Does this method really save us fuel in our cars?

Question

Lately I have been seeing a lot of people shutting off their cars in fast food and bank drive thru's. They shut off their car for the minute or so they need to wait. Only to restart it, move 5 ft forward and shut it off again. They keep doing this until they are served. Now I sit in these same drive thru's for barely 5 minutes with my car idling. I always thought that it cost you more fuel to keep restarting like that rather then let your car idle for 5 minutes. So is this method really saving gas or actually costing them more? I appreciate any responses!

Answer 1

It is not saving you a thing.

Answer 2

A tiny bit, but a lot of the wear and tear on an engine is from startups. It takes a few seconds for the oil to get flowing everywhere and it's hard on the starter and flywheel. The few cents worth of gas used when you're just idling is insignificant to shortening your vehicle's life.

Answer 3

That does not save gas...if anything, it's worse on your car. Shutting off and starting a car repetitively is harder on it than leaving it idle. Even if it would save you gas, it would be so insignificant that it isn't worth it.