Is It Harmful to Keep the Car Idling with Air Conditioning On?

[SanEmersyn]

Keeping the car idling with the air conditioning on for a short period does not cause harm to the vehicle, but it will consume gasoline and lead to carbon buildup, which can potentially damage the engine over time. Below are the detailed explanations: 1. Idling can easily cause oil burning: During idling, the throttle opening is small, and the vacuum level inside the intake manifold is high, making it easy for oil vapor to be drawn into the intake manifold. Some of it deposits inside the intake manifold, forming carbon-like substances or coking. Prolonged low-speed operation or idling, especially in turbocharged models, can result in a pool of oil inside the intake manifold behind the throttle. 2. Idling can easily cause carbon buildup: During idling, the air-fuel mixture tends to be richer. Therefore, prolonged idling with a richer mixture can easily lead to carbon buildup in the engine.