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If I start the car while the headlights are initailly on, would it damage the engine in the long run?

My car has this feature where if you switch off the engine and you leave the headlights on, the headlights will switch off automatically when you open the door. The headlights turn back on either manually or if you turn the igition. I like this feature so I purposely leave my headlights on after switching off the engine and let the feature switch it off when I open the door. And when I turn the ignition the lights come back on and then start the car. I only do this at night of cause. I Switch it off manually after I come home at night. Anyway my girlfriend’s parents told me that having the headlights on while starting the engine will harm the engine in the long run. Is this true?

I’ve been a mechanic and a machinist for 35 years and have been asked this question allot starting with motorcycles in the early 70’s. Now they use this same Principal in cars.In short , no it won’t hurt your engine at all. All it does is use a little extra battery power. Auto manufactures have compensated for this by using larger batteries to handle the load of starting your engine while having your head lights on. I hope this answers your question. Pat

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