How Long Can You Sit in a Garage with a Car Running?

It depends on several things, including the make and model of your car, the year it was made, and the type of fuel used in the engine.

When it comes to sitting in a garage with a car running, other factors can affect how long you can stay there.

Let’s look at how long you can sit in a garage with your car running if you’re worried about carbon monoxide poisoning.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is no safe level of exposure to carbon monoxide.

Symptoms such as headaches and nausea can be caused by even low levels.

More serious effects, such as confusion or even death, can be caused by higher levels.

Factors that affect the amount of CO produced by vehicles include engine efficiency, air leakage into the cabin, and exhaust gas recirculation systems.

An older vehicle will produce more CO than a newer one because they tend to use less efficient engines with lower fuel economy ratings.

Older cars are more likely to produce more CO than newer ones if they have been retrofitted with newer technology.

Why Is It Dangerous?

If you leave your car running in a closed space, you are more likely to get carbon monoxide poisoning.

As the engine burns fuel, it will also produce carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide.

You feel like you can’t breathe when you’re inside an enclosed room with a gas stove or stovetop because of carbon dioxide.

Humans can be affected by carbon monoxide, but it can be fatal at high levels. Even if the victim doesn’t know they’re breathing, it can cause death by suffocation.

In New York and California, it is illegal to leave your car running in an enclosed space without someone watching it for more than five minutes at a time.

This isn’t just about saving money, but also about keeping yourself safe from fines and legal trouble if something happens while you’re away from your vehicle.

The temperature of Your Garage

If you have ever been in a garage where your car is running, you know that it can get pretty hot. Exactly how hot is too hot. It depends on what type of garage you live in.

If you have a garage with heating or air-conditioning, the temperature is going to be lower than if you have a garage with no heating or air-conditioning.

If it is cold outside and your garage is not heated, there is no reason to worry about how long you can sit in there with the car running, as long as it is not more than 20 minutes.

The heat from the engine will warm up everything else in the garage after that.

Sit in Car for Two Hours

A great way to kill two hours is to sit in your garage and have your car running. Is it possible to sit there without getting into trouble?

If you are going to sit in the garage with your car running, make sure that it doesn’t leak fuel into the air, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

If you are going to be in your garage for more than 20 minutes, the EPA recommends that you open a window or door to let air in and turn off any fans or other equipment that may be sucking fumes into the area.

If you are going to stay in your garage for more than two hours, then you should wear gloves and goggles all the time.

It is important to keep a record of how much fuel you use during this time so that you can refill when you need to.

Common Things That Cause Engines to Die

If you have been sitting in the garage for a long time and your engine seems to have died, it is most likely a dead battery. If this is the case, you’ll need to replace your battery.

If your engine died while driving while idling at a stoplight, or a stop sign, it could be due to one of three things: a bad fuel injection, a bad catalytic converter, or a faulty ignition coil.

Dangers

There are dangers associated with sitting in a garage with a car running. You’re likely wasting gas. You’ll be trapped if the engine fails in an enclosed space.

If the fumes are only coming out of the garage and not into the house, they are dangerous to inhale.

Conclusion

You can sit in the garage and have your car running. Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s smart!

If you want to be safe, we recommend taking a few minutes to look over your car and check for any issues before you take off.