Counterpoint: Leave Your Damn Wipers Up When It's Snowing
By: Jerry Perez, The Drive (MSN)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
If you live where it snows during the winter and you're the type of person that likes to make your life easier rather than harder, then you might leave your car's windshield wipers up when you expect snowfall or freezing rain. Why? Because despite what The Drive's sister site Car Bibles
© Provided by The Drive If you live where it snows during the winter and you're the type of person that likes to make your life easier rather than harder, then you might leave your car's windshield wipers up when you expect snowfall or freezing rain.
recently said, it's helpful in a number of ways. Plus, it just makes sense, and it's also safer.
Hear me out.
© Jerry Perez
I very much appreciate my colleague Kevin Williams' take on proper winter wiper placement, but it's also proved to be a divisive one, both at our offices (a collection of Slack rooms, because 2021) and out in the wider world. It's a divisive take everywhere: Lifehacker recently singled out Kevin's perspective, while its own sister site Jalopnik said it's incorrect. In our own comments, on forums, on Reddit boards, and in real life, everyone seems divided on what to really do with your wipers when it snows. I'm sure the argument has torn marriages apart and caused longtime friends to vow never to speak to one another again.
Okay, maybe it's not that bad. But I felt compelled to weigh in on the "put your wipers up" side.
My credentials: Despite being a native-ish Texan, I'm pretty familiar with harsh winters. I lived in New York City for some time, spent several years in Michigan, and now live in Indianapolis, which means that every winter for the last 11 or so years of my life I've experienced the awful combination of cars and snow. And this is why I feel very strongly that leaving your wipers up during a snowstorm will most certainly not damage your car.
Kevin says leaving the wipers up and away from the windshield could damage the wiper's gearing due to being "subject to wind and forces they were not designed for." He explains that a wiper arm's job is to push the assembly against the windshield, and when left up, they're basically just out of their element.
Now, I don't know if they experience snowfalls and Category 4 hurricanes at the same time where Kevin lives, but to me, it just seems not feasible that leaving a wiper arm for, say, 12 hours or so, will cause any damage--or as Kevin writes: "Do your windshield wipers chatter? This [leaving them up] may be a possible reason why."
He also goes on to say that another reason why these shouldn't be left up is that the wind could cause the actual rubber blades to fly off the wiper arms, only for these to then slam back onto the windshield. In his own words: "Then, the wind blows down the windshield wiper arm, slamming it into the windshield, cracking or shattering it."
Those darn apocalyptic winds!
© Jerry Perez © Jerry Perez
I'm not saying that none of these scenarios are impossible, or that you couldn't cause some damage if you leave your car's windshield wipers up 365 days a year for 10 years straight, or even that snowstorms can't bring strong winds with them. What I am saying is that urging the general population to not put their windshield wipers up during winter is a bit excessive.
I must clarify: Kevin is not entirely wrong in his claim. A lot of windshield wiper assemblies nowadays are slightly more complicated than they used to be, either offering one arm or a swivel mount, and sometimes they can not even be propped up anymore (they'll actually be stopped by the hood). So, if you own one of these new cars with complicated windshield wiper systems, by all means, listen to his advice before you break something pricey.
That being said, a couple of weeks ago had to clean over a foot of snow off my Honda Civic and a 2021 Chrysler Pacifica press car, and I am proud to say that leaving the wipers sticking straight up in both cars helped with the following:
- I was able to clean the windshield easier by not having the wipers in the way
- The wipers themselves did not freeze and stick to the glass
- Kept icicles from forming on the wiper blades, which meant I had a streak-free wiping experience when I got back on the road.
- Because the blades didn't freeze to the glass (and therefore I didn't have to rip them off) I preserved the life of the rubber and avoided buying a replacement
- Made me feel like the most prepared person on my block
I doubt this debate will be settled anytime soon. What do you do when it gets snowy out? Wipers up or down?
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I always left them up when forewarned.
after spending over 50 winters driving in colorado, I can count the number of times I've done that on 1 hand. when I switched to silicone wipers I noticed that they didn't conform to the curvature of the glass and were less than effective until they got warmer.
I guess my regimen is different. start the vehicle, turn the air and electric defrosters on full blast, then scrape the ice off the rest of the exterior glass. by the time I'm done, the defrosters have usually done their job.
Do people not have windshield defrosters anymore?
LOL!
Mr G has auto start on his truck. On cold mornings he starts his truck before he gets in the shower. And most mornings he will scrape the ice off my windshield. That's real love
Auto start is the bomb. We just recently went through a stretch of -30s - -40s and getting into a warm(ish) car is the best
I want one.
That was our Christmas present to our daughter. Not as good as the factory installed version, but she loves being able to warm it up before going to work.
You can get a decent quality one for around $300, including install. Well worth it.
Maybe Christmas
Lol isn't Mr G your auto starter?
LOL! I have one of those push button engine starts so you need the fob on your person to start the car.
That's fine and dandy when you drive an automatic.
I'm not willing to remove my neutral safety switch in my manual to install auto-start onto my car.
Lol yes auto start would be a problem (or funny) with a manual
Yes. I could just picture my daughter being the last one to drive my car and leaving it in first... hit the auto-start on the FOB and then watch the car lurch into my fence.
My BIL actually did that. Had to have been about 20 or so years ago though. He decided to add it to his manual Mustang. Was going to show off one day to someone, look what I can do. Forgot it was in gear and the Mustang jumped forward and hit the house.
Got my daughter's on Black Friday at Best Buy (online). Saved over $200 in total. Allowed us to get her a better quality one than we were originally looking at.
If only ice is covering your windshield that would be helpful, but where I came from, this is what every driver kept in their car.
I got one of those for Christmas last year
That's what I have!
wtf? did you beat him with it after you unwrapped it?
LOL! You might think this is funny but I asked for one for Christmas
I said diamonds damn it!
One year my Mother got a hair up her ass and for some reason decided to give all us kids and inlaws a little hammer tool that would break a window.
You know, in case we somehow drive into a lake or river...
An automatic centerpunch works better.
Ha. All I could think was if I was sinking in a lake, the last thing I would be doing would be searching the car for a little hammer tool.
Now stay calm and check the glove box...
I live in a state surrounded by water... it's a real possibility.
I’m from northwest Ohio close to Lake Erie where we got frequent heavy lake effect snow storms in the winter. I’m accustomed to dropping my kids off at school when the snow was so bad that cars literally just bump off each other in the slippery school parking lot like carnival bumper cars, and nobody even gets out of their car, they just wave. Nobody there ever put their wipers up while parked in a snowstorm. It wasn’t until I moved to Maryland that I even witnessed such a thing. In MD, nobody seems to even know how to drive in snow, but somehow everyone here thinks they are wise about to what to do with their wipers when it snows. It’s pretty funny.
If you’re worried about burning out your wiper motors because the blades are stuck to the windshield, then you aren’t thinking very clearly, IMO. You shouldn’t even move your car if the area around your wipers is iced up. Let it defrost first, and it does not matter where your wipers are while that is happening. The first thought I had when I saw this phenomenon was that there are springs in your wiper arms that are being unreasonably stretched for no reason. I don’t know for a fact that this is a problem, it’s just my engineer’s intuition.
I had an older Caravan and turned the car off with the wipers on. When I started the car the next day you could just barely hear some circuit breaker cutting off and on. Chopped the blades free and in a minute they started worked, poorly. Started leaving them up after that
but you are right,the furthe south you go past the Mason Dixon line, the more expert drivers you find /s
Oh HO! Lots of those nitwits here 2 weeks ago when we got all that snow. All of them think they know how to drive in snow. None of them do
Mrs SP was particularly Covid cranky when we got the word at the beginning of the storm that
all of the trash trucks were being recalled because of the black ice.
When I brought the trash buckets back in they were covered with ice.
She wanted something from the store and was determined to go out before it got worse.
Went out started the car and realized she could not see, but she went anyway, head out the window...
Got a few blocks away and impatient with the defrosters, she hit the Windshield washers which promptly froze instantly,
the wiper blades creating fine shaved snow sheets.
I saw her come back to the house slowly and met her in the driveway with spray alcohol and a scraper.
After I cleaned the glass, she went to the store and came back, mostly apologetic, but laughing.
Although the washer solvent was still full & blue, all of the alcohol had probably evaporated many months prior.
A hydrometer test verified that what was in the car was no better than water - the same with an open gallon in storage.
At least for the foreseeable future she has good solvent with RainX added.
Probably won't rain now for a year, lol
My washer fluid never gets to the point where the alcohol evaporates. I pretty much have an empty well until I ask Mr G to fill it. I need to ask him a favor again
the formula varies throughout the US. I bought some winter ww fluid in south texas one winter and it froze solid by the time I got to colorado.
Wouldn't that be northeast? I'm in southeast MI not far from Lake Erie / Detroit River junction.
Psh... engineers.
Totally kidding. From a mechanic's perspective... You're right, the springs help to keep tension on the windshield, but if someone only does this on occasion and only for a few hours, it won't really affect the wiper / windshield contact that much; it would have to be over years of doing something like that.
I’m from Toledo which is more west than east Ohio. It is right across the border of southeast MI though. Northeast Ohio would be more like Cleveland, where they really get the lake effect snow.
Yes it is. I love stopping at Tony Pacos!!!
So did someone else. Our claim to fame.
Lol I'll just keep parking in my garage avoiding all the wiper worries
Not done up here in Montreal ... it makes it easier to steal them.
Here in central Cali we never put up our wipers. Haven't had a decent frost for over two years.
Here in southern Cali we have no idea what any of these people are talking about.
Except for those who live in the higher altitudes in the mountains that do get snow in winter.
Yes, except for them.
Well, down here in Florida pollen is the only thing you need to scrape off the windshield but back in PA I left them up.
As for warming your car up to defrost it. There are states that it’s actually illegal to do that.
Warming your car up for comfort is a different thing. When the weather is so bad that your wipers are frozen to the windshield, it’s pretty guaranteed that cops aren’t driving around handing out tickets for running your car unattended. They’re busy responding to accidents from people who don’t know how to drive in the snow.
I don’t think the law cares about your comfort but I agree that the police aren’t driving around looking for it.
In MI, as long as keys are not in the ignition, we can't get ticketed. Years ago, I had an Escort GT that had a bad ignition cylinder and I could start and run my car without keys... that's how I learned about the law here. Now, I have a Fiesta with the push-button keyless start... so it still applies.
Each state is different. I never knew about it at all and then one day I saw on the news where someone got ticketed for it. I can’t remember which state it was (maybe New Jersey) but I believe there was a 3 minute rule or something like that. It was a surprise to me.
Yeah, every state [and sometimes dependent on city or county] is different. I know someone is far more likely to get ticketed in or near Detroit for leaving their car running.
WV state troopers released a statement about unattended cars running when I was living in Morgantown. They get a lot of lake effect snow, so of course people had their cars running to defrost/warm up while they were still inside. Apparently, it was illegal, and we were warned we could be ticketed. I never was, though. I always started my car while I was brushing my teeth and finishing my makeup - about 10 minutes before I left. Never was a problem.
We were only about a 15-20 minute drive from Morgantown when I lived in PA. Used to head that way to shop quite often. I remember how the schools there would close a lot because of all the snow.
I think most states have some form of the rule in place, environmental issue from what I have read. I always warmed my car up too. I lived on 16 acres out in the country so even if your car was ready to go most likely the roads weren’t.
It's also hard on your engine.
My wipers have chattered a bit since I got my car, and I never leave my wipers up, because I have a garage. So, that's not the reason why.
Exactly
My wipers do not chatter as well, i thought due to me forbidding Social Media interaction, but, guess it could be the coming of the springs soon, as the low pressure system is affront that moves through after the Valium or a lake Placid ill, but the real problem i've found, is that when the wipers are left up, they aren't very effective at clearing the windshield, as they go back and forth in semi-circles while giving the sky a digit tall temperature salute, to the highs and lows of the day, but, just like the Wise old Owl did often say, give a hoot, cause it takes 3 licks to get to the center of a Tootsie Rolled and centered smoked and tasting sweet and bitter, POP goes the weasel when drinking soda on the way to work, with ice and snow blocking his view of where he will go, cause with his wipers doing the motion of given a digital air ahead to those that approach, there is no friction between or behind that Gl ass that isn't wiped, just a rash of other people digitizing him, all damn day, as he, on the side, is swiped