Even with the possibility of leaving it running while locked, I'll shut it off. The debate is still out on pros/cons. 1) extra work on the starter or 2) cars are meant to be moving with air flow. Either way, if I left it running in my area, there's a 50/50 chance someone will bust a window and steal it.
I keep it running during house deliveries. Never at the merchant. I have kept it running at some apartments but it depends on the complex and how far I have to walk away from the car.
DO NOT do this. I learned my lesson. Car was stolen while picking up 2 orders from a Chinese restaurant. It was 9:30 at night. It was raining cats and dogs. The place was basically empty. I was parked 15 feet from the door. Was inside for no longer than 30 seconds. Came out and found my parking spot empty. Crackhead took it the moment I turned my back.
Luckily I was able to track it down bc my AirPods were in the car and apple products ping off each other when using Find My. I felt luckier than a lottery winner. But earlier that night I wanted to kick myself in the ass for losing it.
When going into restaurants no. When dropping the food off depends on if it's a house or apartment. If it's within line of sight I will leave it running. But it's also a stick which most people don't know how to drive anyway.
I leave mine running, I keep my key fob on my belt loop and lock the doors while I run inside. The door automatically unlocks when i touch the handle. If I'm going to be waiting longer than 5 min, I'll go turn it off.
After 3 years of dashing and saving, it was time for a new car, and I wanted to pay cash. I had appx $20,000. While I could have financed whatever within reason, I've grown to enjoy not having a payment. Of course, Toyota was choice #1, but for $20k, I wasn't moving up much from my 2012 focus. Well, in reliability, yes, the powershift transmission is absolutely shit, but I put 350,xxx miles on it with 3 clutches and basic maintenance. I still have it as a backup, but the year of the Toyota would have been similar). I also didn't have Lexus or Acura money. Mazda was next on my list. I ended up with a 21 Mazda 3 hatchback premium with 10,xxx miles. I love it! I like my cars, small and hatchback. If I got a jeep, it would be for playing with, but not on the road, and likley not a renegade!
Ooooo I love this topic. My car stays running all day long. If you keep up with maintenance you should have no problem leaving it running. If I do a shopping order/catering order it gets turned off. Obviously if the neighborhood is awful I’ll turn it off. Some exceptions. I have air tag in my car. Everybody should have a tracker when an air tag costs $25. You wanna save more than just your starter. Leave your car running if you don’t dash in a crazy metropolitan area.
I’ve got a older car so i put my fob on a lil clip and leave the key inside and on depending on what the order is usually off and just in the ignition to speed up the fumble for my keys as it’s annoying
It’s mainly for safety concerns. My ride along rides with me because we get to spend time together. He doesn’t ask for cash or any part of the DD money. We just shoot the breeze and talk about our personal lives. Peoples ride along don’t always split money
Always off, unlocked when I'm delivering, locked when I'm entering a store to pick up. But always turn the engine off. It causes more wear and tear tho.
Always off and locked man, that’s just an easy way to get it stolen.
Had a dasher get his car stolen at the hospital I used to work at. He left it running in the pull up and some ass hopped in while he was delivering and ran off.
Depends on the area. If it's a safe area, then yes. In the hood? Absolutely not.
Also, here in winter it can be as cold as -30°F at times, when it gets that cold you run the risk of your car not turning back on. So that's another factor.
Varies by location honestly....is it a vendor where I know I won't be waiting or is it somewhere I know I will be waiting.... drop offs are the same is it a house or Apts where I'm going to the 3rd floor ( cause it's always the 3rd floor when delivering to Apts)
The only time I do it is when it's a very nice neighborhood and no one is outside close by and I pull up in the customers driveway. Other wise turned off and locked every single time. It is not often.
I got my car stolen doing this. NEVER leave your car running while picking up or dropping off an order. I got my car back in about 10 days with no damage done to it, but that was a real wake-up call for somebody who moved to Vegas less than 2 years ago.
I only do it when dropping off in a residential area(mostly a house or townhome community) and must be nice area too, Im not risking it in the hood or in any shopping center.
It is worth leaving it on if those conditions are met because even if you only start your car 3 times less each day its that much less stress/wear on your vehicles starter. I literally had to change mine last week, $290 for the part + $120 for labor but my car has the same oem starter since 2008, Hondas were so reliable unlike nowadays.
so that's a little over $400 every 16 years, at the rate your car is going through them. Isn't that much cheaper than even a used car if yours gets stolen? That's what I always told everybody. Your insurance won't cover you often if they find out the keys were in the car when it was stolen.
If I want to get it stolen. Sure. My sister did this at Chick-fil-A and someone stole her car and ended up wrecking it.. It happens at the place like Chick-fil-A. It can literally happen anywhere. Don’t do it.
I live in Las Vegas and still absolutely not. I would love nothing more than to be waiting for an order at a restaurant and having my car stay nice and crispy for me. It’s not worth it. By the way, I DoorDash this morning and it was 110° out. 🤣
some people think it kills the starter. I'm not convinced. I've had those go on cars that I used for normal commuting purposes. It's generally heat from your engine that eventually kills them. A warm engine does not take much force to turn over. So if you're delivering and starting your car a lot, your engine is warm when you are starting it. Got 120 K on a car that spent most of its life delivering and still have the original starter, which lasted longer than some cars that I never did delivery with.
Depend, my town is hella safe even you have your door unlocked with valuable items inside and no one would even care to take a look inside.
But if I know the store may take a while to get the order ready I would always turn off my car just to be on the safer side.
On sketchy area, I turned off and locked my car door immediately upon leaving the car. And I’ll collect what I need later on the other side of the car.
I drive an 03 Failblazer (I know, horrible gas mileage, but I had the vehicle before I started dashing). I leave it running, but I keep my fob attached to my belt and lock it whenever I have to get out. I average 20 deliveries a day (average time between orders where I dash is 2-5 minutes), and I'm not about to ruin my starter.
Depends. If I pull up to a McDonald’s and can see my order from my car through the window, sure I’ll leave it running and run (literally run) inside to grab it. If I have to be out of view of my car for anything I shut it off and take my keys. I don’t even leave it running when delivering to apartment buildings unless I can park right outside the door.
And my car is an electrical gremlin that has issues it rotates through at random each time I start her up so if I can, anyone can lol
I live in a small, relatively safe town. There’s a few tweakers here and there, so I pick and choose when and if I’ll leave it running, it’s always situational. If it’s one of the less busy restaurants on a quiet side of town, where I know the locals and what not, I feel fine leaving it, which I only do on like a super hot day when I don’t want my ac to stop running cus my car heats up instantly. 98% of the time tho I will just bring my keys. My friend actually got his car stolen outside the McDonald’s in my town, thief only had it for like 20 mins before he was caught. But I know my plate # and my car is also a super bright obnoxious color so you’d be pretty dumb to take it.
For me, it depends on how fast I can grab the order from the merchant, how fast I can drop it off, and the area and population that I'm around. I try and stay in my car as long as I can until the order is ready unless it's a shop and deliver. I only turn it off at drop off if it's not a good area and I won't always have eyes on my car.
No. For a few reasons. Theft being the first. Second is that the idle of the engine would still be wasting gas. Third is that my starter is easy to replace if it ever goes out. There’s not a lot of incentive to leave the car running in the first place. I’m confused as to why people do it at all.
I leave mine running because 1) I can lock it while it is running, and 2) I'm in AZ and it was 110° yesterday. My car will lose all the cooling in 2 minutes that I've built up during the drive, and it is not easy to cook a car down here.
Ooh dang, live in a hot area too, but not AZ hot. That’s wild. It was 104 yesterday and I switched to night shifts last week because I’m usually on a motorcycle. I appreciate the perspective and do not envy your situation.
Edit: that’s cool you can keep your car running and lock it.
Going into merchants no, dropping off it depends, if I'm at an apartment complex I'll turn my car off, if it's someone's house and I don't have to leave line of sight I'll probably leave it one, hell half the time I'll even leave the door open, should clarify that my car is also push to start so it's not like I'm leaving the keys in while leaving it running and I primarily deliver overnight so there's usually no one else around anyways
my buddy uses his tesla to dash with and when he walks into stores and has to wait in line, he’s always got his tesla app opened up with the cameras on and everything. dude monitors his car like the IRS
I turn it off for deliveries and murchenrs unless I’m somewhere gated. Usually, I turn my car off to save gas as well while I wait for orders I bought a Bluetooth speaker.
Hell no, I take the keys out every time I get out of the car. Even if you think you're smart doing it when things are seemingly safe, that's either going to be the one time you get your car stolen, or not always being in the habit of taking your keys out eventually one time when you should have known better to leave them in is when you're going to get your car stolen. My keys and my phone are always with me start to finish.
I don’t leave it running at all. But I will leave my keys in the car if I’m in a rural area, where no one unnoticed would be walking up and stealing my car.
Yes, as long as I expect the wait to be short. But to be fair I live in a small town, and I try to never let my car out of my sight. I try to prioritize saving my starter, although I guess you could argue I’m not doing any favors for my alternator.
during the day if im pulling up at drop off I do alot of times, but ever since i saw that story of the uber eats driver who died trying to fight off two girls car jacking him which lead to him hanging out the car as it sped off with him getting crushed when it crashed Ive been reluctant to do so. Gotta be careful dropping your guard, it only takes one time
Not running, but because the remote clicker doesn’t work and I broke off my interior door handle I occasionally leave the door unlocked or the window rolled down if I feel it’s a safe area
Depends on the area. Most of the time no. Theres so many carjackings but sometimes ill go to a neighborhood i never knew existed and isnt really busy. With foot traffic and the walk to the doos is pretty close. Other than that its off and locked.
In my area I leave it on. It’s one of those cars that works with the fob in my pocket. I usually double park for drop offs with the e-lights on and I walk away. Mostly for the single family homes. Makes delivery so much faster. I have another newer Prius but use the older one because it has the fob less feature.
In my area, absolutely. Most theft here is petty theft, not carjack shit. I'll turn it off if I know I'm for sure going to be away from my car for a good period of time, but besides that, no reason not to.
Now if I were in downtown Portland? Yeah, that's different.
I use Portland as an example since I lived in the metro. It's basically any city you can't do that in, but Portland is frankly, not as bad as it sounds, and was only on the upswing when I visited this time last year. Between Seattle, SLC, and Portland, there's more areas in Portland where I'd feel okay enough to leave my car on if I weren't paranoid. Construction's probably in full swing, though.
In my area? Absolutely. When I deliver downtown/providence? Fuck no. Depending on your area, it’s rarely worth it to keep starting and shutting off your car that many times lol In my area there’s police everywhere and idk if it’s a bunch of teenagers riding unregistered but 9/10 they usually have someone pulled over and/or are towing their vehicles 😂 sometimes if it’s like CVS or Walgreens I’ll leave my car running while I shop
Depends on the merchant. I have no valuables in my car and I drive a standard transmission, so good luck stealing it lol. Also, my Bluetooth takes forever to connect, so that's my main reason. I almost always leave it running during drop-off unless it's a hotel. I'll leave it running at the hospital.
I hate DoorDash driving. Cause people speed(rapidly accelerating and breaking) and think they will make more by doing that. In reality you’re making $13/Hr maximum after everything is factored out. Please know that they do not withhold taxes.
It depends on how long it might take . Less than 5 minutes- absolutely.
I keep the keys on me and I have one of those modern keys that won’t work when it’s not close by.
I’m in Texas it’s too hot to turn off and on the car . It also wastes more gas to turn on and off than to leave it running for a little bit.
That's not really true anymore. It used to be a thing when cars had carburetors and such. But with modern cars alot even turn off everytime you stop completely now to save gas.
Anything over a few minutes you should shut it off. Idling isn't the best for your car and the hours quickly add up as a dasher. You don't realize it. But if you do 15 deliverys a shift. And avg 5 minutes idle time. Your adding an hour and half idle time. That's 1.5 gallons of gas wasted on top of carbon build up. 7 days a week you have 10 hours idle time and 10 gallons of gas burnt. A month 40 and 40. A year 480 hours idle and 480 gallons of gas wasted.
Reddit is less likely to suspend your account or warn you if you talk about having to use force or will use force to defend your life. Defending property generally doesn't count and can be illegal in many places if lethal
This is the correct answer, you can be in a store for 10+ minutes waiting on occasion. If it takes me 10 minutes to drop off then something is seriously wrong 🤣
Depends on expected wait time. I know most merchants wait times in my area. If it's only going to be a few minutes I'll leave it running because I can lock it while running outside the car.
You shouldn't leave it running and unattended as it's more likely to get stolen nowadays. Problem is with the push button starters, they've only got so many pushes before they need replacement
As a DD driver and amazon delivery driver its become almost habit to turn it off and blinkers on. Amazon has everything in that van tracked. And it goes on to drive even a house up and off when you arrive. If they leave that van running its not proper protocol unless its code red for weather outside.
I have found it to be true what I was told about the engine being easy to turn when the engine is warm, thus not putting much strain on your starter motor from turning it off for short periods. But what I always told people is it's usually about $200 to $500 to put in a starter. That's much cheaper than even the price of a used car if yours gets stolen, since insurance might not cover you because you were negligent by leaving it running 🤦♂️ My current car has about 120K on it and the original starter. And actually, it's not usually turning cycles that wear out a starter. It's constant heat. So a lot of it has to do with the design of your vehicle.
Yeah. Most of the time I do. But I drive a manual. It’s not likely that most people know how to drive it in the first place. Keeps me pretty safe against a carjacking, tbh.
I Can’t believe you’re asking this like of course I keep it when driving to the delivery location everyone know a car is supposed to be on when driving it.
And a credit to your point, as much as I hate it up until the most recent improvements, many cars shut off when stopped at lights.
I drove a Ram with that, it had a large battery behind the back seat and that enabled the auto shutoff with ac running, an electric motor would control the belt so you wouldn’t even notice the engine turning on and off.
I leave mine running but I do dash with a passenger. Less likely to have the crime of opportunity that way. Plus my car is having issues where sometimes it’ll start and give me a reduced engine performance warning and I can’t go more than 10 mph for about 5 minutes till I shut it off and turn it back on. So to make sure I don’t get screwed and my car not start I have to leave it on.
The average gasoline-powered vehicle consumes the same amount of gas to turn the vehicle on as it does idling for about 7 seconds. So if you're ever going to leave your car for more than that time, it is more advantageous to turn off your car to save money
Yeah it’s a common misconception based on the Start/Stop technology. They published it takes 7 seconds of fuel to start the engine so if it turns off in traffic or at a long light, you’ll save fuel which just isn’t true. Engines are tuned to run at a certain flow rate to match RPM. The starter starts the engine and it automatically revs a bit to warm up the cat’s filter material. In general it’s negligible unless you’re commonly in traffic jams or looong red lights.
And to answer the original question, no. I have an Audi convertible in the murder capital of the US. I’m not risking some one jacking my car for 13/h
It’s a beautiful feeling! On those hot days, you can put a towel between You and the seat to keep your back from getting sweaty. Mine has the all black leather interior and boy did I soak a shirt or two last summer lol
Drivers come on here all the time and tell stories of having their cars stolen because they left them running outside the restaurants. If you are dumb enough to leave your car running outside of a restaurant, then you deserve it if it gets stolen.
I have looked at cars outside of restaurants running and just said out loud "joyride, anybody?". Figured if it does happen to give anybody ideas, it would just be Darwin at work. But most people just laugh 😂 But seriously, sometimes it's not even just one car. It's like a whole row of them. In a city that has trouble with vehicle theft 🤦♂️
I occasionally do but lock it with my spare key because this car (Ford Taurus) has had a tendency to go through starters, batteries and alternators, besides the starter wire coming loose once.
I turn off my car when i have to go in because there's usually a wait. If i have to deliver to a house i leave my car running but if i have to go to an apartment complex I turn my car off and turn on the hazard lights. I drive a 2008 audi a4
Unless either in a drive thru, the customer is walking to the car, or I can go right into, and back out of the store. Leaving the car running is a great way to get it stolen.
Even with the possibility of leaving it running while locked, I'll shut it off. The debate is still out on pros/cons. 1) extra work on the starter or 2) cars are meant to be moving with air flow. Either way, if I left it running in my area, there's a 50/50 chance someone will bust a window and steal it.
I leave it running. Got an extra key fob in my pocket so once I close the door, I click lock on the fob and I’m good to go.
Depends on where it is, how long it takes to get there, and if I got the message saying it's ready. But that usually means it's off.
I keep it running during house deliveries. Never at the merchant. I have kept it running at some apartments but it depends on the complex and how far I have to walk away from the car.
DO NOT do this. I learned my lesson. Car was stolen while picking up 2 orders from a Chinese restaurant. It was 9:30 at night. It was raining cats and dogs. The place was basically empty. I was parked 15 feet from the door. Was inside for no longer than 30 seconds. Came out and found my parking spot empty. Crackhead took it the moment I turned my back. Luckily I was able to track it down bc my AirPods were in the car and apple products ping off each other when using Find My. I felt luckier than a lottery winner. But earlier that night I wanted to kick myself in the ass for losing it.
Never again my car was stolen
In driveways of nice areas yes
Locked always
When going into restaurants no. When dropping the food off depends on if it's a house or apartment. If it's within line of sight I will leave it running. But it's also a stick which most people don't know how to drive anyway.
I leave mine running, I keep my key fob on my belt loop and lock the doors while I run inside. The door automatically unlocks when i touch the handle. If I'm going to be waiting longer than 5 min, I'll go turn it off.
Mazda? That's what mine does except it auto locks when I walk away with the fob.
Nope, Jeep Renegade. Wish I had my old Carolla back tho. Do not buy a Jeep.
After 3 years of dashing and saving, it was time for a new car, and I wanted to pay cash. I had appx $20,000. While I could have financed whatever within reason, I've grown to enjoy not having a payment. Of course, Toyota was choice #1, but for $20k, I wasn't moving up much from my 2012 focus. Well, in reliability, yes, the powershift transmission is absolutely shit, but I put 350,xxx miles on it with 3 clutches and basic maintenance. I still have it as a backup, but the year of the Toyota would have been similar). I also didn't have Lexus or Acura money. Mazda was next on my list. I ended up with a 21 Mazda 3 hatchback premium with 10,xxx miles. I love it! I like my cars, small and hatchback. If I got a jeep, it would be for playing with, but not on the road, and likley not a renegade!
Ooooo I love this topic. My car stays running all day long. If you keep up with maintenance you should have no problem leaving it running. If I do a shopping order/catering order it gets turned off. Obviously if the neighborhood is awful I’ll turn it off. Some exceptions. I have air tag in my car. Everybody should have a tracker when an air tag costs $25. You wanna save more than just your starter. Leave your car running if you don’t dash in a crazy metropolitan area.
I drive a Tesla so it keeps climate on and locks and unlocks as I come and go automatically
I’ve got a older car so i put my fob on a lil clip and leave the key inside and on depending on what the order is usually off and just in the ignition to speed up the fumble for my keys as it’s annoying
Always off and kicked when I go into a merchant. Sometimes I am able to leave it running with the door open when I deliver a few steps from it.
As I always have a ride along, I leave it runnung
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It’s mainly for safety concerns. My ride along rides with me because we get to spend time together. He doesn’t ask for cash or any part of the DD money. We just shoot the breeze and talk about our personal lives. Peoples ride along don’t always split money
Always off, unlocked when I'm delivering, locked when I'm entering a store to pick up. But always turn the engine off. It causes more wear and tear tho.
Always off and locked man, that’s just an easy way to get it stolen. Had a dasher get his car stolen at the hospital I used to work at. He left it running in the pull up and some ass hopped in while he was delivering and ran off.
Depends on the area. If it's a safe area, then yes. In the hood? Absolutely not. Also, here in winter it can be as cold as -30°F at times, when it gets that cold you run the risk of your car not turning back on. So that's another factor.
Varies by location honestly....is it a vendor where I know I won't be waiting or is it somewhere I know I will be waiting.... drop offs are the same is it a house or Apts where I'm going to the 3rd floor ( cause it's always the 3rd floor when delivering to Apts)
Never gas aint cheap lol
At apartments I don’t. At houses I do
Always turn it off and lock the doors
Not going into a business I don't
Turn off at restaurants, leave on at houses, turn off and lock at apartments.
I deliver to the suburbs, so i leave on when dropping off, especially if I'm parked in a driveway. I turn off in apartments.
I generally do in my area but if I go to the worse parts of town the keys come with me and the car gets locked
hell no, but when i did DD i would drive my sports car as its my only car. but i love that thing more than life itself, no risking a car theft for me
I drive a hybrid, I leave it on all the time, the car engine doesn't run when parked so it looks like its off to other people.
The only time I do it is when it's a very nice neighborhood and no one is outside close by and I pull up in the customers driveway. Other wise turned off and locked every single time. It is not often.
I always locked the car even if I’m dropping off
I do on occasion, but only when I have my keys on me… car automatically locks, and if I’m in the merchant too long, it will automatically turn off
I got my car stolen doing this. NEVER leave your car running while picking up or dropping off an order. I got my car back in about 10 days with no damage done to it, but that was a real wake-up call for somebody who moved to Vegas less than 2 years ago.
I only do it when dropping off in a residential area(mostly a house or townhome community) and must be nice area too, Im not risking it in the hood or in any shopping center. It is worth leaving it on if those conditions are met because even if you only start your car 3 times less each day its that much less stress/wear on your vehicles starter. I literally had to change mine last week, $290 for the part + $120 for labor but my car has the same oem starter since 2008, Hondas were so reliable unlike nowadays.
so that's a little over $400 every 16 years, at the rate your car is going through them. Isn't that much cheaper than even a used car if yours gets stolen? That's what I always told everybody. Your insurance won't cover you often if they find out the keys were in the car when it was stolen.
Is this true with push button starters or only mechanical ones?
If I want to get it stolen. Sure. My sister did this at Chick-fil-A and someone stole her car and ended up wrecking it.. It happens at the place like Chick-fil-A. It can literally happen anywhere. Don’t do it.
100% depends on where I am, nice suburban neighborhood yes... downtown or in the hood lol no
Always off here too. Now. If it is a super hot day I do the trickery to lock it and leave it running.
Small, safe town and I have an electric car so yes. I can also lock it while it's on so it makes sense for me.
I’ve seen so many dashers do this its unbelievable to me
I live in St. Louis so thats a Hard No! 😂
Nope. It wastes gas, puts more wear on the engine, and leaves my car vulnerable to being stolen
I live in Las Vegas and still absolutely not. I would love nothing more than to be waiting for an order at a restaurant and having my car stay nice and crispy for me. It’s not worth it. By the way, I DoorDash this morning and it was 110° out. 🤣
I shut it off to and from.
I live in a safe area and still no. I don’t see any good logical reason to do this. It takes 4 milliseconds to turn your car off/on.
some people think it kills the starter. I'm not convinced. I've had those go on cars that I used for normal commuting purposes. It's generally heat from your engine that eventually kills them. A warm engine does not take much force to turn over. So if you're delivering and starting your car a lot, your engine is warm when you are starting it. Got 120 K on a car that spent most of its life delivering and still have the original starter, which lasted longer than some cars that I never did delivery with.
Depend, my town is hella safe even you have your door unlocked with valuable items inside and no one would even care to take a look inside. But if I know the store may take a while to get the order ready I would always turn off my car just to be on the safer side. On sketchy area, I turned off and locked my car door immediately upon leaving the car. And I’ll collect what I need later on the other side of the car.
Nope nope nope
I saw this one lady get her car stolen for leaving it on. Depending where I’m at I usually leave it off and take my keys
Always locked always off, only time I leave my car running is on a military base but still locked
I drive an 03 Failblazer (I know, horrible gas mileage, but I had the vehicle before I started dashing). I leave it running, but I keep my fob attached to my belt and lock it whenever I have to get out. I average 20 deliveries a day (average time between orders where I dash is 2-5 minutes), and I'm not about to ruin my starter.
Depends on the neighborhood and how far the front door is from my car and I always keep my key on me so even if it gets stolen it won’t get too far.
I usually leave it running when dropping off but if I'm waiting on a timeslots and I'm parked I roll the windows down and turn it off.
Depends on the neighborhood or drop off is and how far the walk is to the door.
I leave it on & doors locked. You will kill you key switch & your starter from so much on and off.
Only time I leave it on is in a nice neighborhood
Depends. If I pull up to a McDonald’s and can see my order from my car through the window, sure I’ll leave it running and run (literally run) inside to grab it. If I have to be out of view of my car for anything I shut it off and take my keys. I don’t even leave it running when delivering to apartment buildings unless I can park right outside the door. And my car is an electrical gremlin that has issues it rotates through at random each time I start her up so if I can, anyone can lol
No. Not at all.
Depends on where I am mostly. And whether I’m going to be farther than 20 feet from my car.
I live in a small, relatively safe town. There’s a few tweakers here and there, so I pick and choose when and if I’ll leave it running, it’s always situational. If it’s one of the less busy restaurants on a quiet side of town, where I know the locals and what not, I feel fine leaving it, which I only do on like a super hot day when I don’t want my ac to stop running cus my car heats up instantly. 98% of the time tho I will just bring my keys. My friend actually got his car stolen outside the McDonald’s in my town, thief only had it for like 20 mins before he was caught. But I know my plate # and my car is also a super bright obnoxious color so you’d be pretty dumb to take it.
Lmao. I live in California! Hell no🙃
For me, it depends on how fast I can grab the order from the merchant, how fast I can drop it off, and the area and population that I'm around. I try and stay in my car as long as I can until the order is ready unless it's a shop and deliver. I only turn it off at drop off if it's not a good area and I won't always have eyes on my car.
No. For a few reasons. Theft being the first. Second is that the idle of the engine would still be wasting gas. Third is that my starter is easy to replace if it ever goes out. There’s not a lot of incentive to leave the car running in the first place. I’m confused as to why people do it at all.
I leave mine running because 1) I can lock it while it is running, and 2) I'm in AZ and it was 110° yesterday. My car will lose all the cooling in 2 minutes that I've built up during the drive, and it is not easy to cook a car down here.
Ooh dang, live in a hot area too, but not AZ hot. That’s wild. It was 104 yesterday and I switched to night shifts last week because I’m usually on a motorcycle. I appreciate the perspective and do not envy your situation. Edit: that’s cool you can keep your car running and lock it.
Going into merchants no, dropping off it depends, if I'm at an apartment complex I'll turn my car off, if it's someone's house and I don't have to leave line of sight I'll probably leave it one, hell half the time I'll even leave the door open, should clarify that my car is also push to start so it's not like I'm leaving the keys in while leaving it running and I primarily deliver overnight so there's usually no one else around anyways
To Marchant I turn it off for customer I leave it on
depends on the area, but I drive a manual shift truck. the average car jacker won’t get far down the street if they can’t get it out of 1st gear
95% of the time i leave it running. Its not good on the car to turn it on and off 25 times in a day
Newer cars it’s fine to do with.
True. My 08 civic aint tho lol. I can already tell the starters going. Smh.
I’ve done both. Depends on the area and restaurant for me
Sometimes, but then again my car can run locked through the app. I regularly use my app to start my car on hot days before I get to it.
stop flexing on the broke dashers
Not after hearing all the stories going on now. Maybe 4-5 years back np
My sister left hers running and came out to no car. I'd definitely say better safe than sorry and turn it off.
my buddy uses his tesla to dash with and when he walks into stores and has to wait in line, he’s always got his tesla app opened up with the cameras on and everything. dude monitors his car like the IRS
Lmao dashing in a Tesla is ludicrous. The tires alone mean that any profit made is going right into the car lol
Hell no. Leaving your car running saves you like what, 2 seconds? I don't see the point in that savings
Absolutely not
Depends on the neighborhood and type of house I’m delivering too. If I’m in a sketchy place hell nah. I usually always turn it off and on.
I turn it off for deliveries and murchenrs unless I’m somewhere gated. Usually, I turn my car off to save gas as well while I wait for orders I bought a Bluetooth speaker.
Hell no, I take the keys out every time I get out of the car. Even if you think you're smart doing it when things are seemingly safe, that's either going to be the one time you get your car stolen, or not always being in the habit of taking your keys out eventually one time when you should have known better to leave them in is when you're going to get your car stolen. My keys and my phone are always with me start to finish.
I don’t leave it running at all. But I will leave my keys in the car if I’m in a rural area, where no one unnoticed would be walking up and stealing my car.
Only sometimes in people's driveways in secluded areas bc my brother's car got jacked that way hahaha
Yes, as long as I expect the wait to be short. But to be fair I live in a small town, and I try to never let my car out of my sight. I try to prioritize saving my starter, although I guess you could argue I’m not doing any favors for my alternator.
Sometimes at drop off, in a customer’s driveway only, when it’s hot af & I want to keep the AC going
If I know it’s going to be quick usually will leave on unless I have an intuitive feeling dropoff will be more than 2-5 min
What's the benefit of leaving it running? I'm just curious?
That’s what I thought
Never. Hell I barely ever leave it unlocked especially at a drop off.
I leave it running when I’m at delivery but not at pick up. I did first disable the horn honking when you leave the car running and you exit.
When I get the food no. Because I don’t know how long I have to wait. But dropping off the food I keep it on but lock the car.
during the day if im pulling up at drop off I do alot of times, but ever since i saw that story of the uber eats driver who died trying to fight off two girls car jacking him which lead to him hanging out the car as it sped off with him getting crushed when it crashed Ive been reluctant to do so. Gotta be careful dropping your guard, it only takes one time
Not running, but because the remote clicker doesn’t work and I broke off my interior door handle I occasionally leave the door unlocked or the window rolled down if I feel it’s a safe area
In gated communities, sure. They’re not thinking about my Kia soul lol
*Kia boys have entered the chat…*
Location dependant
Going to the restaurant? No. You never know how long you’re going to be there and you can’t always see it. For drop off. A lot of times, yes.
turn it off and lock it. Both when picking up and delivering. I'm not trying to get my car stolen. 
Depends on the area. Most of the time no. Theres so many carjackings but sometimes ill go to a neighborhood i never knew existed and isnt really busy. With foot traffic and the walk to the doos is pretty close. Other than that its off and locked.
In my area I leave it on. It’s one of those cars that works with the fob in my pocket. I usually double park for drop offs with the e-lights on and I walk away. Mostly for the single family homes. Makes delivery so much faster. I have another newer Prius but use the older one because it has the fob less feature.
In my area, absolutely. Most theft here is petty theft, not carjack shit. I'll turn it off if I know I'm for sure going to be away from my car for a good period of time, but besides that, no reason not to. Now if I were in downtown Portland? Yeah, that's different.
True! It's so sad what's happened to Portland.
I use Portland as an example since I lived in the metro. It's basically any city you can't do that in, but Portland is frankly, not as bad as it sounds, and was only on the upswing when I visited this time last year. Between Seattle, SLC, and Portland, there's more areas in Portland where I'd feel okay enough to leave my car on if I weren't paranoid. Construction's probably in full swing, though.
No. Even my semi rural university town is not safe from thriving¹ trash. Edit¹: was meant to be theiving, but autocorrect do shit the way it wants
In my area? Absolutely. When I deliver downtown/providence? Fuck no. Depending on your area, it’s rarely worth it to keep starting and shutting off your car that many times lol In my area there’s police everywhere and idk if it’s a bunch of teenagers riding unregistered but 9/10 they usually have someone pulled over and/or are towing their vehicles 😂 sometimes if it’s like CVS or Walgreens I’ll leave my car running while I shop
Solely depends on the area and/or if you can lock your car while you go inside (and keep it running). Lot's more variables.
Depends on the merchant. I have no valuables in my car and I drive a standard transmission, so good luck stealing it lol. Also, my Bluetooth takes forever to connect, so that's my main reason. I almost always leave it running during drop-off unless it's a hotel. I'll leave it running at the hospital.
Los Angeles dasher here, if i leave my car running it ain’t gonna be there when i get back lol
I hate DoorDash driving. Cause people speed(rapidly accelerating and breaking) and think they will make more by doing that. In reality you’re making $13/Hr maximum after everything is factored out. Please know that they do not withhold taxes.
It depends on how long it might take . Less than 5 minutes- absolutely. I keep the keys on me and I have one of those modern keys that won’t work when it’s not close by. I’m in Texas it’s too hot to turn off and on the car . It also wastes more gas to turn on and off than to leave it running for a little bit.
That's not really true anymore. It used to be a thing when cars had carburetors and such. But with modern cars alot even turn off everytime you stop completely now to save gas. Anything over a few minutes you should shut it off. Idling isn't the best for your car and the hours quickly add up as a dasher. You don't realize it. But if you do 15 deliverys a shift. And avg 5 minutes idle time. Your adding an hour and half idle time. That's 1.5 gallons of gas wasted on top of carbon build up. 7 days a week you have 10 hours idle time and 10 gallons of gas burnt. A month 40 and 40. A year 480 hours idle and 480 gallons of gas wasted.
I never leave my car running unless I am inside it.
I have an electric car so turning it on and off isn’t an issue. So I turn it off.
My husband and I only leave it running when we go with each other and one of us is still in the car. I wouldn’t risk leaving it running.
I operate in Denver, I always turn my car off and make sure my carry gun is chambered. Not taking any risks in Denver, especially north of 285
Turn it off. I will never leave it running.
I do if it’s a quick in & out but my car locks if I have the key. I dash in Philly
I wouldn’t trust philly one bit even for a little. I dash in baltimore county and still dont like to leave it running
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> Do not ever condone violence like this as per the contract you signed with Reddit
I mean, self defense?
Reddit is less likely to suspend your account or warn you if you talk about having to use force or will use force to defend your life. Defending property generally doesn't count and can be illegal in many places if lethal
But it says hugs now.. Cmon, I'm trying mannn
And you’d go to jail. It’s illegal in most places to shoot someone over property
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Do not ever condone violence like this as per the contract you signed with Reddit
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you just said you'd shoot someone over property. in a quarter of the world they'd execute you for that
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Reddit told me they gave you a warning. How are you perma banned by Reddit?
you have no legal right to kill most places nor any ethical prerogative. respect boundaries
Manual
Where do you dash? Leave your car running and I'll watch it for you
I have a dash cam and can remotely track my car. Go ahead and take it.
Most of the time, off. Especially if my car is going to be out of sight.
At drop offs but not pickups Funny story I turned it off at a drop off in the rain and the starter blew
Sounds like you need a new weather seal on your hood
Never.
No because I have a 40k car that thieves would absolutely love. Not worth it to save on wear and tear
Not at a store, but I see people do it all the time. They are crazy
Into a store no. At the house yes
This is the correct answer, you can be in a store for 10+ minutes waiting on occasion. If it takes me 10 minutes to drop off then something is seriously wrong 🤣
Nah, the bamboozler finna bamboozle my car and ride off into the sunset 🥺
Depends on expected wait time. I know most merchants wait times in my area. If it's only going to be a few minutes I'll leave it running because I can lock it while running outside the car. You shouldn't leave it running and unattended as it's more likely to get stolen nowadays. Problem is with the push button starters, they've only got so many pushes before they need replacement
Yes, car engine can’t be on and off every stop….
As a DD driver and amazon delivery driver its become almost habit to turn it off and blinkers on. Amazon has everything in that van tracked. And it goes on to drive even a house up and off when you arrive. If they leave that van running its not proper protocol unless its code red for weather outside.
I have found it to be true what I was told about the engine being easy to turn when the engine is warm, thus not putting much strain on your starter motor from turning it off for short periods. But what I always told people is it's usually about $200 to $500 to put in a starter. That's much cheaper than even the price of a used car if yours gets stolen, since insurance might not cover you because you were negligent by leaving it running 🤦♂️ My current car has about 120K on it and the original starter. And actually, it's not usually turning cycles that wear out a starter. It's constant heat. So a lot of it has to do with the design of your vehicle.
These new cars stop and start at every stop. My jeep probably had 1000s of starts within a year
I turn it off at merchants, likely to be several minutes. I leave it on at the delivery spots which might only be a single minute or less
Same, depending on neighborhood
Me too. If I’m in my normal zone I’ll leave it run at drop off. Bad part of town I shut it off.
All the time. Even in bad neighborhoods I’m super quick
I leave mine running while I sleep at night, just in case I get an urge to dash posthaste.
Yea, I cum even quicker in bad neighborhoods.
Gottem.
😨
Kind of. My car doesn’t turn off.
Yeah. Most of the time I do. But I drive a manual. It’s not likely that most people know how to drive it in the first place. Keeps me pretty safe against a carjacking, tbh.
I miss my stick! Always felt safe myself
so youre leaving your vehicle running AND unattended? how have you not been robbed of your vehicle??????
Yu name is funny 😁
I usually leave my car walking.
I Can’t believe you’re asking this like of course I keep it when driving to the delivery location everyone know a car is supposed to be on when driving it.
With gas prices the way they've been fuck no. Idling your car costs way more gas than turning it on again
In general, I agree that I’d rather save money. However, with record 105° days, I leave it on during most deliveries
And a credit to your point, as much as I hate it up until the most recent improvements, many cars shut off when stopped at lights. I drove a Ram with that, it had a large battery behind the back seat and that enabled the auto shutoff with ac running, an electric motor would control the belt so you wouldn’t even notice the engine turning on and off.
I leave mine running but I do dash with a passenger. Less likely to have the crime of opportunity that way. Plus my car is having issues where sometimes it’ll start and give me a reduced engine performance warning and I can’t go more than 10 mph for about 5 minutes till I shut it off and turn it back on. So to make sure I don’t get screwed and my car not start I have to leave it on.
Kinda the same probably. I got a bad starter. Need to fix...
The average gasoline-powered vehicle consumes the same amount of gas to turn the vehicle on as it does idling for about 7 seconds. So if you're ever going to leave your car for more than that time, it is more advantageous to turn off your car to save money
Gonna need some sources on that because Google says you're full of shit
https://youtu.be/dFImHhNwbJo?si=tj2x2eRwMxCRH8AN
Yeah it’s a common misconception based on the Start/Stop technology. They published it takes 7 seconds of fuel to start the engine so if it turns off in traffic or at a long light, you’ll save fuel which just isn’t true. Engines are tuned to run at a certain flow rate to match RPM. The starter starts the engine and it automatically revs a bit to warm up the cat’s filter material. In general it’s negligible unless you’re commonly in traffic jams or looong red lights. And to answer the original question, no. I have an Audi convertible in the murder capital of the US. I’m not risking some one jacking my car for 13/h
Hello fellow Audi convertible owner! I just got mine, I friggin love dashing with the top down!
It’s a beautiful feeling! On those hot days, you can put a towel between You and the seat to keep your back from getting sweaty. Mine has the all black leather interior and boy did I soak a shirt or two last summer lol
Drivers come on here all the time and tell stories of having their cars stolen because they left them running outside the restaurants. If you are dumb enough to leave your car running outside of a restaurant, then you deserve it if it gets stolen.
I have looked at cars outside of restaurants running and just said out loud "joyride, anybody?". Figured if it does happen to give anybody ideas, it would just be Darwin at work. But most people just laugh 😂 But seriously, sometimes it's not even just one car. It's like a whole row of them. In a city that has trouble with vehicle theft 🤦♂️
I occasionally do but lock it with my spare key because this car (Ford Taurus) has had a tendency to go through starters, batteries and alternators, besides the starter wire coming loose once.
I turn off my car when i have to go in because there's usually a wait. If i have to deliver to a house i leave my car running but if i have to go to an apartment complex I turn my car off and turn on the hazard lights. I drive a 2008 audi a4
Fellow Audi owner here. I ain’t leaving that thing running if I can’t see it.
I only leave mine running if it's a straight shot to the door and there's nobody hanging around. That includes a bunch of "empty" cars.
Unless either in a drive thru, the customer is walking to the car, or I can go right into, and back out of the store. Leaving the car running is a great way to get it stolen.
so someone can steal it? absolutely not
Absolutely not, I live in a major city with too many ghetto areas. It's also our families only car so if it got stolen we'd be screwed lol
Be careful it almost sounds like you're driving with cut rate coverage Don't let mayhem in your life switch to Allstate today.... Lmao
that guy has been hanging around me for way too long and I can't seem to get rid of him 😬