Short Trips an Issue?

I have a 2023 Tacoma with about 4K on the odometer. Got it with about 3k and I have a short commute to work so it won't get driven more than about 10k a year. I want to know what I can do to help avoid any engine wear over the long run (plan on keeping this truck for as long as it will run). Will idling 10-15 min a day help avoid any engine wear over the long run? Long trips over the weekend? Any tips would be appreciated!

Thanks

 

Idling will arguably cause more damage than good. Allowing the truck to get to operating temperature is ideal. If your commute is shorter than that, maybe take a longer trip once or twice a week to tack on a couple miles to get the temp up a bit.

 

Biggest thing I learned the hard way is keeping your battery healthy with a maintainer. Short trips don't actually put back what you take out of the battery and you will significantly shorten the lifespan.

Otherwise, you may want to get on a more frequent oil change interval (6mo/5k mi) because you're not getting stuff hot enough to evaporate moisture.

Otherwise, enjoy the short drives and low mileage.

 

No need to idle it but don't turn the engine off if it hasn't gotten up to operating temp.

Try and take the long way back from work to let the oil get hot and evaporate any humidity in there.

5k mile oil changes will help too.

 

The wife has a secondary street commute every day and doesn't get up over 40-45 mph. It's only like a 9 mile
drive for her. I try to take her Forester out and about now and then and hit the freeway and push up to 70 or so
every week or two. Same with my 2021 Tacoma. I'm retired all I do is run to the grocery store or to Target or Wmart
so I try to take it out and push it up to 70+ once a week.

I only got like 22,000 miles on it and she runs good.

 

Check your oil fill cap. If you see a white milky residue that could mean you are not burning off condensation in your engine.

 

No. Unless you have a high idle setup.
Yes.

 

I would drive it and not worry.

 

I plan on changing every 5k already so I have that covered at least. Operating temp I assume would be about 185ish correct? Is there a dashboard option that lets me monitor that?

 

You are going to over-think yourself into an early grave OP! Just drive it and do the stated maintenance when it says they need to be done.

 

Just use the engine temp gauge in the dash cluster. When the needle reaches the middle, it's at operating temp.

 

Is your truck 4cyl or V6? 4cyl is great for stuff like that

 

Nope…it’s at like 150°ish when it hits the middle. It just happens to stay there while it continues to climb up to actual operating temp.

 

This right here.

OP, my commute is 3 miles. Two to 3 times a week I also do carpool which is a 1 to 1.5 miles depending on which kid is going where. I do a fair share of short trips and like you I had a reasonable concern about engine life and if my oil was up to the task. I shortened my oil change intervals down to 5K miles and send a sample to Blackstone Labs and also requested a TBN (Total Base Number) test which gives you an idea of how the oil is holding up and how much more life remains. The report indicated that I could push my OCI to 7K miles which is what I've been doing.

It should be noted that with all the short trips, I do make a habit of planning a longer drive weekly which gets the oil up to temp and burns off any water that remains.

 

As mentioned above, that's only your coolant temp. Oil temp takes significantly longer to reach. Depending on ambient temps and driving conditions it could be 8-10 miles.

 

I have a very short commute (2~miles) to work. I let it get to the first temp needle before I shut it off. I do oil changes every 5k.

 

I just tell customers to get onto the highway now and then, and get on it hard. Light the cats off.

Short slow trips aren't terrible for modern cars, but the cats do get loaded up and the oil tends to not burn off the condensation as well.

 

My average annual mileage on the Tacoma is +- 10,000 miles/year now. Short trips are more common. I make a conscious effort to do a run that gets the engine fully-warm once per week. A ten-mile round trip to the grocery store accomplishes this easily for me and it's about 50/50 rural and highway. Also: no warm-ups or idling and shut downs in the driveway. If I do this the oil cap stays clean: no tan sludge build-up.

I change the oil and filter every 6 months and time them for late fall and early spring. If the oil only has 3,000 miles on it at that six-month mark, it still gets changed. Prior oil-change regimen when I was racking up the miles was every 5,000. I use Valvoline or Mobil1 full synthetic.

 

OCIs based on severe duty

Monthly 'Italian tuneup'

Drive it and don't fret.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5C9Ie4BcYew

OP, 10-15k a year is typical for a commuter. I now work from home and drive only about 5k a year. I think you are fine.

BTW, you didn’t define what you consider to be a “short trip”, so everyone is making recommendations based on what they consider to be a short trip.