Are short trips bad for engine?

He is correct. ∆ This is common knowledge (or at least I thought).

 

It'll be fine. Don't worry about it

 

Get a bicycle or skateboard

 

I live in town and drive short trips. I drive around town until the engine is up to temp and if I'm going in and right back out of the bank or gas station I leave the engine running.

I'm 57 and will be dead before this 4 cylinder engine quits running or the frame rusts in two from the condensation of the a/c dripping on the frame.

Get your oil/filter changed every year and don't worry about it. Life is to short for freaking worry.

 

https://mobiloil.com/en/faq/ask-our...uto-experts/how-does-water-get-into-motor-oil

 

I'm a mechanical engineer and I support this message. Except for the part you say "full of condensation", where the quote said "excess condensation".
Im not however an English major, so will forgive the gonna.

In additional explanation presented in original quote but not specifically spelled out:
When fluid cools it takes up less volume. When fluid is cooled inside a metal casing whose volume doesn't change, the pressure lessens. When you poke a hole in that metal casing and vent it to the atmosphere, the reduced pressure pulls ambient air into said casing, bringing any water with it (humidity).

The fluid in the casing (engine) consists of the oil itself, and the air (main cause of expansion) in the spaces where there isn't oil. Every engine everywhere either has vent tubes, fill ports, cylinder ring seals, something else to equalize pressures. Otherwise heating the engine oil (and air) by 200+ degrees during operation would be hell on your drain pan and/or seals.

In addition to the pressure equalization bringing moisture to your engine oil, there's a tons of controlled explosions in your pistons trying to plow tons of water through the piston seals into your engine oil also. In fact, all engines really do is take fuel, "air", some heat, and turn it into lots and lots of heat, "a different type of air", and water.


Long story short, you want to get your engine oil up to operating Temps as often as you can to get rid of excess moisture. It literally evaporates. Which is much better than sitting in the same spots endlessly causing corrosion (water happens to be an excellent facilitator of galvanic corrosion, which is when dissimilar metals eat each other, and I've yet to see an engine made of just a single type and/or grade of material) (water also happens to be an excellent facilitator of oxidation, which is when oxygen in the same air and/or water that gets sucked into engines "eats away" metals, even metals that are often rustproof in a normal environment, an environment that doesn't subject metals to constant heat expansion, friction, and erosion).

 

As was mentioned, you need to cook the moisture out of the oil on occasion. Moisture in oil will increase the total acid number which isn't good for the engine.

Also, engine starts are probably the hardest time for the engine followed by the warm up period. If your 100,000 miles is mostly warm and running, that's easier than if it's a billion starts and warm up cycles.

 

Moisture is in the air. When the engine cools, it's going to suck in air. That air is going to hang around the oil in the oil pan and around the block. Moisture is going to mingle with the oil and any iron it can find. It happens with any piece of equipment.

 

And there is your scientific answer OP.

 

He is absolutely correct...it does get full of condensation. It’s also bad for the cats

 

Change your oil every 5k miles and don't loose any more sleep over it

 

Actually it does harm the catalytic converter, the motor will be fine, but the catalyst will be over worked and will have a shortened life span.

 

This is what I would be more concerned about. I don't like condensation so I don't do short trips. If it was the worst situation, you could at least change your oil more often. But if you are not running at temp, I would think that the system is going to dump a little more fuel in the mixture which affects the cats.

Given that, I walk 1.5 miles to/from work a lot of days so don't mind walking. but some areas, I would NOT want to walk. I've driven 1/2 a mile when outside the city because the road I'm staying on has a speed limit of 45-55mph and there is no side walk. Screw that. We were staying in a hotel for a few days in WVa and the Sheetz was visible from the hotel. We drove to it to get coffee in the morning because we had no desire to walk along the road with no sidewalk with cars whizzing by at 50-60 mph. so... I could see where the OP may want to drive in certain situations.

 

Short trips no bueno. It takes 20 minutes of steady state driving for all fluid temperatures to equalize to full operating temps.
Does the op have access to a golf cart?

 

Because science!

But seriously, nothing to worry about. Start and stop as many times as you wish.

 

well.... since you posted it on the internet with no actual reference to real scientific information it must be true! i'm curious for real in this case, not fishing for internet warz!

 

Let's say OP let's his truck idle for 10 mins to warm up, is he ruining his truck then?

I have known plenty of ppl who live downtown in cities that rarely drove more than a couple miles at a time and have kept their vehicles for several yrs problem free. Most of these ppl had indoor heated parking garages, does that make a difference in TacomaWorlds expert opinion?

 

great, information from a product vendor that wants to sell products! super legit for mega certain!

 

True story...
I know this old lady she's as close as family that keeps a late 80's or something Olds (bought new) outside in a carport for weeks at a time without use, but when its used it's never more than 5 miles one way.

It still starts and runs it's had few things replaced like the A/C switch with aftermarket controls because parts are no longer available at the dealer, but it still goes...So there's that