preventing a frozen windshield

first time this ever happened to me. im from hawaii but i shipped my truck to oregon for school. i was driving down I-5 at night and it was probably around 20ish degrees outside, i was going maybe 70-75. i decided to clean my windshield and as i pulled the wiper control to make the water come out, it instantly froze and created a layer of frozen water covering my entire windshield, i slowed down and pulled over and just broke it off, but it got me wondering. do you guys use a certain type of washerfluid? im just using water right now but if anyones got any suggestions thatd be great.

 

Go to Wal-Mart. They sell winter washer fluid that won't freeze unless it's like -35.


The kind I get when I'm up there is orange. It works great!

 

thanks man, my first time driving up here in the mainland during the winter. love playing around in empty parking lots!

 

Yeah, good luck testing out the PreRunner dude!

 

x2 what he said. it's what i use hear in the frozen rockies

 

Welcome to the NW.

You'll want to get some winter wipers also. They are designed differently. Winter wipers will be made of higher strength material because rubber degrades quicker in cold weather. Also, they are coated to shed snow and ice.

I live in Portland OR and this year is shaping up to look like we'll have some pretty cold days ahead. My truck read 18 degrees at 9am this morning. Brrr.

 

Not at all.

 

It's just like any other windshield washer fluid, it's just orange and has some different compounds in it.

 

Actually wiper fluid can and does damage paint. If it contains ethanol and/or methanol. The corrosive effects of ethanol, methanol, and other components, with regard to paint, rubber, car wax, and plastics is well documented.

In wintertime you have no other option because other solutions will freeze.

But in summer I make my own wiper fluid by mixing 50/50 white vinegar and distilled water. Ends up costing me about $3 a gallon but its environmentally safe and safe for my paint too.

 

thanks for all the advice, the weather is pretty cold but at least its been sunny most of the time. mt.hood has spring like conditions, except with windchill its like -6 somedays

 

I stand corrected!



Apparently there is ethanol, methanol and other components in windshield washer fluid that is corrosive to paint.

 

Anytime its cold out.... I always put the defroster on (max warmth) and leave it on the entire trip. That directs all the warm air on the windshield and keeps it warm enough that things don't freeze up.

That is...it works for me in my PA climate.

 

Welcome to cold winter weather!

 

As mentioned get some good winter wiper fluid and some quality winter wipers.

Each fall/spring I dump the contents of the windshield washer fluid reservoir and refill with the appropriate fluid for the time of year. It only takes 2-3 minutes to remove the reservoir. There are two small bolts with a 10mm head on them. Once removed, unplug the wiring harness from the washer pump that is attached to the reservoir. Unplug the hose also and the reservoir will pull right out.

If you don't have much fluid left in the reservoir I wouldn't worry about it. Just top it off with winter fluid and be done with it.

I use Rain X Winter fluid with De Icer. I find it pretty good and also causes the water to bead off the windshield similar to how a fresh coat of wax allows water to bead off your paint.

 

I use the rain-x deicer like posted above...it definitely works especially on those really cold days...I'm constantly up on the mountains snowboarding every weekend...

 

Sorry to thread jack...but as you've been helped already, I'm curious - how much did it cost to ship your truck?

 

I tried the rainx one time and it worked in a good rain but when it was misty sprinkly type rain and I used the wipers the water just smeared and made it hard to see out. It took a long time for that stuff to finally clear off of the windshield. Has this happened with anyone else who tried it?

 

Not with me. It might've been your blades.

 

Happened to me. I could actually see better if I had the windshield wipers off, tuning them on every 40 seconds or so. This was on the freeway at night after a huge downpour and I was following an SUV.

It worked...but not with my wipers.

 

could have been the blades, this was my first truck 15 years ago so i was just learning about how to maintain a vehicle and didn't know much..

that's what I remember, worked great until the rain stopped and there was not enough volume of water to roll off the windshield from its own weight, the tiny drops just stuck there until I used the blade then they smeared all over the place, nighttime was the worst