With winter temperatures right around the corner, you may
find yourself starting your car early in the morning to help warm up your
vehicle before the morning commute. The
general belief is that the most effective way to warm your vehicle is to give
it around 10 minutes to idle in the driveway with the heat on full blast. However, this is not the case. According to the Environmental Defense Fund,
idling your vehicle for longer than 10-60 seconds can start to burn through
your gas tank and cost you money. That
is why the winter car care experts at Bob Sumerel Tire Co. have compiled a
short list of 5 steps to help optimize warming up your vehicle this winter.
- Turn the key to the ON position.
- Start the vehicle, and turn on any
defrosters or hot air at that time.
- After the car has run for about 10-60 seconds, take it out for light driving. A quick spin around the block should do the trick!
- Be easy on the gas as the motor and transmission will be in the process of warming up.
- Keep an eye on your vehicle’s temperature gauge. Once your engine has reached its operating temperature, your vehicle will be ready for the morning commute.
Letting your vehicle idle for long periods of time in the
cold weather has also been known to cause internal engine malfunctions due to lack
of oil flow throughout the motor. By driving lightly, you are allowing for that
oil to circulate and your fuel injectors to warm up, thus burning less gas at
operating conditions. If you find after following the above steps that your
vehicle is still having a hard time warming up, then please feel free to callyour local winter car care experts at Bob Sumerel Tire Co. Bob Sumerel Tire Co. is committed to keeping
you warm and more importantly safe on the roads this winter. Consider stopping in to your local BobSumerel Tire store for a free diagnostic maintenance check as well.
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