Driving short distance in cold morning

[Runner27]

I live about 1.7 miles away from my lab. I usually walk to the lab, however, it has gotten really cold recently so I begin to drive in every morning. I want to know if driving such a short distance in cold morning bad for the engine/car in general? I always start up the engine for at least 2 minutes to get the oil and fluid to flow smoothly before driving away.

Thanks.

 

[KB084RUNNER]

My commute is 1.8 miles and I get condensation in the engine oil which shows up as white foam inside the oil fill cap. This all gets burned off with a good 30-60 minute freeway ride. But I won't run my oil past the 5000 interval because of this and I use only synthetic oil.

 

[Presta24]

My commute is 1.8 miles and I get condensation in the engine oil which shows up as white foam inside the oil fill cap. This all gets burned off with a good 30-60 minute freeway ride. But I won't run my oil past the 5000 interval because of this and I use only synthetic oil.

only time I have ever heard of white foam in the crankcase is leaking head gasket.......

 

[bergs]

only time I have ever heard of white foam in the crankcase is leaking head gasket.......

Other situations are known to introduce moisture to the oil, short trips in cold weather is one of them.

 

[Radial GT]

White foam in the oil cap in normal all the time when it cool out ~50 degrees. My RX7 ALWAYS has that white crud in the oil cap, and that rotary engine has CRAZY CRAZY CRAZY hot oil temps. It is not a bad thing as long as there are no other symptoms that go along with it; overheating, loosing coolant, overflowing reservour, ect,ect.

The way that blow-by (EGR) is re-introduced into the crankcase is the main reason for this build up. You end up with warm gasses introduced into a cold engine and you have the perfect setup for condensation. Very simular to how condensation is formed in your exhaust pipe on cool mornings.

 

[Gecko123]

I live about 1.7 miles away from my lab. I usually walk to the lab, however, it has gotten really cold recently so I begin to drive in every morning. I want to know if driving such a short distance in cold morning bad for the engine/car in general? I always start up the engine for at least 2 minutes to get the oil and fluid to flow smoothly before driving away.

Thanks.

Yes, driving short distances routinely is bad for any car. It doesn't allow the engine to get hot enough to burn off moisture and other contaminates. It could rust out your muffler, cat, etc. The engine might start to see carbon build up. If you drive short distances occassionally, its not a big deal.

Some engines will develop sludge if doesnt have a chance to remove moisture from the engine. Actually its a bit of combination of bad engine design and not driving the car long enough for contaminants/moisture to burn off.

 

[ClockWork]

By far the worst thing you can do to any automobile.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

White foam in the oil cap in normal all the time when it cool out ~50 degrees. My RX7 ALWAYS has that white crud in the oil cap, and that rotary engine has CRAZY CRAZY CRAZY hot oil temps. It is not a bad thing as long as there are no other symptoms that go along with it; overheating, loosing coolant, overflowing reservour, ect,ect.

The way that blow-by (EGR) is re-introduced into the crankcase is the main reason for this build up. You end up with warm gasses introduced into a cold engine and you have the perfect setup for condensation. Very simular to how condensation is formed in your exhaust pipe on cool mornings.

HAHA! RX7 Lung Butter! I know that so well on my old FB's 12A

The white crud or foamed looking oil is normal depending on the circumstances. Its for the most part moisture in the oil that has yet to be burned off, now if it smells like coolant or fuel, or anything but engine oil... then you may have a problem.

as for the OP, you won't be hurting your vehicle persay. I myself live less than a mile from work and I drive my 4Runner all the time. But it is increasing wear and tear on the engine. Engines like regular revs and nice long runs.

 

[Bossman]

Short, stop-and-go trips are hard on your battery in cold weather. Cranking over the engine to get it started takes something out of your battery, and your short trip may not allow the battery time to recharge. Keep an eye on your battery if you continue to do short trips - maybe even investing in a battery charger just in case.

 

[diamondplate]

what about looking into an engine warmer/block heater? That would get things all heated up prior to your morning drive. It may cost more on the electricity bill, but the 4Runner will thank you.

 

[scottm]

1.7 miles? Walk, it'll do you a world of good, especially in the cold. Or ride a bike, I did that for many years for my ten-mile commute, loved it in the Winter. Studded tires help.

You're killing your car, this is the worst thing you can do.

 

[Radial GT]

1.7 miles? Walk, it'll do you a world of good, especially in the cold. Or ride a bike, I did that for many years for my ten-mile commute, loved it in the Winter. Studded tires help.

You're killing your car, this is the worst thing you can do.

Ride a bike, LOL that is not very American of you! j/k I wish I lived close enough to work to ride a bike! 25 miles each way is a bit of a long trip..

 

[DC runner]

Ride a bike, LOL that is not very American of you! j/k I wish I lived close enough to work to ride a bike! 25 miles each way is a bit of a long trip..

Yea. You are exactly right. Also why America has a population nearing 40% obesity...

The American way is killing us. We should all ride a bike every now and then for our Country's health.

 

[Runner27]

Thanks for the comments guys. Looks like I better get in shape if I want to keep the 4Runner "healthy" in the long run.

 

[jwyshrek]

Yeah, those short trips are not good for any vehicle...except maybe electric vehicles.

If you keep driving it on those short trips, you might want to take your 4runner out for an 'Italian tuneup' every once in a while...

 

[paquitox]

I drive 7 miles every morning, not worried though during summer time since I live in NJ, 80-90+ degrees even in the mornings, but on the other months am I ok? Or is it still a short distance?

 

[Sungod]

Not sure how much of the advice here is based on fact vs. speculation. I recently inherited a 98 Ford Contour that had 8K miles on it. It was owned by my aunt who hardly drove it more than 3 miles at a time. It has since had 10K put on it in the past year. The car is over 12 years old and runs absolutely fine. This is a Ford I would hope that a Toyota would be even better.

 

[RonMAIDEN]

I drive a half mile (2 minutes) to work and come home for lunch each day and I do a little minute idle (unless it's extremely cold and then a little longer) to get the oil flowing and then keep the rpms down for the whole short trip.

Am I worried about long term damage? No,but in part is a run synthetic which get things flowing much quicker than regular dino oil in the cold and is overall better for these short trips. Also my truck does see regular driving usually that same day sometime after work so it doesn't worry me. In the spring I'll be taking my bike more but for those with real short commutes I wouldn't worry about things too much but I do advise running synthetic even if you don't put more than a few thousand miles a year on your truck it is still worth it.
My truck will now only see 3-4000 miles a year and I still will change my synthetic once a year no matter what.

 

[Runner27]

I drive a half mile (2 minutes) to work and come home for lunch each day and I do a little minute idle (unless it's extremely cold and then a little longer) to get the oil flowing and then keep the rpms down for the whole short trip.

Am I worried about long term damage? No,but in part is a run synthetic which get things flowing much quicker than regular dino oil in the cold and is overall better for these short trips. Also my truck does see regular driving usually that same day sometime after work so it doesn't worry me. In the spring I'll be taking my bike more but for those with real short commutes I wouldn't worry about things too much but I do advise running synthetic even if you don't put more than a few thousand miles a year on your truck it is still worth it.
My truck will now only see 3-4000 miles a year and I still will change my synthetic once a year no matter what.

Thanks. I use Mobil 1 and change oil every 5000 miles.