up faster.
I always warm up my car same as my bike. Never have any problems, but my car also runs a few thousand rpm higher than most. I also change fluids more frequently than recommended.
I live in northern Canada east of Alaska. We have 7 months that are below zero and 3 months averaging below -30C. I usually don't use a block heater because the price of electricity is very high. I have a 1999 Ford Expedition with a 4.6 liter engine with 260,000 km. I still do not need to add additional oil between oil changes. I also have a 2011 Rav4 that has 180000 km that does not use oil. I do many short trips so my rule I use in the winter is to change oil every 90-120 days of usage. This is my suggestion for extreme weather. For moderate weather and driving conditions I would change the oil twice per year. For ideal driving conditions once per year is fine. For me it is important that the zero weight motor oil does not get contaminated and become too much thicker. I change my own oil so the cost is not expensive.
None of my previous vehicles have had engine damage or excessive wear. In the short term we cannot control the weather or where we live or work. Follow the cautious approach to warming up and driving the vehicle. Increase the oil change interval; oil is cheap - engines are expensive.
I have a 2l Vauxhall estate which in winter I start at least 5 minutes before it moves although I do have the benefit of a large driveway.
I live in Saskatchewan Canada, and we have here, very cold winter weather (0 Celsius down to minus 35 Celcius) for up to 5 months of the year.
My 2024 Honda CRV Hybrid Touring is parked in an underground garage year round, with an ambient temperature of plus 15 C. However, in the winter, the ICE is running more to generate the heat that is required in the cabin to keep the occupants warm. The engine still shuts down for short periods of time (up to 1 minute) even at freeway speeds. My concern is that the ICE coolant and oil struggle to get up to operating temperature for suitable periods of time. With an average journey taking 15 - 30 minutes, with starts and stops in traffic, my thought have been to change the engine oil and filter with greater frequency that the maintenance minder system calls for, say every 3-5000 kilometers, depending in on the weather.
While the vehicle has active grill shutters that close when the weather is cold, in order to try and help the ICE to warm up faster and maintain temperature, I still have concerns about oil dilution and piston ring blowby not fully getting vapourized out of the oil sump, so all I can do is either periodically drive at highway speeds for longer periods of time, and/or change teh engine oil and filter more frequently. My dealership service department understands me logic and agrees with my thinking.
Perhaps you could comment on this (hybrid vehicles and how their engines shut off even during minus temperatures, and the effect on wear and tear).
My thought is that oil is cheap, while engines are expensive.
Thank you and keep producing great videos.
"Unlike the gas-only CR-V, which uses Honda’s nearly ubiquitous 1.5L turbo four, the Hybrid’s base powerplant is a naturally aspirated 145-hp, 2.0L Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder that is paired with two electric motors mounted side-by-side. " I would not worry about the engine shutting down if you continue to do more frequent oil changes. These normally aspirated engines should last a long time; you have avoided all the problems associated with the turbocharged fuel injected engines.
I don't know how a CTV operates on your car but when the temperature is below -20C I try to keep the rpms in the 1700 to 2200 range for the first 5-10 kms.
@ Unfortunately, you can’t control the ICE rpm directly from the accelerator pedal, in a Hybrid system. It’s all computer controlled. You can get the running at those close to those rpm’s for a short while if you ask for heat (I use 24 celcius dialed in), as it tells the computer to runs the ICE at what I would call a high idle speed.
Absolute rubbish. I bought a 13 year old volvo in 2015 with 43K miles on the clock. The previous owner had done about 10K miles in 10 years. That's a lot of cold starts.
9+ years later I still have it and it's done 130K total. Being retired I still do a lot of short runs, intersped with cross continent runs of 1,100 miles.
It's about knowing how to treat the engine, not labouring in too high gears, not over revving and just keeping it sweet.
@@robbos8486 the 10k miles in 10 years can be mitigated with frequent oil changes, as long as you don’t abuse the engine cold. Short drives degrade oil life.
@@robbos8486 that's called luck.
To be frank, this is fairly mild. That's around 1k miles a year. For the moment I average around 600-800 per month. A bit more depending on the situation. Regardless, the point is not so much about how much an engine can tolerate, but more what is known to cause wear and what to be aware of. How much is too much is highly dependent on various factors. Take old Corollas. They'll will work even when severely neglected. Maybe not particularly well, but they will work. This does not change circumstances that cause wear. Many cars, especially newer exceptionally efficient engines are far less tolerant of neglect and so on.
How much should one be worried depends on the person, car, environment, driving style and so on. While it is possible to get away with a lot, it does not necessarily mean it is a good idea to do so. Awareness of basic things causing wear is plain good information to know. What one will do with this information is up to them.
@user-jq2mx5kh7l you are right about every car having a different tolerance for mishaps. and also every country has different weather, but as he said, if you treat the car gently; then I think short journeys won't be a big factor, just a sufficient short engine idling then slow gentle driving for few minutes, will make the temp rise gradually (while the engine not being abused) and that is the most important thing ( the way I see it I could be wrong as I'm not an expert)
What you said is rubbish.
I hired a team of professional blow driers to warm my car every morning so I never have a cold start. Vehicle still runs like new at 8,000 miles.
My biggest problem is that I am literally 10 miles from work, a 10 min drive. With this cold spell we’ve had recently here on the east coast my engine hasn’t been able to get up to operating temperature before reaching work. And I would start the car and let it idle for a while but there’s also evidence that letting your car idle is also not good for the engine. Tragic
Old school ideas . Modern Engines with fully Synthetic oils lubricate even when Cold . Just get in the Dam car and start the Engine then drive . They are not made from butter 😂
Comparatively speaking, they are made of butter. When you imagine ridiculous forces at play and speeds involved, those main bearings that are relatively tiny pieces of thin metal take a ton of beating. That is just one component. Similarly cylinder linings, piston rings, etc are all comparatively "buttery" pieces. I've seen engines get completely demolished by two seconds of oil starvation due to whatever small issues be it design issues, poor tuning, neglect, etc. It does not take much at all. I have an opposite feeling and find it is ridiculous they last as long as they do given all sorts of less than ideal conditions.
It goes without saying, one won't get far without oil. Everything quickly goes downhill from there. The amount of friction and heat that builds up the moment oil runs dry is very significant. It eats through metal fast. While yes, modern engines with modern oils is pretty robust, engine design is still sort of buttery. Especially engines on more high-power end.
true
I’ve been driving for years and didn’t really appreciate the battery deficit. That’s me walking to the local shop lol
To counteract a cold engine, rev to redline as soon as you start the engine, this brings it up to a safe temperature much sooner.
If you draw a line over the temp gauge at temperature the car will always be at temp.
Finally some smart comment 👍🏿
Not being mechanically minded,understood this,thank you.
To deal with the winter and short trip problems, you have to change the oil more often. Only idiots who don’t care about engines would go 10,000 miles or more between oil changes. Use the best oil and filters and change every 3,000 miles under conditions like that.
That´s why i change oil once a year. My yearly mileage is about 5000 miles or less and i´m using oil rated for 19k miles.
3000 miles :DD idiot
When you say change I suppose you actually mean top up?
@@cesare4926 No! Drain and replace old oil with some good stuff like Royal Purple or Mobil 1. New filter and lube chassis. Check over whole vehicle for things like tire pressure and leaks. Wax and vacuum if car is looking a little rough. There! You’re done. Happy New Year.
If you say so, I did 64,000 miles in a car over 3 years & I never once checked the oil & it still drove beautifully.
Another excellent informative video. I like that you talk to us not down at us.
The rule of thumb that I was taught is that the operating temperature should be achieved and sustained for a minimum of 10 minutes. That should be long enough to evaporate water and volatize unburnt fuel in the oil. That was from when i got my license in 1985. I don't know what modern engines/oil require.
With looser ring tolerance it will take longer because you have more contamination.
For the last 14 year my daily commute is 26 mile each way, mainly on Dual Carriageway and A Roads. Never had a single issue with DPF, EGR or anything else. I drive like a good Christian and my cars normally last me up to 180k miles. I do all of my own servicing and maintenance and the reason being, I do not trust main dealers or even independents to use the correct oil and service parts for the car. I get great satisfaction knowing that I have maintained it myself and maintained it earlier than OEM service intervals. Look after your car and it will look after you. Do not be that person who does not maintain your car until something goes wrong.
My 2008 golf tdi, no dpf and no egr gets a 2 minute drive to work, and has done for years . No issues
Sounds good, these UA-cam vids have everyone believing they need to get outta bed & put a hot water bottle under the oil pan on a cold day
I do not have a car but I let my Triumph Street 3 to warm up until 1 temp bar before starting the trip. This improved the fuel economy from 30m mpg to 37 mpg, this is all city mileage with bumper to bumper traffic. Engine is also much smoother.
My commute is usually to office which total of 8 miles .
Thanks for helping get my OCD to redline.
hahaahah
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Thanks for spelling out the “common sense” I have always “assumed” for the necessity of “warmups”! I began driving DIY maintenance in 1972!
Biggest issue for low mile vehicles is the lack of maintenance, things that normally get done as part of changing wear and tear parts (like brakes).
I bought a low miler, 50k miles at 12 years old, the brakes had zero lubricant on the slider pins, the brakes kept jamming.
Also a lot of drivers will see "20k miles or 12 months" in the service manual and they'll pick the bit they want, which is "20k miles".
In sweden they have a stupid law that your not allowed to idle in most places. Maximum idling is 1 minute 😂
Yes sto start is also an issue. BMW use a special coating on crank bearings to help cope with relative lack of lubrication.
I think electric cars fair better with short journeys or trips with frequent stops.
I do journeys with frequent stops though trip
Miles typically 50 to 100 miles a day. Engine on my BMW 330i is perfect at 80k miles but cooling system has required many replacements.
I don’t know how true this is, but I’ve heard some car guys say they’ll wait for the RPM idle to go to its lowest point and that’s usually a good amount of time to let the oil circulate.
That’s Right 100%
Usually my car takes about 2 minutes of driving to warm up the coolant and 15 minutes for the oil in winter.
If you're idling it will effectively stay cold forever, as I've seen the temperatures drop quite low in stop and go traffic.
Another great video. My 335d doesnt have a temp gauge which is really annoying. Instead it has a milage gauge which us utterly pointless
BMW recommends driving straight away and there is a very good reason for this 👍
Until recently I rarely did did short trips with practically all being 5 miles +. However recently I have had to start running my 93 year old mother around who lives close by and the effects are very noticeable and fuel consumption deterioration.
That's real life, and how most cars are used, as a means to an end. When buying a used car (as most of us do) you really have no idea how it's been driven. It could have been well maintained, but still never warmed up. Even the mileage will not indicate if it's been driven on 2x 40 mile or 16x 5 mile journeys per week. However, I will always avoid buying very low mileage cars because of that likelihood, yet others pay the higher price (in more ways than one?) for low mileage=carefully driven cars...
All of my work colleagues laugh at me because in the winter I go out into the workplace car park 5-10 minutes before we leave to start the car and set the heaters going. I do it to protect my car as I plan on keeping it til it dies. I'm from England and have a 72 plate Suzuki Vitara 1.4T mild hybrid AllGrip model. Only got 18k on the clock but I plan on keeping it til the government says I'm not allowed to anymore. I service it every 6000 miles and no expense is spared on the car.
I fell for the trap of buying a new car every 2 to 3 years before and I came to realise a few years ago just how much that has set me back. I got my car with only a few thousand on the clock for a great price. I went Japanese for obvious reasons. Sure the Europians have better interiors, but they don't feel anywhere near as well screwed together as my Suzuki. Im genuinely happy i stumbled across my small but surprisingly spacious and fun Vitara. It's hugely underrated by reviewers.
I fixed my old Mtb for short trips to the corner shop. I like my engine. 🌝
Excellent advice, thanks. Does this also apply to petrol engines?
the old rover K series engine was very prone to issues surrounding warm ups, the long through bolts were not at yield strength until fully warmed up, this was not helped by the location of the thermostat. pushing the vehicle hard before it was warm caused issues, the head bolts vs aluminum head and block having different expansion rates resulted in the head lateral movement if driven hard when cold, also the operation of the thermostat as it opened allowing cold water from the radiator to enter the warm engine results in a thermal shock (the equivalent of 2 or 3 cold starts!). When hot the K series loved being thrashed and on a long term dyno test you could expect the equivalent of 200K+ from it (this was when the Ford CVH struggled to do 100K), this was constantly operating hot, not cold cycling it.
It was found those who lived close to fast roads/motorways suffered more head gasket failures than those who didnt. The MGF was particularly vulnerable to this due to the long distance the water had to travel from the rad (front to rear of vehicle) with increased amount of "cold" water prolonging the warm up time.
Your TFSI has a cylinder head that heats up quickly, to clean up combustion in the cylinder head. However, if your dash has a OIL temperature sensor, it's more important for your oil to get up to 90 to 93C for 5 or so minutes.. That tends to evaporate the moisture out of your motor oil due to blow by on a cold engine. I own a 2024 VW Taos with a 1.5 TFSI with the Miller cycle designed engine. it has all those readings. I change my oil every 7.5 k miles, not 10k that VW recommends. On US gallons, I see fantastic MPG , actual pencil and paper, with this 1.5 L TFSI engine design. Short journeys are best accomplished on an electric bicycle.
I found the original battery on my i10 couldn’t cope. Heated rear window never much use. Splashed out on super heavy duty replacement - problem solved. A tin of Cat cleaner and a blast on the motorway before the MOT always a good idea!
I have a 2.0 TFSI Audi A4. I have the measurements available on my dash display, including oil temp. It takes forever for it to hit 200F, unless I plug in the block heater before hand. It seems kind or ridiculous to use a block heater for this car because I live in the Pacific Northwest USA, overnight lows in winter usually in the low 30s F or 0-2 deg C and the car is garaged. But, when I do plug it in, I notice the oil temp is usually around 110 to start and warms up with just a couple easy laps around the neighborhood. The car has 160k miles, so that’s my life haha. But if I leave it outside overnight for example, the oil temp off a cold start is like low 40s F. Basically have to do laps in 1st and 2nd just to get it ready for the drive to work which is done at highway speeds. So, garage, and block heater are a big deal for me.
I drive a turbo diesel. I warm it up before driving for a minimum of 5 minutes (longer for winter temps) and also let it idle for a minute before i turn it off. I do "short journeys" but im doing 60-70mph over an 8 mile journey. Once every few weeks ill take it on a 30 mile run on a motorway, both ways - optimal oil temp, pressure in the DPF + regeneration. I use STP 5 in 1 every other fill up of diesel, and engine flush every 4000 miles when changing the oil & filter. Look after your engines folks.
You shouldn't warm it up in idle according to many youtubers, including TorqueCars here. Turn it on and drive off instantly to get the oil circulating, apparently the oil doesn't flow everywhere at low engine rpm and due to low load the engine doesn't heat up as quickly either, so you might end up causing more metal to metal friction than you think you are!
@@Amber57499 my diesel has viscous oil; i know you mean well, but im not driving it on the road until it gets a good 5 min warm up.
@ I'm certainly not going to tell you what to do, just joining the discussion 😉 Viscous oil sounds like an engine killer in the winter though. Me personally, I'm going to invest into a webasto auxiliary heater or parking heater, is that what it's called (Standheizung in German) for my TDCI Ford Mondeo. For those routine drives the engine will already be starting at "not that cold" temperatures, hopefully leading to less wear.
I feel like the worst thing that actually wears down is our OCD brains thinking so heavily about this stuff!! Non car guys have it so easy, and most of the time their cars last long enough, if not just as long...
1.9 tdi here and 5 minutes does not help, 2 min is enough for the oil the get fluid enough but the iron is still cold after 5 min idle. Better you start driving slowly after 2 min and this way the engine could warm up faster.
@@Scytha86😂8s is enough to get the oil everywhere it needs to be
i think doing a proper cold start and letting the head and cylinder get some heat in them is the best way forward. short journeys are not really the problem. people starting the engine and then instantly putting stress on it is the problem. doesn't really help when most cars on the road are having that BS 10k mile oil change, even quality oil starts to break down after 3k+ miles and going 10k is just torture for the engine.
Yup, i used to go cruising after work or looong cruises during weekends, well im getting older so just started driving my car 20 mins a day to a nd from work and now im burning thru o2 sensors like crazy, like 3 in a year, car has 250,000 miles and never had issues before, except for the recommended maintance and wear items (suspension, tires, brakes, etc). My suspicion is that im not giving it enough beans and a carbon build problem has arised.
Living in southern Greece I am lucky to have 9 months of year cold starts above 15 degree Celsius and even winter time very rarely near zero… I start moving almost immediately after engine starts but i am driving like a grandpapa until my coolant reach normal. I know that oil will be thermal delayed compared to coolant but at that point I believe its temp will be sufficient high to lubricate properly my turbo petrol engine. Dispite my frequent short drives, never had engine problems considering I change fully synthetic oil and filter every 7-7,5 K km.
Guilty of a lot of cold short journeys in my Range Rover. Recently a yellow check engine light came on, I had it cleared and did a few 1h long journeys and it's stayed off since
Fits in with what the guy was saying about soot build up on the DPF - a sensor must have picked up that things weren't performing correctly.
My WRX shows oil temperature, in the winter I usually wait til it’s 120-130 degrees and will not go full throttle til the oil is 180 degrees
Idling a diesel engine is the one of the TOP 3 things you can do to that engine. A diesel engine will have oil pressure ready in 30 seconds at max, then you need to move on with RPM otherwise you won't be using the fuel and will cause build-up in the cyclinders. This is also explained very well by Dave from Dave's Auto Center
So the takeaway is not to extend short journeys where possible, but to simply avoid short (cold start) journeys as much as possible. As someone who has a daily commute of 12-15 minutes, that does make me feel a lot better. I'm not unnecessarily harming my engine, but necessarily harming my engine. It's the better of two evils for sure. I expected that there would be things I had to do beyond letting the car idle for a minute and not taking it over 3k rpm.
Its very cold here and I have a car that blocks another car and has to be started to make way then quickly shut off. I don't know what the best solution is here, I try to start it then shut it off quickly so it doesn't have to suffer. Should I let it idle? Constantly just doing short trips for nothing just because I'm moving it isn't really an option either.
You don’t need to warm the engine up more than 2-5 minutes. Warming up for 15-20 Minutes is harmful and unnecessary. After a few minutes the engine oil is circulating. Just drive the car at low rpm for the first 10-15 minutes before you put your foot down
I always use my 20year old school diesel for short journeys no dpf fitted. use the 72 reg for serious driving
Great video, very informative. The only time I redline an engine when cold is when its a rental. But they're designed for that.
Many engines for a long time now have an electric water pump or as on my 2012 diesel Mercedes a shroud that is pulled by vacuum to cover the water pump impeller, thus stopping the water movement until it reaches a certain temperature, and with electric pump, it doesn’t spin, hence the heating is warm very quickly, which gets engine up to its most efficient state much quicker.
It would’ve help to demonstrate or provide an example of a short journey using your car. A short journey for my car (xxx) would be X miles and or X time, etc
I have timed my cars from start to warm-up (first bar on the temp gauge). One is about 5 minutes and the other is about 10 minutes to get there. so they get a 5-10 minutes warm-up, plus about 2 km on a slow dirt road, by the time I hit the paivment they are well warmed up to normal operating temp. After that I am driving mostly highway miles. A short trip is 8-10 km, but more typically 20 to 30 km.
Excellent informations! I am probably the most sympathetic person regarding the vehicle I drive, and I will never depart after starting until the idle has reduced to under 1000 RPM, I will also try to stay under 2000 RPM until I get to three or four bars and the oil temperature gauge, I just don’t know if it is better to let it idle and warm up or is it better to drive and let it warm up?
Had an OBD Reader for Christmas and scanned my Skoda Scout 2.0L TDI. DPF / Battery condition are two of the results I was really pleased to find out about. I did a quick physical spot check for DPF condition by running my finger around inside of end of exhaust pipe, finger came out clean. Is this actually a valid method to get some idea?
Am I right thinking cold running is a bit less of an issue with a Diesel as the fuel is more "oily"?
Had 2003 Subaru Forester, 2.0L Petrol, used for long daily work journey's. This averaged 33 mpg. But during holidays, when I only did very short trips, this figure dropped to low 20's.
This is a comment section, not a question section..
@@petesmitt Believe most of my response was a COMMENT, and the "question " was part of that comment on which others could express an opinion!
Thanks for the video, but what small car would you recommend for a very short journey? For example a daily five minutes drive to the supermarket?🤔
Great stuff. Your content is so so valuable for a first time car owner like me. Keep on brother!
I appreciate that! Thanks for your kind words of support, it makes the hard work worth it.
@@torquecars i will make sure to leave a like on every vid of yours i watch. :)
@@torquecarsi heard there are engine transmission heaters , similar like in electric car battery. probably can program it to heat up as you get out fo bed , like what could be done for slow charging battery for longveity
In cold weather I use an engine block heater, magnetic oil pan heater and battery warmer. I plug the oil pan and engine block heater in a few hours before starting the car and the battery warmer about 1 hour before starting the car. My coolant and oil temp are at full operating temps after driving about 2 miles when I use those electric heaters. The transmission fluid is still cold so I drive the car gently for the first 5 miles anyway.
This is too much work and shouldn’t be necessary. That’s just too much.
@@LafemmebearMusic The only one that requires slight work is the magnetic oil pan heater because I have to install it every time I want to use it, but the battery warmer and engine block heater are always installed so all I have to do is plug in an extension cord to the plugs that dangle out the front of the car. Installing those heaters initially took about 10 minutes because most Toyota cars come from the factory with an empty port on the side of the engine where a cheap block heater slides into. I live in an area of the USA where the climate can get very cold in the winter so at least around here it's good to have a block heater. Maybe it doesn't get very cold where you live and in that case it wouldn't be needed. Plus the cost of electricity in the USA is very cheap.
With my Mercedes Benz convertible in the winter I drive it 30 minutes once a fortnight to keep it active prevent freezing up and test everything including the roof
Would this be a good reason to choose a PHEV, so that the short drives can be purely electric?
@@sjoerdklarenbeek that's not a bad question . I never thought of before.
I will discuss this in a future video it will be an interesting topic. Thanks for suggesting it.
That was the reason I sold my old diesel and bought an EV. I travel 5 miles to go to work and 5 more to return. I make average 80-120 miles every week, to go to work to go to super market and for shopping in near big cities. I very rarely will do a journey more than 40-50 miles one way. I spent a lot to change the oil and keep the engine's and transmission's health at their best. I have a neighbour that has health problems and she always complained when I had the engine running to warm up and demist the windscreen. Now, I push the button on my phone and in 5 minutes, while I put on my boots my car is warm and with clean windows, it costs me £2 per week and have no problem with wear of mechanical parts. Yes, I wear the battery but the money I save from fuel and services, and maintenance and parts will be enough to replace the battery after 8-10 years. The warranty of the battery is 8 years, the state of health is still at 94% and it is already 4 years old.
You could cycle 5 miles in 20 minutes.
I do my own oil changes, they cost me 15 euros, 4 times a year (every 4 to 5k miles or 6 to 8k km).
@@igorpotocnik7231Do you buy 4 liters of oil and a filter for 15 euros? Just the filter costs around £25-40 where I live and each liter of oil is over £10.
About cycling, listen, I am 55, I drive lorries all my life, I made over 10 million miles, I pushed the clutch so many times that my knee refused to make another step, so I had to replace it. I work nights, so I go to work at 23:00 and I return after at least a 10-15 hours shift. I live in UK, North west England where it rains 24/7 and if it doesn't rain, just wait for ten minutes. The altitude at my area doesn't help either, I have to pass two hills that even young riders suffer. So, If you think that after a 10-15 hours night shift I can push the pedals of a bike in the rain, climb hills to return home, I am sorry, you are wrong. I can not do it.
Lol get back to us when you have to foot the bill for that battery change
@@Dr.Ticklebum69 yeah, sure, as everybody know, batteries in EV break down after a few weeks, right? Hahahahahaha, it really boggles my mind that this BS thinking is still living on in so many heads 😂😂
My BMW M240i doesn't have a coolant temperature gauge but does have one for the oil temp and that doesn't start calibrating till 70°C. I won't even entertain using that car on short, local journeys at all. Only on journeys exceeding 20 miles, when it's stabilised at around 110°C will I then use the engine performance fully.
Coolant temp means nothing to me. All it tells me is when the thermostat opens.
Oil temp over coolant everyday of the week as far as I'm concerned.
Great vid.👍
Often drive a Mazda CX5 (2.2 diesel) which has no coolant or oil temperature display. Just has a blue illuminated light (which goes off about same time as most cars reach 90°). After first thinking it was a fault, I take that as confirmation everything is good to drive normally. Sometimes upon starting engine the revs are automatically held up around 1800rpm for a few seconds before dropping back. Modern cars appear to have more protection built into them than people think. And think is all we can do. No disrespect to the pro and DIY mechanics on here, but (excepting basic common sense driving principles) perhaps many theories about what 'damages' an engine are simply outdated. If someone involved in the actual development of modern cars would comment on here we might actually learn something.
@MartinBennett-rs6thrasher My wife also has a CX-5, but it's a 2.0 ltr petrol. That also has a blue light that comes on when it's cold, but extinguishes after the needle on the coolant temp gauge leaves the blue area about a 1/4 of the way from fully cold. Only when the needle reaches half way at about 100°C will I then rev the engine fully, if necessary.
@@markfranks1329 I see, it is sort of a gauge as well really. Only noticed it disappeared as (when driving) find it too hard to focus closely on displays. Does seem a fair enough simple indicator for most cars to have though. Perhaps just higher performance cars need access to more detailed information.
@MartinBennett-rs6thrasher Good point. I think most modern cars are so well engineered, a simple gauge is all that's required, really.
I would have thought your CX would have a temp gauge, too.
I found ours by pressing and scrolling the 'INFO' button on the steering wheel.