We had snow, then freezing rain and sleet, and then some snow on top of that. My van is covered with ice. I can unlock the doors with the remote, but I have not been able to get them open. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I don't have any de-icer at the moment. I did read somewhere that you shouldn't pour hot water over the vehicle.
2007-02-14 09:11:09 · 6 answers · asked by Tammy Z 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Weather
If you can get a snow scraper, use that to chip the ice off the door. Then run it for a while with the heat on to try to melt the ice unless you feel like chipping the other doors.
Before you drive it you'll have to clear the front windshield and the front side windows. Don't forget to defrost the back.
You can also get a hair dryer and run out an extension cord, but that will take forever. Chipping will get you further.
It's not fun; I know.
2007-02-14 09:21:54 · answer #1 · answered by T J 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like door is frozen stuck to the weather seals. Make sure the crack between the door and the body is 100% free of ice. If the door is still stuck, maybe pouring some hot water carefully in the groove will loosen things up. If you have an extention cord that will reach, take it and a hair dryer out there and heat up the suspected frozen spots.
The danger you mentioned concerning hot water is hot water on glass. The sudden change in temperature could cause the glass to crack.
When you do get it open, drive to any auto parts store and buy yourself some Armor-all or any kind of spray on rubber / vinyl treatment. Over time the material breaks down and dries out. The Armor all will help restore it, but if it is old and dry the best solution is to replace the weatherstripping.
I know it's cold, but clean off the painted surfaces of the door and get some kind of wax on it. Even some household Pledge or similar product will help.
Or wait until spring.
2007-02-14 17:33:20 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well having been born and raised in Buffalo, NY, I've had to deal with this on several occasions. The best way I've found is to take the corner of your ice scraper and just start to dent the ice all over the driver's side door of the car. This usually weakens the ice sheet enough so that you can chisel out a spot that's large enough for the whole flat blade of the ice scraper. Then start scraping, hopefully the random chiseling you did earlier will allow for larger chunks of ice to come away from the door. Just concentrate around the door edges until you can the door opened up. Then start the car and crank up your defrosters. It'll take a little while, but letting the car do most of the work will be lovely for you as you're enjoying a hot chocolate from inside the house watching your neighbors as they are outside chiseling away. And although the defrosters probably won't get rid of all the ice unless you leave them on for an hour, it will soften up the under layer of the ice enough for you to be able to scrape it off fairly easily.
2007-02-14 17:32:40 · answer #3 · answered by jpiglet86 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i wouldnt get in the car at all. i dont want to sound rude but if the car is that iced over, i can only imagine the roads. so if u do get in the car, it might be hell driving around in it. also, if the doors are basically frozen shut, you might want to be cautious of things that you normally dont look for, especially under the hood of the car and what not. that might be a complete catastrophe too!
2007-02-14 17:23:28 · answer #4 · answered by .|CrayolaKidd| 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try using a blow dryer.
2007-02-14 17:53:47 · answer #5 · answered by Jo-Anne 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
GET A WATER HOSE AND SPRAY IT DOWN!!
2007-02-14 17:14:27 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋