Dealing with iced windows

[HokieZHP]

Unfortunately, this winter being at college, I dont have the privilege of parking in a heated garage every night. This morning was the first bad frost of the year here in Blacksburg and I this morning my windows were completely iced over as well as a lot of the car. Drove to school and the temp read 27* F.

Anyways, I was wondering what you guys used to deal with the ice. Being from NC, I haven't had to deal with bad frost much before so I never used anything besides a rag to get it off. I'm definitely getting a scraper/brush to use on the windows for the snow and ice but do any of you use any sort of de-icer spray or anything like that?

[llll1l1ll]

I have always used a scraper to get the ice off. I never had any issues in the E30 with scratched windshields or anything like that. Windshield washer fluid should contain a trace of alcohol or some sort of agent/chemical that has a lower freezing temperature than water. Squirting that on hard to get ice might help. Otherwise, a little elbow grease and heat on the windshield does the trick!

[HokieZHP]

Thanks. I do use a windshield washer fluid rates for very cold temps. I'm more worried about my side windows and rear window. My drive isn't long enough for the rear defroster to get anything done. And with all the kids being late for class and speeding around making dangerous choices while driving, I'd like clear windows to see where everyone is clearly.


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[AzkotikBMW]

In the winter I ALWAYS go start my car 10-15 minutes before I want to leave. I crank the heat to full, hit both the front and rear defrost, then go back inside for awhile. When I get back outside, I scrape off any remaining ice/snow from the windshield, and rest of the windows with a scraper/brush combo. DO NOT use it on the paint or you will most definitely scratch it. Also in weather below freezing it is much better for you engine to completely warm up before you start driving.

[HokieZHP]

Yeah I definitely know about not using a scraper on the paint. My mechanic showed me a customer who's wife attacked the hood and front half of her Mercedes ML63 AMG. Wasn't pretty at all.

I try to let it warm up before I leave but sometimes, knowing us college kids, getting up 20 minutes early to do so isn't always an option haha

[zj96sc]

Can BMWs be remote started with EWS?

I do know it is a bit discouraged to let your engine warm by idling, but it may be an OK compromise in this case.

Any time I had to deal with this I just got a good scraper and got the windows clean and went on my way.

[HokieZHP]

I have heard that idling to warm up isn't the best idea, but then again it is probably better than driving around in stop and go traffic with an icy cold engine. Maybe i'll end up just letting it idle while I get my stuff together for say 5 mins.

And thanks for the responses about the scraper and de-ice spray. Looks like I'll grab a scraper and use that for now.

[Mr Paul]

In the winter I ALWAYS go start my car 10-15 minutes before I want to leave. I crank the heat to full, hit both the front and rear defrost, then go back inside for awhile. When I get back outside, I scrape off any remaining ice/snow from the windshield, and rest of the windows with a scraper/brush combo. DO NOT use it on the paint or you will most definitely scratch it. Also in weather below freezing it is much better for you engine to completely warm up before you start driving.

This isn't always the best method. Idling your car for extended periods of time can cause unburned fuel to wash down into your crankcrase, thereby diluting your oil with gasoline (not the best lubricant). Secondly, once your engine is warmed up your transmission is still really cold. It's best to bring the engine and transmission up to temperature together.

[AzkotikBMW]

Can BMWs be remote started with EWS?

I do know it is a bit discouraged to let your engine warm by idling, but it may be an OK compromise in this case.

Any time I had to deal with this I just got a good scraper and got the windows clean and went on my way.

I've actually been curious about looking into a remote start. Does anyone have remote start installed on their bimmer or know of any that are compatible?

[AzkotikBMW]

This isn't always the best method. Idling your car for extended periods of time can cause unburned fuel to wash down into your crankcrase, thereby diluting your oil with gasoline (not the best lubricant). Secondly, once your engine is warmed up your transmission is still really cold. It's best to bring the engine and transmission up to temperature together.


Thanks! That's good to know....so is the best way to warm it up just to drive it from a cold start? Even in say -10~20 degrees like it gets up here?

[zj96sc]

The best course of action is to drive with varying load and RPM but keep the RPMs as low as possible. On my diesel 7.3 i try not to get over 1750 or so until I cross the first hash mark on my temp gauge, but that's also a 3K redline :)

Just keep the RPMs low.

[AzkotikBMW]

Well that should work perfectly for me. I have a 50 mile commute to work everyday, the first 10 miles of it being 25-35mph zones, and then 55mph the rest of the way. Should give the engine perfect amount of time to warm up as it should. Thanks for the good info guys! (And sorry for misleading you with my misinformed information Hokie!)

[zj96sc]

everything i can find about a remote start for an E46 sounds like you either need to have EWS disabled or have a key stay in the car combined with a bypass unit. don't really like either of those options.

scratch part 1, sounds like the last DME that could have EWS disabled was the E36.

[AzkotikBMW]

everything i can find about a remote start for an E46 sounds like you either need to have EWS disabled or have a key stay in the car combined with a bypass unit. don't really like either of those options.

+1

There goes that idea!

[llll1l1ll]

I'd say just bundle up, get out there, start scraping, start and let engine sit for maybe one minute maximum, and then get on your way. I used to let my E30 idle for about a minute and a half in cold weather, but that's because it was an elderly vehicle. She needed a little help getting up.

So long as the engine is stable with proper oil pressure, you should be good to go.

[cakM3]

In the winter I ALWAYS go start my car 10-15 minutes before I want to leave. I crank the heat to full, hit both the front and rear defrost, then go back inside for awhile. When I get back outside, I scrape off any remaining ice/snow from the windshield, and rest of the windows with a scraper/brush combo. DO NOT use it on the paint or you will most definitely scratch it. Also in weather below freezing it is much better for you engine to completely warm up before you start driving.

+1

At a minimum I do this but if I have more time I usually allow my car to warm up for about 1/2 hour and then all the windows are warmed sufficiently that there's no ice on my windows....the point is to allow the car to warm up sufficiently before driving it. :thumbsup

[Washburn]

Hokie - I am in NC too..

I use de-icer spray and defroster at the same time, and try to avoid scraping as much as possible.
Some de-icer sprays also have preventive function, so you can spray it the night before, and it will actually prevent frost/ice from forming to a pretty goodextent, IMO - i was impressed by it.

It won't kill the car to idle it about 5 min's. sometimes you just have to run the deforoster that long to get the w/shield clear - better than driving with a foggy windshield and getting into an accident! (btw, I think the BMW defroster fuction is lame and slow- my Tbird can defrost so much faster for some reason)

BMW clearly states NOT to warm up and you should drive off immediately at a slow pace - i will NEVER let a car idle for more than 10 min's.

That said, Although i know we're not supposed to idle at all and should "drive off immediately at a low speed", it's just hard for me to do - knowing full well that the engine is ice cold and oil may not be still flowing fully in the 1st 2-3 seconds, etc...so I try compromise and let it warm up only about 5 mins. (10 min max).

[AzkotikBMW]

Ha, so now I have someone agreeing with my first thought, after I've been convinced it's better to run the engine from a cold start. Anyone have solid mechanical evidence/advice for this subject? Mr Paul did bring up the case where "Idling your car for extended periods of time can cause unburned fuel to wash down into your crankcrase, thereby diluting your oil with gasoline." Can anyone else chime in?

[HokieZHP]

Washburn, which spray do you have that prevents ice build up?


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[Washburn]

Damn - I've forgotten the name -(it might be Prestone) let me do a search and will let you know - I bought it at Advanced auto parts in Dunn, I think...or perhaps it was in Raleigh when i went out one night -
will def. post here or PM you - I need to start buying the stuff again, anyway.

[M0nk3y]

Ha, so now I have someone agreeing with my first thought, after I've been convinced it's better to run the engine from a cold start. Anyone have solid mechanical evidence/advice for this subject? Mr Paul did bring up the case where "Idling your car for extended periods of time can cause unburned fuel to wash down into your crankcrase, thereby diluting your oil with gasoline." Can anyone else chime in?

I'll put my .02 cents here:

1. BMW manual STATES, start the car and drive it, regardless of conditions.
2. If you let the car warm up, yes your engine will get to temp, but the transmission and other components will NOT, because they are just sitting there....Not all parts of the car will equally heat-up, like they would when you would just drive it. So, thinking that the car is "warm" when it really isn't, can cause some problems with shortened lifespan.

From my view now;

When I had my E46 for the 4 years, all 4 years I worked at a ski-resort. I would have to work late shifts (usually to 10pm or even 1am depending on the day) and the car would be sitting outside for the whole time. I worked once when the temp was -15 degrees, average.

Everytime, I brushed off the car, started it and drove away instantly. Never had anything go wrong

[AzkotikBMW]

Yea Monkey...that seems to be the general consensus here. I'll probably start doing that instead.

[cakM3]

Good point Monkey....thanks for sharing :thumbsup

[Washburn]

Hokie ; This is it: available most places:

http://ace.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pACE3-4262251dt.jpg

[AzkotikBMW]

That stuff looks like a good idea! I'm going to be picking some up to keep my windows as "free of ice" as possible!

[HokieZHP]

I'll be picking that up after class. Thanks washburn!


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[Washburn]

No prob.
Are you at UNC? what are you studying? (sorry if i had already asked this in the past)

[zj96sc]

There are a whole cadre of issues with letting the engine warm up by idling. One mentioned here (fuel into the crankcase), the other that the engine isn't THAT hot while idling. Continually running at low temps/zero load means the engine doesn't have to work hard and causes carbon buildup. I would never let my engine idle for 30 minutes.

In diesels because there is actually no spark, EGTs dip very very low and you start having a problem with unburned fuel getting into the exhaust and causing "wet stacking." This is why most big diesels have some form of extended idle feature - either a high idle to raise EGTs that way, or a certain # of cylinders cut fuel to make the remaining ones work much harder to idle and therefore raise the EGTs that way.

The proper way to do it is ensure you have a correctly weighted oil for your operating temps, give the engine a few moments to wake itself up, and head on your way and keep the RPMs as low as you can until full op temp is reached.

[HokieZHP]

No prob.
Are you at UNC? what are you studying? (sorry if i had already asked this in the past)

No, I live in Chapel Hill but I go to Virginia Tech, studying Mechanical Engineering. So the winters up here are quite a bit colder up here than in Chapel Hill.

[webster]

my (smartass) solutuion: live in texas. we have ice maybe once a year.

:)

[AzkotikBMW]

my (smartass) solutuion: live in texas. we have ice maybe once a year.

:)


Haha, I'll get right on that!

[nike001]

My warm up technique:
-Normal day: get in, get situated, pick song on iPhone.. drive off
-Day w/ ice: Brush snow (if applicable) off, start car, de-ice (whether scraping or windshield fluid).. and thats never for more than 2-5 minutes. Then off I go. I never go more than 1/2 throttle or above about 2500rpm

Edit: I've had that ice stuff in the picture that was posted. It always left some weird residue afterwards and made my windows kinda foggy so i'd have to use my wipers or whatever to get it off.

[johnnyrad]

Just pour scolding hot water over it from a bucket.....Just kidding don't do that, very bad, very very bad things will happen. Seriously tho, just warm her up for 5 or 10 minutes. Or you can scrape, but scraping sucks.

[nike001]

Hot water in a spray bottle.

Now THERE's an idea. Anyone want in on this? We can make millions. Market it as de-icer.. just use water and put in a stove-top-safe container. Boil, spray, done.

[Whitexi]

I was doing cold starts and just driving.....untill I started getting ice on the glass. Even after scraping it fogs and frosts back up on the outside so I now start the car 10and min or so prior to me leaving.

[billschusteriv]

Just a word of caution using your wipers and fluid in icy conditions... you could damage a blade or clog the nozzles. That said, I did exactly that the last two mornings.

When I'm not in the garage, I will always scrape first.

There is also a product you can pick up to sit on top of your windshield (like a car cover)... sits on top and keeps ice and snow from sticking to the windshield... I'll see if I can dig up a link.

[nike001]

What's equally as annoying and time consuming are my windows fogging up. That annoys me to no end..


Just a word of caution using your wipers and fluid in icy conditions... you could damage a blade or clog the nozzles. That said, I did exactly that the last two mornings.

When I'm not in the garage, I will always scrape first.

There is also a product you can pick up to sit on top of your windshield (like a car cover)... sits on top and keeps ice and snow from sticking to the windshield... I'll see if I can dig up a link.

That'd be great.

[Whitexi]

Your washers aren't heated Bill? Mine are, I thought they all were.

[billschusteriv]

My washers are heated, but depending on the outside temp and amount of snow or ice on top that might not help guys wanting to jump in the car and go.

A side note, my wife's car (not a BMW) has had her washers and lines freeze twice now. Meh.

Blackberry. Tapatalk.

[danewilson77]

http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&keywords=car%20snow%20cover&index=aps&hvadid=7969505259&ref=pd_sl_ialjb7c4v_b&_encoding=UTF8&tag=zhpcom-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=390957

[billschusteriv]

Thanks Dane. That looks like the product I was referring to.

Blackberry. Tapatalk.

[danewilson77]

Yup....just gettin your back as I know how busy you are.