Knowledge base
Short trips — what do they do to your engine?
To school, to the supermarket and back again. Many cars in town mainly do trips of a few kilometres. For the engine that is harder than a long motorway drive. Below you read why, and what you can do about it.
A cold engine wears faster
An engine is built to run at operating temperature. It only gets there after fifteen to twenty minutes of driving. Before that the oil is thicker and lubrication is less good. The engine electronics also inject extra fuel while the engine is cold. On short trips the engine therefore spends most of its time in the least favourable conditions.
Condensation and fuel in the oil
Every combustion creates water vapour. In a cold engine part of it condenses in the crankcase and ends up in the oil. Unburnt fuel also gets past the pistons into the oil. In a warm engine that evaporates again. If the engine doesn't warm up, it stays in the oil.
The result: the oil thins, protects less and ages faster than the service book assumes. Sometimes you see a white, mayonnaise-like layer under the oil filler cap. On short winter trips that is often condensation.
The battery doesn't recharge enough
Starting takes a lot of current from the battery. The alternator puts it back afterwards, but that takes time. On a short trip with lights, heater, rear window heating and seat heating on, little is left for charging. Trip after trip the battery runs further down.
Signs are a starter motor that turns more slowly, or a start-stop system that no longer switches on. The latter is often a sign that the car itself thinks the battery is too weak.
Diesel: the particulate filter gets no chance
A particulate filter burns itself clean at high temperature, during a longer drive. On short trips that regeneration keeps being interrupted. The filter fills up and extra diesel gets into the oil. If you mainly drive short distances in a diesel, you will run into this sooner or later.
What you can do
- Combine short trips where you can, so the engine warms up.
- Regularly take a longer drive of twenty minutes or more, preferably at steady revs.
- Have the oil changed more often than the book says: with many short trips often every year, regardless of mileage.
- Have the battery checked before winter, especially if the car starts slowly.
- Don't let the engine warm up at idle. Driving off gently warms it faster.
Frequently asked questions
Does it help to let the engine warm up at idle?
No. At idle the engine warms up very slowly, with more condensation and fuel in the oil. Driving off gently is better.
How often should I change the oil if I mainly do short trips?
Manufacturers call this severe conditions. A shorter interval applies, in practice often every year, even if you drive few kilometres.
White stuff under the oil filler cap: is that the head gasket?
With short trips, especially in winter, it is usually condensation. If the coolant level also drops, or the oil on the dipstick looks milky, have it checked straight away.
Is an electric car better for short trips?
An electric car has no engine oil and no particulate filter, so condensation and dilution don't apply. It does still have a small 12 V battery.
Work out what fresh oil costs for your engine in the service calculator or read more about the oil change in Tilburg.