Idling cost calculator
An engine that’s running but not moving still burns fuel. See what standing still costs your fleet every month — most operators are off by thousands.
Fuel wasted / month
990 L
Cost / month
$1,535
Cost / year
$18,414
CO₂ / year
30.9 t
Estimates only — real idling varies by vehicle, season (winter warm-ups!), and driver habits. A tracking platform measures it exactly, per vehicle, from the engine itself.
Why idling is the easiest fleet cost to cut
Idling is invisible on a timesheet and invisible on the odometer — but not on the fuel card. A single vehicle idling 90 minutes a day at 3 L/h burns roughly 1,200 litres a yearwithout moving a metre. Across a ten-vehicle fleet at today’s prices, that is a five-figure line item for zero productive work.
The fix is rarely complicated: measure it, set an idle alert, and let drivers know it’s being tracked. Fleets that do this typically cut idling by a third or more in the first months — with no change to how the work gets done.
The calculator above is an estimate. If you want the real number, Always ON Tracking reads idling straight from each vehicle’s engine: a per-event Idle report (where, when, how long), per-vehicle idle alerts with schedules, and idle time on every trip.
Idling questions, answered
A light-duty pickup or van burns roughly 2 litres per hour at idle; medium-duty trucks burn 3–4 L/h, and heavy diesel equipment can exceed 4 L/h. Cold-weather warm-ups and air conditioning push those numbers higher — a real concern for Canadian fleets.
Yes — it is the range most fleets discover when they first measure it. Warm-ups, waiting at job sites, loading docks, drive-through lines, and lunch breaks with the engine running add up quickly. Many operators find specific vehicles idling 3+ hours a day.
It does. An hour of idling causes engine wear comparable to roughly 40–50 km of driving, but adds nothing to the odometer — so oil changes and service intervals based on mileage silently under-service the engine. Excessive idling also shortens the life of spark plugs, exhaust systems, and diesel particulate filters.
A GPS tracking platform with engine (OBD) data measures idling directly from the vehicle: every event, where it happened, and for how long. Always ON Tracking includes a per-event Idle report and configurable idle alerts per vehicle.
Stop estimating. Start measuring.
See your fleet’s actual idling — every event, every vehicle, straight from the engine.