It seems simple, but you can make a big difference by turning off your radio, wipers,
climate control,
all of those accessories, when you start the car. Most of the wear on
the engine happens when you start the car, and by turning off those
accessories, your engine doesn’t have to work as hard when starting.
Another thing people do is revving the engine in the winter. This
actually doesn’t help “warm up” the car. Although it does technically
make the engine hotter, it’s not the kind of “warming up” that you
want. Revving your engine in the winter causes extreme temperature
changes right away, which is actually the opposite of what you want.
When you start the car, the oil hasn’t yet worked its way through the
system, so the engine is working without lubricant. The right way to do
it is just let the car sit and idle for about 30 seconds to a minute at
the least.
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