do we really save on emissions with the newer cars that’s shut off when idling?

Question

I’ve heard that starting your car uses a lot of gas. So are we really saving on emissions with our cars constantly turning off and on?

In: 1

Answer 1

Older engines, absolutely. Newer vehicles have much more efficient starting so it’s basically better to turn it off any time you don’t need it, rather than to idle it in nearly every situation.

There are still many vehicles that have an idle time where it’s better to idle than shut down, but for cars that have start-stop that time is so miniscule it’s almost always better to shut off than idle.