Why does my car take so long to heat up?

The temperate gauge on my Citroen DS3 diesel takes nine miles to reach operating temperate and on occasion has only reached 3/4 (my heaters seem to be working).

When it does reach the centre of the gauge and I come out of gear and idle the gauge drops. I've also found it to be a little jumpy when going down hills. Is this normal for a diesel do this?

Asked on 26 January 2015 by ant110

Answered by Honest John
Diesels without manifold in head engines take longer to heat up than petrol engines, but this seems to be a bit excessive. If the heater is churning out hot air, then the engine will be to temperature but the gauges isn't recognising this and that probably has a knock on effect with the ECU.
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