Thursday we got our first "winter storm warning" of the season. From the hype you'd have thought we were getting 2 feet of snow. Actual prediction? Cold and less than 1 inch of snow. As my coworker would say "It's winter".
The day started with light rain, then turned to big fluffy snow flakes around 12:30. By the time I left at 4:30, there was way less than an inch of snow and the roads were dry. Upon getting to my vehicle, however, I did encounter a problem. My door locks were frozen- all 3 of them. I've never had this happen on any of my vehicles. This vehicle has manual locks, so the only way to unlock the doors is with a key. My coworkers and I tried several things, but we couldn't get any of them to unstick. Lucky a couple that I work with who live near me were still there, and they graciously offered me a ride home.
Getting to work on Friday wasn't an issue as I have two cars. However, if I drove my other car in, I'd face the problem of how to get both vehicles home. I was bound and determined to get in my Tracker and drive it home Friday. My nice coworkers let me ride into work with them. As soon as we got there, I sprayed lock deicer (which I'd went to the auto supply store and purchased as soon as I'd gotten home the night before) into all 3 locks. It didn't thaw any of them, but I could tell the driver door was definitely less stuck.
It was very cold and windy yesterday, never getting above freezing. I was somewhat concerned about getting in my vehicle. However, if I couldn't I had people who could take me home. I tried the driver door. Nothing. I tried the rear door, and it unlocked normally. I had to rock it back and forth a few times to break the door free from the ice in the seal, but SUCCESS. I then moved to the passenger door. Nothing.
My plan had been to zip out the back window and crawl in that way if the doors wouldn't open. However, since the back door opened, I flattened the back seat and I was in! YES!! I loaded up and drove off. I made one mistake though. I didn't secure one of the rear zip out windows that we'd partially undone the day before when trying to into the vehicle. As soon as I started driving it started beating against the vehicle loudly. I pulled into a parking lot and wedged it in through the top support, hoping that would keep it in on the drive home. Nope. As soon as I took off again it started beating wildly. I stopped in another parking lot, climbed out through the back, and put the window back in place. I crawled back in and drove home. I ran the heat on high the whole way (about 10 minutes), and by the time I got here both door locks were unfrozen.
So what did I learn from this experience? Two things for sure. First, when it's really cold I'm leaving the doors on this vehicle unlocked when I'm at work. Our parking lot is a busy, highly visible area, and I don't keep anything of value in it. Secondly, I'm glad I'm flexible and could contort myself in through the back door. Got to keep working out if for no other reason than that.
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