Viral TikTok mechanic Daimee Rosales uses wrench and wit to educate and empower women in a male-dominated field

Daimee Rosales, 25, a mechanic from Toronto, rose to online prominence after a viral clip showing an oil change performed from beneath a raised car, with her legs kicked up as if the repair shop were her gym. The video helped Rosales amass about half a million followers on TikTok, where she shares automotive tips with humor and lip-syncs, aiming to reach younger audiences and especially women who often encounter bias in repair shops. The mix of entertainment and instruction has made her a recognizable voice in a traditionally male-dominated field, and she has said the goal is to encourage more people, particularly women, to get their hands dirty and pursue skilled trades.

Most of Rosales’s clips are filmed in her dad’s auto repair shop in Toronto, where she has been honing her craft and tackling challenging tasks such as tearing down Nissan CVT engines to rebuild them. Her work is presented as both education and demonstration, showing methodical disassembly, diagnosis, and reassembly to illustrate how complex modern transmissions operate. In interviews with the Daily Mail, Rosales described her approach to customer service and pricing, emphasizing fairness for female clients: "My dad and I get a lot of women that come into our shop. We will never overcharge them. I want to do my work and make sure it’s done for a fair price." Her aim is to become a role model for other women seeking to enter or advance in auto repair, and she has said she wants to expand opportunities for women in a field that often lacks representation.

Rosales also offered a practical brands guide rooted in reliability, maintenance costs, and ease of repair. In the Daily Mail interview, she identified Ford, Volkswagen, and Chevrolet as brands she would avoid for everyday buyers, arguing that the ongoing costs of upkeep can offset purchase-price savings. Her cautions come as Ford’s F-Series and Chevrolet’s Silverado are among the best-selling trucks in the United States, and Volkswagen remains a major global automaker. Beyond mainstream brands, she singled out imported luxury labels as less dependable, listing Jaguar, Audi, Mercedes, and Land Rover as examples, while warning that European luxury cars tend to be expensive to fix.

She warned against electric vehicles in certain contexts due to potentially high battery replacement costs, particularly in cold-weather regions, and she praised Toyota and Honda as dependable, easy-to-work-on options. "Those are super easy to work on," she said, noting that simpler maintenance habits can extend a vehicle’s life. Rosales recommends sticking to a standard 5,000-mile interval for oil changes and routine checks, with cost guidelines that reflect vehicle class: roughly $70 to $90 for sedans and SUVs, and about $120 for V8-powered trucks. By sharing these figures, she aims to help drivers avoid overpaying for routine maintenance and to empower audiences with grounded, experience-based advice.

Rosales’s outlook aligns with a broader conversation among professional mechanics about brand reliability and cost of ownership. In July, Scotty Kilmer, a veteran YouTube mechanic with decades of experience, suggested avoiding Ford and Chevy trucks, echoing a theme of cost-conscious maintenance. Jon Ling, a mechanic with 30 years in the trade, offered similar insights with his own brand judgments. Yet Rosales separates her guidance into practical maintenance habits and explicit pricing strategies, underscoring that the real driver of repair costs is often neglect of routine care rather than brand alone.

Beyond her viral persona, Rosales is making a calculated, long-term effort to demystify car repair and encourage more people—especially women—to pursue and sustain careers in automotive trades. She continues to work on complex tasks, including Nissan CVT work, while using her platform to share accessible advice that translates to everyday driving decisions. The blend of entertainment and hands-on expertise reflects how social media is shaping the public understanding of car culture, turning repair knowledge into a form of contemporary culture and entertainment while highlighting the value of skilled labor and fair practice in auto service.