You Don’t Need to Warm Up Your Car When It’s Cold

I was always told when I was growing up that when it gets cold outside you need to let your car warm up for at least 5-10 minutes so that the car engine can warm up to run properly. Nowadays they say that is nothing but a myth.

According to the Washington Post, today's cars do not need warm up time like cars did 30 years ago. It USED to be necessary back when cars had carburetors, which need the engine to warm up before they'll work right. But by the 1990's, almost all cars had electronic fuel injectors, which automatically compensate for the temperature.

So as long as you're not in a 30-year-old car, you probably don't need to let it warm up. The only practical reason to do it is so the INSIDE of the car gets warm, or so you can crank the defrost... which is probably why most people do it.

But if you're running late for work, there's no need to sit there waiting and worrying if the engine is ready. You could also end up wasting a decent amount of gas. A 2009 survey found that when it's cold out, the average person lets their car warm up for about five minutes.

And a test showed that when it's right around zero degrees, letting your car idle for just five minutes can increase your total fuel consumption by 7 to 14%.