You’re a proud owner of a Subaru model, which means you’re up-to-date with your Subaru maintenance schedule and practice good driving habits. However, there’s a major debate on how to begin every drive: should you warm up your engine, or not? The answer varies depending on the time of year, so come talk to the friendly pros at Herb Gordon of Subaru to find out the current wisdom.
Reasons to Warm Up Your Engine
A lot of people warm up their engine before driving to make the cabin temperature more comfortable. Giving the interior a moment to cool off in the summer or warm up in the winter makes for a pleasant ride—plus, in the winter, this allows the windshield temp to increase and melt any ice or snow that fell since your last drive. Additionally, vehicles with particularly old engines might benefit from a warm-up period, since they need more time than modern engines to heat up and let the oil circulate.
Cons of Idling to Warm Up Your Vehicle
There are, however, some negatives to warming up your engine. If you have a traditional or hybrid model, you’ll waste gas and generate emissions. And since idling adds to wear and tear, giving your vehicle too much time to warm up could actually lessen your engine’s life. For most vehicles, our Subaru maintenance experts recommend driving at a moderate pace for a little while with no sudden or drastic acceleration or deceleration, instead of idling to warm the engine.
Learn Best Engine Practices from the Experts in Subaru Maintenance Near Washington, D.C.
Unless you need extra time to defrost or defog your windshield, you probably don’t need to warm up your engine. If you have any concerns, stop by our Subaru dealership near Washington, D.C. Our Subaru maintenance experts will be here to answer all your questions!
