How to quickly deal with the effects of freezing rain
In Central Russia, the season of "freezing rains" has come - the time when the probability of finding a car in the morning, completely covered with frozen streaks of snow, is especially high. How to deal with such a nuisance?
Having found one fine day your car covered with ice, the main thing is not to solve the problem by force. The result of a “frontal assault” on the interior can be torn-off door seals, and in especially “skillful” hands, broken door handles. It must be remembered that the main thing for us is to get into the salon and start the car. And for this, in principle, any car door is suitable, not only the driver's. Therefore, to begin with, we estimate the scale of the disaster at each door and begin the “assault” on the one where there is less ice. First, with an open palm, we tap the entire door around the perimeter with force. Thus, we are trying to break the ice in the area of the door and crush its crystals, which have bound the rubber seals.
However, often such a knock is not enough, especially when wet snow also freezes in the gap between the door and the body. Moreover, it is physically impossible to open the door even with the rubber seals released. In this case, you will have to arm yourself with some narrow, flat, hard plastic object - to gently split and pick out the ice from the gaps. Do not use metal tools in this case, so as not to scratch the paintwork. If it is not possible to open the selected door, similar manipulations should be carried out with the rest of the doors. In the end, one of them will definitely let you inside the cabin. We make our way to the driver's seat and start the car. High-quality warming up will lead to melting of water over the entire surface of the body.
It is necessary to dwell separately on sedan cars. Although they rarely, but sometimes the trunk lid freezes. If everything is in order with its seals, and water has not penetrated between them, then the consequences of freezing rain are simply eliminated. Manipulations in this case come down to neat chipping of ice around the perimeter of the lid, which can be done even with a plastic handle of a snow brush. Then the trunk usually opens. Worse, if the ice blocked the lock, or the plastic pin of the remote lid opening mechanism lost its mobility.
You can spray a defroster into the lock and it will most likely work. But if the plastic “finger”-blocker is frozen, you will have to fold the backs of the rear seats. Thanks to this, warm air from the “stove” will also enter the trunk. Or stop by for a few hours in the warm parking lot of the nearest shopping center so that the mechanism thaws.
It happens that even the brake pads freeze after freezing rain. Physical force will not help here - you can damage the rim, the brake system components, and the suspension. We will have to use a different form of energy - thermal. A kettle of boiling water will help us. We spill hot water on the problematic wheel and quickly start - so as not to have time to freeze again. It is useful right there, as far as road conditions allow, to brake vigorously several times - the pads warmed up from friction will dry the entire assembly.
