Did a stupid thing today...

S

swiss_seth

New member
So I am working from home today and around 11 AM I thought I'd run out and start my 15 SR5 and let the front blower and rear defroster on high heat melt off the snow.

Problem is I just remember I turn my car on so its been idling for the past 6 hours with the heater on high. I drove it around the block and it sounds and is running fine. Do I have anything to worry about other than wasting like 4 gallons of gas?

Good news is there is no snow anywhere on the vehicle, lol

Thanks, Seth
 
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No, it's fine. I might run it up and down a higher speed road for 10 miles or so to blow out any condensation from the exhaust, but that's about it.

Lots of non-diesel vehicles idle for hours with no issues. Crown Vics make a neat "burbling" noise after an hour or so when the condensation reaches a measurable point and begins filling up the exhaust, hit the gas and pint of water blows out of each exhaust.
 
Must live in a good neighborhood, or out in country. I can't remember what if the manual says anything about this I'll have to check. Woulda been a real bummer if someone had stolen it
 
MeefZah said:
No, it's fine. I might run it up and down a higher speed road for 10 miles or so to blow out any condensation from the exhaust, but that's about it.

Lots of non-diesel vehicles idle for hours with no issues. Crown Vics make a neat "burbling" noise after an hour or so when the condensation reaches a measurable point and begins filling up the exhaust, hit the gas and pint of water blows out of each exhaust.
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I think you and I may be in the same profession...
 
My 1GRFE idles a lot (wife turns it on with the remote starter and leaves it on so our kids don't go into a frozen car).

6 hours is a lot of idling, but as others have said, you are most likely fine.
 
swiss_seth said:
So I am working from home today and around 11 AM I thought I'd run out and start my 15 SR5 and let the front blower and rear defroster on high heat melt off the snow.

Problem is I just remember I turn my car on so its been idling for the past 6 hours with the heater on high. I drove it around the block and it sounds and is running fine. Do I have anything to worry about other than wasting like 4 gallons of gas?

Good news is there is no snow anywhere on the vehicle, lol

Thanks, Seth
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Idling burns between 1/3 and 1/2 a gallon/hour. So 2-3 gallons wasted is all. I have idled mine 9 hours and didn't think twice about it. A few years ago I was on the interstate late at night when I ran into blizzard conditions and black ice. There were 30-40 cars that were wrecked and blocking the interstate. There were cares behind me that just stopped or slid off the road. I drove off the side of the road about 50 ft through grass to get away from the carnage. There I sat for 9 hours until they got it cleaned up enough so I could continue on. I just cracked my window and slept while idling.
 
6 hours of driving is worse than 6 hours of idling. As for the heat on high, zero worries. A 4runner parked with the windows up in Texas probably gets hotter.
 
Parroting the rest of the post. Yeah your fine (I don't know how to make it to 15 posts and actually contribute)
 
Elan750 said:
6 hours of driving is worse than 6 hours of idling.
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To re-iterate my point, I'm sure 6 hours of idling is inconsequential.

But... I disagree that 6 hours of driving is worse than 6 hours of idling. A vehicle is designed to be driven, not idled for 6 hours. Driving it keeps the engine heat high enough to burn off condensation in the oil and keeps the exhaust flowing freely enough to burn off condensation in that. It keeps moving parts better lubricated under higher oil pressure.
 
i did the same thing once when I was in HS and driving a turbo'd Audi. Poor man's turbo timer.....just leave it running for five minutes.

All good in theory until you forget you left it running and decided to take a nap instead.
 
I don't think condensation would be a problem. The engine will get up to normal operating temperature while idling as long as it's not so cold out that the heater on high is keeping it cold. The exhaust and oil will get hotter than the boiling point of water. If you're driving it will be hotter and there will be more airflow, but I think it's enough while idling that it won't cause any problems.

I've camped in mine when it was -10F, and I left it running because that's the only way I could stay warm. As long as there's good ventilation it's fine, but a carbon monoxide detector inside would be best if you are sleeping. The fuel gauge and range indicator seemed confused in the morning. They barely moved overnight but dropped quickly when I started driving around a little.

Depending on the design of the alternator, the battery might not charge while it's idling. I expect the alternator voltage should be high enough that the battery won't discharge, but I haven't measured it. I wouldn't worry about it.
 
nc-grayson said:
i did the same thing once when I was in HS and driving a turbo'd Audi. Poor man's turbo timer.....just leave it running for five minutes.

All good in theory until you forget you left it running and decided to take a nap instead.
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A friend of mine did this one night when we were in college, except there was a party going on at the house when he got home so he got distracted and forgot about the car. Some time later he was alerted to the fact that his car was on fire due to the exhaust igniting something underneath. :flame:
 
True story.

I had a friend I picked up for lunch. One of those crazy friends you shouldn't be friends with but he's a good person. On the way to lunch he explained he had bed bugs.

I dropped his ass off at his car and drove home I parked my car at 1pm in the South FL sun and left it idling with the heat on high until about 7pm. It reached over 160* in all parts of the car (verified with an IR thermometer) and the metal pieces were over 180*.

Car was fine. I even did it again the next day. And I never got bed bugs.

PS I hate bugs and bed bugs aren't a ****ing game.
 
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