Follow these tips to end those winter wiper blues

Posted Feb 2, 2012 By Brian Turner

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(See hard copy for photo.)

(See hard copy for photo.)

EMC Lifestyle - The recent bouts of freezing rain and sub-zero temps have brought more than a few vehicles into area shops for some very expensive wiper and windshield repairs that are totally preventable with a little effort. As more freezing rain is inevitable before our season of discontent is finished, a few tips might help to keep the vision clear.

Of course the most common wiper problem is caused by flipping on the ignition in the morning before checking to see if a) the wiper switch is in the off position or b) the wipers aren't frozen to the windshield. With many vehicles built-in safety mechanisms will limit the amount of damage a wiper motor will do when trying to budge hopelessly frozen wiper blades. But in some cases the motor or linkage may require replacement as a result. The easy fix for this is to always make sure you turn the wipers off when parking your car for the night.

Many motorists will lift the wiper arms off the windshield and put them in the full upright position. There are two problems with this. First, not every car has a wiper arm design that will keep it suspended off the glass. Secondly if strong winds come along (and they usually accompany ice storms) the wiper arm can be blown back onto the windshield with some force (thanks to the wiper arm tension spring). If the blade has any ice built up on it, or if the blade spins around so that the back side of it come into contact with the glass, this may cause a windshield crack.

The better method of keeping the wipers from freezing to the glass is to place a piece of cardboard or stiff plastic under the blade. This will prevent a lot of wiper blade damage and can also eliminate scraping ice off the windshield.

Never try to quick melt frozen wipers off a windshield with warm or hot water. This almost always leads to cracked glass or trim piece.

Michelin recently introduced the third generation of their very popular and effective X-Ice winter tires at the Mecaglisse motorsports track in the heart of Quebec's Laurentian Mountains. In keeping with their philosophy of safety with longevity, independent testing of this X-Ice 3 has demonstrated its ability to last up to twice as long as leading competitors.

Michelin has taken the design of snow tires to a new level of engineering and design and the X-Ice 3 represents the pinnacle of their achievements. Its unique tread design is cut all the way down to the last level of useable tread surface to let drivers get the full benefit of its ice and snow grip throughout its entire lifespan. Unlike most of Michelin's competition, the flexible rubber compound is used throughout the tire and not simply on the top layers. This also keeps performance strong throughout the tire's life. Thousands of small 'wells' drilled into the surface of the tread-face act as pumps removing water from the road surface as the tire rolls to improve traction.

Unique block and 'sipe' (tread grip patterns) construction help to keep the X-Ice 3 stable during corners and braking events by keeping all the tread blocks in proper orientation for improved stopping and accelerating. The X-Ice 3 provides 17 per cent better grip on ice and seven per cent shorter stops. In snow the improvements are six per cent and three per cent respectively. All of this is achieved without the normal excessive noise and road-whine that most traditional winter tires deliver. In fact most consumers don't notice any increased tire noise with the past X-Ice and current X-Ice 2 brands over summer tires.

The X-Ice 3 will be available on store shelves in the fall of this year and will come with an industry first: a 60,000 km tread-wear guarantee and free tire roadside assistance. If you're going to be in the market for new snows next winter, you need to put the X-Ice 3 on your short list.

On the topic of tires, my good friend Dan of Alloy Wheel Repair Specialists of Ottawa has noticed a new trend in his customers' attitudes toward mini or temporary use spares. Many of his clients are terrified of the thought of having to use them and are going to considerable expense to purchase their own full-sized spare and are sacrificing a great deal of cargo space in the process. What Dan wants to remind everyone about is that temporary-use spares are completely safe to use, even in winter as long as the driver doesn't exceed the recommended speed (with all vehicles it's either printed on the spare-tire or found in the owner's manual). And of course, these tires are only designed for temporary use. This means, getting the flat repaired and reinstalled as quickly as possible.

Bumping up to a full sized spare may even be a safety risk. In the cases of minivans, crossovers, or SUV's with cargo areas open to the passenger cabins, if the spare tire well won't accept a full-sized spare, it may be impossible to properly secure the tire. In these cases, the tire may become a lethal projectile in the event of a collision.

If you have any questions, opinions, or stories on anything automotive please drop me a line, (By email to emc@perfprint.ca or directly to bjoeturner@hotmail.com listing 'Question for the Car Counselor' on the subject line or by post to Record News Communications, 5 Lorne St., P.O. Box 158, Smiths Falls, Ont. K7A 4T1).

Yours in service

Brian Turner