Here’s Why People in NH Shouldn’t Warm Up Their Car Engines

I hope this is a big, fat, fake news story, but consider WMUR's source, Popular Mechanics.  I'd say they know a thing or two about cars.

In the report, and against everything I've ever known, starting your car from your house to warm it up, does NOT prolong the life of your engine.  In face, it decreases its life by stripping away oil from the engine's cylinders and pistons.  It goes on to say that warming up your car before driving is a leftover habit when we had carbureted engines.

I seriously doubt that's going to stop me.  I have an automatic car starter and it's one of the best things that I have.  I leave my house at 4am and sometimes, it's below zero.  There's no way I'm going to just go outside and jump in to that cold car.  Ain't happenin'.  If I forget that I started the car, it shuts off automatically after 10 minutes.

Having said that, I do remember one time when I went out to my car and started it up.  I went inside for just a minute and decided I wasn't going to leave after all.  After about 3 hours (no kidding) I realized that I started up the car and didn't shut it off.  The automatic shut off works when you use the remote, but, if you put the key in and turn it, it will run as long as it's on.  Luckily, I didn't mess up my engine!

I'm starting my car remotely, every day during the winter.