Gone are the days when buying a car was considered a luxury; today, it has become a necessity for everyone to move freely from one place to another. No doubt, buying a car comes with a lot of advantages. However, you need to understand that it’s not without its issues.
Owning a car requires that you perform regular inspections and maintenance on your vehicle. This way, you can always keep the components of the car in good condition. There are several things that you do that might not be all that good for your vehicle, that’s why performing a regular inspection on these car parts is essential.
One of the many bad habits that can cause damage to your vehicle is when you start your car just to move it. Most issues that arise due to this situation, such as wear and reduction in battery life, don’t show up immediately. Such issues appear after a long time of continuously starting your car only to move it.
What is the number of times good enough to start my car? Is it bad to turn my car on and off a lot? These and a few others are the frequently asked questions you’ll find answers to as you read through the rest of this article.
How many times can I start my car?
I’ll start by saying that the number of times you start your car doesn’t really matter. This is very true, especially if you’re starting the car in cold weather. Instead, what matters is exactly what you do with the vehicle after starting it up.
Before going deep into that, let me say this; there’s actually no set standards as to how many times you can start your car. That’s just the simple and direct answer to the burning question above.
Furthermore, the type of vehicle you drive, its working conditions, and the weather are some of the factors that could influence the number of times to start your vehicle. That’s not all; the working condition and age of your car battery is also a factor that could affect how well you get to manage your starter.
In cold weather conditions
According to Mike Calkins, the manager of technical services at AAA, as noted by USA Today, the frequency at which you start your car isn’t what matters. Here’s what he said; “It’s probably not a very good strategy to repeatedly start up your car, warming it up to keep it from freezing.”
Instead of thinking about the number of times to start your car, you need to worry about what you do after starting it up.
Do you continuously start the vehicle in cold weather only to keep it warm and from freezing? Do you do that just to get the vehicle away from the driveway?
If yes, instead of doing that, the best thing to do is start the car, ensuring it reaches its full operating temperature. And of course, the best way to achieve that is by driving the car around for some minutes.
As earlier mentioned, one of the drawbacks of continuously starting a car without driving it for long is that the battery will fail to recharge well. When this goes on for a long time, it could lower your car battery’s capacity.
Is it bad to turn your car on and off a lot?
You may be harming the vehicle by turning it on and off a lot of times. Here’s the thing; a car that fails to run at its optimum temperature will most likely encounter wear on its engine.
There’s no denying that going on a very long trip can cause wear to the engine. But one thing you need to keep in mind is that “going on a very long trip” won’t wear your engine as much as turning the car on and off every time and going on a short trip will do.
In today’s world, hybrid cars are designed to withstand the condition above. So, if that’s the type of vehicle that you make use of, then turning it on and off will certainly not harm the car. However, if you do that often and keep the car moving only on short trips, you might be causing harm to your car.
Bottom line: If situations require you to turn on and off your vehicles a lot of time, most hybrid cars are engineered to withstand this type of condition. In this case, turning the car on and off won’t, in any way, harm the vehicle.
However, there are cases where turning your car on and off will harm your car. An example is when you end up starting your car too often without letting the battery charge. This move could lower the performance of the battery.
Is starting your car a lot bad for it?
I’ll say that starting your car a lot of times may not be that bad for your car. Yes, certain cars, such as hybrid models, can be started a lot of times and nothing will happen to the vehicle.
The main issue isn’t attached to the frequency at which you start your car. Instead, it’s a question of whether or not you reach the recommended standards for driving a car. If you’re starting your car frequently, you need to make sure that the engine reaches its optimum working condition.
Bottom line: avoid starting your car a lot of time only to have it driven on a short distance, such as moving it from the driveway. Over time, this move could lower the performance of the car battery and also wear down the engine.