What trick some and warming up the car in winter
The debate about whether or not a car should be warmed up in winter has been going on among motorists for years. Every time it snows outside and the thermometer goes below zero, the eternal battle between “cold” and “hot” start adepts in winter time is renewed on the Internet. The supporters of cold start have quite convincing arguments in defense of their position. What do they suggest?
What do experienced motorists recommend to do?
Some cars, such as the Mazda 6, even have a special indicator light. It tells the motorist at what point the vehicle’s engine and automatic transmission have warmed up enough to allow you to safely start driving. The problem is that if to believe the automakers, to warm up such cars with automatic transmission in spring and summer period would be about 1-3 minutes. In winter, in low temperatures, the heating time can increase to 5-10 minutes, and in really hard frosts up to 20 minutes.
Now, some people say you don’t have to do that. It is enough to warm up the car for just a few minutes and move off before the warning light goes out. According to such motorists, the car will “warm up” in motion anyway. This approach has two serious advantages. First, you do not have to waste fuel while idling. As practice shows, a long warming up of the car considerably increases fuel consumption. Secondly, a motorist saves time. However, “warming up” the car while idling, especially with automatic transmissions, has its disadvantages…
What should really be done?
In fact, the car needs warming up. Especially in very cold weather. Fuel consumption certainly “scrapes the pocket”. And you know what requires more money than fueling? That’s right – repairs. In freezing temperatures, the car needs to be warmed up for at least 5 minutes. As a rule, the driver still needs some time to clean the snow and ice on the window and body of favorite “swallow”. Therefore, it is better to work this time idly. Not only metal should warm up at least a little, but also working fluids. Especially it concerns oil in a gearbox.
If you start gently and slowly, even cold units will not get serious damage. But if you suddenly have to accelerate or brake sharply, it is possible to lead the car to breakage. The worst thing is that any service center will write it off to improper usage of the vehicle.
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