So I have a worrisome problem that has just cropped up.

Thanks to the fancy frameless windows we have, when it is very icy like it was this morning, it is almost impossible to open the doors without feeling like the window is going to break. It freezes up and doesn't allow the window to go down an inch like it usually does, so it stays locked in place within the frame of the door. This morning I was able to finally gently pull the door open with a lot of patience, but then I couldn't get it to close properly, so I had to drive to work this morning with the door open. I'm sure it looked really cool driving down the street with me trying to hold the door shut and drive the manual trans at the same time.

Have other cold-weather drivers had this problem and found a solution? I tried scraping all around the window to break up the ice but it didn't do the job very well. The last thing I want is a broken window or a burnt out window motor from trying to break the window loose.

Any suggestions?


The good news - I put on my winter tires - Goodyear UltraGrip GW-3's - and they are just phenomenal. Performance is pretty much equal to the pirellis in the dry, and in the snow and ice now I can drive with confidence knowing that I don't slide around the corners any more. Last year I had to take turns SO slow it was embarassing, now I can zip past the SUV's just fine. So the snow tires are highly recommended for anyone driving their stangs all year long.

 

One more thing - I also seem to be getting a very large amount of condensation on this inside of the windshield. In these wonderful Chicago winters that means that when I go to my car in the morning the entire inside of the WS is covered with ice. Any suggestions for that one?

 

get some deicer and spray that stuff on there

 

Just used some of that this morning

 

i probably live 5-10 miles from you and i just opened the door. i didn't really worry about the window breaking. it opened and closed fine. de-icer... maybe i should get some of that!

 

Do your windows get stuck? Mine get totally stuck and don't move at all, so when opening or closing the door the window can't get past the trim around the door.

I think the rain last night followed by the -20 windchill do not help this problem.

 

my wipers were stuck but not my windows. i don't know why. everything is fine now... yea fishtailing!!!

 

Weathershield car cover worked for me when I lived in Maryland. Ice just slid off.Of course you can't put it on a wet car so the deicer worked great.Just remember to keep it in the house or a can at work not in the car.

 

For those who've used the de-icers - do you think there's any danger to paint or the plastic finish? I absolutely baby my car for 9 months out of the year and then I abuse it in the Chicago winter, but I'd hate to cause any permanent damage to the paint with harsh chemicals.

 

keep in the trunk.

 

How about a car cover just for the winter?

 

Ive had the same trouble a few times. ended up just letting it warm up till they dropped...first time it happened I just heard a click when I opened the door, but man I thought it broke something when I slammed it shut! slight oversight on fords part...I wondered about putting rain-x on there, it helps prevent ice sticking kinda like wax, but the cars Ive used it on got permanent wiper streaks after a year or so, so think I'll just put up with it

 

303 makes a wiper conditioner that says ice will not stick to, wonder if it would work on the outside weather striping on the windows?

 

I've successfully used silicone spray on the door seals with my other cars in the past.

 

Very good ideas. Live in TN, main thing we see is ice if we have any bad weather here in the winter.

 

Surprisingly, I haven't had any real problems in the 4 years I've had the car... Then again, doors sticking closed happens almost every day during NE Ohio winters, maybe I just ripped the door open without the window moving, but I haven't noticed anything. The nice thing is, you can pull the handle to force the window to move before you actually open the door.

 

I have incase and I don't do Ice scraping on my window I keep a sprat bottle of Methynol Hydrate or gas line anti-freeze & just mist the windhield as well the side widows so to seals or trim de-ice and windows drop ! it melts it fast good for key holes too. "but it is a volitile substance so do not use around flame or heat.

 

it can if the window does freeze and does not drop ! I almost had that happen,

 

If the interior windows are fogging up, switch the aircon on - I know it sounds stupid, but it doesn't have to be set to 'cold' to work...select the option to recycle cabin air and it dehumidifies the air in the car. Then set the vents to 'cabin & de-mist'...

BTW you should run the aircon for 30 minutes a month regardless...stops the coolant from rotting the hoses...you'll thank me in 5 years when you don't have to replace all the hoses when you re-gas the system.

 

You don't live in the north, do you? The ice and snow would turn that cover into a hard shell and it would be a total pain in the @ss to either take the cover off or put it back on. Even worse if the ice was bad enough it would glue the cover to the car.