Does the engine heat up faster with the heating system off?

Many readers are curious to know if it is true that the engine heats up faster with the heating system off. The answer, as usual, is more complicated and depends on several factors.

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We are in the 21st century, and cars are almost extinct, at least the ones we have known for the last 30 years. However, many drivers religiously follow the advice they heard from their parents decades ago. Of course among those that refer to the use of the car in winter conditions is, of course, engine heating.

Of course, it seems to make sense, a hot engine will work better and more efficiently than a cold one. The oil will circulate better in the lubrication system and the wear will be less. However, modern cars are fundamentally different from those of 30 years ago, as is the oil that lubricates the engine and gearbox. So how much does it matter if the engine heats up faster or slower by shutting down the heating system or not?

Before answering, it should be noted that the heating systems on today’s cars no longer resemble what our parents and grandparents had on the Dacia 1300. And then and now the heat used was that generated by the engine through the cooling system. The main difference is that the grandparents’ cars had a tap that allowed or did not allow hot water to enter the heating system radiator.

Does the engine heat up faster with the heating system switched off?

Modern cars no longer use this – the heating system is permanently connected to the engine cooling circuit. Even in the summer. The temperature is adjusted by varying the proportion between the hot air generated by the radiator and the cold air, brought from outside. In summer, the air coming out of the ventilation slots completely bypasses the passenger compartment heating radiator, while in winter it passes completely through the radiator.

Therefore, if closing the valve on an older machine reduces the size of the cooling circuit and removes the second radiator, in the case of modern cars the cooling circuit does not change its configuration for heating the passenger compartment. This is also the reason why the answer to the title question is relatively simple.

On older cars, closing the heating system valve ensures a shorter cooling circuit, which contributes to faster engine heating. In a modern car, closing the heating system can contribute to faster engine heating, but insignificantly. Likewise, the maximum opening of the heat will be somewhat delayed in reaching the optimum operating temperature of the engine, but not significantly.

We remind you that modern engines do not really need to be heated, as we have already discussed in a previous article. Therefore, it does not matter whether or not you turn off the heating system. At least not for the engine. Instead, stopping it will affect the process of demisting the windows and melting the ice on the windshield (if applicable). Therefore, it is not recommended to switch off the heating system.