are short trips really bad for the engine? i drive about 5 miles to/from my train station. by the time my temp gauge reaches normal temp (half), i'm just about ready to park. mazda recommends oil change every 4 mos (i'll probably hit 5,000 mi in 2 years) but are there any other good maintenance tips you'd recommend?

thanks!

 

That's really not that short. I can't even listen to a whole song on the way to/from work. Less than 2 min drive. (I usually hoof it, but sometimes at 0445 in the morning you just dont want to run.)

 

Yeah man that's not a problem. The "short trip" thing is if the engine can't warm up. When the engine is all the way warmed up, you burn off any sludge or other crap that might tend to just sit otherwise. I used to live 1.1 miles from work, and I drove that tiny distance for a number of years. No problems.

 

short trips that do not warm your exhaust will not evaporate the condensation inside the exhaust pipes. So sitting H20 = rust. Just watch out for that.... Ohh yeah 5 miles is plenty of time for it to warm up enough imo.

just my 0.02

 

Unless you have SS exhaust

 

If you're worried about it you can go out and start your car and let it idle for 5 minutes before you have to leave.
Also, my Dad always recommended the occassional weekend cruise where you stomp on the gas a time or two for several seconds down a straight-away so as to clear out any carbon deposits. Maybe that was just an excuse, but that darn VW Rabbit's engine was still running smooth at 14 years as the rest of the car fell apart around it. lol

 

5 miles/minutes is sufficient to clear the pipes. However, there is still condensation in the motor itself. This usually requires about 20 minutes of run time to evaporate out of the oil. When that does not occur, the water mixes with the contaminants suspended in the oil and a nice acidic solution is created. The acids can etch away at anything that the motor oil contacts: bearings, cylinder walls, rings, valvetrain, ect. Consequently, increasing your oil change frequency would be a good idea. I usually change every 5,000 miles which is about 2-3 months for me since we don't do small trips. In your case, 3 months would be good even though your mileage will just be about 200 miles.

The short trips do take more of a toll on the engine, however, since you don't really drive that much, you'll still be able to get 10 years or more out of the engine, just don't expect to achieve high mileage. If you're like most people, the car will be sold/traded-in before then. The new owner will be estatic about the "great" find on a low mileage vehicle.

 

I say just take a detour every now and then to add a short distance to the drive. But I'm sure it's not hurting it to drive that short of a distance...but still, maybe giver a bit now and then(once the engine is warm) so maybe drive around the block or something. Also something I do/recommend is, change the oil 2 a year minimum. Once for winter, once for summer. Oil takes a beating in both seasons, but really, thats all it needs if you only drive a short distance...now, if you are treaking great distances change it more often yes,

 

My commute is 2.4 miles. I also start up my car several more times at work and don't let it get very warm. Another big thing to keep your eye on is the battery voltage. It usually takes about 5 miles of driving to charge up the battery from what energy it took to start the car.

And definately take it out once a month and just drive. Don't shut off the car for at least 30 mins, or even longer. Take time to stomp on the gas to clear stuff out and really just get it hot so that your purge canister for the gas tank can BE PURGED. It doesn't clean itself out unless the engine is HOT!

Cold starts do the most damage to your engine's insides, so definately change that oil. And if you're only getting a couple hundred miles a month, then go for the real cheap oil.