Your favorite meteorologist is calling for a wintry mix. The storm will develop while you’re at work, leading to a miserable evening commute. As you pull into the office parking lot, you notice that a healthy handful of your co-workers have popped up their windshield wipers.
That’s when your dilemma begins.
Do you follow suit? If you leave your wipers up, at least you know that you won’t leave work to find them stuck to the windshield. But some argue that you’ll still have to chip away ice from the wipers.
Our resident automotive expert, AAA’s Car Doctor John Paul, doesn’t do it on his own car.
“Putting the wipers up and away from the windshield makes it easier to clean the windshield if it snows,” he said. “It also eliminates the chance that the wipers will freeze to the windshield.”
But it also means you’re putting stress on the spring that holds the wiper arms against the windshield, he cautions.
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Download NowOn the other hand, Robert Sinclair Jr., manager of media relations at AAA Northeast, believes leaving windshield wipers up is a safe option.
“I don’t see any harm in it, though you still have to clean the snow off the glass,” said Sinclair.
In case your wipers are accidently left on, leaving them up also eliminates the chance of burning out the windshield wiper motor when you start your car and the blades try to push their way through the heavy snow.
Sinclair offers an alternate method for preventing wipers from freezing to the windshield.
“You can put a blanket or snow cover over the windshield and weigh it down with some bricks prior to a storm,” he said. “The next morning, pull off the blanket and the windshield is clear.”
Whether you choose to put your windshield wipers up or leave them down, you need to make sure they are working properly before you head out on the road.
- Wiper blades should completely clear the glass with each swipe.
- Replace any blade that leaves streaks or misses spots.
- Consider installing all-weather wiper blades that have a one-piece plastic beam frame or winter blades that wrap the metal frame in a rubber boot. Both designs help prevent snow and ice buildup that can interfere with blade-to-glass contact.
- Fill the windshield washer fluid reservoir with a winter cleaning solution that has antifreeze components. Some window washer solution is rated to just 20 degrees, but in cold weather this solution can freeze and damage the washer system. Look for washer fluid that protects well below freezing temperatures.
What do you do with your windshield wipers when you hear that snow is on the way? Do you leave them sticking up or flat against the windshield? Tell us in the comments.
No matter what you do with your windshield wipers, AAA members can save on automotive replacement parts and accessories at NAPA.
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69 Thoughts on “Should You Leave Your Windshield Wipers Up in the Snow?”
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I have a Frost Guard cover for my windshield which also covers the wipers. There are straps that stretch over the side mirrors to hold the cover in place.
I cut up a couple of strips of cardboard and slide them under the blades, when the snow stops I take them out
Blades are never stuck to windshield
WHEN I HEAR OF A FORTH-COMING STORM ‘OVER-NIGHT’ I GO OUT AND PUT DE-ICER ALL AROUND THE CAR AND A SMALL PATHWAY AND AS IT SNOWS IT MELTS THE NEWLY FALLING SNOW SO WHEN I GO OUT I JUST ‘WALK-AWAY’ THE SNOW AND CONTINUE CLEANING AROUND THE CAR, I.E. EXHAUST PIPE (THANK YOU FOR THAT!!) ROOF, AND THEN CONTINUE! THANK YOU FOR ALL THESE SUGGESTIONS!! SHM
In Massachusetts it is ILLEGAL to have your vehicle idle for ANY period of time not even 5 minutes. The police do not usually enforce this law but they could and it carries a $35 fine. Also, should your vehicle get stolen while its idling or the keys left in it most insurance companies will not cover the costs.
I use a car cover on my car so I don”t need to scrape my windshield when it snows.
I wouldn’t leave them up. Here is a short article on it: https://www.autozone.com/diy/wipers/leaving-windshield-wipers-up
Here is a part of that article, “Windshield wipers are pressed flat to the glass by springs within the wiper arm. These springs are stretched when you pull the wiper arm upwards away from the glass. This is okay for a short time, like when you are changing the wiper blades. However, leaving them in the upward position for a long time can permanently stretch the springs overtime. This is why it is not a good idea to leave your wiper blades up in preparation for cold precipitation. Once you stretch out that spring, the wiper arm can no longer provide the right amount of pressure, causing poor wipe quality.”
I put a tarp over my car held by 4 bungee cords. If nothing else I will put plastic bags over my wipers and keep them down. If they are up and get an ice storm they will get full of ice. Leave them down then raise them to clean the wind shield. A towel will get wet and freeze and be hard to remove. Use a tarp
Is it ok to use cotton socks if you don’t have woolen socks ? or maybe cotton/nylon?
I park in my garage–problem solved!
I have a 99’ Cadillac where the wipers are below the hood , I live in Suffolk co. Long Island and there is about 2 inches of show in my apartment complex. . I do go out and clean car off ( like I am now a few times a night , and also shovel in front of front end , tires because plows come through and I break my back trying to do it all at once in morning , )
But I think I’ll look into a cover or the frost guard also, ..thancx for all ideas!
I have a 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe and my wipers don’t go above the hood so I can’t keep them off the windshield. I use a pool noodle cut it a little longer than the blades then slide the blade inside. Easy to store in the storage unit.
I just remote start my car by time I come out it’s all melted and I’m pretty much on my way. South s little plow of the hood and roof.
I put long woolen socks on my windshield wipers and leave them down. I also cover the side view mirrors with woolen hats because they get frozen in the down position with freezing snow.
I put long woolen socks on my windshield wipers and leave them down. I also cover the side view mirrors with wollen hats because they get frozen in the down position with freezing snow.
Leaving the wiper arms up all the time can cause the spring to stretch which will cause streaking on the windshield imo
Seen it happen over the 30 years spent working in a dealership
janetabr@live.com
When I was at work everyone but me put their windshield wipers up. When we got out of work all the windshield wipers but mine were vandalized.
I learned my lesson over 50 years ago when i left the wipers down on my 1965 Mustang after coming home the night before during a small snow storm. I left the next morning and was driving down the road when I noticed smoke coming from under the dash…I had fried the wiper motors as I had forgotten to shutoff the wipers from the night before and they had frozen to the windshield. I guess there’s a lesson in there somewhere.
The best approach depends on the type of storm expected.
But putting bricks on a windshield seems like a very very foolish idea in any condition, because in some conditions the blanket and brick might move and cause damage to the body. Plus, who wants to carry bricks around.
I’ve left my wipers down for decades. Doing so is not the end of the world. Just be careful if you need to scrape near them so you do not tear the rubber part.
I worry about high winds from the typical Nor’Easter we get here in NYC. So, I leave the wipers down. I don’t want to chance the wiper arms being bent by a 50 MPH wind gust.
park in car’s house…..the garage!
All well and good unless you are a renter and don’t have access to a garage. So I put a tarp over my windshield and that is very helpful.
But what if u live on the 15 floor of a high riser with no garage?
I leave them down cause I have a shield guard that I purchased from QVC years ago. When we have a real big storm coming I put a folded tarp over the front half of car (roof to vents) with bungee cords
Ditto what Richard P said.
If I know ice is coming or if I have been driving in snow melting on the windshield from the defroster, I spray the windshield and wiper blades with de-icer when I park the car. I find clearing the windshield and wipers on restarting the car, in combination with the defroster on high, works well for me.
I park in a garage
If it’s snowing when I get to where I’m going and I know the car will be parked there for a while. I turn the heat off about 2 miles before I park. Then I keep the doors open to let the inside cool down, shut them and walk away. If I don’t the falling snow melts then refreezes turning the windshield into an ice sheet.
When I return to the car I start the car defroster on high heat. I start cleaning the car from the rear INCLUDING the roof. By the time I get to the windshield it’s warmed up enough to clear it. Leave the wipers down.
Too much thinking and running out to put them up, never had an issue otherwise. Unless you are forgetful and leave the wipers on when you stop the car and they are stuck and try to start i have seen the rubber get ripped off I see no need to lift them off. And covering with a blanker is too much work and aggravation. If it is a bad storm warm the car up and push the mess off.
I leave the wipers down. I don’t want to find a wiper snapped off from leaving them up.
I purchased a Frost Guard cover for my suv. Works great – when I use it.
I put the car in its house – the garage. When my car cannot be put into shelter, my wipers stay down. As we’re suppose to clear the car of all snow, I clear to get into my car to turn on the heat. By the time I get to clearing the windshield, it will be melted enough to clear the wipers. Though I do like the idea of covering the front.
I leave them down…if it’s windy I think that can’t be good for the hinges. If the car is covered in snow, start the car, defrost and by the time I get back to the windshield it’s easier to lift the wipers and scrape
I stay home until July
Now THAT’S the way to do it!
– Sarah
I use a windshield cover, it takes a few minutes to put on and off and the windshield is always clear and you don’t have to touch the wipers and rolls up for easy storage in the car
I favor letting the defroster do its job. You can use the wait time to clear the snow and ice from the roof of your vehicle, which is a real hazard to others on the road.
With an ice storm, I use the windshield spray-on deicer. Works wonders! I hear we are not supposed to run the engine long before we drive off.
I never leave my wiper blades up, I have two auto mechanics in my home whom yell at me for leaving them up. Just cover the windshield with a tarp or heat the car up prior
I use Frost Guard. It covers the windshield, the wipers and the well. Attaches to the side mirrors and side flaps go inside the doors. No bricks needed.
I have Frost Guard also. Plus, I have the covers for my side mirrors. It covers the entire windshield and the wipers, down onto the upper hood. It is really a lifesaver!
This is for sale by different names. The only drawback I have found is that the elastic bands holding it down tend to stretch. Makes cleaning the windshield much easier and snow removal simpler.
Is there a typo in the last paragraph? You can’t be seriously recommending running the defroster for 40 minutes to unfreeze your wiper blades from the windshield.
Running the defrosters for 40 minutes is not a good idea when the tempeture is lower than 30 degrees. Doing this puts massive heat on a frozen surface . this causes expansion and can cause the windshield to crack. I speak fom personal experience as this happened to not only me but also to my brother and my daughter. I run the heater on a lower heat for about 30 minutes this releases the ice without damaging the windshield.
I slide foam sleeves I repurposed over the wiper blades and keep the wipers down to avoid stress or damage. When you clean the windshield just slide the sleeves off and you’re good to go.
Love this idea – do you use foam pipe insulation?
I get up 30 minutes earlier and let the car run with the heat on high and defrost on. By the time I get in the car it’s nice and warm and the snow wipes off easily.
My Audi A-4 and several other cars I have had do not allow for the windshield wipers to be left up. That is a special setting used only when changing the wiper blades.
Also I worry about blowing snow and high winds damaging the upright windshield wipers. The engineers did not design them to be left in that position for long. Therefore, I keep them down and I take my time starting the car, turning on the defroster and then clearing the snow from the car.
Try pushing the wiper control lever down (or up) while ignition is off. In my Q7, the wipers move to the blade change positions so they are not trapped in deep slot between hood and windshield. Then you can decide up or down. https://www.google.com/search?q=wiper+change+position+in+Audi+2018&oq=wiper+change+position+in+Audi+2018&aqs=chrome..69i57.10052j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#kpvalbx=_4-8fYMf-D5a2tAaR2ZKoAQ40
In my Audi, if you push the wiper control stalk down with ignition OFF, they will go into service position. I agree that leaving them off the windshield seems precarious when it’s windy, but at least they aren’t trapped in slot behind hood.
Guess it depends on the usual amount of snow per winter. In New York, we get maybe two or three storms, so leaving the wipers up isn’t damaging the springs that much. Northern climates are different.
40 extra mins. of burning fuel doesn’t help global warming, leave ’em up , grab your battery operated leaf blower & in 5 mins. U can clean off the WHOLE vehicle , preventing snow fly & a possible accident or traffic citation for creating a hazardous condition ????
Interestingly, the 2018 Hyundai Elantra GT hatchback (and maybe other Hyundai models) has a hood set so far back you can’t lift the wipers into a vertical position, so that’s their way of saying keep them down for some reason. Given that fact, I’m putting plastic bags from the grocery story over the wipers. Ice doesn’t adhere to that type of flexible plastic.
Used to do this, too. But once plastic bags were banned we started using socks.
Also keep a spray bottle filled with alcohol and spritz down all the windows prior, no crust snow or ice to chip away at later.
My 2015 Jetta has a hood so far up that you have to position the wiper correctly by shutting off the car mid swipe in order to get the wipers to stand up.
Awesome idea, I will use an old shower curtain!
Leave your defroster on for 40 minutes? What kind of cockamamie statement is that? Burning gas for 40 minutes of non-driving = ZERO miles per gallon. Elbow grease is free.
Plus you’re very likely to cause your cold windshield to Crack !!
Try leaving the blades up, and covering them with a pair of socks.
Jg
I leave them down against the windshield. I generally let the defroster melt the ice from the wipers.
I do the same. And I brought a windshield cover to. And a remote starter helps to.
My car has a defroster setting in the HVAC. It is really nifty for clearing condensation from the inside of the windshield and also getting rid of the ice that may build up on the outside in a freezing rain storm. I think most cars have this feature. 😉 It’s what we used in Canada when I was growing up, if we didn’t cover the windshield with a piece of vinyl to keep the ice off it. Chipping at ice on glass can have unintended consequences, like shattering the glass. Especially as the temperatures drop the exterior layer of safety glass laminate becomes more prone to shatter from sharp blows such as that from an impatient owner chipping at ice. Warming the windshield to melt the ice away obviates the problem. It just takes a little longer, but no one should be hurrying in those weather conditions anyway.
I don’t bother with putting the wipers up. I just leave the defroster in the on position and the fan on high,then 10-15 minutes before I leave home or work ,I hit the auto start and the truck is warm and the windows are mostly clear.
John Paul is correct. Leave them down. It not only damages the springs to the wiper arms it damages the blade’s effectiveness as well as the rubber tips wear prematurely.
Like this idea the best. I’m going to look for the rt size tarp & do it. Thanks
If it’s just snow I don’t do anything. If there’s freezing rain I put them up. For a big storm, I cover the windshield and wipers wither a large plastic dropcloth closed in both car doors. After the storm I clear the snow off the driver side door, open it and then pull the plastic across, removing the snow from the windshield.
The dropcloth idea is genius, Jennifer!
I put them up. It’s easier to clean the windscreen afterward and I don’t accidentally hit the wipers while I’m doing the windscreen.
I do too, Robert! Much easier than chipping away at the ice that forms around them when they’re down. 😉