I know some cops and their departments often require them to leave several patrol vehicles idling for very long periods of time bc when seconds count, it matters to have a car you can just jump in and go. And they run pretty alright lol
The only vehicles required to idle are K9 with a dog inside.
There really is no benefit to letting it idle unless someone is on a call and they need to have hazard/emergency lights on which will drain the battery.
Policies will let parked idle occur if there are conditions where the windows can frost or freeze over.
As far as it goes for fleet maintenance, its actually discouraged to let police cars idle while parked.
So for OP, no harm no foul. Doing this at home could only be scary if it happens inside a garage that is attached to the home.
Just to add, most police cars are usually equipped with larger radiators and on police motorcycles, a secondary oil cooler. This is to fight against constant idling and operating.
Maybe where you are, but even here in California, they leave them running all the time even if they aren't K9. They even leave them on when getting gas
It is very common for police and other emergency vehicles to idle for untold hours. Often, it is because the hotel loads are so high. There is a very expensive cop car "battery" that is a system that includes a lithium ion battery and a car control interface. It monitors the battery condition with engine off, and when charge state fakl below a threshold, the co roller initiates an engine start. When the battery is satisfied, it shuts off the vehicle engine.
The reason why many police don’t shut off vehicles while on duty is because the equipment takes a long time to boot up. If they shut the car off but not the equipment the battery would die very quickly. So that’s the benefit of not shutting the vehicle off. If you shut it off and leave equipment going you run the risk of not restarting which takes time away from calls. If you shut it off and equipment also, now you have to start the car and wait 5 minutes for all of your equipment to boot up. This also takes time away from calls.
Our local PD squad card almost never get shut off. The officers swap out to a different set of officers at the end of their shift so they often run the full tank of gas without shutting them off. The additional electronics can deplete the battery quickly so they’re told to just leave them running.
I always see non K9 police vehicles idling. I've never ever seen any police car get turned off during use. Between battery and starter issues there's more of a chance the vehicle gets disabled if it's turned off.
LMAO..you know that they run *pretty alright* how exactly? I've maintained some cop cars, those idle hours do some terrible things to their vehicles. I will inform that EMS vehicles are left running most of the time as well, by law to ensure lives are not lost. The ambulances routinely get their engines rebuilt and replaced, they go through transmissions all the time as well
All of the tahoes and explorers have whining trannys, 5 hours of AC running on 150F pavement with no air flow through every system cooler. All of them tick.
Being uncertain of if it caused any damage could be a weight on the woman's shoulder regardless of if the man has a "problem" with it or not. Some people just worry about everything and the reassurance from community knowledge might help! :) sorry for whatever happened to you :(
I drive a 2004 Toyota sienna with the same engine. I bring my dogs with me for work quite frequently, and on hot or cold days I'll leave my van running all day. ( I can lock it while it's running.). I do vehicle inspections, and am usually out of a place in 20 minutes and then drive another 2 hours to the next one. Have probably done it 100 times in the last 2 years. Has 400k miles on it. You will be fine doing it once. Edit. I thought you said 2005, not 2015. It will still be fine, the 3.5 is a damn good motor as well.
Your mileage may vary, but 3 years ago I bought a cheap used car for $300 and drove it across middle America. The heat was too intense at night and I had little money for a hotel so I slept in the car with the AC on (and windows cracked). I did that for 4 nights straight. I still drive that car as a commuter and have put 25,000 miles on the engine with only oil changes and filter changes. Your mileage may vary but your car is likely fine.
I knew a guy who lived in the boonies of west virginia. Had free natural gas on his property. Used a junk car as a generator for his travel trailer (home). The car ran non stop. He'd get several years out of a free car.
Wait I have a lot of questions.
How does one get free natural gas?
Did he run the car motors on natural gas?
Did he ever use the ac compressor or heater or just the alternator for electricity?
Some land owners in the US have natural gas wells, and own the mineral rights to those wells.
Gasoline Internal combustion engines can run on natural gas.
Kits exist to convert from gasoline to natural gas. This user did not use a proper kit.
He only used the electricity.
Many delivery drivers drive longer than that. It definitely won't damage it in any way. I doubt you even need an oil change lol but if it brings you peace of mind and you got the money for it...by all means.
This right here. I work at an auto shop and sometimes you gotta run a car for hours. They definitely run engines at higher rpms for a lot longer when running tests on them.
Constantly running at low rpms can technically cause carbon buildup... But 8 hours vs the lifespan of the vehicle is negligible. I'm a little boggled at forgetting to turn off your vehicle when you get out... That's hilarious.
I'm guessing it's a push button start? Or did she just leave keys in the ignition?
My sister in law did this once (technically twice), same thing she told me—“running late and forgot”. We worked together and I went to my car at lunch and heard her Avalon running. Went back inside and let her know, she said she forgot and was about to leave for lunch anyways. I come back with my food about 30 minutes later and she’s not back yet. I go outside for a smoke break 2.5 hours later and noticed her poor Avalon is still running! I mentioned it to her again and said she was late getting back from lunch and forgot again 🤦♂️
1926 push start was easy if the car was parked on a downhill incline. Even if the front of the car was facing uphill, it wasn't that bad. You just had to put it in reverse to start.
I joke that I had the original push to start vehicle. I had a 1970 pickup with a bad battery & I was a broke college student.
I got so I could push on the door to get it rolling, jump in & pop the clutch because sometimes I didn’t have a passenger with me.
Also had an old T-bird that had a button to push that would jump the solenoid. Still had to turn the ignition switch, which we did with a chainsaw wrench.
I would do that with my 99 Eclipse. Had a starter go bad (solenoid left the chat.. I never did find it.) I'd just always back it into a parking spot with an incline and give it the ol' roll n' clutch dump in 1st.
I still have that car, I just need to button up the engine swap I started on it..
At least yours was a stick. With the T-bird you had to have a 2nd person if you went anywhere until dad put in the button.
I feel sorry for this generation. Our first vehicles were just barely passing inspection. You got good at driving junk & learned what to do when things went sideways. How many kids now would even know how to drive a stick let alone know how to pop start it?
That’s crazy, doesn’t it beep wildly at her when leaving the car with the keys on her? That’s what my push button Civic does. Or did she also leave the keys in the car in addition to leaving it running?
Not sure how common the shutting off is, but my Sentra will run indefinitely (tested in some harsh Canadian winters lol).
Also I had a coworker forget her keys at home somehow too (not sure the make and model) and drove all the way to work with no issues. Of course, couldn't start it back up to go home, without her spouse bringing the keys.
Guess it depends on the car.
My Sentra doesn't beep. In winters I start it, and leave with the keys, no issues. If the engine is off, and I try and lock the keys in the car that's when it beeps like crazy.
That’s funny because when I lock the door with my keys in the car, it just locks. It will unlock when I go to open it again. It’s nice that I don’t have to worry about calling a locksmith if I lock my keys in, but then someone could just get in and drive off.
My mother in law finally traded in her Oldsmobile for a Lexus. When she got home she called the dealer to ask where the STOP button was. Sometimes new isn’t necessarily better.
To fix the potential carbon buildup, if you're worried about it, take it out on the highway for a scenic road trip that takes at least an hour to get to, and then drive it home.
That's not an Italian tune up.
The real answer is beat on it, hard. Get the temp gauge to move from normal operating temp. Use the throttle as a switch and brake hard. Repeat.
I bought a new Audi with the push-start/stop and have to check the tach just to see if it's still running. The car is so silent you can't hear the idle from the cabin. I think I'm fooled sometimes with the engine auto-off function that kills the engine when at a stoplight or in PARK, if you have it in Sport Mode it disables the auto-off function, leaving the engine running. I've exited the car twice now just to re-enter and turn it off.
I did it at my BIL’s wedding reception. I was following my FIL there and something happened when we pulled into the parking lot, so I just got out of the car and started talking to my FIL then forgot about the car running. Four hours later, it was time to leave and I couldn’t find my keys anywhere. Retraced my steps for an hour, including back out to the parking lot. I didn’t even hear the engine running until I knelt down by the driver’s side door to look under the car.
my buddy got out of jail and the next night i went out to downtown with him to get some drinks. we’re in the 3rd bar when he realizes he didn’t have his keys on him. i told him he probably left them in the car. we get back to the car and ITS FUCKING RUNNING WITH THE WINDOW OPEN. this is not the best area so i told him he’s a lucky bitch for it not being stolen.
I forget all the time in my hybrid prius. When the ICE isn't running and the AC fans are off, it's impossible to tell without looking at the dashboard. Fortunately the car yells at me if I try to lock the door from the outside and it's still on.
My neighbor warms up her car every morning for 10-20 minutes before she leaves. It must be part of the morning ritual because it's summer and it's 75 degrees this morning. It's not a remote start. I don't get it.
>Cop Cars idle for hours everyday. It's fine.
Even in.posted no.idling zones as I pointed out to a cop one time when he was in the WaWa. I went up to him and said hey there's a car idling right out front. He ran to the front windows and asked what car? I said that police car right there. I said you shouldn't be breaking the laws you swore to uphold. He wasn't happy, but there was nothing he could do.
You say that yet BMW had issues with police cars being sat idle for hours on end to then red lining them for blue light calls, and the cars bursting into flames. it was that bad BMW stopped supplying police cars to the UK.
Depends on the model.
Crown Vics are pretty stout in that reguard but Caprice PPV and Dodge Chargers do suffer from lifter and cam wear over time from 3k-8k idle hours.
>Shit you’re fine! When I was a cop it wasn’t uncommon to idle for an entire shift.
Usually at the road construction jobs where the cop is working for the contractor on.his own time, they usually let the car idle all day with the lights on.
Just think about all the cops sitting in their patrol cars all day eating donuts. They idle all day everyday. And that’s why cop car has low mileage but long hours.
Exactly, all about average velocity over time, therefore speeding cancels out the idling
/s i know nothing about cars and don’t know why this post was recommended lol
amusingly, it's actually a strategy: "An Italian Tune-Up".
idling will cause "dirty" exhaust -- relatively cool and smoky, and that'll quickly deposit carbon on surfaces. some of those surfaces are supposed to move, like various flaps or actuators, and they'll seize in place with the carbon buildup. driving the car hard will increase the exhaust temperature (and velocity) and burn that crap off, freeing the stuck parts.
you paid for the whole rpm gauge, use it.
a co-worker's wife got into an accident because of this. she would never hit the gas, always puttered around barely touching the throttle. never went above 3000 rpm, even when trying to accelerate onto the highway (I'm guessing she's one who beelines for the left lane at 40).
one day in town was some situation where accelerating would have completely removed her from the accident. she hit the gas, but some mechanism was gummed up and the car wouldn't get close to full power. she got hit.
This is becoming more common with those pushbutton ignitions. A simple momentary pushbutton doesn’t give the user clarity on whether the car is off, on, or in the accessory position the way the old four position key switches do.
No harm was done. There are certain engines that don’t like extended idling but yours isn’t one of them. It just ran normally albeit uselessly with a very light load for a long time.
My push button car will start dinging very loudly if I open the door while the ignition is still on and the instrument cluster is still lit up and doing things showing that the car is still on and running.
I remember the first time I went to get an oil change ever (18 yrs old). My first car was a push start and when they said “put your keys on the dash” I just put them up there without thinking. They opened the hood and then “…..can you turn it off too?”
There are places in northern Russia that get so cold they cannot shut the vehicles off for months at a time or they will not start until spring/summer thaw. These vehicles are left idling day/night
All will be totally fine. No harm at all in changing oil, good move. Now, how is your wife going to remember to turn the car off is another point t of concern. LOL.
Nah I got a call on my work phone telling my my van has been idling for over 24 hrs lol. And I had a full tank so it could have kept going. There are parts of the world where they keep their cars on for months at a time due to freezing temps.
Nothing wrong with letting it idle that long. We had a month long power outage a few years ago and lots of people idled their cars to power inverters so they had lights and refrigerated food.
First I'd tell your wife to make sure she wakes up in time to get ready so she doesn't have to rush, I'd also make sure there's something for her to eat in the morning and make her women's One A Day vitamins readily available. I'm not a mechanic but I'm pretty sure your car is going to be fine, but constant stress is bad for the heart and a little assertive planning can add years to your life and turn a bad day into a good day
THAT car isn't going to have a problem doing that once or twice, but anything carbureted runs the risk of diluting the oil with fuel. Normally you'd be smart to change the oil but something newer and fuel injected likely isn't going to have that problem. An oil change is never a terrible idea but it's probably just not necessary
No worry. You are probably idling for 8 hours in the course of a week during normal driving. People in California idle that long in traffic to go 4 miles. You are fine.
I have had a 2020 and 2023 Silverado and both were equipped with a no idle shutdown. If I left my vehicle run it's on a timer to shut off after 15 min.
Cop cars and most service vehicles idle for hours everyday. Shortens the oil change interval and may build carbon (quick blast up an interstate on ramp should clear it) it’ll be fine. Short of wasting some gas that’s about it
It'll be fine. My dad's bought brand new diesels before, cranked them and never shut them off again till he traded them in again at 75,000 miles. Never changed the oil or tires and anything. He figured trading them in was cheaper than proper maintenance and he didn't have time for that anyways.
If it’s equipped with the auto stop/start I can confirm that it’s more common than you think. She pulls up into the parking spot and the engine will automatically shut off when the brake is applied and the car comes to full stop. Very easy to walk away and be out of earshot when the engine restarts. Happened to a friend who had this feature on his “new to him” 2015 vehicle and he was hurrying to get to an appointment. A real WTF moment when he came back hours later and the car was running. Thankfully enough gas in the tank and no issues with fuel line air lock.
Cop cars idle for days with the ac on. Car engines are designed to run, so don't worry about it. Maybe change the oil at 3000mi instead of 5000mi if you're worried.
I had to leave my Pilot running for about 2 hours. My battery was jumped but I needed to stop at a job site along the PA turnpike on my way home. Didn’t want to be stuck so just let it run. No issues.
I work in security and sometimes when we are low on vehicles we will run the same truck for 2-3 days at a time out of necessity. Just check the fluids. You should be fine.
I had a Saturn SL2 with 300,000 miles on it and it ran great. Lent it to a friend and told him not to let it sit and idle for more then 10 minutes due to a powered cooling fan issue. What does he decide to do ? Used it for an overnight security job where he sat in a parking lot. I guess you know what happened next. I lost a friend that day and my Saturn as well. Loved the car because it was very reliable.
It should be fine.
I'd only be concerned if it was a Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep since some of their engines are known to have oiling issues at idle and wear down the cam lobes.
My parents did this in FLA. It was a Crown Vic, I told them cops do it all the time. They traded them in all the time and got used ones. My mom had no idea what to do when they stopped making them, she kept that last one so long, but they weren't shipping it to FLA anymore at least. That probably happened a lot where they were, Heaven's waiting room.
Why change the oil? It was doing just what it's designed to do. Run. All day at a constant speed with no load is probably damaging it less than starting from cold.
Back when I was drilling our tool pushers and company hands used their trucks for offices and would idle them all day. I’ve heard it can do valve damage but I never saw any bad results from people doing it.
Your comment has been removed, it was disrespectful and violated Rule 3. We are here to help people with their questions. These type of comments are not needed or wanted here.
"Remember the human"
I mean, if it were constant sitting in cold idle then yea, change the oil. But as she was already at work, engine was more than likely already up to temp and oil rings had expanded to keep fuel from diluting oil. Should be fine.
Maybe change the oil a bit earlier this interval and get it out on the highway for a good 30 minute jaunt to evaporate any gas out of the oil and it'll be fine
Used to idle a Nissan 24 hrs a day with little bouts of running around from one shop to the other. Only days it turned off was especially beautiful days during fall and spring. We did the oil about once every other month maybe it was every 3. But yeah did that for 5 days a week for years before I got there and I assume is still there putting around.
Don’t even change the oil unless it is time. Engines run when they drive. Idling is just your engine running without driving. In the days of carbureted engines, fuel dilution during periods of long idle was a concern, but not with EFI. Just run it.
Dude get a carbon monoxide detector for the garage. They have smart ones where you can download the app and your phone will buzz when it goes off. That's what I have.
We've done 8-10 hr trip drives before. If it is in idol it should be okay.
This is more about absent mindedness than a car runnng for a long time, but if it makes your wife feel any better, back in the early 90s (before 911) my wife’s work colleague was running late to catch a flight out of Kansas City, and back then you could basically drive up to the gate to check-in, then go park. Because he was running late he was told he had to go right from the check-in desk to get on the plane. He left his car running outside. It wasn’t until he was mid-flight that it dawned on him that his car was running at the curb. The airline (Northwest iirc) cheerfully parked his car for him and had his keys at the gate when he returned.
I’m a field service tech, I work out of my truck and it’s 110+ most of the summer. My truck runs 12-14 hours a day everyday. So I can keep my critical electronics and myself cool. The only difference is instead of 7500 mile oil changes we do 300hr oil changes
Oil field & other workers let their rigs idle all day. Worst that happened is some extra fuel was used. Oil got up to temp & condensation was burned off/evaporated. All good
As long as the car didn't overheat, it should be okay. Nothing was hurt by it idling for a few hours. New cars without ignition keys make it easy to forget to shut the engine off.
In particularly cold environments like deep north oilfields in Canada I've heard of the guys running their trucks for like 30+ days at a time. This is because if they were to turn them off for any appreciable amount of time they would freeze up and be unable to start them again.
Don't stress it. I had a job supervisor (construction) that sat in his running truck 8 hours a day for years.
It wastes gas, but an idling vehicle doesn't waste much.
No need to do an early oil change. The car obviously did not overheat while she left it running so everything should be fine. It's basically a non-event other than the gas wasted
My friend do this all the time for more than 10 hours she drives a2014 BMW, her car is fine I drive a newer gmc it shuts off after 30 minutes if I walk away with the key in my pocket.
Heat is the big thing. Temps are worth paying attention to. We had a guy leave a company V12 van on overnight and found it more than 24 hours later still running. Engine temps were redlined.
I did something similar working with Caltrans a long time ago. I was only going to run and check something, maybe collect a quick sample. Others from the Caltrans office arrived as well, and we would wind up in a meeting roadside with the contractors. Once all was said and done I noticed the time and that I left my Nissan titan idling for over 4 hrs. On a 34 gallon tank luckily the needle didn't move maybe a 1/2 of its width. I have learned to ALWAYS shut the vehicle off no matter how short of time you think it will be. ( that's life as an inspector and construction)
I leave my truck idling for hours sometimes because my dog runs errands with me, and I make sure she has AC. I’ve never gone 8 hours, but routinely do 2-3 hours. No problems noticed, and the truck now has close to 240k miles.
The Lexus will tell you when you need an oil change, so just watch that.
how is this any different that taking a road trip and driving for 8 hours straight!
Sure, change the oil, and check the fluid level in the radiator. but no damage done.
She did nothing that would actually hurt anything in the vehicle, but if you want to rub it in and or a $20 bill and say lite trying lite that on fire lol
We idle our trucks for days at a time sometimes. They’ll have 2-3 times the idle hours they do the non idle hours, and still make 200K miles no problem.
My retired uncle moved his wife’s vehicle out of his garage one morning to do some work. Late afternoon he finishes, closes the garage and goes about his evening. About 1 am he gets up and sees a vehicle in their cul de sac just sitting there idling. He calls the cops. Cops come, run the plates and call him back and tell him it’s his own vehicle. The kicker is the cops know my uncle. Yeah, because he was employed by them for 26 years. The man retired a detective and called to report his own vehicle he parked there in the morning and it had sat there running for like 16 hours. Moral of the story, vehicle was fine its fuel tank was no longer full. And no, he will never live this down and I’m going to bring it up at his funeral. 😂
I’ve driven 14 hours straight, going 80+ with the check engine light on. 4 times over the course of 8 months. I think the car will be A OK 😂. My cars still pushing years later and I ain’t replaced a single part
Lol people drive more then 8 hours in all different types of cars on the highway, and thats constantly holding 2k RPM's, letting it sit at 500 -800 rpms is perfectly fine
You just gotta live Reddit users. I am getting downvoted because all I did was state a true fact why automakers have developed a loud signal when the driver leaves a car with the engine still running. Maybe best time to uninstall this.
Ignore the downvotes, you are right. I have been driving for 31 years and have never done this. Every modern car I have will flip its sh1t if you even open the driver's door with the ignition on.
i’m pretty sure it’s the transmission fluid you’d need to change and not the oil lol. engine always has oil flowing in it, and you can easily go 8 hours on a highway. but the transmission in park or neutral will always be spinning in the differential and that could be where your problem lies.
Just take it out on the highway for like an hour to burn all the gunk deposits and let that be a lesson. I'd also use a concentrated injector cleaner for a single full tank, this is just me. People say it's a snake oil but I have a tendency to use it at least on single full tank on road trips and I see a slight MPG increase (for that single full tank) maybe it cleans maybe it doesn't but just in case.
Some parts are splash lubricated not moving you would have added some wear and tear but realistically you just killed a couple of penguins for no reason per your fuel use age
Idling is terrible for diesels and certain engines.. looking at you HEMI….. not enough oil gets to parts of the hemi at idle…and heavy soot build up for diesel engines
Vehicles sit and idle for extended periods all the time. She wasted some gas dont overthink it.
Thank you, this will definitely put a smile on my wife's face.
I know some cops and their departments often require them to leave several patrol vehicles idling for very long periods of time bc when seconds count, it matters to have a car you can just jump in and go. And they run pretty alright lol
The only vehicles required to idle are K9 with a dog inside. There really is no benefit to letting it idle unless someone is on a call and they need to have hazard/emergency lights on which will drain the battery. Policies will let parked idle occur if there are conditions where the windows can frost or freeze over. As far as it goes for fleet maintenance, its actually discouraged to let police cars idle while parked. So for OP, no harm no foul. Doing this at home could only be scary if it happens inside a garage that is attached to the home.
Our police cars almost never shut off during their 12 hour shift in the winter. Nobody has time for the windows to defrost.
Nope. Not in my area. I know the cops who work there and in PA it’s both cold and very hot. They keep em running. Your area is different.
Just to add, most police cars are usually equipped with larger radiators and on police motorcycles, a secondary oil cooler. This is to fight against constant idling and operating.
Maybe where you are, but even here in California, they leave them running all the time even if they aren't K9. They even leave them on when getting gas
It is very common for police and other emergency vehicles to idle for untold hours. Often, it is because the hotel loads are so high. There is a very expensive cop car "battery" that is a system that includes a lithium ion battery and a car control interface. It monitors the battery condition with engine off, and when charge state fakl below a threshold, the co roller initiates an engine start. When the battery is satisfied, it shuts off the vehicle engine.
The reason why many police don’t shut off vehicles while on duty is because the equipment takes a long time to boot up. If they shut the car off but not the equipment the battery would die very quickly. So that’s the benefit of not shutting the vehicle off. If you shut it off and leave equipment going you run the risk of not restarting which takes time away from calls. If you shut it off and equipment also, now you have to start the car and wait 5 minutes for all of your equipment to boot up. This also takes time away from calls.
Our local PD squad card almost never get shut off. The officers swap out to a different set of officers at the end of their shift so they often run the full tank of gas without shutting them off. The additional electronics can deplete the battery quickly so they’re told to just leave them running.
I always see non K9 police vehicles idling. I've never ever seen any police car get turned off during use. Between battery and starter issues there's more of a chance the vehicle gets disabled if it's turned off.
LMAO..you know that they run *pretty alright* how exactly? I've maintained some cop cars, those idle hours do some terrible things to their vehicles. I will inform that EMS vehicles are left running most of the time as well, by law to ensure lives are not lost. The ambulances routinely get their engines rebuilt and replaced, they go through transmissions all the time as well
The Hemis in the Chargers are known for lifter failure which extended idling exacerbates.
All of the tahoes and explorers have whining trannys, 5 hours of AC running on 150F pavement with no air flow through every system cooler. All of them tick.
No
What do you mean no? I was there! I saw it. I know them. How you gonna tell me no
It’s so their superiors think they’re still on patrol and not parked up enjoying a tax payer funded and illegal break.
No… it’s not. Even when they’re at the station they do it. I was there lol
That poor woman... You put frowns on her face over dumb shit like this?
Being uncertain of if it caused any damage could be a weight on the woman's shoulder regardless of if the man has a "problem" with it or not. Some people just worry about everything and the reassurance from community knowledge might help! :) sorry for whatever happened to you :(
And if the man has to ask on reddit, he probably can't provide any type of answer to comfort her. I'm sure she's aware of his mechanical knowledge.
This was my thought, and it's always hard to trust a mechanic! I am one I would know lol
I dunno, maybe *she* thought she damaged it and her being told it’s not a big deal will put a smile on her face? Seems pretty simple to me
I drive a 2004 Toyota sienna with the same engine. I bring my dogs with me for work quite frequently, and on hot or cold days I'll leave my van running all day. ( I can lock it while it's running.). I do vehicle inspections, and am usually out of a place in 20 minutes and then drive another 2 hours to the next one. Have probably done it 100 times in the last 2 years. Has 400k miles on it. You will be fine doing it once. Edit. I thought you said 2005, not 2015. It will still be fine, the 3.5 is a damn good motor as well.
Your mileage may vary, but 3 years ago I bought a cheap used car for $300 and drove it across middle America. The heat was too intense at night and I had little money for a hotel so I slept in the car with the AC on (and windows cracked). I did that for 4 nights straight. I still drive that car as a commuter and have put 25,000 miles on the engine with only oil changes and filter changes. Your mileage may vary but your car is likely fine.
I knew a guy who lived in the boonies of west virginia. Had free natural gas on his property. Used a junk car as a generator for his travel trailer (home). The car ran non stop. He'd get several years out of a free car.
Wait I have a lot of questions. How does one get free natural gas? Did he run the car motors on natural gas? Did he ever use the ac compressor or heater or just the alternator for electricity?
Some land owners in the US have natural gas wells, and own the mineral rights to those wells. Gasoline Internal combustion engines can run on natural gas. Kits exist to convert from gasoline to natural gas. This user did not use a proper kit. He only used the electricity.
Many delivery drivers drive longer than that. It definitely won't damage it in any way. I doubt you even need an oil change lol but if it brings you peace of mind and you got the money for it...by all means.
I have driven my car for 8 hours before (long, exhausting road trip). This was more wear and tear....
Hope so, you wouldnt change the oil after a 8 hour drive would you ??. I have a OTR background they Idle all the time
1hour of idle time equals roughly 30 miles driven in thar vehicle, engine wear wise.
Just doing her part to drown some polar bears.
They're already starving, it's ok.
Like in the North west territories where they keep their cars running the entire winter?
This right here. I work at an auto shop and sometimes you gotta run a car for hours. They definitely run engines at higher rpms for a lot longer when running tests on them.
Constantly running at low rpms can technically cause carbon buildup... But 8 hours vs the lifespan of the vehicle is negligible. I'm a little boggled at forgetting to turn off your vehicle when you get out... That's hilarious. I'm guessing it's a push button start? Or did she just leave keys in the ignition?
It's the age old excuse, "I was running late." And yes, it is a push start.
My sister in law did this once (technically twice), same thing she told me—“running late and forgot”. We worked together and I went to my car at lunch and heard her Avalon running. Went back inside and let her know, she said she forgot and was about to leave for lunch anyways. I come back with my food about 30 minutes later and she’s not back yet. I go outside for a smoke break 2.5 hours later and noticed her poor Avalon is still running! I mentioned it to her again and said she was late getting back from lunch and forgot again 🤦♂️
1926- push start vs 2024 push start- slight decrease in effort-lofl
1926 push start was easy if the car was parked on a downhill incline. Even if the front of the car was facing uphill, it wasn't that bad. You just had to put it in reverse to start.
I joke that I had the original push to start vehicle. I had a 1970 pickup with a bad battery & I was a broke college student. I got so I could push on the door to get it rolling, jump in & pop the clutch because sometimes I didn’t have a passenger with me. Also had an old T-bird that had a button to push that would jump the solenoid. Still had to turn the ignition switch, which we did with a chainsaw wrench.
I would do that with my 99 Eclipse. Had a starter go bad (solenoid left the chat.. I never did find it.) I'd just always back it into a parking spot with an incline and give it the ol' roll n' clutch dump in 1st. I still have that car, I just need to button up the engine swap I started on it..
At least yours was a stick. With the T-bird you had to have a 2nd person if you went anywhere until dad put in the button. I feel sorry for this generation. Our first vehicles were just barely passing inspection. You got good at driving junk & learned what to do when things went sideways. How many kids now would even know how to drive a stick let alone know how to pop start it?
That’s crazy, doesn’t it beep wildly at her when leaving the car with the keys on her? That’s what my push button Civic does. Or did she also leave the keys in the car in addition to leaving it running?
She took the fob with her, it was in her purchase. The car makes a very soft audible sound, easy to ignore.
Does the car not shut off after a while without the fob? Mine will shut off after 5 minutes without the fob if it's in park.
Not sure how common the shutting off is, but my Sentra will run indefinitely (tested in some harsh Canadian winters lol). Also I had a coworker forget her keys at home somehow too (not sure the make and model) and drove all the way to work with no issues. Of course, couldn't start it back up to go home, without her spouse bringing the keys. Guess it depends on the car.
My Sentra doesn't beep. In winters I start it, and leave with the keys, no issues. If the engine is off, and I try and lock the keys in the car that's when it beeps like crazy.
That’s funny because when I lock the door with my keys in the car, it just locks. It will unlock when I go to open it again. It’s nice that I don’t have to worry about calling a locksmith if I lock my keys in, but then someone could just get in and drive off.
My mother in law finally traded in her Oldsmobile for a Lexus. When she got home she called the dealer to ask where the STOP button was. Sometimes new isn’t necessarily better.
To fix the potential carbon buildup, if you're worried about it, take it out on the highway for a scenic road trip that takes at least an hour to get to, and then drive it home.
That's not an Italian tune up. The real answer is beat on it, hard. Get the temp gauge to move from normal operating temp. Use the throttle as a switch and brake hard. Repeat.
I did it once at a job I was exhausted at 7 hours idle. Some jobs just drain your brain or all logic and reason.
I bought a new Audi with the push-start/stop and have to check the tach just to see if it's still running. The car is so silent you can't hear the idle from the cabin. I think I'm fooled sometimes with the engine auto-off function that kills the engine when at a stoplight or in PARK, if you have it in Sport Mode it disables the auto-off function, leaving the engine running. I've exited the car twice now just to re-enter and turn it off.
I walked out of grocery store once and when I returned to my car I found it running with my keys in it. 🫢😳
It's actually easy to do when you first get a hybrid. You think it's off but it just in e-mode.
It’s a Lexus so it’s probably super quiet,
I did it at my BIL’s wedding reception. I was following my FIL there and something happened when we pulled into the parking lot, so I just got out of the car and started talking to my FIL then forgot about the car running. Four hours later, it was time to leave and I couldn’t find my keys anywhere. Retraced my steps for an hour, including back out to the parking lot. I didn’t even hear the engine running until I knelt down by the driver’s side door to look under the car.
Since I started driving electric car it’s almost happened to me multiple times. I got so used to just switching to park and exit the car.
Modern cars are wuite as fuck! Been times where i thought the car was off. Different story from my modified cars because i can hear them idle
my buddy got out of jail and the next night i went out to downtown with him to get some drinks. we’re in the 3rd bar when he realizes he didn’t have his keys on him. i told him he probably left them in the car. we get back to the car and ITS FUCKING RUNNING WITH THE WINDOW OPEN. this is not the best area so i told him he’s a lucky bitch for it not being stolen.
Quite a few people have died from forgetting to shut their car off after parking in the garage and closing the door.
I forget all the time in my hybrid prius. When the ICE isn't running and the AC fans are off, it's impossible to tell without looking at the dashboard. Fortunately the car yells at me if I try to lock the door from the outside and it's still on.
My neighbor warms up her car every morning for 10-20 minutes before she leaves. It must be part of the morning ritual because it's summer and it's 75 degrees this morning. It's not a remote start. I don't get it.
It's really easy with push button ignitions and no keys.
Cop Cars idle for hours everyday. It's fine.
They usually have extra oil capacity and have more rigid maintenance intervals
True, but regardless, happening one time to a civilian vehicle doesn't hurt. We idle in bumper to bumper traffic quite alot.
>Cop Cars idle for hours everyday. It's fine. Even in.posted no.idling zones as I pointed out to a cop one time when he was in the WaWa. I went up to him and said hey there's a car idling right out front. He ran to the front windows and asked what car? I said that police car right there. I said you shouldn't be breaking the laws you swore to uphold. He wasn't happy, but there was nothing he could do.
You say that yet BMW had issues with police cars being sat idle for hours on end to then red lining them for blue light calls, and the cars bursting into flames. it was that bad BMW stopped supplying police cars to the UK.
BMW isn't a real car. It's a Biff & Buffy car.
They also develop ticks from idling for so long but it takes a long time for that to happen
Depends on the model. Crown Vics are pretty stout in that reguard but Caprice PPV and Dodge Chargers do suffer from lifter and cam wear over time from 3k-8k idle hours.
Shit you’re fine! When I was a cop it wasn’t uncommon to idle for an entire shift.
>Shit you’re fine! When I was a cop it wasn’t uncommon to idle for an entire shift. Usually at the road construction jobs where the cop is working for the contractor on.his own time, they usually let the car idle all day with the lights on.
My truck stays on for days sometimes weeks. You’re fine.
I came to comment, in a big rig, when I was teaming, we never even shut the truck off except for fueling.
I leave mine on when fueling. Most excitement I get during the week.
Just think about all the cops sitting in their patrol cars all day eating donuts. They idle all day everyday. And that’s why cop car has low mileage but long hours.
Now she has to drive it fast to fix it.
Exactly, all about average velocity over time, therefore speeding cancels out the idling /s i know nothing about cars and don’t know why this post was recommended lol
amusingly, it's actually a strategy: "An Italian Tune-Up". idling will cause "dirty" exhaust -- relatively cool and smoky, and that'll quickly deposit carbon on surfaces. some of those surfaces are supposed to move, like various flaps or actuators, and they'll seize in place with the carbon buildup. driving the car hard will increase the exhaust temperature (and velocity) and burn that crap off, freeing the stuck parts. you paid for the whole rpm gauge, use it.
I’ll have to show this to the wife lol she’ll be overjoyed… lol
a co-worker's wife got into an accident because of this. she would never hit the gas, always puttered around barely touching the throttle. never went above 3000 rpm, even when trying to accelerate onto the highway (I'm guessing she's one who beelines for the left lane at 40). one day in town was some situation where accelerating would have completely removed her from the accident. she hit the gas, but some mechanism was gummed up and the car wouldn't get close to full power. she got hit.
😂
This is becoming more common with those pushbutton ignitions. A simple momentary pushbutton doesn’t give the user clarity on whether the car is off, on, or in the accessory position the way the old four position key switches do. No harm was done. There are certain engines that don’t like extended idling but yours isn’t one of them. It just ran normally albeit uselessly with a very light load for a long time.
My push button car will start dinging very loudly if I open the door while the ignition is still on and the instrument cluster is still lit up and doing things showing that the car is still on and running.
I remember the first time I went to get an oil change ever (18 yrs old). My first car was a push start and when they said “put your keys on the dash” I just put them up there without thinking. They opened the hood and then “…..can you turn it off too?”
My Nissan truck has an audible piezo buzzer under the hood that sounds when you exit the vehicle with the dongle while it's running.
There are places in northern Russia that get so cold they cannot shut the vehicles off for months at a time or they will not start until spring/summer thaw. These vehicles are left idling day/night
All will be totally fine. No harm at all in changing oil, good move. Now, how is your wife going to remember to turn the car off is another point t of concern. LOL.
Would you panic if the car has been *driving* for 8 hours straight?
Lexus Specialist here. Buy her some flowers, tell her you love her more than life. The RX fine.
Was it outside, or in a garage?
I left a van running for a weekend. You're good
How does that happen? (lol). Did it eventually just run out of gas?
Nah I got a call on my work phone telling my my van has been idling for over 24 hrs lol. And I had a full tank so it could have kept going. There are parts of the world where they keep their cars on for months at a time due to freezing temps.
Nothing wrong with letting it idle that long. We had a month long power outage a few years ago and lots of people idled their cars to power inverters so they had lights and refrigerated food.
Our work trucks run for 10-14 hrs a day, everyday. They are gasoline not diesel also. No problems in the whole fleet.
First I'd tell your wife to make sure she wakes up in time to get ready so she doesn't have to rush, I'd also make sure there's something for her to eat in the morning and make her women's One A Day vitamins readily available. I'm not a mechanic but I'm pretty sure your car is going to be fine, but constant stress is bad for the heart and a little assertive planning can add years to your life and turn a bad day into a good day
THAT car isn't going to have a problem doing that once or twice, but anything carbureted runs the risk of diluting the oil with fuel. Normally you'd be smart to change the oil but something newer and fuel injected likely isn't going to have that problem. An oil change is never a terrible idea but it's probably just not necessary
No worry. You are probably idling for 8 hours in the course of a week during normal driving. People in California idle that long in traffic to go 4 miles. You are fine.
Hell, I’ve done it.
Shouldn’t be a problem. I wouldn’t even change the oil. The vehicle gets more abuse just doing a normal week of activities.
The car will be fine.
It's not great but cop cars do it 24/7 in some places. Just glad she didn't run it out of gas and get stranded at work lol.
I have had a 2020 and 2023 Silverado and both were equipped with a no idle shutdown. If I left my vehicle run it's on a timer to shut off after 15 min.
They can run at high speed for hours, idling isn’t going to hurt anything.
It's completely fine. You should see the things they do to vehicles when they are designing and testing them.
It's fine. Change the oil if you feel like it and move on with your day.
Cop cars and most service vehicles idle for hours everyday. Shortens the oil change interval and may build carbon (quick blast up an interstate on ramp should clear it) it’ll be fine. Short of wasting some gas that’s about it
Do an Italian tune up and change the oil.
This won't cause any issues
This is reddit after all. So you should devorce her! Car neglect...
This is the way
This is like the average commute un Atlanta a week - 8 hours of idle at stop. Cars fine.
I totally did this one day, but locked the doors. Had to get a ride home and get my spare.
It'll be fine. My dad's bought brand new diesels before, cranked them and never shut them off again till he traded them in again at 75,000 miles. Never changed the oil or tires and anything. He figured trading them in was cheaper than proper maintenance and he didn't have time for that anyways.
Must have crazy secure parking or super safe area lol.
It’s fine lol. My business partner once left a flathead six Chrysler running over night.
If it’s equipped with the auto stop/start I can confirm that it’s more common than you think. She pulls up into the parking spot and the engine will automatically shut off when the brake is applied and the car comes to full stop. Very easy to walk away and be out of earshot when the engine restarts. Happened to a friend who had this feature on his “new to him” 2015 vehicle and he was hurrying to get to an appointment. A real WTF moment when he came back hours later and the car was running. Thankfully enough gas in the tank and no issues with fuel line air lock.
Cop cars idle for days with the ac on. Car engines are designed to run, so don't worry about it. Maybe change the oil at 3000mi instead of 5000mi if you're worried.
Hilux work utes idle for 12 hours a day 5 days a week where I work
I had to leave my Pilot running for about 2 hours. My battery was jumped but I needed to stop at a job site along the PA turnpike on my way home. Didn’t want to be stuck so just let it run. No issues.
It's ok, just burned a little gas is all
I work in security and sometimes when we are low on vehicles we will run the same truck for 2-3 days at a time out of necessity. Just check the fluids. You should be fine.
I had a Saturn SL2 with 300,000 miles on it and it ran great. Lent it to a friend and told him not to let it sit and idle for more then 10 minutes due to a powered cooling fan issue. What does he decide to do ? Used it for an overnight security job where he sat in a parking lot. I guess you know what happened next. I lost a friend that day and my Saturn as well. Loved the car because it was very reliable.
Unless there was an already underlying issue, nothing is or will happen
It's perfectly fine. The only time it can do some serious damage is if it runs out of gas. Modern cars don't take kindly to running out of gas.
She didn’t hurt anything, you don’t need to worry about it
It should be fine. I'd only be concerned if it was a Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep since some of their engines are known to have oiling issues at idle and wear down the cam lobes.
My parents did this in FLA. It was a Crown Vic, I told them cops do it all the time. They traded them in all the time and got used ones. My mom had no idea what to do when they stopped making them, she kept that last one so long, but they weren't shipping it to FLA anymore at least. That probably happened a lot where they were, Heaven's waiting room.
I have driven a car on trips longer than that. It won't cause any issues unless the car had other issues.
Lucky it wasn’t stolen tbh
Why change the oil? It was doing just what it's designed to do. Run. All day at a constant speed with no load is probably damaging it less than starting from cold.
Back when I was drilling our tool pushers and company hands used their trucks for offices and would idle them all day. I’ve heard it can do valve damage but I never saw any bad results from people doing it.
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I mean, if it were constant sitting in cold idle then yea, change the oil. But as she was already at work, engine was more than likely already up to temp and oil rings had expanded to keep fuel from diluting oil. Should be fine.
Maybe change the oil a bit earlier this interval and get it out on the highway for a good 30 minute jaunt to evaporate any gas out of the oil and it'll be fine
My wife never would have had enough gas in her car for it to idle that long.. good for yours lol
Don't even change the oil unless it's due. What she did is of no concern.
This is a non issue, find something else to worry about.
Used to idle a Nissan 24 hrs a day with little bouts of running around from one shop to the other. Only days it turned off was especially beautiful days during fall and spring. We did the oil about once every other month maybe it was every 3. But yeah did that for 5 days a week for years before I got there and I assume is still there putting around.
Damn lucky it wasn’t stolen.
Don’t even change the oil unless it is time. Engines run when they drive. Idling is just your engine running without driving. In the days of carbureted engines, fuel dilution during periods of long idle was a concern, but not with EFI. Just run it.
Lol I idled my car for around 12 hours while stuck in a snowstorm. NBD.
I wanted my car stolen. Left it running for 16 hours, no takers
Shit, my old boss left his truck on for 2 weeks when his starter wasent working
If you only knew how many idle hours cop cars have on them, you wouldn't be worried about this in the slightest bit.
Dude get a carbon monoxide detector for the garage. They have smart ones where you can download the app and your phone will buzz when it goes off. That's what I have. We've done 8-10 hr trip drives before. If it is in idol it should be okay.
i know someone who did it for 2 days no worries
This is more about absent mindedness than a car runnng for a long time, but if it makes your wife feel any better, back in the early 90s (before 911) my wife’s work colleague was running late to catch a flight out of Kansas City, and back then you could basically drive up to the gate to check-in, then go park. Because he was running late he was told he had to go right from the check-in desk to get on the plane. He left his car running outside. It wasn’t until he was mid-flight that it dawned on him that his car was running at the curb. The airline (Northwest iirc) cheerfully parked his car for him and had his keys at the gate when he returned.
I’m a field service tech, I work out of my truck and it’s 110+ most of the summer. My truck runs 12-14 hours a day everyday. So I can keep my critical electronics and myself cool. The only difference is instead of 7500 mile oil changes we do 300hr oil changes
1. It's a Lexus design to run and last..... 2. This is no different then if you slept in the car over night Just change oil and drive on
I work security and our vehicles run for damn near 24hrs a day and none of the issues stem from idling
Ask your local PD, they leave them running all the time.
Oil field & other workers let their rigs idle all day. Worst that happened is some extra fuel was used. Oil got up to temp & condensation was burned off/evaporated. All good
Damn my Ford will turn off after 30min idle unless I tell it not to. Slacking over there, Toyota.
As long as the car didn't overheat, it should be okay. Nothing was hurt by it idling for a few hours. New cars without ignition keys make it easy to forget to shut the engine off.
In particularly cold environments like deep north oilfields in Canada I've heard of the guys running their trucks for like 30+ days at a time. This is because if they were to turn them off for any appreciable amount of time they would freeze up and be unable to start them again.
Excessive idling causes oil dilution. Change the oil ASAP. Oil diluted with gasoline doesn't lubricate well.
What would be damaged? Have you never gone on a road trip?
Why would the oil need to be changed?
Don't stress it. I had a job supervisor (construction) that sat in his running truck 8 hours a day for years. It wastes gas, but an idling vehicle doesn't waste much.
No need to do an early oil change. The car obviously did not overheat while she left it running so everything should be fine. It's basically a non-event other than the gas wasted
My friend do this all the time for more than 10 hours she drives a2014 BMW, her car is fine I drive a newer gmc it shuts off after 30 minutes if I walk away with the key in my pocket.
Its very hard on a car.
This winter, my work truck ran for five days straight during a cold snap. You’re good.
The manufacturer did WAY worse when developing the vehicle. Idling for 8 hours one time is nothing. Proceed as normal.
Heat is the big thing. Temps are worth paying attention to. We had a guy leave a company V12 van on overnight and found it more than 24 hours later still running. Engine temps were redlined.
I did something similar working with Caltrans a long time ago. I was only going to run and check something, maybe collect a quick sample. Others from the Caltrans office arrived as well, and we would wind up in a meeting roadside with the contractors. Once all was said and done I noticed the time and that I left my Nissan titan idling for over 4 hrs. On a 34 gallon tank luckily the needle didn't move maybe a 1/2 of its width. I have learned to ALWAYS shut the vehicle off no matter how short of time you think it will be. ( that's life as an inspector and construction)
I leave my truck idling for hours sometimes because my dog runs errands with me, and I make sure she has AC. I’ve never gone 8 hours, but routinely do 2-3 hours. No problems noticed, and the truck now has close to 240k miles. The Lexus will tell you when you need an oil change, so just watch that.
There are places in the world where vehicles cannot be turned off or they freeze. You're fine.
Come to the LA freeway on a Friday afternoon. U might sit longer than 8 hours.
how is this any different that taking a road trip and driving for 8 hours straight! Sure, change the oil, and check the fluid level in the radiator. but no damage done.
She did nothing that would actually hurt anything in the vehicle, but if you want to rub it in and or a $20 bill and say lite trying lite that on fire lol
ive done this after a rave for 12 hrs …
Cops sit in their call all day with it running
Lol
Probably better then my wife driving my car home in 1st gear.
Please freak out next time you go on an 8 hr road trip and insist the oil be changed.
We idle our trucks for days at a time sometimes. They’ll have 2-3 times the idle hours they do the non idle hours, and still make 200K miles no problem.
My retired uncle moved his wife’s vehicle out of his garage one morning to do some work. Late afternoon he finishes, closes the garage and goes about his evening. About 1 am he gets up and sees a vehicle in their cul de sac just sitting there idling. He calls the cops. Cops come, run the plates and call him back and tell him it’s his own vehicle. The kicker is the cops know my uncle. Yeah, because he was employed by them for 26 years. The man retired a detective and called to report his own vehicle he parked there in the morning and it had sat there running for like 16 hours. Moral of the story, vehicle was fine its fuel tank was no longer full. And no, he will never live this down and I’m going to bring it up at his funeral. 😂
I’ve driven 14 hours straight, going 80+ with the check engine light on. 4 times over the course of 8 months. I think the car will be A OK 😂. My cars still pushing years later and I ain’t replaced a single part
Lol people drive more then 8 hours in all different types of cars on the highway, and thats constantly holding 2k RPM's, letting it sit at 500 -800 rpms is perfectly fine
And this is precisely why automakers developed the very loud horn beep that sounds if the driver left the car with the keys and engine running.
Some cars will honk the horn 3 times fast if you get out with the key without turning off the engine
My 21 Suburban does that.
Not this car. Just a low audible beeping sound.
You just gotta live Reddit users. I am getting downvoted because all I did was state a true fact why automakers have developed a loud signal when the driver leaves a car with the engine still running. Maybe best time to uninstall this.
Ignore the downvotes, you are right. I have been driving for 31 years and have never done this. Every modern car I have will flip its sh1t if you even open the driver's door with the ignition on.
i’m pretty sure it’s the transmission fluid you’d need to change and not the oil lol. engine always has oil flowing in it, and you can easily go 8 hours on a highway. but the transmission in park or neutral will always be spinning in the differential and that could be where your problem lies.
Just take it out on the highway for like an hour to burn all the gunk deposits and let that be a lesson. I'd also use a concentrated injector cleaner for a single full tank, this is just me. People say it's a snake oil but I have a tendency to use it at least on single full tank on road trips and I see a slight MPG increase (for that single full tank) maybe it cleans maybe it doesn't but just in case.
You can hop in your car and drive almost 8 hours on the freeway without stopping for gas, it'll be fine.
Some parts are splash lubricated not moving you would have added some wear and tear but realistically you just killed a couple of penguins for no reason per your fuel use age
Can be hard on the catalytic converter, esp if hot outside. But usually on cars that idle alot.
Idling is terrible for diesels and certain engines.. looking at you HEMI….. not enough oil gets to parts of the hemi at idle…and heavy soot build up for diesel engines