Question about short trips... - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

tran.man48 · 04-25-2008, 02:58 AM

Hey everyone,
Just joined TN, and I have a 92 Camry LE 4-cyl with 163k miles.

Three times a week, I drive my camry ~3 miles roundtrip. This is just city driving. Two days out of the week, I'll drive it a total of about 30 miles roundtrip, and this includes city and freeway driving. My question is if this will the shorter trips harm my engine in the long run? Is there anything I should look out for (moisture in oil)?

Thanks!

bigbird · 04-25-2008, 05:38 AM

take care of the engine and ull be fine. i have the same problem, very short trips but as long as ya change fluids and get a little exercizes in her like thoes 30 mile trips then i think it will be fine.

***Your Uncle Moe*** · 04-25-2008, 08:47 AM

Just change your oil and filters at the recommended intervals. What you just mentioned is NOTHING compared to what my Cam goes through here in New York.

Kep · 04-25-2008, 10:04 AM

Per Gridlyne's point, the oil change interval is well taken. Remember, there is a time limit on oil as well as a milage limit. If you don't put enough miles on the car I think that they recommend changing the oil a minimum every 6 months. If this applies to you you might want to research this more.

Frequent short trips don't allow the engine to run hot enough long enough to burn off carbon deposits. It might be a good idea to add a longer trip in about twice a month. Also go ahead and use the name brand gasolines. They will probably have better cleaning additives (or put in some fuel cleaner like Chevron Techroline maybe twice a year).

Kep

tran.man48 · 04-26-2008, 12:19 AM

okay, thanks everyone for your replies. I'm not gonna lie, the last time I've changed the oil was probably 8 months ago...

I've recently added a bottle of STP Fuel Treatment in with my last gas fillup, and it seems to have quelled the engine vibrations at stoplights.

I should probably go schedule an oil change now...

***eyeball96*** · 04-26-2008, 05:00 AM

I'd change the oil every 3 months, but thats just me...and a can seafoam in a full tank of gas every 3 of 4 fill ups wouldn't be a bad idea either.

Mike Gerber · 04-26-2008, 04:13 PM

The problem with short trips is really condensation that forms when starting a cold engine that winds up in the oil. If you drive the car long enough, this condensation is evaporated away. Your typical trip won't do it. This question came up recently on Click and Clack's radio show, car talk. Those are the guys on public radio on Saturday mornings. Their response was to take the car on a 30 mile drive once a week to negate the damage done by all the short trip driving. I would also change the oil every 3 months; it's cheap insurance.

Mike