Myth:
It takes more gas to start a car than it does to idle.
Fact:
Ten seconds of idling a car (thirty for trucks and SUVs) uses more fuel than restarting the engine.
Myth:
It’s bad for the engine to turn the car off and on. It’s better for the engine to idle and keep fluids moving.
Fact:
Excessive idling can actually damage your engine components, including cylinders, spark plugs and exhaust systems. Fuel is only partially combusted when idling because the engine does not operate at peak temperature. This leads to the buildup of fuel residues on cylinder walls that can damage engine components and lower mileage.
Myth:
I have to warm up my car in the mornings before I drive.
Fact:
Idling is not an effective way of warming up your engine, as your vehicle is made up of many moving parts. To properly warm your vehicle’s transmission, tires, suspension, steering and wheel bearings, you need to start driving slowly.
Myth:
Restarting my car causes expensive wear and tear.
Fact:
Restarting a car many times has little impact on engine components such as the battery and the starter motor. The wear on parts that restarting the engine causes adds an average of $10 a year to the cost of driving – money that you’ll likely recover several times over in fuel savings.
Myth:
Idling doesn’t use that much gas.
Fact:
An hour of idling time in a 4-cylinder vehicle uses more than a gallon of gasoline, and an idling 8-cylinder engine burns over 4 gallons in an hour. In a diesel vehicle, idling for an hour consumes approximately a gallon of fuel. Cutting the idling habit can improve mileage 5% to 20%.
Myth:
One idling engine can’t make that much of a difference on the environment.
Fact:
Every gallon of gas you burn produces about 19 pounds of atmostpheric carbon dioxide. Idling pollutes the air, harms our health, and contributes to global warming. Idling wastes fuel, which is costly and damaging to the environment to produce.
More Myths and facts at: http://www.makealeap.org/idling_myth
Idle Free Oakland 