Millions of Americans experienced snow followed by a deep freeze leading into the Christmas holiday this year. I was among them. And honestly, I thought I was all set. My winter outdoor apparel was ready to go, conveniently packed in a large duffel bag. My 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo E 4WD was outfitted with Cooper Discoverer AT3 4S tires that are both all-terrain on/off-road rated and three-peak severe snow service-rated. The Jeep’s 0W-20 synthetic oil was changed recently. I took walkie-talkies with me covering CB and FRS/GMRS bands just in case.
And for most of my time spend in rural Indiana this holiday, I was fine. My vehicle started every time I wanted it to. It drove through a bit of drifting snow that I encountered, up to a foot deep or so, no problem. I was feeling good to the point of smug.
Then I packed up and began the journey back home to Connecticut. Driving on highways is different than driving on isolated rural roads in the following sense. On the highway, other cars and trucks kick up spray and grime onto your car’s windshield. I hadn’t even made it the 30 miles to the first Interstate yet when I could barely see through my windshield. And I’d discovered during those minutes that my windshield sprayers weren’t working at all.
I stopped at a truck stop before getting onto I70 and found that they didn’t have the windshield cleaner buckets with squeegees available at the gas pumps. Thankfully fresh falling snow provided enough moisture to clean the windshield after sitting there for a few minutes.
This didn’t last long, and within minutes, I pulled off at another gas station. This one did have the buckets with blue windshield solution, but they were mostly frozen over. Thankfully I was able to get just enough fluid on my squeegee to clean the windshield again.
As I continued driving east, I tested my windshield sprayers again. They still didn’t work, and the wiper blades smeared the newest road grime such that I had probably 10% visibility through my front windshield. I got off the highway again and found a conveniently located car wash in front of a Meijer store. I was soon back on the highway with a clean car for the moment, feeling quite relieved.
I made it most of the way to Columbus, Ohio, before pulling off yet again to look for a gas station window-cleaning bucket. This time, as I pulled up, I tried my windshield sprayers one more time. To my surprise, the driver’s side sprayer worked this time. The combination of slowly warming temperatures outside and the engine heat under the hood must have finally thawed it. Within the next hour, the passenger side sprayer warmed up as well and resumed normal operation. Nightmare over.
So I began asking myself how to prevent this from ever happening again. Now I don’t typically purchase windshield washer fluid. I take my vehicles to a dealer for service and they fill it up as part of that service. Evidently the washer fluid they use isn’t stable in the zero-degree Fahrenheit temperatures that I encountered over Christmas. I’ll be taking responsibility for this maintenance item myself going forward. I plan to store and use something like Rain‑X 2-in-1 Windshield Washer Fluid, good down to -25 Fahrenheit, available for $6.29 at my local AutoZone. (AutoZone normally stocks washer fluid that will go even colder, but naturally, they’re currently out of stock.) I plan to refill my Jeep’s wiper fluid reservoir immediately prior to each oil change so that the dealer can’t fill it with any cheaper stuff going forward.
Having windshield washer fluid good for the lowest temperatures that you’ll ever possibly encounter seems like a necessary part of car ownership now, as I learned for the first time during this particularly cold holiday trip. I’m glad to know it so that I can be more prepared next time.
