Does Listening to Music with the Engine Off Damage the Car?
3 Answers
Listening to music with the engine off can indeed harm the car. Playing music while the engine is idling or before starting the car places a significant burden on the battery, shortening its lifespan. After turning off the engine, it's essential to unplug any external devices. Nowadays, many devices can be connected to cars, and these additional gadgets increase the battery's power consumption. Therefore, remember to unplug them when the engine is off. In car maintenance, battery care is crucial but often overlooked. Poor usage habits can shorten the battery's lifespan or cause damage. If the battery is used while the engine is off, it's vital to prevent battery depletion, as this can easily lead to battery damage.
As someone with in-depth knowledge of automotive electrical systems, I believe that listening to music after the engine is turned off can indeed harm the car. The key reason is that all electrical components rely solely on the battery for power at this point, and the battery is primarily designed to deliver high current for starting the engine, not for prolonged discharge. If you listen to music for too long, the battery's charge will continuously drop, potentially leading to deep discharge. This not only damages the battery's internal structure, such as sulfation of lead-acid plates, but may also shorten the battery's lifespan by one to two years. I've personally tested this: a standard car audio system consumes around 100 watts, and listening for an hour with the engine off can drop the battery voltage from 12.6 volts to below 11 volts, making it extremely difficult to start the car. This is especially true in summer or winter when the battery is already more vulnerable. My advice is, if you want to relax and listen to music, either limit the time to no more than 15 minutes, start the engine for five minutes before continuing, or invest in a portable power supply as a backup. Regularly checking the battery's health is also crucial to prevent minor issues from turning into costly battery replacements.
As a car owner, I'm very concerned about vehicle operating costs. Turning off the engine to listen to music might seem fuel-efficient, but it could actually cost more. With the engine off, the audio system relies entirely on the battery. Prolonged use can drain the battery completely, and deep discharge significantly reduces its capacity, cutting its lifespan from the original three years to just half. Replacing a new battery costs several hundred yuan. Once I fell asleep listening to music in a parking lot, and after half an hour, the car wouldn't start. I had to call for roadside assistance, which cost me 100 yuan and wasted time. High-power audio systems are particularly power-hungry, and this process accelerates in winter or when the volume is turned up. If this becomes a habit, repeated undercharging will cause battery sulfation, leading to starting failures or electronic module malfunctions. I usually only allow short periods of entertainment with the engine off, or simply keep the engine running to avoid future hassles. Battery health directly affects driving reliability—it's better to protect it and reduce maintenance costs than to save a little fuel this way.
