Written by If your car is a standard petrol engine, or a naturally aspirated (no turbo) diesel, then you should not warm it up on cold mornings, it is far more fuel efficient to just drive off immediately and let it warm up naturally. If your petrol or diesel car is fitted with a turbo, then you should wait at least 1-2 minutes before driving off, this is purely to allow the engine oil to reach the bearings of the turbocharger, and prevent excessive wear, and when you get to your destination in a turbocharged car, you should let your engine idle for 30 seconds to give the turbo a chance to spin down. If you switch off the engine as soon as you stop, your engine is no longer pumping oil to your turbo, and if it’s still spinning, and there’s no oil in there, then it’s going to cause wear on the bearings of the turbocharger. Most often, people who ignore this tip on turbocharged engines, end up with costly repair bills. The aim of this site is to save you money, even if it’s at the expense of fuel economy!
For more Fuel Economy Tips, please read the other posts.
