Though the American Automobile Association (AAA) says you should, thanks to fuel-injection engines common for the last 40 years, you don't need to 'warm up' your car, letting it idle before driving, now even though in the past it made sense.

Like America inventing pre-diabetes, which no other nation accepts because only 5% of people in the CDC 'warning' range will ever develop type 2 diabetes in their lifetime, warming up your car is a solution without a problem.

It once was, when carburetors were the norm, but with fuel injectors you are getting the proper air/ fuel mixture right away. If your car is a BMW you may even get an annoying check engine light if your car is running lean and therefore fuel efficiency is off by 0.1 miles per gallon for the first 20 seconds. Rather than waste your money letting it sit, drive away. Most people aren't going 0 to 60 between stop signs in their neighborhood and by the time you get to a highway your car will be fine for the giddy-up.



Unless it's electric. Then you may need to "precondition" it, if it is a Tesla, or sell it while you still can, if it is a Nissan Leaf. Because the electric car mandate will drive that company out of business. The range loss is bad for electric cars in the winter, and even worse if you don't 'warm it up' by heating the battery and cabin before setting out. The 20th century battery technology still used by electric cars has an optimal temperature range that is very narrow.



If your car doesn't have a "preconditioning" function in an app, turn it on while it's still plugged in a few minutes before you leave.