Do you need to warm up your car in winter? It depends on

(NEXSTAR) – We can’t hide from it any longer – it’s cold, wintry days here in Northeast Ohio (thanks, La Niña).

Images of such brisk days can conjure up various images in your mind, including one of you sitting shivering in your car, waiting for it to warm up. But depending on what car you drive, that agonizing, ice-cold wait may be in vain.

For decades, cars had to run for a certain amount of time for the carburetors to work properly. If cars didn’t idle before driving, they could stall, The Washington Post previously explained.

When car manufacturers began using electric injection instead of carburetors in the 1980s and 1990s, the need to idle a car decreased. According to industry experts, unlike previous carburetors, the new technology relies on sensors that do not need to be warmed up to provide fuel to the engine.

Drivers were also previously advised to let their cars warm up to allow the oil to warm up. When cold, the oil becomes thicker, making it more difficult to lubricate the engine. According to Todd Wenzel Chevrolet, a dealer in Hudsonville, Michigan, this could in turn cause wear and tear on the engine.

But again, with modern cars and oils, it may not be necessary to warm up the car for more than a few minutes. Motor oils and modern engines are designed to perform better in cold weather.

Even the US Department of Energy notes that most car manufacturers’ recommendations state that your vehicle will be ready to drive after just 30 seconds of warming up.

“The engine warms up faster as you drive, allowing the heater to turn on sooner, lowering your fuel costs and reducing emissions,” the federal agency wrote.

Leaving your car idle for more than a few minutes not only wastes fuel, but it can also cause pollution — as much pollution as a moving car, according to the Environmental Defense Fund. Idling may even be illegal in your state.

Electric vehicles don’t have to warm up either. AAA’s Oregon/Idaho division previously shared a 2019 study with Nexstar’s KOIN in which the company tested several electric vehicles to determine their average driving range in inclement weather.

AAA found that electric vehicle range could drop by 41% if temperatures fall below 20 degrees. According to AAA, the HVAC system that heats the vehicle’s interior is largely to blame, and drivers could spend an additional $25 on charging for every 1,000 miles driven.

When the vehicles in the AAA study didn’t use the HVAC system at all, range in cold conditions only decreased by 12%. However, if you want to take advantage of the heat, AAA recommends warming up your EV while charging and incorporating pit stops to recharge while driving.

Once you’re in your car and ready to drive, AAA recommends driving your car “normally and avoiding hard acceleration.” This “brings the engine to a warmer temperature quicker” than letting it idle. Although you can start driving right away, keep in mind that your car won’t be ready to reach highway speeds right away.

According to Business Insider, it can take between five and 15 minutes for your engine to fully warm up. Plus, immediately hitting the accelerator hard can result in wasted gasoline, MIT mechanical engineer John Heywood told the outlet in 2016, and poses a safety risk when the roads are snowy or icy.

However, if it’s an extremely cold day, it might not be a bad idea to leave the car running for more than 30 seconds before driving off, explains Todd Wenzel Chevrolet. But in most cases, as long as your vehicle is no older than the early 1990s, you probably don’t need to let your car defrost before hitting the road.

KOIN’s Jashayla Pettigrew contributed to this report.