Do Not Keep Your Car Engine In Idle For Too Long

Published: Friday, February 3, 2012, 13:50 [IST]

There are many motorists among us who do not stop their engines at traffic signals. Some of us even do not turn off the engine when they stop the car to talk over the phone. The general belief is that you will spend more fuel to turn on your engine after stopping and the engine will consume less fuel when it is idling.

Well, a new research has revealed the truth is in fact the exact opposite. According to the study an engine can consume as much fuel needed to travel one mile when it is left idling for two minutes. So whenever you stop the car and not the engine at a traffic signal, you are effectively reducing your car's mileage by more than a kilometre.

We do not want to say idling the engine is completely unnecessary. But if you are going to stop your car for more than ten seconds we suggest you stop the engine too. Another important reason for not idling the engine is that it can cause some irreparable damage to the components of the engine. Hence it is ideal to save the cost of repairing your engine by not idling the engine for too long.

There is another myth that diesel cars need idling for long durations to warm them. But the truth is on the contrary. All you need to warm a diesel car is to drive it and not leaving it with the engine on and in neutral. Engine technologies have advanced quite well in recent years and cars of late do not require the process of warming them by idling the engines.

Article Published On: Thursday, February 2, 2012, 18:57 [IST]

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