Posted on 12/30/2015
One of the surest ways to get people arguging about cars is to ask: Should you let your car idle for brief periods? Like many things with cars, there's no simple answer. Things to consider are: How long, what's the temperature outside, and what's more important? For example, starting your car uses a jolt of gasoline, about the same amount of gas you'd use by idling for 30 seconds. So, by that reasoning, if you're going to be idling for more than 30 seconds, you'd save more gas by turning your engine off. On the other hand, you're only going to get a certain number of starts out of your starter motor - typically, 6,000 to 10,000 starts, depending on vehicle condition, climate and size of engine. After that, you'll need to replace your starter motor, which is about $500. So, one way of looking at this is: It costs between 5 and 8 cents each time your start your car. You have to factor that against the gas you'd save. Another factor to consider is the weather. If it's extr ... read more