AutoTech 101 – Should I Warm Up My Car?

Dick Zeitler conducted another session of AutoTech 101 Monday morning with Andy Brownell during Rochester Today on KROC-AM.

Dick has decades of experience in the auto repair business and regularly shares his expertise with KROC-AM listeners.

A portion of this morning's discussion involved recent media coverage of an expert's claim that modern automobiles do not need to be warmed up in cold weather. Zeitler disagrees. While the experts are correct in saying the highly efficient, fuel-injected, and computer controlled engines of today will run smoothly and strongly without any warm up, they neglect to mention the incremental damage that could be inflicted on these sophisticated power plants when they are put under a load in bitter cold just seconds after they are started.

In the "good old days" our cars needed a few minutes to warm up to prevent the hesitation that would often occur when cold air was pulled into the carburetor, overwhelming the choke mechanism used to compensate by crudely adjusting the fuel-air mixture. Now, a brief warm up period could play a role in helping to prevent costly repairs in a modern engine years down the road by minimizing the stress placed on the motor's components in extreme conditions (i.e. Minnesota winters).  Allowing the engine to idle for a brief period of time allows the oil and transmission fluid to circulate and thoroughly lubricate the cold metal parts inside before the driver hits the gas and the rpm's increase.

It's not going to be an issue for the person who regularly buys new or newer vehicles, but it could make a big difference for the person who needs their car to keep running after the odometer reading reaches the six-figures.

Click on the play button below to listen to the show.