What Not To Do In Very Cold Weather

Longtime MVS Volvo Forums contributor BlackBart gives good advice for cold-weather driving, any make, not just Volvo.

I’ve decided when it’s this cold and dry, don’t heat up the windshield, rear window, mirrors. Scrape if you need to. DO NOT turn on the wipers.

You’re all bundled up, two coats, two hats, big gloves – if you’re inside out of the wind, you don’t need heat for a while. Turn off the blower fan to keep more heat in the block.

Drive slow and don’t stress anything. Don’t touch any plastic switches knobs handles (except turn signals!) – they’re brittle cold and will snap.

Keep a candle in a tin can in the back, it will keep your fingers warm if you’re stuck. A cardboard in front of the radiator is an old trick, but watch your temp once it warms up.

https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=639872#p639872

Last night in -15, I proceeded to do a bonehead move. I drove my M-I-L and other seniors to a college basketball game so they wouldn’t have to walk in the wind and start a cold car. I got them up close to the door but had to go through the parking lot fee guy.

I ROLLED DOWN THE WINDOW instead of just cracking the door to talk. I think one of those plastic sliders broke or cracked and slipped, and the window nearly fell out of the door. In -15.

It didn’t break like it did in 2018 when I went through this same failure (did I learn?). I managed to carefully wrestle it back up the tracks to about 3” from the top, where it remains until I can fix it. I have spare blue clips, but taking apart all that cold plastic might not be wise.

https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=639920#p639920