What can reasonably be considered a 'short journey' in terms of allowing the car to warm up?

Can you tell me how many miles you have to drive to avoid the symptoms of 'short run syndrome’? Talking to many OAP ladies on this subject, they seem to think a short run is only half a mile, whereas I am sure that in motoring terms, this is more than likely 15 miles. These ladies also think a 'long run' is 10 miles. Can you give any information on this subject as I realise that it is important for newish cars to be given long runs. However, many of the people I know think that having a car with low mileage is an asset.

Asked on 5 December 2012 by JL, via email

Answered by Honest John

At below zero temperatures, a car will need 5 - 10 miles for the engine merely to get to running temperature. Obviously in the summer, standing in 30 degrees centigrade, a car engine will reach full running temperature very quickly, probably within a mile. For the EC 'cold start' test they can be in an ambient temperature of 20 degrees to 30 degrees, so naturally manufacturers 'heat soak' them to 30 degrees.

Tags: short journeys temperature

Similar questions

My TPMS system shows a warning when the car is cold, but disappears when it is warm. Should I inflate the tyres more to avoid this?

I have a Toyota Yaris Cross and recently the in-car tyre pressure readout keeps showing a number of tyres as being below the required pressure. However, after driving the car for a while, the tyre pressure...

The fan in my car isn't working properly - what might be the problem?

The fan in my car isn't working properly. The temperature of the car is going up to 100 degrees and it only cools down when I put the interior fans on hot. Also, I checked the input pipe and the water...

Why won't the stop-start on my Smart Fourtwo work?

I am being told by Smart that the stop-start on my Smart Fourtwo will not work when the external temperature is outside of a suitable range. Today the extenal temperature is 9C, and it still won't operate....