Automotive Minute: Warm up your car

Courtesy photo

This is Mike Herzing from Lets Talk Wheels with an automotive tip brought to you by our friends at Jeep. 

It is that time of the year when a lot of us let our cars “warm-up” before driving. We were taught to do this. 

The idea of warming up your car dates back to when I was a kid and cars had carburetors. Those cars would really struggle when the engine was cold.  

The truth is, they weren’t all that good warmed up, but we didn’t know any better. 

With better lubricants and fuel injection, any car built after the mid 90’s doesn’t need a warm up before taking off. 

In fact, the quickest way to get the engine warm is to start driving it, but take it easy, then head out. 

Doing this is actually better for the engine than idling, really it is. 

Here is what I do on cold mornings: start my truck, take a few sips of coffee, and then ease away.  

Your fuel mileage is zero when idling, and that’s why the new cars have the stop-start feature we all hate, but adds a mile or more per gallon. 

Hope this helps!

This is Mike Herzing from Lets Talk Wheels brought to you by our friends at Jeep. For more of my tips, go to Lets Talk Wheels.com  That is Lets Talk Wheels.com