What harm can idle do ?!
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Lexus Champion
Joined: Apr 2004
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From: International
What harm can idle do ?!
Let's say im parked and the car is on , if it stays like that for a while , does it damage anything ?! my friend insists that it ruins your engine because it stays in the same RPM area . any help is appreciated 
Thanks
Thanks
if its like that for maybe 20-30 mins and u have the **** modded out of it it may overheat.
other than that i dont think so.
(unless your talking about a new car with the engine not fully broken in yet.)
other than that i dont think so.
(unless your talking about a new car with the engine not fully broken in yet.)
Lexus Champion
Joined: Feb 2001
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From: SF, CA
The thing i heard was that the engine does not have enough cooling because normally it would be cooled by the fans and coolant moving at higher rpms and/ or the wind coming at the car at high speeds.
I have stayed in my car for a full 3 hours waiting ... it was hot outside. I dont see or feel any deterioration in performance of the engine or the a/c for that matter.
I have stayed in my car for a full 3 hours waiting ... it was hot outside. I dont see or feel any deterioration in performance of the engine or the a/c for that matter.
Lexus Champion
Joined: Jul 2003
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From: Arizona
Originally Posted by babyGS3
The thing i heard was that the engine does not have enough cooling because normally it would be cooled by the fans and coolant moving at higher rpms and/ or the wind coming at the car at high speeds.
I have stayed in my car for a full 3 hours waiting ... it was hot outside. I dont see or feel any deterioration in performance of the engine or the a/c for that matter.
I have stayed in my car for a full 3 hours waiting ... it was hot outside. I dont see or feel any deterioration in performance of the engine or the a/c for that matter.
yes the fan would be activated. though i heard that the tranny can get quite hot running idle.
in any case, for modern cars, i don't see any problem except that you are killing environment bad
in any case, for modern cars, i don't see any problem except that you are killing environment bad
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 94,574
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From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
There of course, is some added heat buildup during hot-weather idle, but electric fans have generally solved the lack-of-airflow idle problem with the old cranksaft-driven fans. In addition, many A/C equipped cars have a second fan as well that comes on with the compressor or at a predetermined coolant temperature.
One thing that is important.....the old rule about shifting into neutral and raising the idle speed during overheating does NOT apply any more to modern electric-fan cars. Unless you are driving an old car with a crankshaft-driven fan, toss that idea out in the trash. Electric fans are NOT affected by engine RPM and will generally spin at the same RPM no matter what engine speed is. And if you DO rev the engine you only make it worse.....the engine then produces more heat with the same fan speed.
Another old idea that can be tossed out, particularly if you have a second fan, is turning the A/C off. Keeping it on often activates the second fan and adds secondary cooling. If you shut the A/C off you may lose this secondary cooling.
Those old ideas worked with yesterday's cars but won't with today's.
One thing that is important.....the old rule about shifting into neutral and raising the idle speed during overheating does NOT apply any more to modern electric-fan cars. Unless you are driving an old car with a crankshaft-driven fan, toss that idea out in the trash. Electric fans are NOT affected by engine RPM and will generally spin at the same RPM no matter what engine speed is. And if you DO rev the engine you only make it worse.....the engine then produces more heat with the same fan speed.
Another old idea that can be tossed out, particularly if you have a second fan, is turning the A/C off. Keeping it on often activates the second fan and adds secondary cooling. If you shut the A/C off you may lose this secondary cooling.
Those old ideas worked with yesterday's cars but won't with today's.
Last edited by mmarshall; Apr 18, 2006 at 09:03 AM.
Originally Posted by babyGS3
The thing i heard was that the engine does not have enough cooling because normally it would be cooled by the fans and coolant moving at higher rpms and/ or the wind coming at the car at high speeds.
I have stayed in my car for a full 3 hours waiting ... it was hot outside. I dont see or feel any deterioration in performance of the engine or the a/c for that matter.
I have stayed in my car for a full 3 hours waiting ... it was hot outside. I dont see or feel any deterioration in performance of the engine or the a/c for that matter.
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Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
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From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
Originally Posted by 4TehNguyen
the engine isnt generating extra heat because its operating at low rpm cooling isnt an issue. Idling for extended periods of time just wastes gas, the rpm is so low theres very little stress on the engine
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Originally Posted by AJ
Let's say im parked and the car is on , if it stays like that for a while , does it damage anything ?! my friend insists that it ruins your engine because it stays in the same RPM area . any help is appreciated
Thanks
Thanks
Originally Posted by Inabj2
But the fan should activate once it detects a determined temperature no?
Out of Warranty
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 14,925
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From: Houston, Republic of Texas
I use my cars as mobile offices at least one day a week - meaning that I may spend 30 minutes at idle two or three times a day in cold or hot weather to keep the HVAC running. As mmarshall said, with the old engine-driven fans, you had to keep an eye on the temperature gauge. I found some of the early US made cars with electric fans also had some problems as the thermostat logic wasn't fully sorted.
I had an '84 Olds Ciera and an '86 Buick Century company car that would often switch on the cooling fan several seconds after you shut down the engine, locked and walked away from the car . . . always gave you a creepy feeling that it would kill the battery because it would often run for several minutes. It was not uncommon to see the coolant temperature rise and fall over a fair (uncalibrated) range during extended idle periods.
Today's cars are a whole lot smarter. I hardly ever see the temperature gauge move once the thermostat is open. Extended periods of idling, particularly with today's high-detergent gasolines, do not produce the fouling problems of their predecessors - however it is still a good idea to get out on the freeway for a good half-hour's run before shutting down for the day. Whether it helps or not, it just makes me feel better.
I had an '84 Olds Ciera and an '86 Buick Century company car that would often switch on the cooling fan several seconds after you shut down the engine, locked and walked away from the car . . . always gave you a creepy feeling that it would kill the battery because it would often run for several minutes. It was not uncommon to see the coolant temperature rise and fall over a fair (uncalibrated) range during extended idle periods.
Today's cars are a whole lot smarter. I hardly ever see the temperature gauge move once the thermostat is open. Extended periods of idling, particularly with today's high-detergent gasolines, do not produce the fouling problems of their predecessors - however it is still a good idea to get out on the freeway for a good half-hour's run before shutting down for the day. Whether it helps or not, it just makes me feel better.
CL Community Team
Joined: Apr 2004
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From: Miami, Florida
Something else in the car (especially fluids) have to be worn down first, and then idle can cause some issues. I know one incidence where someone left their old late 70s Mustang in idle (the fluid probably was bad before) and the tranny did give out after he waited 45 minutes in idle. My cousin had to go fetch him with a flatbed.
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