Car owners will do anything they can to ensure their vehicle lasts as long as possible.
This can range from simply buying the right brand of car, to filling it with premium gasoline, to avoiding certain behaviors that are known to damage your vehicle.
However, over time, it’s inevitable that one’s car will give out. According to Cascade Collision, a modern car is expected to last around 12 years or approximately 200,000 miles, though with the right care, a car’s life can be extended significantly.
Now, a user on TikTok has sparked discussion after revealing her tip to improve car longevity—but is it true?
Does A/C affect your car’s lifespan?
In a video with over 731,000 views, TikTok user Kimberly (@kimcornejooo) writes, “PSA to all the girlies (or maybe I’m just dumb) but don’t leave your ac on while your cars off cause it WILL die.”
Immediately, commenters became suspicious of this claim.
“That’s not… the AC at most will use battery maybe 30 mins after engine shut off. Means you have faulty battery or something else allowing power to drain. I always leave it on, doesn’t matter,” wrote a user.
“This is not true lol, the AC turns off automatically when you turn the car off. It doesn’t work like headlights,” added another.
@kimcornejooo ♬ original sound – Joe Gunn
The truth about car lifespan and A/C
To investigate this claim, it must first be determined what Kimberly meant by her video.
For example, the ambiguity of the writing could mean that she’s warning people about putting their car in “accessory mode.” This is where the engine is not on, but power can still be drawn to operate things like music and climate control without running the engine.
If one does this for long enough, the battery of the car will die, as performing these actions depletes the battery.
However, if Kimberly means that not turning off the A/C before powering off the vehicle completely will hurt the car, there’s little evidence to support this in modern cars.
“In older vehicles, you still had to think twice before turning off the engine without turning off the AC. This is because it would add a certain load on the engine,” writes author Tsukasa Azuma. “With advancements, the ECU system automatically cuts off the connections to all electrical devices. This happens to ensure that the fuel and battery can be effectively utilized for starting the engine.”
“Whether you turn off the air conditioning before starting the car or before turning off the car, it does not make a difference,” Azuma concludes.
The Daily Dot reached out to Kimberly via TikTok direct message.
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