5 Things You Should Never Do to Your Car in the Winter
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ม.ค. 2023
- 5 Things You Should Never Do To Your Car in the Winter, DIY and car review with Scotty Kilmer. Top winter car tips. How to protect your car in winter. How to prepare your car for winter. Driving in winter. Never do this in the winter. Winter car maintenance tips. Winter car care. Winter car advice. Car advice. DIY car repair with Scotty Kilmer, an auto mechanic for the last 55 years.
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Scotty i change the oil in my corolla every 3000 miles is that a waste of money.
Thank you, Scotty, for the reminder of how to drive and maintain a car during the winter season! I will definitely keep this info in mind! My mother and my other relatives need to watch this video too, lol!
Scotty thanks for the winter tips car in snow
I seen the sparks on MY KIA the dealer hooked up the batter jump box backwards, I made them go over the whole car to make sure there was no damage
"Never turn off the traction control." I once got a 2014 Camry as a rental in the winter. The lot where I received the car was all ice and the traction control just shut the car down so it wouldn't move. I turned off the traction control, the car got out of the lot without sliding at all, then I turned it back on once I was on the plowed and salted road.
I met Scotty once at a restaurant. He was such a nice and humble fella. I wanted to discuss cars but he just kept going on about how much he loved nachos.
Who doesn't love nachos
@@123precision8 I have to agree.
Great...now I want Nachos...Thanks!
@@Guardian4ever / They have those in the frozen North? 🥶 🧊
lol
Dad told me, my first winter driving, :"You may be driving but dress like you could be walking". Great advice!
Good one
Smart Dad .
So true
Kids up here in Illinois wear shorts YEAR ROUND. That is until the first time they get a flat in the winter.
@@Hugh_Manitee Which leads to another rule: keep an extra pair of gloves in the car. When I was 20 I forgot my gloves when I left the house one time and of course that was the day I got a flat tire and had to change it in a foot of snow with no gloves.
Quick thing about 4Low Scotty, make sure it’s in neutral when you switch or it won’t engage. When that 4Low light is blinking that means it’s not engaged.
Ha ha you saved me from telling him!
Correct
Dumb question but if you don’t put it in neutral first can you damage anything? Or will it just not engage
@@Alittlebitsour6 any question is a good question bud, and no it won’t damage anything it just won’t engage. That’s why the light blinks
Depends on your vehicle. I’ve never had an issue shifting straight to 4Lo
NO, traction control off if you're stuck in snow or driving through deep snow, very light on the throttle but the tires need to spin slightly and not be interrupted by the TSC/DSC. Turn back on as soon as you're moving. Source: 25 years of driving and unstucking in Wisconsin.
Pro Tip: If you live in Texas just don’t leave the house because a huge amt of folks can’t even drive in the rain, much less the ice we occasionally get.
Here in ireland my girlfriend got a crack on her windscreen Toyota CRV Hybrid .Toyota dealership dundalk .charged insurance co over 4000 euro for replacement .?
Testify brother !!
So many people moved to Florida, nothings in stock. Local Hyundai not accepting any service appt at all.
Inadequate capability of road salt and snow plows in Texas. In Ohio any village over 1,000 has at least one dump truck loaded with salt and snowplow, tire chains if needed. If you have to keep going in snow you have to spend $ on plowtrucks with salt, or prepay a plow contractor.
😆 yep
I'm from the Great White North (Canada) and we learn all this at 16 when 1st licensed! Scotty is right. ABS and Traction control help a lot! If you get into a bad slide put it in neutral so you r not fighting the engine, you'll have better control and stop sooner! When the roads are icy take my advice and stay home! It's not worth destroying your vehicle and getting hurt!!!
ABS can help but it's expensive to repair if you're a do it yourselfer
Hulkman just ran out of products
I'm from MN, and same, but despite knowing that, I gotta get to and from work, and my fwd is the only option, so I just gotta be careful
very true, I survived 2 winters in Niagara Ontario with a 2012 Honda civic, invested in very good snow tires, never had a problem.. stayed home when the storm blew the town away, u want to give yourself a lot of time to get from a to b..
@@niagaracanadagooners2111i don't understand why folks are more proactive in snowy areas that don't have dedicated snow tires for winter... It's makes a fwd car handle like a 4wd.
I drove in the snowy winters of Michigan in a Honda Civic for 15 years without a single incident. No Snow Tires, No 4-wheel drive, No traction Control. Just a good ole MT shifter and lots of defensive driving. I've passed 100's of cars and trucks in the ditch all these years.
Thanks.. same here, though finally went to WINTER TIRES STUDDED, HERE IN HELANA , MT…. ( shovel, SUPER ICE MELT, sand, some ballast in my GMC CANYON 2WD, & Spouse Car……(( we just moved from Northern Indiana, snow Belt to finish life with kids, & Grandkid’s……….
Even through poorly cleared roads in 8" plus snows? With such low clearance underneath?🤔.. I hope so, after over 30 years of driving a pick-up trucks, now I'm driving a Toyota Corolla and am worried about the snow.
Sounds like when I had my 04’ Hyundai Accent,no 4x4 no snow tires,just a MT trans,I remember driving in a huge snow storms passing SUV’s and trucks that were sliding all over the place lol
@@bonanzatimejust know the limitations of your car and of your driving skills/comfortability
Leave 3 or more inches of powdered snow on your parked car if freezing rain is forecast in the next few hours. It's a lot easier to remove snow that has a light crust on top than to remove a thick case of ice.
Or park it in the garage.
Or use a tarp and have a clean car in seconds.
@@HariSeldon913 Yes yes... Because the whole world has a garage! 🙄🙄
Extremely bad advice. Men often die by heart attacks from shoveling snow. Snow with freezing rain or rain in it are extremely heavy. One big shovel full , and men keel over after they over exercise their heart.
@@beckyconstantinides2546 Huh?? He's talking about removing snow that is ON the car, not around it.
Scotty, living in New Hampshire I bought a car cover that's waterproof and flexible. Put on cover before it starts raining that turns to snow. Also it prevents doors from freezing closed
Scotty is just so wholesome
Yeah, great charisma and charming accent
Very caring man, and has so much knowledge to share with the world.
as a person who lived in alaska my whole life and has to deal with this stuff most of the year, these are extremely good tips. ive never owned a vehichle that doesnt have FWD and ABS, because theyre *essential* for living in alaska. excellent stuff as always scotty!
Might want to be more specific ... FWD is front wheel drive.
I assume you meant AWD or 4WD?
@@seanthompson8071No, I don't think they did. If it's FWD and has ABS and or traction control, it's perfectly viable for winter. RWD is the ony one that you shouldn't drive in the snow unless you absolutely HAVE to.
@@thagoodgames I drive RWD in the snow every day in the winter. What are you on about?
@@playdgDriving RWD is far harder than AWD, FWD, or 4WD. The reason is the power comes from the rear, meaning if you press the throttle a little too hard then the rear breaks traction causing you to spin out. This isn’t possible with FWD or AWD/4WD since there is power coming from either the front or all 4 wheels
@@aletron4750 You americans haven't heard about winter tyres. In most european countries snow tyres are mandatory from 01.11. to 01.04. And when you change them regularely(every 3-4 years) you absolutely have no problem driving RWD car in the snow. You should just be more gentle and careful, ofcourse that 4wd is the best but noone around here is scared of driving rwd car with good winter tyres
In western Canada we have snow and ice on the roads 5+ months a year. Snow tires, front wheel drive and you can go 95 percent of the places you need on a daily basis. Light right foot and give yourself space…no problem
Scotty tell everybody to go to Costco for the less than$20 windsheild cover. It will also cover the wipers. And if the snow is light like it was here in Nova Scotia this morning . I used my cordless leaf blower. 3 cars done in less than 2 minutes.
Wow , that weed blower is a great idea for light, fluffy snow !
10-4.
Thanks for the info
Me too. Lol I use a battery leaf blower to clean snow.... also clean dirt out of the vehicle
Even better, use the garage for the car rather than a storage shed. Garages are great for keeping snow off the car.
Scotty I have a Tacoma as well, you never engaged 4Low correctly. It is beeping at you because it never engaged. You have to shift into neutral until the blinking stops and the pre collision and safety tech will also be disabled.
Love you videos, keep up the good work!
Glad I saw this. I don’t own a Taco and wondered if that beeping was normal. 😆
Great content, I always enjoy watching his videos but this had some valuable safety info that more people should take to heart. It’s amazing how many people think that 4wd makes them invincible. They neglect to realize that everyone has 4wheel brakes. If it’s icy and you don’t have studs or chains and are driving like it’s summer, you’re just the first one to the scene of the accident. See it all the time, jacked up pickup all the way to the tree line before they get stopped. Keep it up Scotty!
Great guidelines Scotty! I learned to drive in a 1964 Volkswagen Beetle, back when Beetles were everywhere. In Ohio where we got snow on a regular basis, the school buses had studded tires it took more than 7 inches to close school. I used to have a front wheel drive Mitsubishi. When I had trouble going up slippery snowy slopes I drove it like a classic Beetle, rear wheel drive with the motor over the wheels. I drove it backwards and it got up those slopes and home. This left my neighbors scratching their heads. That doesn't work on ice. But, it got me to the grocery store and home when others were stuck in their driveways.
My worries is not the snow....it's the other people who is driving. They think since they have 4wd/AWD they are invisible. I have fwd with snow tires and I get around just fine. People need to slow down when it is bad out.
invincible
Plus, they think they stop on a dime. I stay away from those assholes.
That's a thing I don't like about AWD. You can't get a proper "feel" of the road when accelerating thinking it's not so bad then you get screwed at the next curve.
Do you use snow tires on all 4 wheels, or just the front tires with FWD?
I live in Canada and we get a lot of snow and freezing rain . Our vehicles that are not in the garage are covered . We just watch the weather and cover when necessary . It takes two minutes once you have done it a couple of times . It is much faster then cleaning off a car . If you get stuck in the snow then turn off the traction control until you are unstuck .
I keep a small shovel in the hatch in case I need to dig out.
Wow! Thanks for timely video Scotty. While I have lived in Minnesota most of my life, I know what to do correctly, and never had a problem jump starting a car, it's great to have a master mechanic, helping us all.
Scotty is the dad we never had ❤️ thank you!!
Scotty -- live in Wisconsin, and have been a courier/delivery driver for a long time. Did find, that in deep (>6") wet snow, sometimes have to turn traction control OFF, otherwise the traction control will cause the wheels to "bog down" and you will barely move from a stop. Turn it off, and both wheels (FWD) will spin free until they find traction, and you are off to the races! Mainly using Dodge RAM Promasters and Promaster City.
As I live in Toronto with heavy snow sometimes you just need to turn off your Traction Control while you drive in deep snow, so you won’t get stuck in snow easily just go easy on gas! Driving slowly with traction control off in deep snows is easier to get moving, but in normal conditions please keep your traction control on.
Yeah i always turn traction control off in low speeds when i'm driving in bad conditions meaning deep snow or slippery ice because the system will start freaking out and mess with the traction even more and you'll get stuck.
Basically what I do here in Boston. Disable the traction control until I shift into second gear, then turn the traction back on.
Just FYI, in the Tacoma, if the 4LO light is blinking, 4LO is not engaged. For the Tacomas to shift into 4LO, the truck MUST be in neutral. Otherwise it will not shift. Once 4LO is engaged, it will be solid and not blinking.
Glad someone mentioned this as I was about to. I have an older model, a 2011, and if it's blinking/beeping then it's not in 4 low. Can't always believe everything that ole' Scotty says everyone! lol...
What a cool dude, can't get enough of ol Scotty.
Thank you sir, appreciate your work.
thing to do to your car in the winter: get a hose/duct large enough to fit the exhaust pipe, use it as heat blower to clear the windshields
Why not use a brush
Your posting about winter (snow) driving is good . Having boosted many cars over the years, I like the Lithium booster. I sm disappointed that you didn;t take a few more minutes to talk about cleaning the snow from the WHOLE car! Sweeping off the hood avoids snow blowing onto the windshield, blinding the driver (and pushing snow into the heater intake!). Cleaning the roof and trunk off improves the peripheral vision, too. In Canada, having an obstructed window can earn you a ticket, not to mention the additional risk of limited visibility!
Well I live in Saskatchewan where we likely have 3 feet of snow and a lot of people including me, are driving on all season tires, not winter tires. I've talked to the DOT and snow tires aren't required, but you must have tread on your tires.
First year with a car, i literally turned my wipers on while frozen, popped a fuse AND broke the motor a few weeks ago. This could've saved me so much trouble. I ended up having to change the fuse, change the motor as well as reset the linkage and the blade position. Thank's for the content, it'll save some people a lot of headache in the future.
When I was still working during the winter up here in Wisconsin, on second shift last year (retired in April) I tried using one of the windshield snow covers. I found they work really well if you can get them on before the snow and ice hits. I'd come out at the end of my shift at 12 midnight to my van covered in snow and ice. Pull off the shield, and like magic, a clear windshield. No snow brushing or ice scraping. Since they're all made out of nylon, which doesn't absorb water, you just fold them up, stuff them in their pouch, and drive away.
A brush will leave swirl marks and minor imperfections in the clear coat requiring a paint correction with an orbital buffer and polishing compound. I wrap a microfiber cloth around the brush held on with rubber bands to help prevent the swirls and scratches when removing snow. Also those soap brushes at the car wash are terrible and grind dirt into the paint and scratches
Absolutely
Or use a squeegee
Battery snow blower. Cleans the snow right off without scratching.
⚠️ VW - Warning brushes cause micro scratches on the paint so you can see it in bright light. This is from volkswagen vehicles their paint is thin vs other car brands. I have an 06 gti and learned this the hard way although they are micro and not significant, it is significant enough for me to say something.
[1 year vw dealership experience]
I drove a '91 Trans Am around Michigan and Pennsylvania years ago along with my GF's FWD probe. One thing I found out real quick like was when a FWD vehicle looses traction and starts to spin you have basically no way to steer. You just keep plowing along until it decides to grab some traction. I was used to my RWD Trans AM and with good snow tires I had very few problems. Like Scotty rightly points out similar to riding in the mud down south, winter driving is really about throttle management.
Scotty, Thanks for the lithium-ion battery pack demo. I knew that they were good, but didn't realize how good they really are until you gave your demo & explained how they will not mess up today's high-tech computer vehicles like a bad jump start can. So I will keep mine in my trunk when doing the long trips here in Alaska!😎😎
4:42 Gotta love how the driver in the back just runs a stop sign
Scotty, I have learned so much from you. I always pass on what you say to my girlfriends and especially to my sons. Thank you, you rock!!!😄✌🏽❤️😇🙏🏽
Use a leaf blower for that fluffy snow, works great.
Scotty here’s another tip; get a longer “brushy part” to get the snow out from under your wipers and in between your wipers. In fact get a ice scraper/brush that has a soft neoprene brush part so it doesn’t have any issues with your paint.
I love when people that live in the south get 2 inches of snow and freak out and need “4 lo” to move. They wouldn’t make it out of the house up in the Midwest.
Be safe in the snow Scotty! I always have the portable jumper as well just very safe.
For ice I'd look into a ceramic coating, mine only part of the window has ice but it defrosts in a minute.
Look at the rag company they sell diamond body protech. The glass coating can prevent frost
From Qc Canada, Never used tires with stud. Good winter tires are enought now. In the past or with cheap ones it was a good idea to have studded tires but now tires are really better than 10 years ago. And for traction control lol sometimes when there is too much snow, you have to kill it or the damn car won't get up the hill! 🤷♂️🙈😅
So can you keep "winter " tires without studs on all year. Moving to snow/ice.
Hey Scotty! Thank you for the tips. A long while ago I bought one these jump starters you recommended and it really works! It's a smaller one, Top Vision brand. It's not as powerful as the one you showed in this video but it easily jump started a van and a mini van! Thanks for the tip!
Miss old school knowledge, grit and experience like this on media channels. His one video on this is worth ten or twelve or more of most videos posted on YT on winter snow tips. Thanks as always to Scotty! Had learned some of these - but the other stuff not at all.
I'm from Northern BC and we are 6 months of the year in snow. I use a leaf blower to remove the snow off of my vehicles and all of them have studded winter tires all around. I suggest to get a set of the right size tire chains for the drive wheels, it will get you home no matter how bad the roads are!
Great insights for those who live in deeply winterized areas.
Most people who don't live in northern BC don't really need tire chains. And when they do, they should probably just stay home.
- another dude in northern BC
When defrosting front window pull down visor to trap some heat at the top window.
As someone who just recently started staying at a house that has hot water, I can say it is amazing. I am 17 and my house never had heated water for as far back as I can remember. It was pretty bad in the winter.
Thank you Scotty. Been looking for a good jump starter. Had a Stanley power station, and it didn’t perform very well, or hold up. The only plus was perhaps the built in air compressor, and maybe the outlets.
Opted for the Hulkman Alpha 100 like you got, and even purchased the protection case.
As far as snow tires and traction control, I've been using Michelin X-Ice snow tires for years. It's amazing the difference they make. They're called studless snow tires because Michelin claims the tread compound even grips on ice. For best stopping, I have them in all four corners even though my van is front wheel drive . As for traction control, I turn it off when I'm driving on the city streets here in Milwaukee. They use salt here ( 400 by 200 by 100 ft high pies down at the port) which t
akes care of the ice. But it doesn't take care of the
snow ridges the plows leave across intersections. There, I want the front tires to spin to work down to the pavement. There's nothing worse then to have the traction control on, have it kill the engine power when you're halfway through an intersection because the tires are spinning and then the light just changed for traffic coming the other way. Now, on the freeway, I use traction control all the time. It's amazing how fast I can drive on a snow covered freeway lane and not spin out. I very rarely see cars in the ditch anymore during a snow storm. If so, It's usually due to people following too close. Then it's three vehicles at a time.
Winter Driving 101 in Canada where I live. Keep a bag of sand or kitty litter in the vehicle in case you get stuck. A handful of kitty litter under the drive wheels will give you extra traction if you are stuck on the ice.
Up here in NY, it's a whole different ballgame! We are professional slip and slide drifters! Mainly in a front wheel drive, we need to remember not to spin the wheels to fast or the transmission will explode. Four wheel drive vehicles need to remember that they can go as fast as we want, but we aren't steering or stopping at the speed we can accelerate. Most importantly, don't go over snow that's higher than your suspension travel. You ain't going nowhere when you feel the vehicle get pushed up off the pavement! Traction control can sometimes be a burden, but if you know how to drive, and know how not to destroy the drive train, getting stuck is very rare.
Scotty you forgot one thing about traction control, if you are backing out of a slightly elevated road you should turn off traction control or if you get stuck you'll never get out.
Scotty I live in Canada. If I waited until all the ice was off the road I would not drive 6 months out of the year! I can say you are 100 % correct about jumping your car. Be very careful hooking up the battery leads, I fried a bunch of wires on my old truck one time hooking up the batteries backwards (yep stupid but easy to do in the dark in -30). I will take your advice and grab one of those fancy Hulkman booster thingys they look very neat. Best way to battle the winter is to get a big 4x4 truck and throw 6 sandbags in the box. If you don't get winter tires at least get all terrain tires! Keep an emergency kit, tow rope, and a shovel in the truck. Make sure you get heated seats your wife will love you for it.
I like how he put the snow back on the windshield to do the wiper demonstration.
Scotty is gold. You could be having the worst day ever, just pick any Scotty video and its instant smile on your face. It just so happens that it is car advice.
Another important lesson is if your sliding take your foot off the brake as longs as your wheels are turning you have some control.
A better alternative to leaving your wiper blades up is to instead cover them in plastic like with a plastic garbage bag and leave in normal position. If you leave them up you still expose the blades to the elements and there is always the possibility the wind can blow them back down into the windshield causing damage. When you are ready to clear the windshield simply raise the plastic covered wipers and clean off the windshield then lower the wipers back down minus the plastic bag.
Use bread bags on the wipers .
@@keithpearson7059 We also used paper sacks under the wipers before. Works most of the time.
There is a chance that the plastic bag will freeze too the window and that will be worse. You would need winds over 60mph too knock the wipers over.
'freeze too the window'
Fully charged Leaf Blower also works in blowing most snow... Some states don't allow studded snow tires... When I use studded snow tires - I mount them on separate Steel wheels, store them and use them appropriately.
Thanks for all of your GOOD advice!
Living in northern Alberta, it was common to crack a windshield during the winter just by turning a hot defroster on. Buick had an electric heater built into their defrost systems during the late 70's causing windshields to crack, especially if it already had a small stone chip.
4 low!?!?!?! Is it snowing sand dunes? Zero need for 4 low in a few inches of snow. I've only ever needed 4 low in 2-3' of snow.
Scotty we have no snow here in Massachusetts. 45 degrees this past week. Love your show.
I use my leaf blower to clear off the snow. Cleans the driveway well for light snow too.
Scotty, a guy from Apple Auto Glass (not sure if they’re in the US) told me not to leave my wipers pulled away from the windshield like you showed. He said if the wiper snaps back and hits the window in freezing weather, the windshield might shatter. He said it was better to put the wipers into a plastic bag…I did that for a few years, worked great. We get lots of ice around here…my new Toyota has a nice feature, the space where the wipers live is heated and does a good job of freeing up the wipers after 10 minutes or so.
I always thought that the wiper arms might get bent if you leave them up off the glass
If you put them back gentle, there should be no harm.
More chance that the wipers plastic might shatters in the cold.
@@G.T.muzika
Wind
You scratch your paint with that brush, but it doesn't matter on a non reflective paint. Try this on a black car and see your scratches. I personally would use a microfiber towel clipped around the brush
I agree but I hardly see a point in brushing snow off the paint of the car. Usually the wind just knocks it off.
@@DaTrillion Illegal in most jurisdictions
You stole my thunder.
@@shawnkennedy855 I didn't even realize it was illegal my fault.
Leaf blower!
I'm ditching my jumper cables I've never had to use because I replace our batteries before they go bad, Scotty saved me from making a huge mistake, thanks. I always carry a snow shovel and sand though in case I get stuck and we get plenty of snow in MN and if it's really icy, leave the car at home and get out the studded tire fat bike.
Hey Scotty great video! Really valuable for those who don’t know how to drive in the winter. I live in Alaska haha. I got a 2016 Jeep Patriot. The traction control is great but it’s really horrible around corners. The traction control works by operating the brakes on the wheels that have less traction, instead of applying more power to the wheels that have traction. It works wonders when there’s a bunch of snow and ice. But when the roads aren’t real icy and it slides on a little snow or slush on a corner, it really jerks the Jeep around when it finds traction. It’s a real hoot to drive with the traction control turned off with the 4x4 engaged. Being FWD primary it seems to stop sliding when you let off the gas. But I can drift it if I want to like my old 92 Ranger.
Take care and stay warm!
If you live where it snows, you need to own at least 1 subaru. Those things with snow tires are unstoppable
Thanks for the info, especially about the jumper cables.
NOBODY can mess with our homie Scottie! You my friend are the best thing on the internet sir. I wish to have lunch with you when I come to Nashville I would do anything to have lunch with you! Scottie is for the people. I can watch every video and I never get bored.
Thanks for all the work you do Scotty
Hey ol' Scotty! Thanks for all your videos & keep having fun!
I'm 53 and I love to find an old parking lot! And play around in it! In my 97 F150 when it snows! It's a blast!
In our area we are as likely to get ice as we are snow. Instead of spending 20 minutes scraping that hard stuff, followed by a long warm-up time wasting fuel, I slip an electric heater inside the car. Give it 10 minutes and the ice/snow slides off and the interior is 70 degrees. By the time it's necessary to apply the defrosters, I'm a mile down the road and the engine is warming up. That's something I've been doing since the 70's, when I drove a VW van and kept a heater mounted inside during winter. That works well even if you keep your car in an unheated garage.
I leave for work at 5am. During the winter I have a fan heater and extension lead in the car. If frost is forecast the night before, I poke the extension out the window and leave the plug (covered in case it rains) by the door. If it's all iced up when I get up, plug in to the socket just inside the backdoor, by the time I'm washed and ready to leave (10 minutes) the car is warm enough (doesn't have to be hot) just pop the cable back inside and drive off.
Love those jump starter kits. Convenient for helping other drivers out too, quickly and easily.
I bought one but returned it because the warning section in the instructions said to never leave in your car due to extreme heat in the summer or extreme cold in the winter. Basically it’s a use at home item which defeats the purpose of being prepared every where you go. Maybe some folks leave in their cars with no issue but the warning was enough for me to return it. I wish they made one that says you can keep in the car and I would buy it.
@@jawsgreatwhite9966dang that sucks. Thought this would be convenient to have but it gets so hot here the in summer I can’t leave anything in the vehicle
@@jawsgreatwhite9966You can buy some that can withstand both extremes of temps. Its usually on the box of how high or low they can be kept in.
@@2pacorwhatI didn’t realize that. Thanks for the information, I’ll start to look again because I love being prepared.
@@jawsgreatwhite9966 yea no problem. I also have one in the trunk at all times. Just remember to charge it once in a while lol because like most batteries it does lose charge over time. Don't want to feel stupid when you need it and its almost completely empty 🤣
Thank you Mr Kilmer.from one Tennessean to another.Great advise.
Great suggestions Scott.
I park both of my trucks inside. I never have to clean my trucks off. I only drive with 4 wheel on both trucks.
My daily driver has 10 ply studded snow tires all the way around. With 4 wheel & studded snows. I still drive carefully. I rarely slide. Constant traction.
One nice thing of rear wheel drive is finding an empty parking lot and let loose. Speaking from experience. Plus it teaches you on how to handle the vehicle on slippery conditions.
Yup- rear wheel drive was what I learned with and sure helps me today.
I remember when I was young, my father took me to an empty parking lot after a snow in his AMC Ambassador. He said," Here, learn how to drive in the snow". Ah, the good ol' days of only rear wheel drive cars.
In drivers ed they took us out on the hockey practice rink (no boards on the practice rink). Great way to learn about driving on ice.
My first new car was rear wheel drive with a manual transmission. For fun I would fishtail in the snow on backroads or parking lots. Got into a skid on the highway once during a bad snowstorm. Knew exactly what to do and did not end up in the ditch.
Your recommendation for not driving on ice and snow unless you really have to sounds very funny from a Finnish perspective. ;) Driving on winter conditions is perfectly normal here and I'm sure everywhere with long harsh winters. Most people have studded tyres but winter tyres without studs are also common and work well in most conditions. Roads are ploughed often but salt is kept to a minimum and instead gravel is being dispersed for traction on tricky spots.
I believe he meant... refrain IF you don't have winter tires. Which makes total sense. Where i live it is not even legal to drive without proper winter tires during winter season. We had to pass a law because a lot of people are just... well... stupid. ;-) Driving in snow is just so much fun. Just takes a little getting used to and awareness.
I used to live in Sweden and they have mandatory winter tires regulation, same as in Finland I presume. Roads are ploughed and lots of granite gravel is used, which is collected in spring. After moving to Canada I was shocked how many people drive here with all-seasons (basically three season tires with rather crappy traction in cold temperatures and on snow). There's no compulsory winter tires laws here and lots of folks drive heavy minivan or monstrous pickup trucks. It's scary sometimes and also stupid. The roads are scraped to the bare asphalt but not immediately after a snowfall, and eastern provinces use an enormous amount of salt which deteriorates the cars quickly. TH-cam is full of videos, mostly from Ontario and BC, with cars literally sliding on thin ice in winter. I mean, come on Canada, there are other northern countries where people are driving through half a year of snowy conditions.
What is finished perspective?
That's why almost all of the great Rallye drivers were Fins.
@@TheKiller1922 I live in Quebec and as i wrote, real winter tires are mandatory here. All-season tires are not allowed as they just don't do the job. Each province gets to choose their own policy in that regard.
I have that same jumper and I use it every day at my work, it's amazing.
Thanks Scotty! Be safe
Traction control off is recommended by all manufacturers. It allows your tires to spin versus limiting the power to zero.
I agree. If you live in mountains and TRC shuts off the wheels while driving uphill, it can be nasty.
I have people leave their wipers up all the time and wonder why their blades never touched the window after that. Numerous times I've had to replace springs for people. Better just to prop them up with a stick an inch or so above the glass.
I don't leave my wipers up either. If it gets too windy, it's like asking for a broken windshield.
Scotty, I’ve been watching your videos for years and this is the first time I’ve heard you bring up living in Lewiston! I live about 20 mins outside of Lewiston in Lockport! Very cool! I know exactly where that gas station was!
I have studded snow tyres on my small 08 civic coupe and it's done me wonders . I drive in snow and Ice all the time .
Turning traction control off does have it's practical purposes. That's why you can turn it off. Last year an AWD VW was stuck because the traction control wouldn't stay off long enough. It just brought him to a halt and he remained stuck.
I ALWAYS turn traction control off, decades of snow experience. If you seesaw the wheel, you can get posi traction when taking off from a stop.
@@phatgringo2.0 same with slowing down, it scrubs your speed, that's why you slalom down a hill while skiing, it slows you down.
Yes. Sometimes when you’re in deep snow you actually have to turn traction control off to get it moving. Maybe not all traction control systems are like that though.
I have to differ on leaving your wipers in the up position, a strong wind can knock them onto the windshield and in rare occasions break or crack it. Instead clear the snow around them, start the car and wait until the defroster dislodges them.
It also weakens the wiper springs also!
I agree to not leave them in the up position, but I think that he was only doing it while he was clearing the ice.
I don't think he left them up overnight. Although he did miss an opportunity to give out that advice. I hoped he would mention it.
It's also bad to let your engine idle. I'm surprised he suggested that.
i dont think he meant leave them up all night, just while wiping the snow. if theres a wind while doing that hold onto it. i dont disagree with what you do tho
My experience is that the wind tends not to blow them over. If they do they shouldn't crack your window because the rubber wiper blades cushion it. Also, leaving them up for short periods of time has never weakened my springs.
Great tips Scotty and the comments are awesome to...
Are used to have a 87 Ford ranger five speed manual. It was 2 Wheel Dr., and I drove that thing through 14 inches of snow with no problem never even spun tires a vantage of the old 2.3 L four banger that made no power ran till the frame snapped in half from all the rust.
Thank you for the daily tips Scotty! Something we all use.
I remember back in college my electronics teacher was telling us something about how it’s not a good idea to leave jumper cables connected to both cars after the dead car has started and both cars are running. Something about how either car could send a spike back to the other car. I’ve always jumped cars by hooking up the positive clamps to both cars first, negative to the live car and then connect and or hold negative to the dead car. And as soon as the dead car starts, I remove the negative clamp.
sometimes I would take the battery out of a running car and put into the no start car - then start the dead car and then put the good battery back into the running car and the dead battery back into the original non starting car and the battery would get charged back up - I had no cables and it worked the few times I ever done it - don't know if it was safe or not - but now I am old and could not even lift a battery so - I guess that is the end of my story.
@@Incomprehensibilitiesandchaos I'd imagine it's safe to do so, as long as it's a 12v battery going into a 12v car, and not a 24v battery going into a 12v car. I'm not sure how easy it was to pull a battery back then, not now a days, it's more time consuming to uninstall a battery from one car, to put into another. If one has tools to do that, might as well have cables and not have to take apart anything. But then again, as you said, you had no cables.
Another informative lesson. I grew up in Indiana and now living in Florida, done with snow!😅. As a kid we would find an empty parking lot covered in snow and do doughnuts and drifting in my dad's 65 Chrysler New Port. That's where I and my friends learned how to drive in snow and ice.
NH viewer checking in (Live Free or Die!!!) and Scotty is spot on with every single tip here!
Lived in NH for 20 years! Good to see another one out here!
Scotty is basically everyone's smart mechanical grandpa, gives great car info 24/7 and with helpful tips some of those tips would cost 200-300 each visiting a mechanic shop in California lol
Aren't you supposed to put in Neutral before you switch in or out of 4 low? That's probably why it was beeping :)
Yep , 4H - N - 4L - D
Great video! I know most Canadians are thinking the same thing.. "Scotty wipe off the top of your car/truck!". Its been a law a few years here in Ontario.
Sometimes turning of traction control is necessary especially for getting moving as most systems are calibrated for tarmac and only allow 5% slippage, in snow more slippage is needed for maximum traction.
you saved me from so many mistakes made with my car in the winter 4 years ago
I disagree with Scotty on the traction control. I always turn my traction control off in the snow and ice. When traction control kicks on, it applies the anti-lock brake on which ever tire is spinning in the deep snow and that causes you to get stuck. Traction control is junk, especially on chevrolet vehicles.
I rented a cavalier years ago. I like older gm stuff bc those will run. Being a rental, it had the cheapest possible tires on it. I got stuck and the traction control wouldn't allow any wheel spin whatsoever. I disabled it by removing the abs fuse. While it was snowing at a rate of 2" per hour. Once I did that, I was able to rock the car out and get going again. Thank God in later years they at least added a button to disable traction control. Cavaliers are actually good in the snow, but the traction control does suck. Besides, does a 115 hp 2.2L vehicle need traction control? Lol
@@williamsinger4124 I just bought a 2008 Honda FIT, because I could not afford the 2011 Honda FIT that has the button to turn off the traction control. Since the 2008 TC can't be turned off, I had to install snow tires.
Good info thanx!
I live in northern Ontario Canada and at 46 have never bought a set of winter tires I'm sure there great but gust drive accordingly and you'll be fine.
U have taught me so much over the years Scotty keep it going man