REMINDER: Keep Windshield Wipers Clear Of Snow, Ice Buildup
PHOENIXVILLE, Pa. (CBS) - As you clean off your car and get ready to head out, a reminder to free up the windshield wipers from any ice or snow – not just to keep the blades in good shape, but also to protect the wiper motor.
Brad Moyer, service manager at Kelly Chevrolet in Phoenixville, says if your wipers are still buried in snow, or frozen to the windshield when you turn them on, or if falling snow builds up in them as you drive, the extra weight can cause problems inside of the wiper transmission:
"It's kind of like an old steering linkage like you're see on a tractor where you have a couple of parallel bars and couple pivot points, and that's all inside the car, and any one of those pieces can break or bend."
He says there's a built-in fail-safe of sorts -- a nut made of softer metal at the connection to the wiper that will strip-out to protect to wiper motor:
"There's usually a little cap over it, you can pop that off, and sometimes you can just tighten that nut back up and you're good to go."