‘A lot of drivers don’t realise’ why turning heating on is actually making your car COLDER – how to stop it
AS TEMPERATURES drop and we turn the heaters in our car up as high as they can go, one tip will get us warmer, faster.
One motorist on TikTok has revealed that your car will heat up faster if you don't turn the heating on straight away.
That's because the warmth of the air comes from the engine block and the engine needs time to warm up.
Canadian Motorist uncouver posted a 37-second clip explaining the tip to his TikTok followers.
"If it's a really cold day and you get in your car to start it, and you immediately crank the fan up and the defrost all the way, all it's going to do is take away any heat the coolant is able to generate.
"It's just going to blow it out to your cold windshield before your car can regenerate it and it's going to take that much longer to warm up," he says.
Instead, motorists should turn the car on and let the engine heat up before switching the heating on - allowing a constant flow of hot air faster.
Commenters were shocked at the simplicity of the tip, but most shared their experience of doing it themselves.
"My dad always told me NOT to turn off the car with the fan/air conditioning on. But he never told me why. He just grunted 'Belts'," said one commenter.
"Mine works that way, it won't ramp up the fan until I've been driving for about 3 minutes," said another.
"Yes fully correct. Wait till the engine temp goes up first then put heat on! Will warm up faster when warmed up," said a third.
Motorist Ceith Griffith has revealed in another TikTok that checking the amount of coolant in your car also helps.
He said: "I'm going to show you an easy maintenance tip to make your car heat up faster in the mornings.
"You want to make sure your coolant is exactly where it's supposed to be. Do not overfill it. Just make sure it's right there at the line," he said.
Letting your engine warm up in cold weather can also help the engine live longer.
One mechanic said: "Five to ten minutes of letting the engine idle would be more than enough to get heat into the engine and try and reduce that initial engine wear.
"Remember folks that 90% of engine damage occurs in the first five minutes of idling."
