Warm up the engine?

Many vehicle owners think they are doing something good for their engine by warming it up in winter.

Is it harmful to warm up the engine in winter?

Yes, it is harmful. When stationary, the engine takes considerably longer to reach its operating temperature. And this consumes a large amount of fuel without providing any power to drive the vehicle. And as long as the engine is not warm, a lot of unburned fuel reaches the cylinder surface, which inevitably leads to increased friction due to poor lubrication.

The result is cylinder and piston wear.

Unburned fuel flows past the pistons, enters the oil pan and dilutes the engine oil. This also worsens the lubrication here, which in turn increases engine wear.

On cold winter days, many vehicle owners think that they can warm up their vehicle’s interior much more quickly if they let the engine warm up.

Tests have shown that the vehicle does not get particularly warm by leaving the engine running. After four minutes at an outside temperature of -10 °C, the engine oil has only reached a temperature of -7 °C and the air vents only emit a lukewarm breeze at approx. 13 °C. However, this means that around 0.15 liters of petrol have already been burned

Is it even allowed to warm up the engine?

According to road traffic regulations, every road user is required to prevent unnecessary noise and exhaust pollution. This is stated in §30 of the StVO (environmental protection, ban on driving on Sundays and public holidays):

When using vehicles, unnecessary noise and avoidable exhaust pollution are prohibited. In particular, it is prohibited to run vehicle engines unnecessarily and to close vehicle doors excessively loudly. Unnecessary driving to and fro within built-up areas is prohibited if it causes a nuisance to citizens. This is also punishable by a fine, which many people do not know: Violators face a fine of 10 euros.

Get through the cold time well!

Your Tatjana from the TÜFA-TEAM