At what point do you save more gas turning your car off than keeping it in idle?

Question

Question came up while we were waiting on a minute long light. Should we just turn off our car like a hybrid does when waiting at a light? Thanks

Answer 1

generally if hte car is going to idle for more than a minute, it saves fuel to shut the engine down, and then restart it when ready to go. that said you need to temper this with the situation at hand. if you are waiting for a train to pass, the shut the engine off. if on the other hand you are sitting at a light, keep the engine running.

Answer 2

The rule of thumb is if you know you will be idle for over a minute you will save gas by turning off the engine.

Answer 3

if idling more than a minute you could turn off the engine