Short trips bad for engine?

[mooshoepork]

Are short distances bad for the engine? My daily drive is only a few minutes. Usually drive because I need the car during the day of work. Is there a way to mitigate this? Or is there even any truth to this wrecking your engine?

Looking for proof either way...not sure what to think

[DaJo]

Because it is such a short distance, the engine won't have the ability to heat up to operating temperature by the time you shut her off...

This creates carbon buildup in your engine and creates thicker sludge as the oil does not reach the hot temperatures before cooling down again.

Should be fine as long as you do frequent scheduled preventative maintenance.

[itsibarra]

I think it just depends on how you drive in those short minutes. Driving hard in just a few minutes before engine warms up seems like a bad idea. Taking it easy, and light-footed would be your safe alternative option.

[titan_rw]

Ideal trip length is 5-10 minutes AFTER the engine reaches full operating temperature. Depending on ambient temperature, and what kind of drive, it could take 5-10 minutes to reach operating temperature.

I'd say anything less than a 20 minute drive is considered a 'short trip'. And yes, short trips are hard on a car. That's why I'd stay away from such cars that are labeled "low mileage, lady driven". More than likely they were a 'grocery getter' kind of car. Always short trips, never warmed up, never operated at anything more than 1/2 throttle. I wouldn't buy it.

Two things I would do if you commute to work is very short. 1: At least once a week, go for a good drive. 20 minutes +. 2: Change the oil more frequently.

A lot of times, car manufacturers will specify two change intervals for oil. One 'normal' duty cycle, and a 'severe' duty cycle. I would definitely follow the shorter of the two, if not even shorter.

[CaptainSlow]

Start your car a little before you leave in the AM and let it warm up a bit if it worries you. Or, just follow routine maintenance schedules and you'll be fine.

[Subie]

Follow the severe service schedule and don't worry about it.

[whaap]

If all you ever do is drive those short few minutes to and from work I would say yes, over the long haul you will possibly cause some problems. However, if on a fairly frequent basis you do drive the car for extended periods of time things should be fine.

[CircuitJerk]

Moisture buildup, unburned fuel, and other byproducts that contaminate the oil in short trips are some of the concern. One other consideration is more moisture remains in the exhaust system which will shorten the life of exhaust components. Short trip cars often require early exhaust replacement.

Not allowing the oil to reach full operating temp, and remain at that point for a time sufficient to allow for these contaminants to evaporate is what it boils down to.
While one could argue that the current oil technology should be able to mitigate those conditions, without any concrete evidence that states that (like an oil analysis), I'm not confident in suggesting this doesnt warrant some consideration.

My suggestion would be to follow a time over mileage OCI if months exceed the mileage, based on 1k Mile increments. I might reduce that time interval by 25%. I might even suggest doing an oil analysis about 4000 miles or 4 months or so into an OCI but take the sample after a short trip.
You would get a good idea on how to proceed from there.

As an example, my mother's 2002 Corolla only has 60,000 miles on it, and I've had to replace the entire exhaust from the header back just last year.
I also replaced the muffler in 2008. I have her get the oil changed every 4 months and her average mileage at that point is about 2000 miles.

Another side effect of a short trip vehicle, especially one that doens't get much use:
I just replaced the evap canister near the fuel tank last year too. In 2007, I had to take it apart to get at a small piston to remove oxidation/rust to get it moving again and clear the CEL. It saved me about $300.00 at the time but it didn't prevent it's inevitable early replacement. Again, water as a byproduct of ethanol (E10) just sitting...

[chenshuo]

^ all the suggestions above AND use Shell nitrogen enriched gasoline.

[Don Ivey]

Or, you could leave home twenty minutes earlier,and drive the car that extra twenty, solving your problem (and it is a problem), and getting to enjoy the car more. Take the long way home too.

[kludger]

I think it's not best for the car but overall you are overly worrying about something that likely won't ever cause any real problems.

I lived 5 mins from work for 6 years and drove back and forth each morning with my '90 Civic Si, the only car issue from all the short driving after all those years was the exhaust muffler rusted fast because it never would warm up enough to evaporate the moisture from starting it.

The rest of the car and engine still worked beautifully and I never had any mechanical issues and it ran like a champ when I sold it years later with 130k mi.

[Turbowned]

Originally Posted by CaptainSlow

Start your car a little before you leave in the AM and let it warm up a bit if it worries you. Or, just follow routine maintenance schedules and you'll be fine.

This is arguably just as bad as not letting the car get up to temp. Leaving the car idling for extended periods of time contributes to carbon buildup, too. Not recommended if you can avoid it. That said, don't just start it right up and drive it; give it a half minute to move the cold oil around.

[Deebeaux]

From an oil contamination standpoint this is good advice. (I can't comment on exhaust wear, etc..., as I've had no experience with that.) One of the biggest culprits of short trips (and other things, like improperly functioning thermostats, etc...) that do not allow oil to reach normal operating temperature are a cause of oil contamination and increased wear over time.

When your oil gets to the proper temperature contaminates like moisture and fuel are evaporated out of it allowing it to last longer and perform at it's intended specification. If you're running it in short enough trips (or not full heat cycles would be a better term) this would show up on a Used Oil Analysis (UOA). If you are concerned I would highly recommend having a UOA done at your next regular oil change interval (OCI) to shed some light on the subject. Without a UOA anything else would just be speculation.

I use Blackstone Laboratories for my UOAs. They are inexpensive ($25, $35 if you need a TBN) and easy to use. (You will not need a TBN for this sort of test. TBN is mainly for extended OCI and that's not a primary concern in this case.) They'll send you the kit for free, just get it from their web site (http://www.blackstone-labs.com/) along with the instructions and you'll be well one your way to get some real data. Also feel free to include a short note with your sample on what you're concerned about and your driving habits/situation. They personalize every UOA they do and are very friendly and willing to offer unbiased professional advice.

A good UOA is only $25 plus a couple bucks postage. Well worth it IMHO to know what's really going on inside your engine. It's cheap insurance. You may learn that your trips are enough to bring it to normal op.

Good luck! If you do a UOA post it up!

Originally Posted by CircuitJerk

Moisture buildup, unburned fuel, and other byproducts that contaminate the oil in short trips are some of the concern. One other consideration is more moisture remains in the exhaust system which will shorten the life of exhaust components. Short trip cars often require early exhaust replacement.

Not allowing the oil to reach full operating temp, and remain at that point for a time sufficient to allow for these contaminants to evaporate is what it boils down to.
While one could argue that the current oil technology should be able to mitigate those conditions, without any concrete evidence that states that (like an oil analysis), I'm not confident in suggesting this doesnt warrant some consideration.

My suggestion would be to follow a time over mileage OCI if months exceed the mileage, based on 1k Mile increments. I might reduce that time interval by 25%. I might even suggest doing an oil analysis about 4000 miles or 4 months or so into an OCI but take the sample after a short trip.
You would get a good idea on how to proceed from there.

... snip ...

[dun3]

Originally Posted by Turbowned

This is arguably just as bad as not letting the car get up to temp. Leaving the car idling for extended periods of time contributes to carbon buildup, too. Not recommended if you can avoid it. That said, don't just start it right up and drive it; give it a half minute to move the cold oil around.

Man.. Every time I start up my car in the mornings (cold mornings lately), I let her warm up until the temp guage reaches the very bottom line. (it's usually below it when idling to warm up) And so far, it takes approximately 10 minutes or more to warm up. Just got over 1k on her too (fyi). Takes forever it seems, but I've always warmed up my cars, and have had no real issues. Am I waiting too long? It's like, DAMN sometimes, especially when I'm late for work.. But I still wait for her to reach the temp I'm comfortable with