New-ish car owner question: is it actually bad to drive off right after starting my BMW?
Posted by EffectiveSky3378@reddit | askcarguys | View on Reddit | 43 comments
I have a 2016 BMW 118i with a little over 120k miles, and I bought it not that long ago, so I’m still learning what’s an actual car issue and what’s just people repeating old advice.
A girl I work with keeps telling me I shouldn’t drive off straight after turning the car on, because according to her it’s bad for the engine and I should let it sit for a bit first. The thing is, in the mornings I’m usually in a rush, so I pretty much start it and go. I’m not flooring it or driving like an idiot right away, just normal driving.
Since this is my first car, I’m genuinely trying to learn what things actually matter long term and what doesn’t, cause i love my car. I’m into cars and I do want to take care of it properly, I just also don’t have the time or patience to sit there every morning if it’s not really that necessary.
So is this a real problem for cars, or is it more of an old-school habit that people still swear by? Is it fine to drive off right away as long as I keep it gentle until it warms up?
Sig-vicous@reddit
I usually get going 30 to 60 seconds after I startup. I take care of the seatbelt, setting my braking parameter, adjust radio, or whatever after I turn the key. Then wait until my cold idle RPM drops down.
More important than that, is taking it easy until the engine oil is up to operating temperature. Stay at lower rpm and load (throttle) until everything's good and warm. Which might take 5 to 10 minutes or so depending on the ambient temperature.
This works fine for me as I have to navigate out of my neighborhood plan first and take a couple short back roads before I have to worry about a street where I need to accelerate heavily.
If you have some weird scenario where you have to leave your driveway and immediately floor it to reach 60 mph in heavy traffic, then I'd likely let your engine warm up about 5 minutes in the driveway first before I did so.
e4Td4Y3L32aBHqp@reddit
You should sit in your car for at least 20 minutes at tick over before pulling away.
Vault702@reddit
Are a lot of those carburetated? Or are you being sarcastic?
EffectiveSky3378@reddit (OP)
i think hes being extremely sarcastic haha
EffectiveSky3378@reddit (OP)
😭 if I did that every morning I’d need to wake up in a different timezone
MysticMarbles@reddit
5 seconds is the correct amount of time between starting and driving.
EffectiveSky3378@reddit (OP)
okay 5 seconds I can definitely do
therealjohnsmith@reddit
More importantly, and especially if you've been driving hard, let it idle for a minute or two after you get home before turning it off. B38 has a turbo and oil can cook in there and gunk things up.
xMegaCloudx@reddit
I don't know if it is actually going to hurt your car long term, but in all of my cars I wait for them to idle down to a normal rpm after a cold start. It takes like maybe 10 seconds for the process to happen which is extremely cheap insurance in the long term in my opinion.
EffectiveSky3378@reddit (OP)
That makes sense to me. Waiting like 10 seconds for it to settle feels way more realistic than letting it sit for ages.
DFLDrew@reddit
If it’s very cold out, it can take a while. The engine temperature gauge is your friend. Don’t drive it hard if it’s cold.
Vault702@reddit
This is bad advice. Don't drive it hard until it's warmed up, but letting it idle until it warms up is letting more garbage blow by the piston rings and get into the oil. It also keeps the oil from getting up the operating temperature which means more time with suboptimal lubrication which wears the engine more than it you drive it gently to warm it up more quickly after it reaches a stable idle 10-30 seconds after starting.
DFLDrew@reddit
Uh huh. So you said I was wrong, then said what I said. I guess you’re just confrontational.
xMegaCloudx@reddit
I edited in a much longer response in case you are interested.
DanfromCalgary@reddit
You make them sit for ten seconds when cold lol . Ten seconds isn’t a wait lol
Brizzledude65@reddit
Yep, never pull away in either of my cars til the tickover is down to normal. As you say, 10 seconds or so.
Expert-Masterpiece70@reddit
Give it 30 seconds before you put it in gear to allow all of the fluids to properly circulate, especially when it's cold because they lose their viscosity and get thicker when they're cold. Also, if it has an automatic transmission always make sure you come to a full stop before shifting from reverse into drive, otherwise you'll prematurely wear out your transmission. Finally, check to see when wS the last time ALL of your fluids were changed, brake, transmission and filter, oil and filter and differential fluids. Changing them will make your BMW last much longer.
Prestigious_Tiger_26@reddit
Let's just put it this way - if you're not living in a place that gets below freezing, don't overthink it. I've had numerous vehicles that have gone well over 150k miles (mind you, these are mostly city miles, not highway, which is much harder on the engine between oil changes), and I just start the vehicles and drive off slowly. Not a single one has had engine wear or oil burning issues. If you live in cold climate, get a block heater and warm it up.
Empty_Art2176@reddit
Just give it enough time to build oil pressure and you're good to go. Back in the "olden days" (pre 1990) letting the car come up to temperature in freezing weather was advisable because cars used heavier oils and generally had larger displacement. It just took longer to build oil pressure.
Argentius99@reddit
“Everyone is right ,” more or less!
5-10 seconds is all you need to drive off.
Do wait until the oil gets all the way to 150F or so — 5 minutes of driving after coolant reaches temp, if you don’t have an oil gauge — before you really nail it and go hard.
I think your car is pretty turboed up - don’t know that model specifically - and so being fully warm and slippery helps long life considerably , but there’s neither need nor benefit in just sitting idling
dababy407@reddit
Personally I just wait for the idle to drop to normal after starting and then I'm good to go, 15-30 seconds max. Sitting there and "Letting the car warm up" isn't really a thing especially with modern cars, the engine will warm up on its own way better through gentle driving until it is up to operating temp
Most-Description4665@reddit
Its fine. Just don't rip on it too hard. Wait til it's up to temp to drive it hard.
Phrexeus@reddit
Engineering explained on YouTube did a video about this exact topic, as did CarCareNut. The rule of thumb is a short wait (a few seconds) to let the oil circulate before driving away is best.
Also, driving puts the engine under load and warms it up faster, so you're actually getting less wear than if you were to sit idling until it's warmed up.
landry_454kg@reddit
I start my truck, do my little sequence of connecting my phone, disabling auto/stop, and off I go. If it's cold, I let my windshield defrost a bit. Typically I'm driving within 15-30 seconds of starting the truck. You'll be fine. Do the proper maintenance and don't worry about it.
EffectiveSky3378@reddit (OP)
ahha this is the most realistic answer for how people actually use their cars probably lol. That’s kind of what I was hoping, just let it do its thing for a few seconds and drive normal.
Vault702@reddit
Depends on the person. There are way too many that remote start their car, then don't come out before it shuts off, remote start it again and maybe eventually go out and start driving. High idle time is bad for engines, and idling cold is worse than using warm, but lots of people do it way too much.
If you can't see out the windshield, defrosting before you start driving is important, but outside of that extra time idling a cold car is worse for the engine.
ratmanmedia@reddit
Most vehicles have a warm-up period where revs will hang above 1,200RPM. Once everything’s gotten to a uniform temperature and fluids have been spread, it’ll idle down to 1,000RPM or lower.
It’s best for the engine and transmission to wait until it idles down, regardless of how long it takes. In the winter it might be 2-5 minutes, in the summer it might be 2-3 minutes.
Regardless, don’t drive off until it idles down.
DryFoundation2323@reddit
More than a 20ish second warm up is actually bad for the engine. Long warm ups are an old wives tale.
Suitable_Diver_2395@reddit
as it was already told, usually it's okay to wait 30 seconds to build the oil pressure, lube the engine and drive slowly to warm up the engine and liquids.
If it's cold outside (winter or late autumn) it takes more time to warm up, so I'd wait 1-3 minutes and drive slowly.
But tbh, I'd also pay attention to service intervals, here in Europe (I assume, in the US it's the same situation) they are terrible, they change oil every 30k km, while the optimal time interval is 8-10k, after this even the best oil doesn't fulfill its function properly.
LazyLancer@reddit
Idle just a bit until the RPMs drop to normal, then drive off gently. Don’t push it until it warms up according to the dash (I assume you have a coolant temp indicator?). If you want to go really hard, wait about twice the time it took for coolant to get up to temperature.
PinkGreen666@reddit
Driving like immediately after a cold start should be avoided, but you only need to wait like 10-30 seconds for oil to reach everywhere it needs to in the motor. Drive gently (or normally) until operating temp is reached. I wouldn’t push it past like 3k rpm until then.
RegularOk1820@reddit
engine oil is designed to flow fast even when cold. modern sensors also manage fueling for warm up automatically. so the car adjusts itself while you drive.
19Ben80@reddit
Modern cars are designed to drive straight away, send it.
Wigberht_Eadweard@reddit
Warming up doesn’t mean a 10 minute idle or waiting until you’re at your regular low idle. Your car will idle very high when first started and then gradually idle down to something a little better. My old sentra is probably like 1500 rpm at start and can go into drive smoothly once I’m at a little over 1000. Normal idle at temp is like 750-600 rpm for my car. Putting it into drive when it’s at too high of an idle will jolt the car a lot more than when it’s idled down a bit. It’s a night and day difference once you know what you’re doing.
ScaredLink8@reddit
I have a Veloster n 2.0t, my rule of thumb is I don’t don’t move till she hits 25c engine temp, but I never build boost till it’s warm, 67-70c she will start to backfire fart and pop.
JustTheComputerGuy@reddit
My independent German car mechanic (I'm a Porsche dude) tells me the best thing is to start the engine and immediately start driving, but gently. Keep it under half of red line until both oil and coolant are up to temp. But do not warm up stationary in the driveway. Apparently that contributes to bore score and engine wear
WholeGarden7590@reddit
For a 2016 BMW 118i, it is best to drive right away after a very short (10-30 second) idle to allow oil pressure to build. Driving gently immediately warms up the engine, transmission, and lubricants faster and more effectively than idling, reducing wear and emissions. Avoid high RPMs or heavy acceleration until the engine is warm. * According to Google AI
EffectiveSky3378@reddit (OP)
that is really helpful thank you.
j-ravy@reddit
Don’t need long, just enough to get the oil moving through the whole engine
SolarWind77@reddit
Idling your vehicle is more detrimental to longevity than idling down and driving reasonably until up to operating temp.
livingoutloud373@reddit
When it warm outside, couple seconds it's good to go.
When it below freezing, defrost/remove snow then go.
EffectiveSky3378@reddit (OP)
thanks!!
DJScaryTerry@reddit
Check the owners manual. Some BMW's actually tell you to just get in and drive right away.