Cold Climate Stinger Owners

[SomeBlondeGuy]

Those of you who live in colder parts of the world, do you leave your auto-folding mirrors active all year?
Me being in Ontario, Canada, I leave my mirrors out all winter, so as to avoid putting stress on the motors, due to ice or snow buildup.
My previous car (2002 MINI Cooper S) didn't have power folding mirrors, but it did have headlight washer nozzles that would pop out and spray washer fluid on the lenses when the windshield washer was activated while the headlights were on.

Ice buildup around the headlights would cause the washer jets to stick, resulting in the covers of the nozzles breaking off, leaving an ugly hole.

I'm happy the Stinger doesn't have headlight washers. The spray wouldn't really clean them, and it's one less thing to worry about breaking down the road.

So that's why I turn off the auto-folding mirrors feature during the colder months.

 

[eflyguy]

What does your manual say?

 

[SomeBlondeGuy]

What does your manual say?

I've never read it!
I just know that forcing something when it's frozen is never good.

 

[nhcowboy28]

Spray Pam around the joints.

it works for door handles and locks right in winter right?

Added bonus: in summer, smells like you be cooking somethin’.

 

[Stinger20bgf]

I'm in Montreal and I left the auto folding mirrors on all the time. The reason for this is my car is in an indoor garage all the time and my parking is tight so i need the mirrors to be closed when parked. Havent had any problems outside yet, but then again my car is cleaned of any snow/ice every morning.

 

[Crisis]

This is my second winter with my Stinger and I've never had an issue with the auto folding mirrors (other than wondering why they weren't folding after I'd inadvertently hit the switch that controls that function). My car is not garaged, so is exposed to a harsh climate throughout the winter and I've never felt the need to disable the auto-folding mirrors. I take the unfolding of the mirrors as I approach the car as a way of the car greeting me, which I kind of enjoy.

 

[SomeBlondeGuy]

This is my second winter with my Stinger and I've never had an issue with the auto folding mirrors (other than wondering why they weren't folding after I'd inadvertently hit the switch that controls that function). My car is not garaged, so is exposed to a harsh climate throughout the winter and I've never felt the need to disable the auto-folding mirrors. I take the unfolding of the mirrors as I approach the car as a way of the car greeting me, which I kind of enjoy.

The mirrors have never had trouble unfolding, say, after being exposed to freezing rain?
I'm just worried about water getting into the seams and freezing.
I suppose normal snow would just blow away as I drive...

 

[SomeBlondeGuy]

Spray Pam around the joints.

it works for door handles and locks right in winter right?

Added bonus: in summer, smells like you be cooking somethin’.

Is that stuff safe for rubber or plastic?

 

[Rick1111]

If you got ice or extreme cold I would disable folding.

 

[RedCal]

Is that stuff safe for rubber or plastic?

Silicone spray...

Or just use Bacon fat (back bacon of course ) -JK! I bet the neighbourhood animals would tear your car apart - or your neighbours will lick it (as opposed to the moose licking your car)

 

[SomeBlondeGuy]

Silicone spray...

Or just use Bacon fat (back bacon of course ) -JK! I bet the neighbourhood animals would tear your car apart - or your neighbours will lick it (as opposed to the moose licking your car)

There's racoons, and coyotes in my neighbourhood, so I'm sure my car would get damaged.
The other day my wife and my youngest found half of a rabbit near the community mail box just up the street!

 

[Mesmorino]

I'm in Manitoba and I've not had an issue with them folding open or closed so far. I did get a crack in one of them, but I think that was due to ice and snow build up around the glass itself, as the casing was not damaged at all, and neither were the electronics. The mirror itself also folded open and closed with no issue, it was just the glass itself that was cracked.

Having said all that, it's my first winter with the car and I park in a covered car park but it's still exposed to the elements. I park away from the sides of the car park so the car doesn't get rained on or snowed on, but when I have, there have been no issues. And the winter has been somewhat mild anyway, the coldest we've had was -25C a week or two ago, and that snow storm around Halloween.

February is still coming so if the weather does get to those temperatures and stays there, I'll turn off the auto folding mirrors. I usually wipe my headlights when I notice they're not as bright as usual from winter grime; I've never had (or needed or wanted) headlight washers.

My biggest problem with the winter is that my tyres keep getting low. I've gotten into the habit of just expecting a random one to be low, and checking while I'm driving so I know to top it off either before stopping for the night or before starting errands the next time.

 

[Silvermanor]

Do you leave the car outside?

 

[Crisis]

The mirrors have never had trouble unfolding, say, after being exposed to freezing rain?
I'm just worried about water getting into the seams and freezing.
I suppose normal snow would just blow away as I drive...

Nope, not to date. We get freezing rain a few times each winter and extreme cold pretty often. So far, so good.

 

[SomeBlondeGuy]

Do you leave the car outside?

Only when I'm at work, where it sits in the parking lot for almost 9 hours.

 

[Hockster]

This is the third winter for my Forte with auto folding mirrors, never had an issue with them. And it gets cold here.

 

[SomeBlondeGuy]

This is the third winter for my Forte with auto folding mirrors, never had an issue with them. And it gets cold here.

Maybe I'm being too paranoid.
Perhaps I'll activate the auto-folding...

 

[MerlintheMad]

Nope, not to date. We get freezing rain a few times each winter and extreme cold pretty often. So far, so good.

Now that is freezing rain.

I've experienced freezing rain that seized my doors shut only once in my life.

OP: cold by itself won't compromise our rotating mirrors. And snow or ice won't either, unless the upper and lower parts are bonded together. It would take a carapace of ice over the whole upper and lower parts of the mirror housing to overpower the folding mirror motor. Any ice getting into the narrow crack of the pivot will not have enough strength by itself to stress the motors, which have a ton of torque for their size.

 

[HerbieTheCar]

Pro tip: Don't get a car wash when it's below freezing because the next time you'll want to fuel up, your fuel door will not open.

 

[Stinger20bgf]

Pro tip: Don't get a car wash when it's below freezing because the next time you'll want to fuel up, your fuel door will not open.

There is a manual fuel door opener in the trunk if that happens. In Canada its pretty much below freezing every day for 3months and its good to wash the salt out of the car regularly.