Winter Weather Myth: Should You Warm-Up Your Car?

With the winter weather in full swing in the Treasure Valley, a lot of us have to commute in the beautiful powdery substance known as snow. As someone who is relatively new to driving in the snow, I found myself questioning everything I thought I knew about driving in winter weather. Snow has been pretty steady in Boise for the past few days and there are quite a few things I’ve “heard” about driving in winter weather that I am now realizing not to be so true thanks to our friends over at AccuWeather.  One of those myths has actually rocked the very fabric of my reality as it was instilled as a “golden rule” growing up.

The myth: “You need to let the car “warm-up” before driving in cold temperatures.”

This myth is false… and I still can’t believe it. Growing up, I was always taught to let your car or truck sit idling before you take off for your adventure. Heck, I didn't even know until recently if it was even legal to let the car idle but it needed to be done! The logic? You’re allowing the engine’s fluids to flow throughout and literally “warm-up”. As my dad would say, “You don’t ever see someone just hop out of bed in the morning and start sprinting at full speed.”

It made total sense. Why would anyone do that? You can’t expect the car to get out of bed and just go 65 miles an hour without first idling in the driveway for a few minutes… right?

According to AccuWeather’s expert and Dustin Stec, a Bridgestone AutoCare manager, “there is no benefit at all to letting your car run for a while before driving it.”

So, this means I’ve been living a lie?! How is this even possible?

What are some winter driving myths you’ve heard before?