Protecting the engine with many short drives
Discussion
My car will be back on the road next week (08 Vw EOS 2.0 TFSI) and I will start driving again regularly.
Previously the car was either driven for 10 miles commute or 50 miles commute, but now it will be driven many short distances, 1-2 miles in the city and back.
I know this is not good for any vehicle, but the reason why I am doing this is because I have long covid, which in my case means my lung efficiency decreased and cold air slows down recovery and makes my lungs worse. These journeys will help me go to lung rehab and to the gym, shops and go to work a couple of times a week when the weather is warm (so it reduces strain on me, as I get out of breath regularly) and everyday during winter.
What maintenance should I do to prevent damage? The car burns oil so the oil is renewed regularly but I change it yearly anyways, and I am thinking about regular longer trips over the weekend/ a weekly shop a bit further out of town. How often should I do a longer trip? Realistically speaking I can do my big ship out of town (16 miles return trip, 30-40 mph speed limits) every week, and there will be a bigger road trip every month, hopefully at least once. Would this be enough?
I know this is not ideal, but I need the car to be reliable, and I have enough mechanical sympathy that I try not to actively hurt the car. I am afraid other options, like cycling or ebikes, are not really a choice here due to my lung issues.
Previously the car was either driven for 10 miles commute or 50 miles commute, but now it will be driven many short distances, 1-2 miles in the city and back.
I know this is not good for any vehicle, but the reason why I am doing this is because I have long covid, which in my case means my lung efficiency decreased and cold air slows down recovery and makes my lungs worse. These journeys will help me go to lung rehab and to the gym, shops and go to work a couple of times a week when the weather is warm (so it reduces strain on me, as I get out of breath regularly) and everyday during winter.
What maintenance should I do to prevent damage? The car burns oil so the oil is renewed regularly but I change it yearly anyways, and I am thinking about regular longer trips over the weekend/ a weekly shop a bit further out of town. How often should I do a longer trip? Realistically speaking I can do my big ship out of town (16 miles return trip, 30-40 mph speed limits) every week, and there will be a bigger road trip every month, hopefully at least once. Would this be enough?
I know this is not ideal, but I need the car to be reliable, and I have enough mechanical sympathy that I try not to actively hurt the car. I am afraid other options, like cycling or ebikes, are not really a choice here due to my lung issues.
Yep, what these guys said ^^^. One other suggestion (okay two) - give your brakes a good workout every so often to keep the pistons mobile and the discs clear; also check your oil filler cap every so often for build-up of condensation/'mayonnaise', indicating that the engine isn't getting hot enough. If you see that change your oil more regularly.
Good luck with getting better.
Good luck with getting better.
Thank you for the replies.
The car just got a brand new high capacity battery, plus it does not have start stop. Trickle charger is sadly not an option, there are no outlets in the parking garage to plug it in.
I will try to work the brakes and checking the oil, I am more than happy to change it 2x a year instead of once a year.
Thank you for the kind words as well, the local long covid GP has been amazing and I got appointments really fast, so hopefully I only need to do this for a couple more years.
The car just got a brand new high capacity battery, plus it does not have start stop. Trickle charger is sadly not an option, there are no outlets in the parking garage to plug it in.
I will try to work the brakes and checking the oil, I am more than happy to change it 2x a year instead of once a year.
Thank you for the kind words as well, the local long covid GP has been amazing and I got appointments really fast, so hopefully I only need to do this for a couple more years.
You could get a solar battery charger for when it's not in the garage?
Otherwise modern petrol cars are really remarkably good at dealing with repeated short trips. You might find the exhaust rusts through due to having standing water in it a lot of the time, but otherwise I suspect it'll be fine.
Otherwise modern petrol cars are really remarkably good at dealing with repeated short trips. You might find the exhaust rusts through due to having standing water in it a lot of the time, but otherwise I suspect it'll be fine.
Firstly, sorry to hear you’re suffering like that. Can’t be much fun. 
During the covid lockdowns there were a number of people here asking similar questions. The most popular answer at the time was to just drive ‘the long way round’ for the supermarket trips that were about the only journeys many people were doing then. That still stands as good advice. If you’re feeling up to it, instead of always driving direct to your appointments, head away from town and maybe make it some kind of circular route. Doesn’t have to be every time, but once or twice a week will be very helpful to get very nicely warmed up.
During the covid lockdowns there were a number of people here asking similar questions. The most popular answer at the time was to just drive ‘the long way round’ for the supermarket trips that were about the only journeys many people were doing then. That still stands as good advice. If you’re feeling up to it, instead of always driving direct to your appointments, head away from town and maybe make it some kind of circular route. Doesn’t have to be every time, but once or twice a week will be very helpful to get very nicely warmed up.
I did the long route myself during long down and into 2021. Living in West London is pretty stop start anyway and my big supermarket shop is 0.8 mile away. Once a week or so I would head out on M4 to junction 3 then back again. Steady on the way out to get warmed up then a couple of full throttle acceleration through 2nd and 3rd just to get exhaust fully hot.
Sorry to read about your health issues, all the best and hopefully a good recovery!
With regards the car, the short journeys won't hurt it really but it won't hurt to do some longer drives, get it really well warmed up etc. My mum has an Audi A1 with a 1.4tfsi engine, she only ever really does 1-2 miles a day, maybe 40 miles a week at a push, rarely does a long drive in it and no motorway runs. It's done 30k in 10 years yet it passes it's MOT every time without an issue, it gets serviced once a year and literally has never broken or been an issue.
With regards the car, the short journeys won't hurt it really but it won't hurt to do some longer drives, get it really well warmed up etc. My mum has an Audi A1 with a 1.4tfsi engine, she only ever really does 1-2 miles a day, maybe 40 miles a week at a push, rarely does a long drive in it and no motorway runs. It's done 30k in 10 years yet it passes it's MOT every time without an issue, it gets serviced once a year and literally has never broken or been an issue.
I spent a couple of years doing a 1 mile commute to work and didn't often do long trips on the weekend, especially in winter, in my E46 330Ci.
The oil did get a bit of mayo on the cap which only a 1-2 hour drive would cure in winter, but the engines are notorious for this and it does not kill them. Stainless steel exhaust from the factory so no issues there. It may be a German car thing so perhaps a VW would have stainless exhaust too.
Anyhow 5 years and another 35,000 miles later the engine is still okay, passes the MOT on emissions and burns as much oil as it always has done in the last 7 years (the M54 engines do like a drop, it's normal).
I'd change the oil every 2 years or 10,000 miles (or less if you want to) for a top quality spec. synthetic that meets all the manufacturer's approvals (in BMW world that is Castrol Edge) and keep an eye on its visual condition. When mine previously had 15,000/ 2 years mile oil changes with Castrol Edge, as per the OBC recommendation, (under the previous owner and me) the oil was dark, nasty, and also gritty in the inlet manifold and on the filler cap. A shorter change interval sorted that out. I did flush it twice though until the oil wasn't immediately dirty again.
I would also make sure the aircon (if it works) gets used for 10-15 minutes a week to keep the seals supple and to minimise leakage. My AC had lost most of its gas when I got it but a topup has lasted 7 years with frequent use of the AC, I only use it for 15 minutes a week if it is not too hot but that seems to be enough.
I am not sure if the direct injeciton nature of your engine means it suffers from coking issues made worse by short trips though, not a clue whether journey length affects coking on direct injection engines or not, or whether coking is really an issue at all on the TFSI unit.
A long trip certainly won't hurt at all when you can make one, as others have suggested, and giving the brakes a good workout for a minute or two to try clear any surface rust and clean them up. Solar charger sounds like a good idea too, I had a cheap 1.8W one that did nothing but I am guessing a better brand of roughly 5-10 watts capacity might actually work. Even then the car coped okay but I suspect battery life was shortened.
The oil did get a bit of mayo on the cap which only a 1-2 hour drive would cure in winter, but the engines are notorious for this and it does not kill them. Stainless steel exhaust from the factory so no issues there. It may be a German car thing so perhaps a VW would have stainless exhaust too.
Anyhow 5 years and another 35,000 miles later the engine is still okay, passes the MOT on emissions and burns as much oil as it always has done in the last 7 years (the M54 engines do like a drop, it's normal).
I'd change the oil every 2 years or 10,000 miles (or less if you want to) for a top quality spec. synthetic that meets all the manufacturer's approvals (in BMW world that is Castrol Edge) and keep an eye on its visual condition. When mine previously had 15,000/ 2 years mile oil changes with Castrol Edge, as per the OBC recommendation, (under the previous owner and me) the oil was dark, nasty, and also gritty in the inlet manifold and on the filler cap. A shorter change interval sorted that out. I did flush it twice though until the oil wasn't immediately dirty again.
I would also make sure the aircon (if it works) gets used for 10-15 minutes a week to keep the seals supple and to minimise leakage. My AC had lost most of its gas when I got it but a topup has lasted 7 years with frequent use of the AC, I only use it for 15 minutes a week if it is not too hot but that seems to be enough.
I am not sure if the direct injeciton nature of your engine means it suffers from coking issues made worse by short trips though, not a clue whether journey length affects coking on direct injection engines or not, or whether coking is really an issue at all on the TFSI unit.
A long trip certainly won't hurt at all when you can make one, as others have suggested, and giving the brakes a good workout for a minute or two to try clear any surface rust and clean them up. Solar charger sounds like a good idea too, I had a cheap 1.8W one that did nothing but I am guessing a better brand of roughly 5-10 watts capacity might actually work. Even then the car coped okay but I suspect battery life was shortened.
Edited by Turkey on Thursday 13th October 17:54
Although an old thread, here are my 2pence:
Main things have been covered already. Although keep in mind, that what kills an engine (i.e. buts a lot of stress on it and wears it out) are heat cycles, much less so mileage.
A weeks commute of 1 mile puts only 10 miles on the odometer but this probably will have caused more wear than motorway stint of 100 miles.
This is why I‘m not afraid of high mileage cars which are often in better order (also interior wise!) than low mileage, highly frequently used cars.
Main things have been covered already. Although keep in mind, that what kills an engine (i.e. buts a lot of stress on it and wears it out) are heat cycles, much less so mileage.
A weeks commute of 1 mile puts only 10 miles on the odometer but this probably will have caused more wear than motorway stint of 100 miles.
This is why I‘m not afraid of high mileage cars which are often in better order (also interior wise!) than low mileage, highly frequently used cars.
I'd argue on the likely timescale of your ownership (unless you plan to be buried in it), the money you'll spend on fuel doing random long trips will outweigh the likely impact doing lots of short trips will have on reliability, and thus resulting maintenance costs.
You're already probably changing the oil more than most, just use it and don't worry about it. You said the words mechanical sympathy, so you're presumably not putting it under lots of load before it's warmed up, in which case I'd argue yours will already last longer than average.
You're already probably changing the oil more than most, just use it and don't worry about it. You said the words mechanical sympathy, so you're presumably not putting it under lots of load before it's warmed up, in which case I'd argue yours will already last longer than average.
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