Had an email from esure car insurance yesterday with winter tip info - obvious stuff like don't pour boiling water on a frozen widerscreen!

Anyway, there were two useful tips that I hadn't considered...

Check your wipers: Lift your windscreen wipers carefully to detach the blades from the windscreen. If you have an auto setting, turn it off so that scraping the windscreen doesn’t trigger them. Make sure that your washer fluid with antifreeze is topped up.

Watch your mirrors: Ensure that your side mirrors are clear and that your rear-view mirror hasn't fogged up inside the car. If you have electric mirrors, don't fold them in overnight in case the mechanism freezes.

I assume both wiper & mirror mechanisms could get damaged if frozen so beware. Has anyone actually suffered this problem?

Anyone else got any more useful tips?

Headlight washers: Make sure there's no ice accumulated around them. As the wash function cannot be disabled, if they are frozen and you wash the windscreen, the fuse will blow. De-ice thoroughly and spray with windscreen de-icer.

My best tip:

Stay in bed until it is warmer!

Next best:

If you have to get up/go out allow more time for everything, from pre-start checks such as those described above to simply allowing more time for the journey.

I know it may sound silly but people still seem to allow no extra time so leave with misted/snowy windows, drive too fast and aggressively on slippery roads, and blame everyone else for getting in their way or causing an accident!

Clear out your garage and put your car in it!

Regarding the windscreen washers, my brother-in-laws 3 series suffered two broken headlight washer mechanisms due to icing, the fact that the fuse blows on the superb before any damage is caused is a better option IMO

Don't eat yellow snow.......????

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk whilst in a taxi rank

Clear out your garage and put your car in it!

My (brick built) garage was built at a time when an Austin A35 or a Ford Prefect was a typical family car. Might get a Fabia or a Citigo in, but that would be about it!

In snow if trying to climb a slippy hill and if you don't have winter tyres learn to trust your traction and stability control. Just hold the throttle in one position in a highish gear and let the car work it out for itself. Changing gear, stamping on the throttle, too many revs, all these things confuse the Traction control, just hold the throttle in a sensible position and leave it to the electronics. Its not in many car manuals but Traction control & stability control can be amazingly effective down steep hills in snow. I have driven a Volvo and a Ford in the last couple of years in the Yorkshire Dales that would automatically and cleverly apply the brakes as needed when going down snowy hills in low gears because the electronics detected the car was on an slippy surface.

Edited 24 November, 201213 yr by Pesmog

Headlight washers: Make sure there's no ice accumulated around them. As the wash function cannot be disabled, if they are frozen and you wash the windscreen, the fuse will blow. De-ice thoroughly and spray with windscreen de-icer.

can you just not remove the fuse so that they don't pop out that's what my cousin did with his focus rs

winter tyres... biggest difference you will see

Check your wipers: Lift your windscreen wipers carefully to detach the blades from the windscreen. If you have an auto setting, turn it off so that scraping the windscreen doesn’t trigger them. Make sure that your washer fluid with antifreeze is topped up.

Anyone else got any more useful tips?

I have a tip for Esure...get rid of the dumbo that wrote the email. Washer fluid should not have antifreeze in it! It should have some sort of winter screenwash formulation in it.

I saw a car parked up yesterday morning with one of those A4 plastic ring binder sheaths under each wiper blade. presumably to stop them freezing to the glass. Don't know if it works (or indeed if it really is that cold yet).

Washer fluid should not have antifreeze in it! It should have some sort of winter screenwash formulation in it.

Antifreeze is simply a chemical additive that can be added to a liquid to stop it freezing below 0C. That liquid can be engine coolant, washer fluid, etc.

I would heartily recommend the VAG group winter screenwash. Good for -70 degrees when used neat apparently.

Antifreeze is simply a chemical additive that can be added to a liquid to stop it freezing below 0C. That liquid can be engine coolant, washer fluid, etc.

Pedantic and absolute *******s

More or less what ^ said.

I thought Antifreeze stripped paintwork?

Pedantic and absolute *******s

Actually it was only 37% pedantic, 57% punctilious and 6% hairsplitting. My point is that washer fluid must have an antifreeze component in it and to post here that it shouldn't is confusing.

I only post here if I think I've got something worthwhile to say - to give something back to the great people that helped me when buying and the first months of ownership. If I've failed on this occassion then I'm terribly sorry for the distress it seems to have caused you.

OK, that last bit was a lie.

Edited 25 November, 201213 yr by artichoke273

More or less what ^ said.

I thought Antifreeze stripped paintwork?

Ethylene glycol can damage paint, but it's not the only antifreeze that's around. Methylated spirits work well if you don't want to add a specific washer additive. Salt would also work

Being an Australian though, I have to ask: What is ice?

Being an Australian though, I have to ask: What is ice?

You like your drinks warm?

You like your drinks warm?

I mull my cider, yes.

Look on any bottle of windscreen washer fluid and you will see it recommends different concentrations depending on the season.

Ian