True or false: You should always warm your car up before driving on a cold day. The answer is false. Although the majority of the driving population may consider this to be true, it can actually cause damage to vehicles if done continuously.
There are a number of automotive beliefs that drivers encounter on a daily basis that may or may not be accurate.
To shed some light on this topic, the service specialists at Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge provide their car-care expertise to confirm and debunk eight common automotive beliefs.
Belief: Do not blast your vehicle’s air conditioner when sitting in traffic or while driving at more than 60 miles per hour.
Reality: False. Vehicle heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are engineered and tested to operate in even the most severe types of driving environments. The air conditioner has cooling fans and condensers that allow it to operate under these conditions.
Belief: It is possible to check your tire tread with a penny.
Reality: True. Although the service specialists at Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge prefer you use a proper tire gauge to check tires, it is possible to check tire tread with the use of a penny. Simply pinch a penny between your thumb and forefinger so Lincoln’s head and “In God We Trust” are showing. Insert the penny into a tire tread groove. If the tire covers any part of Lincoln’s head, then your tires should have a safe amount of tread. If you can see Lincoln’s head in its entirety or any parts of “In God We Trust” are showing, it is time to invest in a new tire. Be sure to check all tires and in different locations on each tire because the amount of wear can vary from tire to tire and from inner tread to outer tread.
Belief: If you still have fuel in your gas tank when you refill it, use the same grade of fuel that is currently in the tank.
Reality: False. As long as you use unleaded brands of gasoline, it will not harm your vehicle if you mix different grades of fuel.
Belief: Avoid keeping your vehicle at a constant speed during the first 500 miles of a vehicle’s life.
Reality: Maybe. Most new vehicles no longer require drivers to vary their speeds during the first 500 miles of a vehicle’s life, known as the “break-in period.” If your vehicle does require the “break-in period,” then you should avoid keeping a constant speed during this time. Even varying your speed by several miles per hour should do the trick (of course, within legal limits).
Belief: Your vehicle’s engine should be “warmed up” before driving in cold weather.
Reality: False. Warming your engine up, or idling, is not the best route to take. In fact, excessive idling can be damaging to your vehicle. You should, instead, drive the vehicle to get the engine warm during the cold weather.
Belief: Premium gasoline is best for your vehicle.
Reality: Maybe. It depends on the type of vehicle you drive. Most cars are built to run on regular-grade fuel, so using premium fuel will not improve the car’s performance. In fact, using premium fuel in a vehicle that was not designed for it can harm the vehicle’s performance and fuel efficiency. Check your owner’s manual for recommended fuel grade.
Belief: For city dwellers dealing with narrow streets, do not park with two wheels on the curb, as it will destroy the vehicle’s alignment.
Reality: True, if done continuously. The Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge service specialists say that repeatedly parking a car with one side’s wheels up on a curb to provide more space for passing cars can cause excessive wear or stress to tie rods and suspension bushings, and could create alignment issues.
Belief: If the steering wheel shakes when you drive, there is something wrong with your brakes.
Reality: Maybe. If the wheel shakes as you depress the brake pedal, it may mean your brake rotors are unbalanced. If the wheel shakes as you drive, it may be the result of a wheel balance or steering-related issue.
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##RVT1214
The owner’s manual in our turbo charged 2020 Subaru Ascent specifies 87 octane 10% ethanol unleaded gasoline. It goes further to indicate that premium (91 octane, ethanol free unleaded gasoline) won’t hurt the car, but the owner will not get more power or better mileage from its use. Of course I had to give it a try. And… as indirectly stated in the manual, I wasted my money.
Wheel shaking when braking is a sign of warped rotors, not out of balance. Warped rotors are caused by excessive heat.
The biggest cause is keeping your foot on the brake pedal when going down long hills. Use engine braking on hills. Manually downshift to a lower gear, or use Tow/Haul mode if the vehicle is equipped with it. It will automatically downshift trying to maintain speed.
Another problem is riding the brakes while driving. Some people seem to rest their left foot on the brake pedal.
This article was obviously written by someone who has little automotive knowledge. Way too many incorrect words used and incomplete explanations. My guess is it was edited from the real article to reduce the size of the content or maybe this is an AI generated article.
Considering the Dodge/Ram dealer in Lewistown, Montana just charged me $150 for $40 worth of parts (diesel fuel filters). I wouldn’t trust anything a Dodge/Ram dealer says.
“Myth #1” is not true.
Oil filters have bypass valves to prevent high oil pressure from rupturing the filter housing. Cold oil is denser than warm oil thus running the engine at higher revolutions creates higher oil pressure. Pressure that exceeds the bypass valve rating causes the bypass valve to open and allowing unfiltered oil into the journals. The logic is unfiltered oil is better than no oil. Needless idling certainly adds to emissions but there is no evidence indicating a warm engine wears more than a cold one. Quite the opposite.
Since I’m a retired auto mechanic, I’ll throw in my opinion.
As for warming up your motor, I suggest running it for about half a minute before driving it easily for the first mile or so. That gives cold metal parts a chance to warm up and the oil to get to everything. Letting it idle longer prolongs the engine from getting up to operating temperature which contaminates your oil and also leads to getting moisture in your exhaust system leading to having to replace it sooner than if you didn’t excessively idle it.
Belief: Your vehicle’s engine should be “warmed up” before driving in cold weather
I’ve been doing this for decades…not so much for the vehicle but for the human passengers.
I disagree with the statement that says steering wheel shaking while braking is caused by imbalanced brake rotors. That symptom is most like caused by “warped” brake rotors, not imbalanced rotors.
Cummins diesel engine manual recommends a five or six minute warm up before starting to drive the vehicle. It also recommends the same amount of time as a cool down after parking the vehicle. Ford recommends a 30 second warm up before driving to allow “positive” lubrication of the engine and its components.
While modern cars do not need an extensive warm-up period in cold to frigid weather, they should be ran until the idle stabilizes. For example our 2005 4.0L Explorer has a 30-90 second high idle period, before dropping to its usual 800 rpm idle. I wait for this idle drop/stabilize before driving off.
Thank you for the discussions, RV Travel! Regarding fuel octane levels, DW and I had an interesting juxtaposition for several years. Her 2006 Mustang GT is supposed to use 87-octane (aka, regular) gasoline. Alternately, my 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee was to run on 91-, or 92-octane, but was acceptable to use 87. It always seemed odd, but that is what our manuals said. I guess it fit because DW’s Mustang has a 4.8-liter engine while my Jeep had a 5.7 liter engine. Have a great day and safe travels!