Very simple question about short car journeys

Star1

Hi

I have heard that its really bad to do lots of short journeys in the car, but does that mean short distances or short times. I do 3-4 miles journeys probably about 10 times a week but sometimes it takes 15min, sometimes 30min (depending on traffic) - is this still bad?

Also, I take a trip which is 45 miles each way (takes 45min), once every 3 weeks; and another trip which is about 150miles each way once every 3 months. Do these longer journeys make up for the shorter ones? Is there anything I should be doing to protect the engine?

Thanks x

BlueC

Its really not that simple and its not all about the engine. There are so many factors, eg.

Short journeys generally means local roads, which means many bumps and pot holes compared to a motorway, which means lots of wear and tear on suspension items.

Short journeys generally means local roads, which means junctions and roundabouts and traffic lights, which means lots of wear on braking components and tyres.

Short journeys don't always allow the engine to get up to operating temperature, especially so in diesel engines, which can cause more wear and tear to the engine itself.

Short journeys imply that there is lots of getting in and out of the car, which means more wear on doors, seat bolsters, etc.

Short journeys in a diesel which has a DPF can be especially damaging as the DPF needs to regularly get up to temperature to burn off deposits.

You get the picture. Put simply, small lightweight petrol/electric/hybrid cars are much more suited to short journeys than large heavy diesel cars. The best thing you can do is buy a car that suits the driving you do, and the next best thing is to ensure the car is always serviced according to the schedule and you check tyres, oil, coolant, etc frequently.

maninahat

What car is it? As mentioned above short trips affect different cars in different ways.

Strider590

Short journeys = service more often

At the very least an oil change more often.

Star1

Thanks for all the replys

I have a 2 year old petrol hyundai i20 x

Strider590

To get more technical than I had time for on my mobile, short journeys means you don't burn of the additional fuel used during the warm up period, this leaks down the sides of the pistons and dilutes the engine oil, this in turn causes increased engine wear. Thus frequent oil changes become more important. It's the only effect of this type of use which you can do anything about.

forgotmyname

Short distances and short journey times. Both take their toll on the car.

The engine doesnt warm properly. The oil doesnt get to burn off the moisture in the system. Did you see the pictures someone posted on here where their oil cap looked like a yellow gloopy mess.
Short journey's will do that to the oil. If neglected it can get that bad.

I normally do less than 6000 a year. Yet my car gets an oil change at the 6 month mark. I did more miles last year. But it still never went over 4000 miles between changes.

Short journeys like yours are hard on clutches, gearboxes and brakes.

If you change the oil every 6 months and service it fully every year then the car will last much longer, But most people dont want to spend the extra money.

They see the manufacturers service limits as targets, And most will have sold the car long before the negatives of that show up.

The next buyer thinks great a low mileage car. And usually paid a premium for it.

Silly me i think.

Me i but 120,000 mile cars that are 5 years old for £2000 ish and see it gets oil changes often.
Major expense on my car is a clutch. Thats been done before i got it. So a bonus.

Next = Injectors, If it needs some i will spend the £600 or so on getting decent ones. Not untested wonders off ebay.

bigjl

Spot on comment above for the OP.

Often overlooked is the need to service a car, well oil and oil filter, more often when used for short journeys or indeed if used in an urban stop start environment as the vehicle is continually accelerated hard then slowed down to a stop then does it all again.

Your car is still under warranty so hopefully the manufacturer as taken your sort of use into account.

Though for piece of mind do an interim oil and filter change.

Even just changing the oil will be beneficial but not as good as oil and filter.

Don't forget that up to a point an oil filter is slightly more efficient when it gets some miles on it.

Some manufacturers, like Honda, have been known to specify changing only the oil as part of the official service schedule.

You should be fine in a petrol Hyundai though, a good choice for local running around.

Netwizard

The i20 will be fine for short journeys. As bigjl said, these sort of cars are made for running around town, and for trips to the shops etc

I have done the 2 mile trip to work and then 2 miles back, for the last 8 years. My cars have been fine.

Currently have a 2.3 litre petrol car, which doesn't get very good mpg, but my annual mileage is so low, it does not matter.

forgotmyname

If your keeping the car then consider an oil change at less than the manufacturers maximum service interval.

Even if you get a place that suck the oil out from the dipstick hole and chuck some fresh stuff in there. Better for the engine.

If you trade it in and get a new one every 3 years then like most your priority is probably spend as little as possible on it.

londonTiger

i find that this is kinda like comparing apples to organges.

What damages the car more, 100 4 mile trips? or 100 40 mile trips?

I bet the 100 40 mile trips will do just as much if not more damage than the 100 4 mile trips. (40K miles vs 4K miles)

I think a better indicator would be to measure number of cold starts per 1000 miles.

A car that does 100 cold starts per 1000 mile is likely to be in worse shape than a car that does 20 cold starts per 1000 mile.

That way you're actually comparing like for like.

But mileage is still a depreciating factor and will damage the engine regardless.