Clearing the car off...

[Captain Ice]

Just the lights, mirrors, windows and windshield. The other stuff will blow off. As the first rule of Italian driving says..."what behind me....no matter!"

So that's where I get that attitude from....

When I get caught in a snowstorm, step one is to knock any loose snow surrounding/on the driver's door off so it doesn't end up inside the car. Then I start the car and turn on both defrosters. Then I pull up on the parking brake if it is not already set. I follow this up with knocking loose snow off the hood and lights. By this point, the defrosters have melted enough that the windows are easy. I clear enough off the trunk to be able to use the rear window.

As for shoveling, I always only shoveled enough to get the car out without high-centering the damned thing. I also learned when driving a front wheel drive car in snow, back into parking spots. Makes it a hell of a lot easier to get out again.

 

[RoJoHen]

That said, a few times, on the slightly warmer days as the snow starts to melt, I've had the snow from my roof slide forward and come crashing down on top of my windshield.

Yeah, but it always does so in amounts managable by the wipers, and typically when you're coming to a stop anyway.

The amounts were not even remotely managable by the wipers. I'm talking about all of the snow from the roof crashing down all at once. It's like a fucking avalanche. One time it actually BROKE one of wipers on the way down.

 

[Tim]

I clear off all windows and mirrors, as well as the cabin air intake where the windshield meets the hood. Sometimes I also clean off the lights.

Right now, I'd just like to get the damn crust of road salt off my car!

 

[RoJoHen]

You know what really bugs me? My old car used to have heated side mirrors, but my current one doesn't! That was such a nice feature...

 

[Thena]

I clear off the whole thing, because I once had to pull over on the expressway when the sheet of ice that was on my car roof crashed down on the windshield in rush hour traffic.

Incidentally, there was this story in the Chicago Tribune about a guy whose car got it by a sheet of ice falling off the top of a truck. His nose and the bone section under the left eye socket were smashed and needed two hours of reconstructive surgery. Glass shards also got into his left eye, cutting the lid and iris. It's likely he'll have permanent loss of vision.

 

[Trekker4747]

I clear off all windows and mirrors, as well as the cabin air intake where the windshield meets the hood. Sometimes I also clean off the lights.

Right now, I'd just like to get the damn crust of road salt off my car!

Oh yeah, clearing off that CAI is very important! (Unless you want it to snow in the car when you turn the fan on. )

 

[indranee]

for the first time in my life, I actually had to use a shovel -- yes, a shovel -- to clear the 25 inches DC got last month off of my car.

ugh. 'twas not fun.

usually, I just turn the engine on with the defrosters on maximum (rear and front) and use the brush to clean the stuff off of my hood, windshield, windows, headlights and tail-lights. then I use the scraper to clean the roof. I think it's illegal to drive here without cleaning the roof.

 

[indranee]

I clear off all windows and mirrors, as well as the cabin air intake where the windshield meets the hood. Sometimes I also clean off the lights.

Right now, I'd just like to get the damn crust of road salt off my car!

Oh yeah, clearing off that CAI is very important! (Unless you want it to snow in the car when you turn the fan on. )

where's the CAI? is it where the wipers are or uptop. I'm sorry I'm being so ignorant.

 

[Trekker4747]

I clear off all windows and mirrors, as well as the cabin air intake where the windshield meets the hood. Sometimes I also clean off the lights.

Right now, I'd just like to get the damn crust of road salt off my car!

Oh yeah, clearing off that CAI is very important! (Unless you want it to snow in the car when you turn the fan on. )

where's the CAI? is it where the wipers are or uptop. I'm sorry I'm being so ignorant.

The Cabin Air Intake is usually the vent structure in the cowling area where the hood meets the windshield where the wipers rest.

 

[indranee]

Oh yeah, clearing off that CAI is very important! (Unless you want it to snow in the car when you turn the fan on. )

where's the CAI? is it where the wipers are or uptop. I'm sorry I'm being so ignorant.

The Cabin Air Intake is usually the vent structure in the cowling area where the hood meets the windshield where the wipers rest.

oh, okay, that's what I figured. thanks!

 

[RAMA]

I believe its against the law here NOT to clean off the top of your vehicle...of course people still do it anyway and wreak havoc behind them..idiots.

RAMA

 

[Tim]

I clear off all windows and mirrors, as well as the cabin air intake where the windshield meets the hood. Sometimes I also clean off the lights.

Right now, I'd just like to get the damn crust of road salt off my car!

Oh yeah, clearing off that CAI is very important! (Unless you want it to snow in the car when you turn the fan on. )

Or getting a nasty wet mildewy smell when you next turn on your car. I speak from experience, though zapping some Febreze or disinfectant directly into the dashboard vents can solve the problem.

 

[Captain Ice]

Oh yeah, clearing off that CAI is very important! (Unless you want it to snow in the car when you turn the fan on. )

where's the CAI? is it where the wipers are or uptop. I'm sorry I'm being so ignorant.

The Cabin Air Intake is usually the vent structure in the cowling area where the hood meets the windshield where the wipers rest.

Careful which term you drop there. To us car nuts, CAI = Cold Air Intake and is usually located in the left front wheelwell.

 

[BigFoot]

Here you can get a ticket if you don't clear snow off your car. So yeah, the other day when leaving work I had to clear about 4" of snow off my car. Luckily I have a short broom in my trunk just for this kinda thing, so I was able to do it very quickly.