It freezes quite a bit at night and that can cause problems if you have to go out by car in the morning. Scratching is part of it, but did you know that your windshield wipers can freeze? And that you have to lower the sun visor when you turn on the fan? Ed and Chris from Vakgarage Eekhof in Naarden give you tips to ensure that you can get on the road safely and quickly by car in the cold.
What should you pay attention to if you have to travel by car in the cold? According to Chris from the garage, it may take a little longer before you can leave. “You will have to leave your basket sooner,” he says on NH Radio.
He gives a few tips for when you have to drive in the cold. “Many people turn on the fan loudly and then open the window a little. Then it starts working a little harder. It’s better not to do that, because it has been raining very hard lately. All that rain has frozen in the mechanism, so then there is a good chance that your window or the mechanism will break. And then you will hear a crack.”
Krabbertje
Another common mistake: throwing hot or boiling water over a frozen windshield. “That is a big advantage for us and the glass trade, but don’t do that,” says Ed. “Just grab a scraper.” Chris secretly uses this trick occasionally, but not with boiling water: he uses lukewarm water to remove the ice from his window.
Another problem, which people with new cars in particular may encounter, is the freezing of the folding automatic side mirrors. They can also freeze and when they are unfolded, they also say ‘snap’, according to Ed. That can be quite expensive. “We now have one of an Opel here,” says Chris. “It’s six hundred euros, without installation.”
Sun visor
The men give a few tips to ensure that the windshield of the car remains ice-free. “If you’re in the car and you’ve defrosted your windows, turn on the fan at full blast at a warm temperature with your sun visor down. When you do that, the heat circulates near your window. That works really well.” Turning on the air conditioning is of no use, according to the professionals. It does not work at temperatures below 5 degrees Celsius.
Also pay attention if you cannot open your door properly due to frozen handles. “Don’t start pulling on that. Because you will easily break those plastic door handles of today.” Ed’s tip: “Just press your buttocks against it for a moment, then you can pull them loose.”
The most common problem at the professional garage is the frozen locks, according to Chris. “We can’t do anything about that, because the problem is that those ditches are first filled with water and then frozen. You can’t just take them apart.” This problem does not only occur with old-fashioned cars that still have to be opened with a key. “Cars with central locking also suffer from this, they no longer work at all.”
Ed has a few golden tips for cars in the freezing cold. “Turn off your windshield wipers when you park your car at night. If you start your car again in the morning and they are still on, they will break.” So he recommends turning off the automatic windshield wiper when it is cold.