How much gas would I use if I let my car idle all day?

I work in a secure office park, and I can use my spare key to lock the car, so I’m not concerned about theft (plus I have insurance). I want my car to be nice and warm when I leave the office in the evening, or if I want to run out and get a cafe-mocha-double-expresso. I asked around the office about fuel consumption, and the only source I’d consider even remotely authoritative said a gallon an hour. That sounds like a lot - but he’s no Celil Adams. I was thinking more like a gallon all day. By the way, I drive a new Honda Accord Sedan with a 4-cyl motor (for your calculations).

Winston

Not exactly a ‘controlled experiment’, but my brother let his (IIRC) '95 Camaro idle from about 10PM - 8AM one night accidentally.

He said it used about 1/2 the tank. He could have been exaggerating, though.

Buying a remote starter might be a much better option.

From AAA’s site:

From about.com:

So, from half a gallon to a gallon per hour times 10 hours as Jim noted could be anywhere from 5 to 10 gallons. Yeah, that could be half the tank, depending on the car. You want to pay 20 bucks a day in order to have a warm car when you leave work?

Don’t do it.

This site says that idling for more than 10 seconds burns gas twice as fast as an average speed moving vehicle (whatever speed that is). Another site says idling uses 1/2 to 1 gallon of gas an hour. I think you’re definitely best off not leaving it idling all day from a cost perspective, to say nothing of the amount of harmful emissions.

This would also reduce the life of the engine very significantly, and could cause your car to fill up with carbon monoxide fumes.

Mmmmm…

Carbon monoxide ::drool::

I am pretty sure you can go to hell for leaving your car idlnig all day. Just get a remote starter.

He could pay the $20 and answer his own question. But this isn’t GQ.

An idle car is Aaron Neville’s playground.

…or something like that.

Look into getting a remote start installed. Besides being a bad idea, it is horrible on your engine to let it idle for long periods of time. The oil presure is at it’s lowest point, the coolant circulation is not as good, etc. It basically puts a lot of unnecessary wear on your engine.

So spend that money on a remote start kit, or give the $15 you would spend to have your car idling all day to a co-worker or something. Heck, I will glady start your car for you for $15!

Every time you let your car idle for hours God kills a kitten.

As described in this thread, I locked the keys in my truck with the engine running a few years ago, and it burned slightly under two gallons in about two and a half hours.

This $15 you are proposing: is that a flat fee, or do you mean per ‘incident’?

The $15 will cover two starts a day, $4 per additional start.

Have your people call my people. We’ll work something out.