Be idle free

Unnecessary idling wastes fuel, pollutes the air, contributes to climate change and fouls your engine. Turning off your engine if you are going to be parked (not in traffic) for more than 10 seconds will save fuel and is the simplest way to cut down on unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions.

The City of Vancouver's Idling By-law

The goal of the Idle-free Bylaw is to protect air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce urban noise,reduce vehicle theft, and save money on fuel. The idling by-law came into effect July 18, 2006. City bylaw enforcement officers can issue $50-$100 tickets for violations.

Note: For issues regarding idling transit busses you can call Translink at 604.953.3040 with your concerns. It is helpful if you can note location, date, time and even bus number.

Idling myths

Myth: Shutting off and restarting your vehicle is harder on your engine and uses more gas than if you leave it running.

Fact: Extensive testing on behalf of NRCan has proven that idling for periods as short as 10 seconds uses more fuel and produces more GHG emissions than stopping and restarting your engine. Recent tests by Air Care confirms that this finding also applies to other forms of air pollution. This is because oxygen sensors on today's vehicles are electrically heated, which prevents the engine from running too rich upon restarting and the catalytic converter does not cool down enough while the vehicle is shut off to justify idling the vehicle. Additionally, frequent restarting has little impact on components such as battery and the starter which are designed for many thousands of cycles over their lifetime. Component wear caused by restarting the engine is estimated to increase annual maintenance costs, money that is likely recovered though fuel savings from reduced idling.

Myth: The engine should be warmed up for long periods before driving and cooled down afterwards.

Fact: Idling is not an effective way to warm up your vehicle, even in colder weather. Modern engines circulate oil throughout the engine quickly and the best way to warm up the lubricants in transmission etc. is to drive your vehicle. Even diesel engines in very cold weather (rarely seen in the Lower Mainland) require no more than 30 seconds of idling before starting to drive.

Under normal city driving conditions, turbo chargers do not need to cool down after use. If you have been driving a vehicle with a turbo charger at high-speeds or pulling a heavy load, you may want to idle it a few minutes before shutting it off (if recommended in your owners manual).

Myth: Idling is good for your engine.

Fact: Excessive idling can actually damage your engine's components, including cylinders, spark plugs and the exhaust system. That's because an idling engine is not operating at its peak temperature, which means that fuel combustion is incomplete. This leaves fuel residues that can condense on cylinder walls, where they can contaminate oil and damage engine components. For example, fuel residues tend to deposit on spark plugs. As the amount of engine idling increases, the average plug temperature drops and plug fouling is accelerated. This can increase fuel consumption by 4 to 5 percent. Excessive idling can also allow water to condense in the vehicle's exhaust, which can lead to corrosion and reduce the life of the exhaust system.

Check out IdleFree BC for more information.