How Long Should You Let Your Car Warm Up Before Driving

Most people believe it is really bad on your car to takeoff immediately after starting it. Is it? Here's how long you should let your car warm up according to auto experts: 

30 seconds. That's it. If your car has a fuel injection system - it almost certainly does - the car's engine doesn't need much time to warm up.

Warming up your car is one of the biggest winter myths according to this Washington Post article. The story cites a survey which shows many Americans idle their car for over 5 minutes before taking off which doesn't really do anything other than waste gas.

So you can stop warming up your car just because you're worried about your engine.

Idling your car to get the heat going and warm up the interior is a completely different thing. Most Minnesotans are OK with wasting a little gas to create a more comfortable driving environment.

One of the worst parts of dealing with winter is getting into an ice cold car. So it can be so nice to warm the car up first. But in Rochester it's actually illegal to leave your keys in a running vehicle on a street or public parking lot unattended. You can read more about that law here.