I see it in the winter, mostly, but also during the summer too. Those zealots, who have a new to 1-3 year old BMW, Tahoe, Benz, ect. They start up their vehicle and let it idle for 20+ minutes before driving off. In the summer, it's too "get the vehicle cool with the AC blasting".

I am sure these vehicles probably have the "remote start" option. I just can't understand this practice, and how these people are clueless to the harm they are doing to the atmosphere, their catalytic converters, exhaust system and engine itself. No vehicle needs to be idled over 20 minutes when it's 80 degrees plus outside.

WHO DOES THIS? !

 

A lot more than you would think. I'm down here in Texas and see it all the time. Year round too.

 

That happens a lot around here but I really don't care what other people do with their vehicles. If someone wants to let their engine idle for 20 mins. or all day long is their business.

 

Grandpa used to do that with the '65 Plymouth in the winter, not just to heat the interior. He thought it was good for the engine. The famous book on VW care aka "idiot guide" advocated the same thing. Granted, many used straight SAE 30 all year in the West.

If the car cranked and started ok, its good to go, with limitations. BMW recommends staying below 4000rpm until the engine warms up, a reasonable precaution.

 

While I don't make it a habit, I have been known to let my trucks idle for a short time. Not 20 minutes though! 10 minutes tops for me.

 

normally if i let mine idle at all its just long enough to scrap ice off of windshield lol

 

I can understand letting a car or pickup idle a bit, when starting cold in the winter. That's a given, or if brushing snow off the windows, ect. as our resident tire spinner, "Smokenchoken" stated. (Great user name by the way!)

Which reminds me. Over the Holiday weekend we just celebrated, I was reading a old, yellowed, somewhat wrinkled issue of Popular Mechanics that I snagged at a spring swap meet. (Box of various PM's, Mechanix Illustrated, Popular Science magazines, musty, a bit mildewed but that simply adds 'historical character' to these publications, issues scattered from the mid 60s through the late 80s, box for $5 and "no cherry picking" written with a black Sharpie marker)

In an early issue of Popular Mechanics from 1973, a Letter To The Editor, was from an annoyed reader in Minneapolis, MN complaining that the then newly mandated Federal 5 MPH bumper standards on his new '73 Ford Maverick, posed a gross safety hazard. How? With the larger, protruding bumpers on these cars (and other American cars those of us my age [54] remember fondly at the time), the Maverick owner said snow packed up and built a wall on his bumpers, front and rear, completely covering most of his front and rear headlights and taillights, respectively.

He said Ford Motor Company should issue a recall and also General Motors, with similar 5 mph bumpers. Chrysler Corporation was spared the writer's wrath, as you may remember in '73, Chrysler, Dodge and Plymouth cars had those two large black "bumper pads" attached to a relatively flat bumper, with the bumper piston securements, that evidently meet Federal Bumper Standards at the time. Who else remembers those '73 bumper styling on American cars for the 1973 model year?

 

I remember those bumpers! And I also know about snow building up in the bumpers blocking the headlights and tail lights. Of course I believe some of that was caused by people that simply didn't clear the snow off the bumpers to begin with.

 

It seems line many emergency vehicles are "lived in" and can simply idle all day with little driving. I have heard this is harder on the oil, but not necessarily the engine if you keep the oil changed. Probably the catalytic converters pay the biggest price with an shortened life span.

 

Interesting timing on the thread, as this happened to me at our new Super WallyWorld, last evening while sitting in the parking lot waiting for the Daughter to check out, when this big Chevy in front of me suddenly came to life with all of the lights, inside & out coming on, the high beams level with & right in my face & the engine starting up, but no one around. 6-7 minutes later Gramps & Granny show up & get in!!!! Guess he started it at check-out to cool the inside down, after a hard evening of grocery shopping, lol. Anyway first time I've seen it used around here.

 

Sounds like a Steven King movie, where the trucks come to life. lol

 

The owners manual for my 1994 F-series recommended adding an engine hour meter and changing the oil every 200 hours, rather than by miles or months, if the truck was to be used in such service. Cats shuldnt care because the EFI is going to lean out as much as possible at idle and a complete burn is easy at low piston speeds.

 

Ed it seems like you know me mwahahahaaaa i to collected a stack of magazines from my uncle when i was 15 full of guns and ammo american handgunner combat handgunner popular mechanics popular science and mechanix illustrated probably what started me getting into cars and trucks so bad that and my joy of hot rodding and racing and other leaded foot syndrome ....... and the remote starter deal is completely stupid its like asking for someone to steal your car especially if you leave it sitting for a length of time from the only one's i have seen you can start your car but can't shut it off with the remote (correct me if i'm wrong) it would make a lot more sense if you could shut it off too

 

The system I had on my last truck could be turned off by hitting the start button again. It was also set to time out at 10 minutes and turn the truck off.

 

What the hell, people seem to think we need the police to make sure we don't idle to much! They already monitor trucking companies.

You have to much time on you're hand, if you notice crap like that. You buy my gas, and take care of the repairs and make the payments, you can tell me what to do! until then people need to mind their own business!

By the way, I bought an engine block heater. That think they sell at dealers all over the country!

Government thinks I need to pay $5.00 a gallon for gas to make me drive less, But then tries to raise gas taxes because we drive less to make up for there revenue they lose, from not buying gas as much as I did! Now tell me how screwed up that is!