A car photographer, videographer and former car salesman, has issued a warning that he believes all drivers should heed, especially during this time of year.
Taking to his Capturing Cars TikTok account, he advises motorists against “jumping into the car, starting it up cold and simply driving off,” as this could cause serious, long-term damage to the vehicle. Instead, he suggests a “very, very simple” alternative.
“Of course the first thing you should do is start the car up – and it will soon give a very good indicator of when you can drive off,” he explained. “You’ll see that the revs are sitting just over 1,000 RPM and it will stay there for a little while.”
At this point, Capturing Cars recommends waiting for a few minutes until the revs drop to just below 1,000 RPM. “That is the car’s way of giving you a good indicator as to when it’s warm enough for you to put the car in gear and drive it,” he continued.
Ignoring this advice in the short term may not have noticeable effects, but Capturing Cars warns that consistently making this mistake over time can lead to significant damage to the car’s transmission. “If you’re not letting it warm up enough, there is more cold friction unnecessarily being caused and that can damage the gearbox,” he elaborated.
One TikTok user hailed the advice, responding: “My dad taught me this and I’ve taught my daughter. I leave it between 1-2 minutes.” Another agreed: “Good advice. Always best to warm the engine/oil before starting off.”
Whilst a third commentator revealed the science behind the precaution, remarking: “Oil in the engine is thicker in cold and that’s where the cold friction comes from. So it is true, once it’s warmed the oil gets thinner and runs more smoothly.”
Meanwhile, other drivers stated that whilst they set off immediately, they do so with caution, taking it “gently” and “slowly” at first to avoid engine strain. One individual said: “You can drive immediately after starting it on a cold morning, as long as you drive gently for the first few minutes to allow the engine.”
A second person conccurred: “I start mine and drive it slowly for a couple minutes before I red line it to warm up properly.”
Contrasting with this, however, there were those who ignored the guidance completely; one such person asserted: “It’s best to start driving away to get the components moving, no point of you leaving it to idle doing nothing — you’re going to wreck your engine and components in the engine. You can let it idle for two minutes.”
The advice from Capturing Cars aligns with the expert opinion of Joseph Henmueller, president and COO of the Automotive Maintenance and Repair Association, who advised AccuWeather: “The oil is the lifeblood of the engine. Fluids get thicker when it is cold, so to lubricate properly they need 60 to 120 seconds of the engine running.”
Without properly letting the engine run, he added that you may be cutting your engine’s life short.