Are short trips bad for engine?

I do a lot of short trips...like 0.2 miles. Is that bad for the engine, or have modern vehicles gotten over this?

 

Get a bike.

 

or walk.

 

If you only make short trips, it will probably take you 30 years to get to 100k miles, you should be good....or not.

 

It's my understanding that short trips where the engine doesn't get up to temp and then gets shut off again is indeed still hard on the engine. You can also get some build up in the oil fill tube but I hear that goes away once you finally get it up to temp for a while an a longer trip. I worry about the same thing because when the weather is bad I'd rather drive to the T station than wait for a bus and my engine doesn't get up to temp. I just try to not do it too often.

 

No. That's like saying moving your truck from the garage to driveway to wash it is bad for the vehicle.

EDIT: Probably bad for the battery since it takes a lot of juice to start but gets little charge in return.

 

Just run it on the interstate every once in a while, you will be fine. It could take a toll on the battery more than the engine.

 

Yes...as far as wear and tear it’s the worst thing you can do

 

Seriously? If it’s health reasons then I could understand otherwise .2 miles is literally just over 1000 feet and it would probably take less time to walk it as it would to go through the driving process to get there.

 

That's the distance from my house to the entry/exit of my complex

 

It is bad for the engine. The main issue is that all of the condensation which forms as the engine cools doesn't get burned off (evaporated) because the engine doesn't get hot enough for long enough. This results in excess moisture in your engine oil and corrosion. How bad this is will depend in large part on the ambient temperature and humidity. In other words, probably much less of a concern in say Death Valley in July than on the east coast in March.

 

I back my truck out to the end of the driveway then drive it back under the carport,..

 

This ∆

 

ride a bike. short trips do not heat up the exhaust enough. water is produced from internal combustion and will sit in the pipes and rust quicker.

 

Short start/stop legs or short legs while the motor is running (like a mailman)? Yes to the first, not really for the second.

 

heck, I drive almost that far to get to the end of my driveway

 

Can you maybe point us to a document produced by mechanical engineers that indicates how the oil is gonna get full of condensation? Very curious, thanks!

 

The air in the crankcase gets warm and holds moisture from combustion. It never gets warm enough to dry. The engine then cools and the moisture condenses and goes into the oil. It stays there until the engine is run long enough at normal operating temperature to evaporate.

Google crankcase condensation. You'll get many articles.

 

0.2 miles is 1000 feet. Why are you driving.

Driving 0.2 miles isn't bad for the engine, it's bad for your waistline.

 

I have heard of short trips,but dang.