Are You Damaging Your Engine?

We had some record-setting cold temperatures this weekend, and our vehicles didn’t like it any more than we did. Extremely cold temperatures are not just hard on people but are also hard on our cars and trucks as well, especially if stored outside. What’s more, you can actually damage your engine by doing one simple thing that you have probably been told to do in the first place!

The traditional wisdom in New England is that you need to let an engine idle for several minutes before driving it. While that was true for carbureted engines, it is not true for modern engines that use fuel-injection. Any fact, letting your engine idle for more than about 30 seconds can end up doing more harm than good. According to Stephen Ciatti, a mechanical engineer at the Argonne National Laboratory who specializes in internal combustion engines, letting your car idle in cold weather can actually damage your engine.

Your internal combustion engine works by compressing a mixture of air and vaporized gasoline in a cylinder, and then igniting it; the resulting explosion moves a piston and generates power. Gasoline does not evaporate as efficiently at colder temperatures. When the engine is cold, the electronic fuel injector compensates for the reduced efficiency by pumping more gasoline than normal into the chamber, and continues to pump a higher fuel to air ration mixture until the engine’s temperature reaches about 40 degrees Fahrenheit. This might not sound like a problem, but the extra gasoline in the chamber can actually was the lubricating oil off the chamber walls, which can cause engine damage.

You want to heat the engine up as quickly as possible, and the best way to do that is to drive. That being said, it would not be advisable to start your engine and immediately floor it down the interstate. Ideally, you’d start your car, let it run for 15 seconds while checking your seat belt and mirrors, and then take it easy for the first several minutes of your drive. Think of it as easing into a morning run.

And one the topic of cold weather: be sure to keep some extra warm clothes in your trunk just in case. Between cold weather, black ice, thin tires, and other winter hazards, it is important to be prepared for the possibility of being stuck on the side of the road for a little while.

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