# Car care: Idle vs stop/start?



## DeathByFlex (Nov 29, 2017)

Any gearheads who can chime in regarding which causes the least amount of wear and tear?

1) Leaving the engine running whenever possible (like when there's no chance of vehicle theft), or...

2) Stopping/starting the engine at each stop

My non-mechanic thoughts are that stopping/starting creates more wear on the starter and key mechanism. It may also cause elevated thermal stresses as some sensors and exhaust components experience shallow cooling/warming cycles as opposed to a steady temp. Whereas allowing the vehicle to idle is essentially 4+ hours of wear on virtually all engine internals.

Wearing out the starter sounds like the least expensive option in terms of long-term operating costs but maybe there's more to this.


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## Chicago-uber (Jun 18, 2014)

There's always a chance of theft. That being said, I always leave the vehicle on.


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## Dontmakemepullauonyou (Oct 13, 2015)

When I do pizza delivery I leave my car on while on a delivery and back at the store if it's busy and I know I can be out with another delivery within minutes. 

But my car can't be stolen if the key fob is more than 5 feet from the car, car won't let you take it out of park but to get to that point you'd have to break a window. 

I also feel it's better to just keep it running and all oils flowing then starting it a bunch of times. But then again I don't uber anymore I do pizza delivery but if I did uber eats I'd always leave my car running.


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## Uber_Yota_916 (May 1, 2017)

Turn it off. Use synthetic oil. Change said oil regularly.


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## DeathByFlex (Nov 29, 2017)

Dontmakemepullauonyou said:


> I also feel it's better to just keep it running and all oils flowing then starting it a bunch of times.


So the theory being that it takes a short time for the oil to be pumped up to the top end and, during this time, more engine wear occurs? Hadn't thought of that...


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## jester121 (Sep 6, 2016)

Meh... I figure with modern oil everything stays nice and coated, it's not like there's any actual wear taking place unless the car has been sitting for months, or long enough to go dry.


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## Dontmakemepullauonyou (Oct 13, 2015)

DeathByFlex said:


> So the theory being that it takes a short time for the oil to be pumped up to the top end and, during this time, more engine wear occurs? Hadn't thought of that...


I dunno I just like to keep my oils at temp for when I need to go 0-60 in 4sec


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## UberPasco (Oct 18, 2015)

Besided starter, your battery life will be shortened. Also, your mpg will also be lower (albeit by a tenth or so over a few months, lol)


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## losku (Aug 21, 2017)

Not sure. The rule of thumb I use is if it's more than 1 ~ 2 minutes, I'd turn it off, but I don't want anyone stealing my beater. Even if it's beater, it's my beater  but then Corolla has issue with starters I think.


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## CatchyMusicLover (Sep 18, 2015)

UberPasco said:


> Besided starter, your battery life will be shortened. Also, your mpg will also be lower (albeit by a tenth or so over a few months, lol)


My own, admittedly not deep, release online suggests in modern cars you will get BETTER mpg if you turn it off for more than 10-15 seconds (this isn't true with older cars though)


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## DeathByFlex (Nov 29, 2017)

What about transmission wear? My routine is to arrive, slip into neutral, and apply parking brake. My unprofessional theory is that neutral is less mechanically involved than park (internally it never engages the park paw against the gear). It's definitely less involved in terms of shift handle movement and 30-50 stops per block can really add up over time. That said, I'm not sure if I'm really saving that much wear by avoiding park. Also, I only do the neutral/brake thing on mostly flat areas. If there's any chance the car could roll away then I use park.


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## Amsoil Uber Connect (Jan 14, 2015)

The fuel savings alone my pay for a couple of starters.

There is a reason why UPS, Postal service,etc. turns them off.

I know my mpg is way lower than doing ride share than letting it idle.

So now if there is more than one pac, or an apt, buss. it's off.

Plus if your using a synthetic oil, the motor is easier to turn over. I can always hear the difference when another Accord started up near mine.


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## jester121 (Sep 6, 2016)

Amsoil Uber Connect said:


> The fuel savings alone my pay for a couple of starters.
> 
> There is a reason why UPS, Postal service,etc. turns them off.


Yeah, risk of theft and probably some BS environmental green initiative.



Amsoil Uber Connect said:


> Plus if your using a synthetic oil, the motor is easier to turn over. I can always hear the difference when another Accord started up near mine.


LMAO... that's a new one. It's just synthetic motor oil, not unicorn blood.


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## nighthawk398 (Jul 21, 2015)

I think depends weather it's gas or diesel


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## DeathByFlex (Nov 29, 2017)

jester121 said:


> LMAO... that's a new one. It's just synthetic motor oil, not unicorn blood.


Awesome!


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## Uber_Yota_916 (May 1, 2017)

losku said:


> Not sure. The rule of thumb I use is if it's more than 1 ~ 2 minutes, I'd turn it off, but I don't want anyone stealing my beater. Even if it's beater, it's my beater  but then Corolla has issue with starters I think.


Just replaced my starter for my 05 corolla. It's cheap (starter)in comparison to other cars. When it does fail you will have a few starts remaining. Tap the solenoid with a metal rod of some sort. Ding ding ding and car will start.


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## Amsoil Uber Connect (Jan 14, 2015)

jester121 said:


> LMAO... that's a new one. It's just synthetic motor oil, not unicorn blood.


I'll grant you beingness for being clueless. You'll just have to find out for your self.


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