How much fuel does a car consume per start?

[LeJuniper]

Starting a car consumes approximately 0.8 liters of fuel. Here are the relevant details: Frequent Start-Stop: Frequent starting and stopping does cause some wear to the engine and battery, but this is based on the driving conditions specified by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, tested under stringent conditions. For everyday use by ordinary drivers, this wear is negligible. Usage Frequency: The engines in typical household cars generally have a lifespan of over 50,000 starts. Given the frequency of parking and turning off the engine in normal household use, even after 10 years, the number of starts would be far less than 50,000. Therefore, reasonable parking and engine shutdown will not affect the vehicle's engine or battery. Idle Speed: When the car is parked but the engine is still running, it maintains a low speed to prevent stalling, known as idle speed. At this time, the engine still consumes fuel, albeit a minimal amount.

[LeCatherine]

I've noticed many experienced drivers believe starting the engine consumes a lot of fuel, but in reality, the fuel consumption for a gasoline car's single start is much lower than imagined. During cold starts, the fuel injection volume is indeed higher for those few seconds - my 2.0T model consumes about 5 milliliters, and even less when the engine is warm. Converting this, ten starts are equivalent to driving an extra half kilometer. The key is not to idle for too long - modern fuel-injected cars can start moving slowly after just half a minute of idling. What really wastes fuel is frequent short trips where the engine never reaches optimal operating temperature before reaching the destination - that's true waste.

[JeffreyRose]

Just helped my neighbor check this. Mechanically speaking, the fuel consumption during startup is mainly determined by engine displacement. For a regular 1.6L sedan, the ECU controls fuel injection of 3-4ml to form the air-fuel mixture during startup - roughly equivalent to two or three drops from an eye drop bottle. Diesel vehicles are even more fuel-efficient. Interestingly, fuel consumption doubles in cold seasons. For example, at -20°C in Northeast China, the starter needs to crank longer, potentially increasing fuel injection to 8ml. That's why I always remind friends not to park cars outdoors in winter - low temperatures are unfriendly to both batteries and fuel efficiency.

[SanAdelyn]

Real-world test data is more convincing. I used an OBD scanner to measure three family cars: the Fit 1.5L consumes 2.8ml per start, the Passat 2.0T requires 4.6ml, while the older GL8's 3.0L engine reaches 7.3ml. Interestingly, vehicles with start-stop systems only use about 1.5ml per restart since warm starts consume less fuel. Personally, I'm not fond of frequent start-stop cycles - always feel the fuel savings don't justify the battery replacement costs.

[KiraDella]

From an energy conversion perspective, the gasoline consumed during startup is primarily used to overcome mechanical resistance. Each startup requires roughly 15-20 seconds of idling fuel consumption, equivalent to burning fuel without the car moving. But what concerns me more is ignition wear: every engagement of the starter motor gear causes wear, and frequent starts may even cause timing chain slippage. That's why in traffic jams, I'd rather idle for half a minute than repeatedly turn the engine off and on.