malahhaor

I bet you thought it was the same old driving in snow thread....
Neah, my question is regarding windows/doors freezing up.
Unfortunately since i moved in with my soon to be wife, i lost the oh so missed indoor heated garage.
So almost every morning when it's cold out, especially when it snowed the night before my windows are frozen shut. As you all know those things have to go down for the doors to open. Even if I force it open (so painful) closing is impossible since it will break the window.
Sometimes a little De-Icer helps, but it takes forever.
For those of you who park outside, how do you deal with it?
Thanks

malahhaor

what, no one parks their CLK outside in the cold states? Anyone with CLS? i would assume same problem would occure.

Rashman

Ok, nerd bit...

I treat all the internal and external rubbers with a silicone based protectant.

This includes: door seal rubbers, wiper arm, rubber seals around the windows, tyres, under-trays underneath the car... basically anything plastic or rubber.
I also treat the engine bay too. All the hoses, seal and plastics.

This treatment, protects the rubbers and plastics from weathering - usually from the harsh effects of the sun/ heat which causes rubbers and plastics to dry up and crack. And also dis-colour.

It also helps keep everything shiney and new.
Water beads off protected areas too.

Anyway, I'm wondering if this treatment may also help against frost/ ice.

I'm not entirely sure, but maybe silicone based protectants or other products may not freeze so easily.

If so, this will mean that the windows won't be able to get frozen to the rubber seals.

Perhaps give it a try.

I use Auto Glym. Tyre & Rubber Care.

Comes in a bottle with a spray nozzle.

Spray some onto a soft cotton cloth, until it's damp through, and simply apply to the areas.

Then go round with another clean cloth and wipe of all excess product until it's dry and shiney.

malahhaor

that's a great idea, thanks.
I just need to figure out how to keep ice from sticking to the windows

I just can't believe no one in Europe or North Amricas has this issue....

Supafly

most of us in colder climates with snow just garage our cars during the winter.

dariusf

Nice idea with the rubber treatment, will have to look in to doing this. I'm in Chicago burbs and it gets cold here. I park in a heated garage under the house but I also leave it during the day on the train stations parking lot (taking the train in to Chicago downtown). I just got the car in the spring so this will be my first winter with it. You just gave me a big concern. I guess we will see how it works out. I already got a set of new Michelin Primacy Alpin PA3 winter tires. If it gets very bad I will have a good excuse to keep the extra 4x4 SUV that my wife wants me to sell

Rashman

Hey buddy.

Spare a thought for the ones who don't have the luxury of a garage.
Or indeed, the ones who need to use the car often.

I had to endure 4 winters with my 208. I hated it.
I damn near killed myself keeping it looking tip top.

Thankfully, I've had a double garage built for the 63.
There was no way I was going to keep this puppy left outside.

I also walk to work, so even more thankfully, it doesn't even have to leave the garage.

Rashman

Hi mate.

No worries. Give it a try - it may well help.

As for stopping ice sticking to windows, haha, let me know when you figure that one out... we could make a fortune!

LOL

Where abouts are you?

Winters here can sometimes be pretty damn cold - but not as bad as some people get it.

My 208 CLK was left out in the winter for 4 yrs.
It killed me seeing it all frozen.

But thankfully, I didn't need to drive it to work, so I never had to endure the whole "scratching ice in the morning" thing!

Rashman

Yeah, you should be able to find a similar product in a good, local automotive store.

As I say, the one I use come in a bottle with a trigger.
It's not in aerosol form, just fluid in a bottle.

Bummer to hear that you have to leave your car in a train station, that sucks.

Maybe use the SUV and keep the Benz tucked up at home?

I recently bought my 209 too.
I'm still learning the differences between the 208 & 209.

One thing I noticed immediately though, is how much better built the 209 is.
Seriously, after spending 4 yrs with a 208, the 209 feels solid.

One other obvious difference is the fact that the rear windows go down as well, whereas the rear windows on the 208 don't.

This obviously adds extra potential "penetration points" for moisture, air etc.
I've been monitoring the car closely and have found no faults at all.

Like I say, more solid built.

But, admittedly, mine rarely feels long periods of rain etc now that I have a garage.

M-bENZ

Ok Rashman your garage is too big for jsut one car man...maybe you should share lol. And not sure about your but it doesnt matter summer or winter my baby is always in my garage

Andy

Rashman

Haha.

Yeah, it is alittle bigger than normal.
I have a workshop space upstairs too, which is why it looks like a house!

lol

Share the garage?... haha.
Hell no!
I need all that space for my extremist cleaning schedules!
lol

For example, the other night, I spent about an hour and half cleaning and treating the underneath of the car.
All shiney new! heehee

(Yes, bit of a freak, I'm afraid).

And yes, I like you, will be keeping it garaged at all times.
Heat is just as damaging as water & cold.

Until the garage was ready, I used to keep my car round my dad's.
He has a lean-to which helped shelter from the elements.
I also had a cover on it.

But even that was a nightmare.
Bloody wind kept blowing my covers off!
LOL

(It was just a make-shift cover until the garage was ready).

Dust was also an issue.

Having a garage is invaluable to me.

M-bENZ

Andy

FatTony001

That's a damm fine garage you got ther Rash

Your right, this baby needs all the space !

Rashman

Cheers buddy.

And yeah, I need as much space as possible!

I wanted to be able to work on the car & open the doors fully while cleaning it without worrying about nudging the doors on anything.

malahhaor

Yeah, we'll when i figure out the Window/Ice thing i will let you know
I'm in North Chicago burbs, and also like dariusf park at the train station to go downtown. So i got to deal with it twice a day. In the freaky cold morning and sometimes in the evening after work depending on the weather.
it sucs but i love the car. Got to deal with it.

BTW dariusf, you should be fine in the winter if you have good winter tires.
I got Nokian WR and even with a 500 i'm fine in the snow. Should be a bit easier with a 320.
I had a C230K Coupe, then C320, Lexus GS300 and now CLK500. all RWD all Nokia WR tires and all were fine in the winter, no sand bags or anything.

Rashman

Yeah, I hear ya.
I know how it feels.

But don't worry man.. if you're the kind of person I think you are, your passion for the 3 Pointed Star will keep it looking tip-top.

dariusf

I never had a rear drive car before but do know how RX7 handled in the snow Before the CLK I had Isuzu Rodeo 4x4 truck so that was no issue and before that Mitsubishi 3000GTSL that was a front drive. I don't mind slipping all over the road which could be fun if controlled (hand break turns etc.). Hopefully with the new Michelin Primacy Alpin PA3 snow tires I should not have to worry so much. I'm mostly concerned about stuff like the windows freezing up etc. If it snows too much over night I can always work from home or use the truck

Rashman

Good call!


And yes, abit of "tail happiness" is awesome fun!

Went out for alittle bit the other night actually!

Hee hee

kevblah

How bad are the W209s in the snow? I had a 2002 C320 RWD before and it wasn't that bad; I wonder if anyone knows how the W209 compares to the W203?

Rashman

Not sure, bud.

But regardless of engine size, you become very aware of the weight of the car once it starts sliding.

I hammered a C63 round a track at Mercedes Benz World, just south of London (one of only 5 sites globally, as I understand it). They have 2 tracks and some wet skid surfaces to play on.

Although different, the C63 is of similar weight to mine so it was interesting throwing it about abit.

It's quite an eye opener when you see just how quickly the back end can whip round.

Different if power sliding on a dry surface of course (because here, you give it beans to make back step out). But in the wet, once it's gone, it's gone!

Unless you catch it of course.
But if you miss it, you'll be facing the chap behind you before you know it!

LOL

dariusf

I guess you had snow up north, we only had rain SW of the city. Fun in the snow but then with all these 'great' drivers on the roads, winter can be quite scary event Brings back memories when we got stock in about 3 feet of snow when we went off a road in the Rodeo during one snowy night in the middle of nowhere. Took me about an hour to get back on the road that is once we figured out where the actual road was

Rashman

"great" drivers on the road?... tell me about it!

Bloody fools..tryin' to bust moves.

That's why I usually sneek out for late night fun!

Too many damn cars on the road to use any of the cars grunt.

Man, sounds like you got stuck in the snow bad!

I think I'd cry if that hapened to my ride.

dariusf

and the Rodeo was only about two weeks old so it got a test by fire or should I say ice Got to really test out its off road capabilities and to be honest it passed it with flying colors. We were all very impressed, I just never gave up on getting out. But honestly we should have never been on the road to began with in theses conditions.

Rashman

Haha.

Sounds like you were lucky to get out at all if it wasn't for the ride you were in!

directordat

opening the windows with your alarm doesnt work in the cold?