Idle gas usage

So I wanted to discuss the prolonged idle usage of cars in general also in relation to our trucks. I am working some job sites where I use my own car parked for about 8 hours. During the cold and hot weather it will be running the whole time. I have a Pontiac G6 that does well gas wise but my truck is so much more comfortable. I assume the V-8 will suck more gas at idle than a V-6 anyways. Dang lack of active fuel management in the Tundras! So you guys think there's really a significant difference in vehicles burning gas at idle? And what about wear and tear at idle?

 

interested to hear comments on this.

 

I would never idle any of my cars for even an hour... let alone 8 hours. Especially when it's hot.

 

Well when its 25 degrees out and I'm sitting in it its gonna need to keep me warm. If you look at police cars they sit at idle for majority of their life time. Usually on a scene or waiting for the speeder. Maintained the crown Vic's converted into taxis have lived in the 300k mile range before.

 

Yeah I meant unless you're in 25 degrees weather.

 

Interesting, I never knew a trans in park doing nothing could get that hot. I wonder why it does. Anyone else seen that as well?

 

I wouldn't worry about the transmission it is bolted to the engine so heat transfers to it, it doesn't generate heat sitting still. Of course you will be causing wear to the engine since it's running but it's not working so wear will be minimal.if you do let it idle a lot on a regular basis just change your oil more often and don't worry about it.

 

I think it depends a lot on where you live and what you are doing at the time. In AK during the winter, if working at a outdoor job site, sometimes you are waiting around for long periods. I've seen trucks both gas and diesel left running idle for hours. Got to stay warm.

 

I would definitely not run a car at idle for any length of time in the heat to keep an AC on. That I'm sure will hurt your engine. Running the heater in extreme cold is a little better but I would still try to avoid doing that on a regular basis. I would get a small generator and a tiny heater before running my truck just for heat. The problem with people saying it's ok, is how the hell does someone prove it's ok? Are they measuring wear on all the components? There are people saying warming up your car for a few minutes in the cold is bad, how the hell can idling for hours be ok? It's just something difficult to prove either way so I would rather be safe than sorry. Especially with my truck.

 

I have a very hard time believing that idling your truck for 8 hours is harmful to the truck other than the wear on the moving components.
You have a transmission warning indicator that will illuminate if the transmission temperature is out of line. You have a coolant temp gage that will tell you when and if you truck is getting too hot.
I also have a very hard time believing that the fuel consumption will be all that high at idle. I would guess about 40% more than your G6. The load of the accessories will be about the same. The internal engine friction will be higher as well as the volume of air pumped. I bet you could idle all day for less than a gallon of fuel.
The Dodge transmission that was referenced earlier has been well noted for being a very bad design.

 

We both discuss these things because is it just not in our nature to let it sit. It is a curse )

Personally I would have a hard time leaving my car/truck idling all day long. I am way too Dutch for that as well as my desire to minimize cycles on the engine and everything else would override.

That being said I know a lot of people who do it all the time. I work with a guy who never shuts his car off in the winter. He lets it idle in the parking lot all day because he hate scraping snow and getting in a cold car. His current car has nearly 200k on the odometer (Toyota Camry). He also argues that a cold start causes more wear than running the car all day long.

 

We discuss it because thats how we learn and tell others we heard it on the internet I never heard of that so now its on my mind and appreciated. I would think it would only put premature wear on the fluid and not the tranny itself. Some more researching might be in order.