Engine was left idling…for 3 hours?

[Mr._Bill]

I figure next time she wants to go have a good time out with her friend, I’ll wait till she gets parked then use Uconnect to shut it off. Hopefully, I don’t hit the horn button. I reserve that feature for when a tech has slumped over in the engine bay sleeping or poking at something they shouldn’t be.

You cannot turn it off with Uconnect. You can send commands to Start, Lock, and Unlock, with no guarantee they will complete. The computer does its own safety checks before carrying out any remote requests.

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[ShadowsPapa]

You cannot turn it off with Uconnect. You can send commands to Start, Lock, and Unlock, with no guarantee they will complete. The computer does its own safety checks before carrying out any remote requests.

According to NCIS, CSI and other TV shows, you can do anything remotely. You mean they are incorrect?

Seriously, there's little to prompt them to add the "shut off" function to the software. It would be better off as a CSM choice and setting, perhaps like Ford.

 

[Maximus Gladius]

According to NCIS, CSI and other TV shows, you can do anything remotely. You mean they are incorrect?

Seriously, there's little to prompt them to add the "shut off" function to the software. It would be better off as a CSM choice and setting, perhaps like Ford.

My son writes code. ?

 

[Maximus Gladius]

Many Chrysler New Yorkers (not the 4cylinder junk) were left running 24/7 for years for LEO activities with zero issue. If you are really concerned, do an oil change. Engines are meant to be ran

Not concerned any more. All the posts here have been pretty convincing. Thanks!

 

[Gvsukids]

Not concerned any more. All the posts here have been pretty convincing. Thanks!

But thanks for posting this question, others might still be wondering if there wasn't any discussion.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

But thanks for posting this question, others might still be wondering if there wasn't any discussion.

To me, in my experience and training - there's a bottom line:

Idling isn't "good".
Engines typically run "richer" at idle leaving more unburned fuels and more contamination of the crankcase, idling means the parts don't travel exactly as far as they would at speed so varnishes can build up if it's done a lot (one time - meh, no big deal)

but

Idling won't destroy the engine or wear it prematurely. There's actually less stress, less pressure, the pistons aren't being "flung" so there's LESS pressure on the rods and bearings and the mains just sort of turn, no real wear,
One time is even less of a concern - and short, only a few hours, hardly a problem.

For me, idling can be offset by:

A. Later take it out and run it harder - up to speed, get parts hot and outside of the normal travel they take during idle. Drive it on the highway, don't feather the pedal - work it a bit.

B. Don't go the full oil change interval - it's not an emergency, no need to change it that day, but don't take it 5,000 miles if that's what you normally do, don't take it 10,000 miles if that's what it tells you is ok.


I could describe the damage I've seen done by constant idling of car engines from the 1970s and 1980s - where the cokes formed were abrasive and on two Ford V8s actually plugged the oil drain-back holes so badly that any oil that made it to the top (very little as the galleries were coked up) couldn't get back down. The result - leaking gaskets and lack of oil in the pan. The pickup screens were so caked they had to be replaced - couldn't be cleaned even in a hot tank.
But that was years worth, extreme cases. We started seeing vehicles coming in after about 80,000 miles with oil leaks, low oil pressure, noisy valve trains.
(That's why I recommend taking it out and running it, and changing the oil sooner than normal. As a mechanic, I saw the INSIDES of many engines. But in this case - hardly anything to be concerned about. )

 

[ShadowsPapa]

70/80s were notorious for horrendous-cheap fluids (e.g., gasoline and oil) and the worst-stupidest environmental crap imaginable:

So true.
And I'm talking a different environment, too.
Law enforcement, at least around here, ran the crap out of those engines now and then.
More than once I had a trooper come in and say "we can't catch up with the bad guys" and I was tasked with "fix it, don't tell anyone what you did".
Rods through the converters with a barrel underneath to catch the contents, other "fixes".
(or pull the plug out of the bottom, put a barrel under it, and use an attachment we made for the air chisel to rattle the crap out of it to know the contents out)
Vacuum hoses got "Fixed", timing was "fixed".
I liked working on the IHP cars because they were always spotless underneath! They were polished by the grass and weeds in the median but now and then a repair had to be made due to the culvert hidden in said grass and weeds. Fixed more than one drag link or tie rod, or bent cross member, or exhaust ripped off.
Yeah, they may have idled a heck of a lot - but they made up for it now and then.
The cars I mentioned never got the benefit of a driver willing to blow things out now and then.
The Altoona city police, Iowa Highway Patrol - a ton of idle time but they had good care when they came to us.
One trooper, a younger guy, prim and proper, would pull white gloves out of the glove box after a car was done and he was there to pick it up - he wiped door handles, parts of the windshield and other windows, the dash, steering wheel and so on and that glove had better be white when he was done. I was usually assigned his car (actually I got many of the trooper cars) because of my OCD issues.
Man, I miss those days sometimes. I really miss the company of those men and women as much as anything. The best of the best.

 

[Rusty PW]

Throw my 2 cents in. My JT honks 3 times when I walk away with the engine running.


Before I got married and was still living with my parents. My 2nd '78 TransAm had a build LS7 454 ci Chevy motor in it. After a hard night of drinking and partying. Came home after 3am. Walked into the house and went straight up stairs to bed. Woke up around 2pm. Heard an engine running close by. Thinking I know that engine. Went down stairs and my parents are sitting at the kitchen table, not saying a word. Got a bit to eat and something to drink. Mom ask me how my night was. I said I had a good time. Mom said that's good that you enjoyed yourself. Dad being the sarcastic bastard that he was at times. (love you dad) Said that he hears an engine running. I said I do too. He said that I should go outside and find out who's motor is running. I walk out the door and turn straight to where my TransAm is parked. Walked over to it, opened the door. Sat down in the seat, looked at the fuel gauge. It was "E". Shut the motor off and put the tranny into first gear. Figured the motor ran from the time I came home around 3am to 3pm when I shut it off. Walked back into the house and ask why no one had shut the engine off. Dad said it's your car, your responsibility. Learned a lesson right there.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Throw my 2 cents in. My JT honks 3 times when I walk away with the engine running.


Before I got married and was still living with my parents. My 2nd '78 TransAm had a build LS7 454 ci Chevy motor in it. After a hard night of drinking and partying. Came home after 3am. Walked into the house and went straight up stairs to bed. Woke up around 2pm. Heard an engine running close by. Thinking I know that engine. Went down stairs and my parents are sitting at the kitchen table, not saying a word. Got a bit to eat and something to drink. Mom ask me how my night was. I said I had a good time. Mom said that's good that you enjoyed yourself. Dad being the sarcastic bastard that he was at times. (love you dad) Said that he hears an engine running. I said I do too. He said that I should go outside and find out who's motor is running. I walk out the door and turn straight to where my TransAm is parked. Walked over to it, opened the door. Sat down in the seat, looked at the fuel gauge. It was "E". Shut the motor off and put the tranny into first gear. Figured the motor ran from the time I came home around 3am to 3pm when I shut it off. Walked back into the house and ask why no one had shut the engine off. Dad said it's your car, your responsibility. Learned a lesson right there.

Apparently the e-brake worked............. around here, it's so unlevel and hilly there's no telling where I'd find one of my cars.
454 likely got fantastic mpg - and even great hours-idling-per-gallon

 

[Rusty PW]

Apparently the e-brake worked............. around here, it's so unlevel and hilly there's no telling where I'd find one of my cars.
454 likely got fantastic mpg - and even great hours-idling-per-gallon

I don't even remember putting the e brake on. I was wasted.

 

[Dennis K]

Once, young and dumb, had to pick up my GF for high school. In Denver, cold, and I wanted to give her a warm ride. Yup, left my 57 Fairlane convertible, 312, Holley 4 bbl, idling all night. It was warmed up when I got her for sure. Used a quarter tank of $0,40 gas, but, oh well...
Dad gave me holy Hannah...

 

[SquirrelNuts]

As a couple others mentioned, here's that post from the Turbine Escort with over 100,000 on his JT in one year with hours of idling: https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/100-000-mile-gladiator-review.37221/


Also, this discussion made me think of an old story when my brother got married up Warroad, MN. For those of you not familiar with Warroad, it's about as far north in MN as you can get, and regularly 20-40 degrees below zero in the winter. (it was -35 air temp the day of his wedding)

There were few guests at the wedding we were talking to who ran farms nearby and drove early 1980's Diesel Chevy pickukps. My dad, being a mechanic, was joking around with them a bit and asked how they get them running on mornings like these, to which they said... "we just don't shut them off". We laughed and then asked how often they change oil... and they responded... "in the spring"...

 

[Suszynch]

Shouldn't be an issue at all, if you're concerned just change your oil a little sooner.
Glad it sounds like you live in a safe neighborhood.

 

[3213JT]

We used to idle cop cars for hours. Especially on graveyard shift. Other times on a scene where the overhead lights and radios had to be on. We would leave the unit running so as not to kill the battery. I carried a spare key so I could lock it while running.

Never had an issue and some of those old Crown Vics are still going.

Ditto, you don’t turn your cruiser engine off in Nebraska winters ?. OP, I feel your wife’s pain a little. When I first got the Glady, my first fob ignition vehicle, I would walk away and lock the door and then I’d hear it…… I really missed my key for about 6 months.?

 

[ShadowsPapa]

As a couple others mentioned, here's that post from the Turbine Escort with over 100,000 on his JT in one year with hours of idling: https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/100-000-mile-gladiator-review.37221/


Also, this discussion made me think of an old story when my brother got married up Warroad, MN. For those of you not familiar with Warroad, it's about as far north in MN as you can get, and regularly 20-40 degrees below zero in the winter. (it was -35 air temp the day of his wedding)

There were few guests at the wedding we were talking to who ran farms nearby and drove early 1980's Diesel Chevy pickukps. My dad, being a mechanic, was joking around with them a bit and asked how they get them running on mornings like these, to which they said... "we just don't shut them off". We laughed and then asked how often they change oil... and they responded... "in the spring"...

My neighbor when I farmed had one of those trucks. Basically a gas engine "re-engineered" to be a diesel as I recall. He had constant glow plug troubles and tended to not shut it off unless necessary.

That's a great story of shutting off and oil changes!

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