February 11, 2025 at 4:49 pm

A Mechanic Offered Advice About The Best Way To Warm Up Your Car When It’s Cold Outside

by Matthew Gilligan

Source: TikTok

In case you didn’t know it…it’s cold out there, folks!

And if you make a morning commute to work, you better believe that those freezing mornings are a nuisance.

So, what’s the best way to warm up your car when you start your day?

A mechanic named Dave took to TikTok to share his insights with viewers.

Source: TikTok

Dave asked viewers if they thought it would be better for a car to let it sit idly for minutes or only seconds before driving it after it had been sitting in 35 degree weather.

He started with the first method and let the vehicle sit idle for 10 minutes.

The oil temperature in the vehicle started at 35 degrees and ended up at 82 degrees after it idled for ten minutes.

Source: TikTok

He said, “When we talk about heating your truck or your car, it’s the oil temperature that you want to come up as fast as possible.”

In a follow-up video that’s since been deleted, Dave let the car idle 15 to 20 seconds before driving it.

He said three minutes of driving brought the oil temperature to 80 degrees and eight minutes made the car’s temperature double what it had been when it was sitting idly.

In conclusion, Dave said he thought that the second method was better for heating up a car.

Source: TikTok

Check out his video.

@davesautocenter

Does idling a diesel engine for 10 minutes heat up the truck properly. No #autoshop #autorepair #carrepair #enginebuild

♬ original sound – Dave’s Auto Center

Here’s what folks had to say on TikTok.

This viewer chimed in.

Source: TikTok

Another individual spoke up.

Source: TikTok

And this viewer shared their thoughts.

Source: TikTok/@davesautocenter

Stay warm out there!

Now that you’ve read that story, check out this one about a delivery driver who took a $400 grocery order back because she wasn’t given a tip.