Does turning the Air Condition on right away hurt the engine ?

Question

My husband keeps telling me not to turn the AC in the car on until the engine has been running for a little while, he says it will hurt the engine.

I don't believe it'll hurt it. Anyone who knows?

We live in Florida and we use the AC everyday.

Answer 1

Nope, no harm at all.

The AC compressor does not even start functioning until well after you have let the ignition cylinder return to the ON position.

Do assure your hubby that the well-paid engineers are on the ball here.  Since the AC system does actually have a part in engine emissions, the beancounters do not really cut corners here.

Answer 2

The compressor will load the cold engine slightly, but nowhere enought to cause any damage.

Answer 3

no -- and believe me, we couldn't live without it here, either.

in the old days, you used to have to wait for the engine to warm up before driving -- but now they have computers to compensate for different combustion temps.

Answer 4

no it wont  

Answer 5

I tell my wife the same thing..I have noticed when turning the a/c on right after the engine is running puts strain on the cold engine,when a engine is cold and straining,it causes oil/fluids more time to get where needed to lube the correct moving parts.It also can speed up and damage the internal life of the engine.I would give the engine at least a minute to warm up before turning it on.

It's almost like shocking someone back to life with heart paddles,than as soon as he/she gets the first breath in,throwing a ice cold glass of water on them.

Answer 6

No.  The air conditioner, when turned on, will activate the compressor, which is a belt driven accessory like the alternator, and the climate control fan.  Neither of these components can harm the engine.  It is marginally true that the more you use these components, they will wear out faster, but that is like worrying about wearing out your alternator.