Prepping Car for Cold Weather (Northern Ontario) - Comments/Suggestions

[jaotguy]

and a shovel in the trunk .....

put a plastic garbage bag ( sheet of plastic ) on the windshield ... tucked in the 2 front doors to hold in place ..... when you're ready to leave, just pull the plastic off with the ice / snow on it.

skip the battery warmer , just get the block heater ( look around under the hood for a power cord behind the battery, you may already have one factory installed )

at least get snows for the front driving wheels, if money is tight

 

[westcliffe01]

In winter I rig up an electric fan heater to the passenger front seat so that it directs hot air to the windshield. Run the cord out the bottom of the driver side door (so I don't forget it) and plug in the extension. At the house, I have a timer plugged into the outlet then the extension lead plugged into that. It comes on and runs for 2 hours, switching off right before I need to leave. This will defrost the windows, preheat all the glass (so it is not fogged up when you start driving) it also dries out any moisture that was on the floor mat from the last use. Even if one does not drive it every day, it does a good job of keeping the vehicle in a state where it is easy to use. Not 1/2" of ice over everything, frozen windshield wipers etc etc.

In severe cold, you will have to visit the car wash possibly once a week to melt all the ice that accumulates in the drain chanels of the hood, trunk, door hinges etc, otherwise you can end up doing quite a bit of damage because ice is quite unyielding. If you get any opportunity to park in a heated building, take it so that the thing can fully thaw out (this avoids the caw wash solution).

 

[buickanddeere]

If you go the new snow tires/rims route...forget the TPMS sensors...expensive plus the dealer has to reset every time you change rims or twice a year.If the light bothers you...a small piece of black tape will hide it.Remember for years we didn't have them and got along alright.Keeping the fuel tank full was a good suggestion,it's something I do automatic.

People got along just fine without indoor plumbing too but do you want to go back ?
Ever seen the numbers on the fuel wasted, motor vehicle wrecks and deaths due to tire failures from under inflation? Do you recall the Ford Exploders on Firestone tires? Problem was under inflation for the load.

 

[MossRoad]

Thanks all, appreciate the info. Several things I hadn't really considered yet. Going to suck up and get the snow tires now rather than later also. The tires I just put on can spend the winter in Ohio with me, where it's normally somewhere north of freezing, or at least not too far below... Also going to go to a 60% mix on antifreeze, block heater and silicone on gaskets. Also talked to a couple dealers and they said battery warmers may help, but most just do the block heater. Also hadn't thought about the fogged up windows, but good point. They fog up pretty good in OH, so imagine more so up north.

Another question on tires. Mount/balance is in the $40-50 range. First round is on the dealer I just bought tires from, because I'm such a great guy After that I'll be out $50+ per change or $100/yr. Seems practical to me to at least look at another set of wheels - suggestions appreciated. This car has TPMS (pressure monitoring) also, and no idea how that applies to non-OEM wheels?

Go to a junk yard and find a 2nd set of rims for the car. Keep the snow tires on them.

 

[dan ny escarpment]

Chef, that is beautiful country up around North Bay, as another Ohioan who spent time up there as a kid and as a younger adult, very curious how your winter goes in the region. Just out of curiosity, what brings you up the the Great White North in winter? Have always wanted to experience it, and as retirement time approahes, We'd love to spend a winter up there as well.

Friends up there were on a lake and island in the winter and had to drill the ice for water supply etc.

Best regards,

 

[LD1]

Ditto forgetting the TPMS for the snow tires. Just keep an eye on pressure.

The light makes people complacent. Personally I like to check tires once a week or so, and always make a habit of looking at all 4 before getting into the vehicle.

My wifes car has TPMS. What a PITA. No only does it detect if a single tire is low. It also tells if there is more than a 4PSI difference between any two tires. So if you run the fronts ~38PSI and the rears 35PSI, and dont get it exact, or temp changes made the light come and go at will.

Last set of tires we got, (they were used tires from a junkyard), the bozo must have whaked one of the TPMS sensors inside the wheel. Cause now the light is on all the time. And I didnt know til I left cause once the light is on, you have to drive over 15MPH for like 5 minutes for it to go out. Well, it didnt, and now who knows what wheel it is with the damaged sensor.

BUT, now that the light is on ALL the time, the wife pays a little more attention to the tires, and knows how to use the pressure gauge in her car if in doubt.

 

[3930dave]

Fairly common up here OP (at tire shops), but wanted to mention nitrogen fill for the tires.

Nitrogen is more temperature stable, so you get much less of a pressure change as the ambient temp varies.

I believe Costco fills with nitrogen, and probably does top ups with a receipt. Valve caps are green plastic to indicate N filled.

Just wanted to mention, in case this practice is less common down your way.

Rgds, D.

 

[buickanddeere]

Nitrogen fill has been one of the finest example of scam and the sorry state of the education system that the general public has no clue. The one and only advantage of nitrogen in the bottle is that it's dry. Shop air through a dryer is just as good.

 

[Chef Pa]

Again all, thanks much for the tips. Another story, but my thought processes have been lacking the past year or so - so really appreciate it.

Dan Ny - It is definitely beautiful country up there, but I'm not going with the car, it's a family member. Precious cargo for sure, and part of why I'm being so thorough. I've only visited in summer, but beautiful country for sure, and lots of really, really nice people.

3930 Dave - Thanks for the N tip, will look into that when I get tires mounted.

Fyi, was able to get OEM steel wheels without covers (don't look bad IMO plain black) for $209. Tire rack a little less, but that's before shipping and without CC info etc you don't get a shipped price, so it's probably about a wash. 4 Firestone winterforce from local dealer, $454 including mount/balance. North Bay Honda recommended Michelin, I think Michelin Ice and they were about $100 more for all four, but local dealer here in OH said he was confident enough in the Fstones that he would give me money back no questions asked if not happy with them, so Fstone it is.

Still on the fence with the TPMS. $95.00 for OEM to add to the metal wheels, so that's not too painful. BUT according to Hondoo, you can't reset from the dashboard, and most tire dealers don't have the interface, so back to the dealer to swap em out. I used to do all work myself, probably like some others here, so being forced to the dealer just rubs me the wrong way. If it were me driving the car I would deal with the light through winter, no doubt about it. Either way I'm now educated on TPMS, so learned something new. PS, this isnt a dig on Honda, we've had a few and normally run to 250 or 300 K miles, and had very little to complain about.

 

[buickanddeere]

Anybody against battery warmers lacks the practical experience and battery theory . Not only is the cranking power of a warm battery much higher. The battery will also charge much faster, important on short trips with head lights on.