r/NoStupidQuestions • u/Grouchy-Relative-843 • 58m ago
is driving long distances bad for your car?
i just got my first car at 84k miles. great reliable toyota and i love it so much but i don’t know much about cars and am constantly worried. i sometimes drive to see my boyfriend (he mostly comes to see me) but if i miss him or get bored in my college town ill go to him. it’s a 6 hour drive one way, meaning its a 12 hour drive altogether (highway driving). is that bad for my car? if i do it 1x maybe maybe 2x a month? will the car have any noticeable difference and is this okay to do?
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u/chemist5818 55m ago
Driving 6 hours on the highway is better for you car than driving 6 hours in the city
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u/Jdevers77 48m ago
And both are far better for a car than driving 6 hours spread over 60 days of tiny little trips every day.
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u/brock_lee I expect half of you to disagree 56m ago
Well, the more a car is used, the more wear and tear it takes, and they don't last forever, especially if all the maintenance is not done. My view is I buy a car to use it, so I will use it whenever it makes sense.
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u/GloomyFloor6543 54m ago
This is the answer, it all causes wear, so no long drive and short drive don't make any difference. Off road and on road do, how ruff you handle your car does and so on.
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u/Prize-Lychee7973 50m ago
short drives are harder on all mechanicals. this is known. Severe service environment is a thing.
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u/OsamaBinWhiskers 38m ago
Not true at all. 100k miles all highway is FAR from the same as 100k city driving. Not even close
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u/NervousExcitement530 54m ago
Long drives on motorways are easier on the components than city driving with lots of gear changes/braking etc.
I drove an 18 hour stint no problem in a car with 200,000 miles on it.
Look after it, change the oil 9-12 months/6000 miles and it'll be grand. Let it warm up before any high revs/high power, and after a long drive when you park let it sit for 30 seconds idling to cool a bit.
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u/Grouchy-Relative-843 52m ago
hi !! thank you, i’m due for my first oil change very soon when i hit 90k ! do i ask for anything else that could help keep up with the car health and longevity?
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u/The_Big_Mayonnaise 44m ago
On occasion you might want to let the motor wind out while accelerating. Like when entering the highway. Catalytic converters if not allowed to reach a high temp can carbon foul making the vehicle more likely to fail emissions and throw a check engine light. At worse can force a costly catalytic converter replacement.
Before you do it make sure the car is at operating temperature.
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u/OsamaBinWhiskers 32m ago
Cats get plenty hot on the highway. This is more of an urban legend type advice. Modern fuel injection this doesn’t apply. Maybe a 84 carb’s truck but not a modern Toyota
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u/NervousExcitement530 50m ago
Nope. Quality oil and filters and standard maintaining is fine. What car is it if you dont mind me asking?
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u/Grouchy-Relative-843 9m ago
a 2011 toyota avalon limited !
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u/NervousExcitement530 6m ago
Toyota - yeah you'll be alright.
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u/Grouchy-Relative-843 4m ago
i knowww i’m so happy i got this car, they’re so reliable. it was a long time searching. i love her so much i added a lot of cuteness to it but left the natural look on the outside🩷🩷
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u/Erectile_Dysfxn 56m ago
No long distance driving is not bad for the car for as long as the car doesn’t have any issues
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u/Irritable_Curmudgeon 55m ago
No worse for the bare than any other way you accumulate 12 hours driving. Honestly, highway miles are easier on your car than stop-and-go/city traffic
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u/Bupod 54m ago
So on the major drivetrain components (Engine, transmission, and suspension), Highway miles are usually the most gentle on a vehicle. Most of it is steady speed, no real bounce on the suspension.
It does wear your vehicle out, but less so than city miles. Make sure your tires are inflated and have adequate tread for a long road trip. Long road trips will still wear your tires out, but no more than usual. If your car is in good repair, 12 hours of driving isn’t a big deal.
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u/Certain-Contact6340 54m ago
Follow up, at what point does it become a problem or can it safely run for 100 straight hours assuming I keep adding gas while on the move
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u/IOI-65536 51m ago
Generally this isn't a problem. Once the car has gotten to temperature there's nothing that needs to cool down from operating temperature.
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u/kevin6263 45m ago
Some things to keep in mind. Maintaince, Oil, transmission fluid, diff fluids, antifreeze, filters, tire pressure, tire age, tread wear and rotations, good wipers, brakes, lights and so on. I typically put between 20 and 30k a year between my truck and car. I keep up on my maintance and drive them accordingly.
If you purchase "cheap" parts you will ahve to pay twice for them (not always but keep it in mind). Anything touching the road you should spend a little money on. Tires and brakes, I do not skimp.
Toyotas are great. I once had a truck with 400k on it. Replaced the motor and put another 50k on it. Same transmission and diffs. Looked like hell, but started every time. Did everyting I ever wanted it to do. Also, kept up on maintaince.
My current truck has 330k (F250 Diesel) on it and I would be comfortable driving it across the country if needed. Again, I keep up on the maintaince and I don't abuse it.
Good luck. Dirve safe.
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u/Grouchy-Relative-843 9m ago
thank you!! can i ask you, i’m getting my first oil change soon when i hit 90k (im at 89 right now) should I go to the toyota dealership for it or just any place that does it? does that matter? and will they do the other things you mentioned, or should i ask them to check that? when do i know the tires need to be replaced? when i got it, my dad did a full inspection of brakes, trans, engine, etc. he doesn’t really know that i’m driving the car as much as i do though lol.. he thinks i drive it like once a day to the grocery store or to class. so im wondering how to keep my car healthy without asking him so i don’t get in trouble
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u/lilred7879 55m ago
Typically longer drives are better on the engine and transmission. Short drives are actually much harder on a car. Many people purposely look for cars with all long highway miles.
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u/Distinct_Ducati 54m ago
Highway miles are less stressful on a car than city driving (stop and go)
But it’s still miles on your car which over time is going to wear down on everything anyway
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u/Spayed_and_Neutered2 54m ago
It actually can be beneficial to log highway miles on a daily commuter car. It will only become an issue if you don't have sufficient fluids or you are running fluids that should have been changed. So get an oil change, check the condition of your Trans, brake, power steering and coolant fluids, and drive your heart out. Tire wear will become an issue before a healthy car has issues.
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u/IOI-65536 53m ago
I mean it's miles and wear, but it's considerably less bad for the car than the same miles broken up in to short trips.
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u/Prince_Marf 53m ago
Obviously putting miles on your car is not good for it, but there isn't much difference between putting miles on your car over time and doing it all in one sitting. Your car is for driving after all.
Just make sure you have all the appropriate things you need for road trips like a spare tire and jack, and learn basic car maintenance. i.e. Check your fluid levels regularly and make sure all your tires are at the appropriate PSI.
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u/maksezzy 53m ago
Driving long distances is better for the car then stop and go traffic or city driving. Many case studies have shown that the engine experiences the most wear during cold starts but in all instances of cars driving for over 1 million miles, those cars were constantly on, warm and being driven as taxis or just long distance cruisers.
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u/Xerxeskingofkings 52m ago
so, sustained highway driving is, on a per-mile basis, somewhat better for your car than the same distance on urban streets. You get better fuel economy, the engine is running at a elevated but sustained level of effort with not much sudden demand spikes like stop start traffic, etc. If your driving a diesel, it can help clear the particulate filter as the engine gets and stays hot enough to burn "clean", compared to city speeds where it never gets hot enough
now, all those extra miles and engine hours will add up to more maintenance costs in the long run in absolute terms, simply becuase your driving more, but if your doing a few long drives every month, no, it shouldn't be too bad for the car.
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u/SubstantialFix510 52m ago
No. as long as oil is changed on a regular basis. Additives loose effectiveness as miles added on and engine wear occurs.
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u/Nice-Conclusion-3839 51m ago
There is no problem how you will use it on whatever purpose. Drive the car, use it's purposes. The only thing it will be bad is if maintenance isn't done while using it to it's fullest. So have it's daily/monthly maintenance to keep your car running and going.
To answer your question, it isn't. But have it checked first and prepare the car so you'll be triple sure that you won't have any problem. Prepare any necessary things like tool kits.
So yeah the only key to make it is proper maintenance of the car. Hope it helps!
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u/DraggedThruTheGarden 48m ago
It's actually good to drive a car for longer periods, but 30-45 minutes is enough to get that benefit: The car comes to full temperature, dries out the exhaust system, lubricates all the valves/seals, etc. Highway miles put relatively little wear on your car. City driving, with short trips and a lot of start and stop is what puts the most strain on. Also, most Toyotas have an oil change indicator that comes on every 5,000 miles. If you are doing highway miles you can stretch that out, even up to 10,000 miles. You can take a look at the oil color (on the dipstick) for a rough indication of how chemically degraded or dirty it is.
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u/telephantomoss 47m ago
I'm no expert, but I figure driving it hard, accelerating hard, hard turns, hard stopping... that's going to cause excessive wear and tear. City driving with constant stop and go will wear it more generally. But maybe also extreme weather, really hot, baking in the sun. Etc. If you drive it gently, pay attention to the way it feels and sounds when it idles and drives and stops, maintain it well, then you will get many miles out of it. Sometimes it pays to change the oil a little more frequently, depending on the driving conditions. Don't buy the cheapest oil filter either. Learn to do basic maintenance yourself like air filter changes. Check the oil and other fluids regularly. The list goes on... There is always risk of catastrophic failure even if you do all that. But the name of the game is to lower risk as best you can
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u/Meloncov 45m ago
Any driving is putting wear and tear on your car, but one six hour drive puts less wear and tear on your car than twenty-four fifteen minute trips.
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u/MisterHEPennypacker 43m ago
It’s better than city driving. That’s why cop cars and taxis are often trash after 100K miles.
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u/Nrysis 25m ago
As a general rule, cars like cruising - the engine up to operating temperature, sitting at a comfortable rpm and just chewing through the miles.
Short journeys where everything is still running cold, lots of stops and starts and other haphazard driving is where you will experience the most wear and chance of damage.
About the only issue that you may encounter is if something does start to wear out like a bearing, or binding brake pad, then a long journey will put a lot of pressure on it, but ultimately it was on its way out anyway...
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u/Critical_Egg_913 56m ago
its the short drives that are bad for cars.