Fuel Economy Tip - Don’t Sit and Idle
May 17th, 2006 | by Brian Carr |Today’s tip is more of a personal preference than anything, but can be a good way to save gas, especially for newer cars.
Turn your car off if you’re going to idle for more than one minute.
From all of the research I have done, FOR MOST VEHICLES, you waste more gas idling for one minute than you do by turning off and restarting your car.
For example, if you’re going to pull into someone’s driveway and run inside for a couple of minutes, turn your car off. Or, if you’re the the first car to get stuck at a red light and you know you’re going to be sitting for a minute or two before the light turns green, go ahead and turn off your car.
That being said, the amount of time will vary from vehicle to vehicle. Older cars tend to use more gas when restarted, so the amount of time they should be allowed to idle time may be longer.
Another thing to take into consideration is the extra wear and tear that your car’s battery and alternator will be put through. If you have a weak battery or your alternator is due to be replaced, I wouldn’t recommend constantly turning your car on and off.
All in all, the moral of the story is the less amount of time you spend in your car idling, the better gas mileage you’re going to get and the more money you’re going to save.
3 Responses to “Fuel Economy Tip - Don’t Sit and Idle”
By Angel on May 18, 2007 | Reply
Your starter is going to hate you and despite possibly saving some gas, it will be offset in the price of replacing your starter since you will be using much more than intended. It isn’t worth the hassel and would only benefit possibly if you get stuck at a railroad track or have the car running while talking to friends in a parking lot.
By Chad Frost on Jun 3, 2007 | Reply
I read something on another site about bearings in your car that need oil to lubricate them can get seriously damaged over time with all of the starting and stopping, this is a very costly repair. I also read you save more gas by shutting it off than for idling even 10 seconds. The recommendation is to turn your car off if it will idle for 10 seconds. It is called the 10 second rule.
By Les on Jan 16, 2008 | Reply
I have a received a remote starter for my car for my birthday from family members. My car is a 1998 Mercury Grand Marquis with a v-8 engine. Do you have a guess as to how much gas is used idleing the car for 20 minutes to get it warmed up? I would guess it is a lot!