Winter Myth Buster: Should You Warm Up Your Car Before Driving?

Winter Myth Buster: Should You Warm Up Your Car Before Driving?. Winter in Ottawa is cold and we all warm up our cars before we get in them to drive, especially when it is really cold out. Aside from the added benefit of warming up the cabin so you don’t freeze your buns off, your car may not benefit as much from the idling time that you have your car engine running to “warm up” as we have all been trained to do in the winter months. We have all been told time and time again about the importance of warming up our cars prior to driving. Reality is that your car will do just fine and not be any worse off if you don’t pre-warm your car. Of course if you want your seat and cabin to be toasty warm than this is a great practice to maintain. However if you are more interested in saving some money by not burning up your gas unnecessarily then it may be time to start considering starting your car only 30 seconds before you leave for your drive. But Isn’t Winter Really Bad For Cars? Yes and no. Cars do get slightly worse fuel economy when it’s really cold out however warming up your car prior to driving will have little to no impact on your fuel economy. According to studies performed by the Environmental Protection Agency and Energy Department, your car will be approximately 12% less fuel efficient during the cold winter months. Additionally and pretty obvious is that it takes longer for your car’s engine to warm up and reach an optimal driving temperature in cold weather. So Why Do People Think They Need To Warm Up Their Cars? Well, it used to be true that you had to warm up your car. The new cars nowadays do not require warming up because of technological advancements and fine tuning of engine components and processes. Older cars relied on carburetors and without being warmed up the carburetor would be less likely to get the right mix of air and fuel into the engine. This would then cause the car to stall out and was problematic. The Good News New cars don’t have this problem so you really only need 30 seconds of warm up time and then you can hit the road. The Bad News Some older cars are still out there and this may not apply. What If My Car Won’t Start? If your car won’t start there could be several other issues going on and it doesn’t mean that your vehicle broke down because you haven’t been “warming up” your vehicle in the morning. Rather this means that one of our mobile vehicle mechanics in Ottawa should come for an on-site inspection to provide you with a diagnostic for your car and some advice on how to get you back on the road. We have a fully trained team of mobile car repair techs ready and waiting to tackle your car problems and get you back in motion again. Sometimes the road from Point A to B requires a call to Mobile Vehicle Services in Ottawa. If you think your battery may be dead we also offer battery boosting services and battery replacements for your car in addition to our mobile vehcile repair services.