What does my TRUSTED mechanic mean to redline my car?

[bmninada]

Hello - I have a good mechanic. But one thing he told me I never did but suddenly remembered and asking here.

This was in 2020 - October, due for an oil change (Schedule - flexible showed 20%). When I went to pick up my car, he asked about my latest driving habits. Due to Covid-19 I am working from home from March 2020 and even today. My car moves very little and back then even less. After hearing this he told me after such less than 1 to 5 mile trips around 5 to 10 to take my car into an empty parking lot and RED LINE" it for few seconds. Question #1: What does he mean? Question #2: Is it a good advice, especially for my 2016 CX5 which has a slightly different engine than other cars I believe.

He also told me to watch my battery life. I have a 4 year full replacement AGM Bosch battery around an year old and when he said it he specifically mentioned due to my infrequent drives. Question #3: What exactly he meant by "watch"?

I can obviously call him and go to him to explain but usually he's very busy and he is really horrible when it comes to explaining such stuff...

 

[ceric]

Redline it. I think he meant the Italian tuneup (look it up online).

Short drives and infrequent trips drain battery more than it charges while driving.

With WFH these days, I take my cars out for drives for at least 5-10 minutes every week. Pushing it over 4k rpm when situation allows it and safe to do so.

 

[ruthrj]

#1 redline means to rev the car near max rpms (the red portion of the tachometer).
#2 I prefer taking mine on the highway and running it over 3 or 4K rpms for a bit. I think his idea is that it’ll help minimize any carbon buildup on the intake valves and blow crud out. Short trips don’t allow the intake temps to get hot enough to prevent carbon from accumulating so that may be his worry.
#3 nothing really to watch. As the car is sitting the battery could lose its charge without the car running daily to maintain it. You can attach it to a battery minder during extended periods without driving to help the battery last longer.

 

[markjenn]

I’m not impressed with your mechanics advice. While an occasional full-throttle burst of speed might offer some benefit to a lightly-used car, revving a stationary engine to redline isn’t good for any engine.

“Watching” for battery problems basically means being attentive to warning signs that indicate the battery needs replacing. The most common is that the engine doesn’t turn over with normal speed during starting (i.e. a lazy start) often during cold snaps. Battery life is adversely affected in low-utilization vehicles, particularly vehicles that sit for long periods between trips and/or take short trips with insufficient time to recharge from the deficit that occurs after starting.

Batteries are relatively cheap and easy to replace; some owners prefer proactively replacing them prior to symptoms appearing, especially if the driver is someone who would find a dead battery situation stressful. On a low-utilization vehicle you might shorten the replacement interval to three years rather than five, for example.

- Mark

 

[bmninada]

Thanks. @markjenn he did say to use 1st or 2nd gear while moving. I thought it was apparent since mentioned empty parking lot. Hope this clarifies.

thank you all. Consider solved.

 

[Candurin]

I haven’t been able to drive my car for over a month (right foot Achilles surgery). I’ve been remote starting it twice per week for 10 minutes at a clip. My wife doesn’t want to drive my car to work or I would have her do that (she likes driving her CX-9 more!).

 

[Odrapnew]

I haven’t been able to drive my car for over a month (right foot Achilles surgery). I’ve been remote starting it twice per week for 10 minutes at a clip. My wife doesn’t want to drive my car to work or I would have her do that (she likes driving her CX-9 more!).

That's worse than not starting it at all.
The oil will not be warm enough for moisture to evaporate, same with exhaust.
Not sure where you are located, but if it's cold, I doubt the coolant is even getting to operating temp.

For reference, my VW Golf has an oil temp monitor. It takes a good 5 miles of ~45-60mph in 20F weather to get oil temp to start reading at about 130F and another 5 miles to get near 200F. The coolant is at operating temp (200F according to the gauge) before the oil temp even registers.


Oh, and back to the OP's question about 'red line', others have covered it. Give her the beans every so often after it's at operating temp. Jump on a freeway on-ramp and run it up.

 

[ColtX-5]

Hello - I have a good mechanic. But one thing he told me I never did but suddenly remembered and asking here.

This was in 2020 - October, due for an oil change (Schedule - flexible showed 20%). When I went to pick up my car, he asked about my latest driving habits. Due to Covid-19 I am working from home from March 2020 and even today. My car moves very little and back then even less. After hearing this he told me after such less than 1 to 5 mile trips around 5 to 10 to take my car into an empty parking lot and RED LINE" it for few seconds. Question #1: What does he mean? Question #2: Is it a good advice, especially for my 2016 CX5 which has a slightly different engine than other cars I believe.

He also told me to watch my battery life. I have a 4 year full replacement AGM Bosch battery around an year old and when he said it he specifically mentioned due to my infrequent drives. Question #3: What exactly he meant by "watch"?

I can obviously call him and go to him to explain but usually he's very busy and he is really horrible when it comes to explaining such stuff...

I agree that he likely means an "Italian Tune-up". But, ..... be sure the engine and trans are fully warmed up first. I use a Scangauge II in my -5 because I tow. I watch the temps with it. Mine needs 7 miles for the engine to get to 180F. The trans will likely be at or below 150F at that point. The trans will be at 180F around 20 miles of suburban driving.

After that, find an open road and mat the accelerator pedal and let it do as many full throttle upshifts as possible. Repeat several times, to the point of delight. *IF* the engine and tranny are fully warm, it will cause no harm or excess wear and the heat will burn off valve and combustion chamber deposits. I call that good.

Watching the battery means checking its voltage periodically. It should not be allowed to drop below 12.5V (25% discharged), typically and never below 12.2V (50%). A Battery Tender connected when it's parked or a small solar panel plugged into the socket in the arm rest will prevent discharge, if you park outside.