Windows frozen

motoguy128

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Yup. Seems like it's just the right shape for a little extra water to pool right at the window seal. But It's not the first car that I've owned that had this issue, but it did seem worse than other cars in terms of how long it took to thaw.
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shadowspar

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Yup. Seems like it's just the right shape for a little extra water to pool right at the window seal. But It's not the first car that I've owned that had this issue, but it did seem worse than other cars in terms of how long it took to thaw.
This is exactly it, I find there's a little U-shaped rubber seal at the bottom of the windows where water tends to collect and freeze. Once the ice expands it puts just enough pressure on the window that it doesn't want to open.

After scraping any ice buildup off the glass itself (especially at the very bottom of the window, just above the rubber seal), I carefully clean out any ice in this area using a credit card or similar. If the windows won't open right away after that, it will only take a little warm defrost air before they do.
 

nizarz

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Did you go through a car wash at all? I'm in Ottawa where the temp has hit -30c a couple of times but never had issues with frozen doors/window. My wife took her car through a car wash and had a lot of issues with the freezing seals. Its frustrating because there's not much you can do outside to get the salt off when its that cold.
 

latole

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Did you go through a car wash at all? I'm in Ottawa where the temp has hit -30c a couple of times but never had issues with frozen doors/window. My wife took her car through a car wash and had a lot of issues with the freezing seals. Its frustrating because there's not much you can do outside to get the salt off when its that cold.
Never go to a car wash if your car sleep outside or if car can't be dry before you go at freezing temp.
 

shadowspar

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Did you go through a car wash at all? I'm in Ottawa where the temp has hit -30c a couple of times but never had issues with frozen doors/window. My wife took her car through a car wash and had a lot of issues with the freezing seals.
I don't wash it when it's cold out, but we have enough in the way of melt/thaw cycles that it's not hard to imagine water working its way down in there and re-freezing. Especially since my car sits outside. The sun is surprisingly warm sometimes, even on cold days.

Its frustrating because there's not much you can do outside to get the salt off when its that cold.
Yeah, I just wait for a mild day, and then only take a pressure washer to the lower half of the car -- rocker panels, wheel wells, etc. I figure at least I can get the worst of the salty crud off that way, without freezing the car shut.
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