Engine Idling Reduces Fuel Economy and Fuel Efficiency – Are You Wasting Money?

As none of us like wasting money, fuel economy and fuel efficiency are topics that all motorists must consider. Most drivers know that one of the easiest ways to improve a vehicle’s fuel economy is to simply stop wasting fuel, but do you know that this doesn’t just mean avoiding driving fast, braking hard, or using the car for short trips? Achieving the best fuel efficiency is the key, and this can simply mean rethinking some of the driving techniques we learned when we began driving. Do this and you can considerably improve your vehicles fuel efficiency, get better fuel economy and stop wasting money needlessly.

Case in point is the need to idle a vehicle’s engine before moving off. Needless engine idling reduces fuel economy and fuel efficiency, so stop wasting money. Not only can rethinking our actions here have a large effect on our both fuel economy and fuel efficiency (how far each liter of fuel takes us), but they can considerably reduce the annual servicing and repair costs all motorists must endure.

Engine Idling Before Moving

When I was a young man just starting to drive, one cold and snowy morning my farther berated me because he had seen me jump in my car, start it up and immediately drive off. I had to endure a big “sit down and listen to your Dad” lecture on how doing this, (driving with a cold engine) cause’s excessive wear to cold parts not yet oiled up properly - and how he was not gong to pay for repairs caused by my neglect. I have no doubt that I was not the only person to receive such lectures, nor was I the only one who was taught to start the car and leave it idling for a few minutes to ‘warm up’ before driving off – but things have changed since them.

As Things Change – So Should You

When I started driving ‘back in the day’, the mechanics of a car and its carburetor were not the same as they are in modern vehicles. And for sure the engine oils and lubricants were nowhere near as effective as today’s multi-additive blends. These changes are so drastic that in the cars on the road today, not only is there no need to allow the engine to idle for a few minutes, Idling can actually cause problems because an engine at idle is not fuel efficient. Not only does an idling engine not fully burn the fuel in the cylinders, idling needlessly wastes fuel – a precious commodity in these cash strapped days.  

I’ve read that the "Anti Idling Primer" states that over a year of five minutes of daily idling, the average V8-engine will waste 75 Liters (20 gallons) of fuel. Not only is that quite a bit of cash needlessly gone from a fuel budget, but the problems caused by carbon and other build ups from unburned and poorly burned fuel reduce the vehicles fuel efficiency and also cause engine problems. This often results in additional costs for extra servicing.  

New Technology, New Idling Technique

Achieving better fuel economy without effort is something all motorists should strive to attain. The bottom line is that with today’s engines and lubricants, while you should never start and drive off as soon as the engine has turned over, all engine parts will be lubricated and ready to roll well within 30-seconds of turning the key.

Advances in vehicle engineering and lubricant technology mean that old methods and old driving techniques are not always the best. You no longer have to sit with the engine idling before moving off; so, if you want increased fuel economy and better fuel efficiency, stop wasting money by rethinking some basic driving techniques. Idling just costs money in wasted fuel and higher vehicle maintenance costs. 

Related Articles