I was driving on the highway and from the car ahead of me, a large sheet of ice/snow flew off his/her car and fell onto the roof of my car. It was so loud - like an explosion. I got to work and saw no damage to the roof of my car. However, I noticed ice and water on the rear seats!
I think what happened was the ice sheet slammed down on my sunroof which pushed it down and allowed the snow/ice into the car. Now water was melting in the layer between the roof and the fabric roof… and leaking down through the lights and seatbelt openings.
I’m sorry this is such a long story, but I wanted to know if there is damage to my car. Will the water just evaporate? Should I take my car to a garage? I’m just unsure as to what to do! Thanks for your thoughts!!
Do you have a heated garage? Open the windows, let it dry out. Once it’s all melted, try operating your sunroof.
Quickly evaporate the water.Mold can grow fast.Open all windows and sunroof run the heater with the garage door open whatever…
Kitty litter might help absorb the puddles of water.But the water will not go away by itself.Help it out.
That’s pretty impressive! I’d get a Shopvac (you know, wet/dry canister vacuum) and vacuum the headliner and rear seats as much as possible.
In your case I don’t think a significant amount of snow/moisture would enter. I would not be seriously worried about it. Just park the car in the sun and barely crack your windows or a heated garage works too if you have that. I love my heated garage albeit only one car.
I really appreciate all of your suggestions. Unfortunately I don’t have a garage, let alone a heated one (putting that on my wishlist).
There was not a lot of water leaking out of the openings, just to clarify. It seems to be settled up there. It’s cold again, so probably froze again overnight. I removed the plastic seatbelt cover on the interior roof (for the middle seat) - there is insulation there that seemed to have absorbed a lot of that water. ??
I think I need to find my car a nicely heated home…
Any way to get it into a heated garage for a couple of hours? Better to get it dried out. Dealer, mechanic, friend?
Last night on the news in NH they showed this guy’s windshield with a HUGH hole in it…It was hit by a sheet of ice that flew off the car in front of him on I-93. They were making a big deal out this because NH has a law that you’re suppose to clear all snow and ice off your car BEFORE driving it. If he had gotten the cars license plate he could make him/her pay for the damage…LUCKILY no one was injured…just shaken up.
Is it possible the sheet of ice came off the roof of a tractor trailer rather than another car? I am just curious. Most conscientious drivers clear the snow from the roofs of their cars, but that would be impossible for a tractor trailer driver without taking the truck through a truck wash.
In any case, I think you should take the car in to make sure there isn’t a permanant leak created by this incident. Wherever you take the car for the assessment/repair, they will have better luck than you at drying out the interior if they have the proper facility.
Get the sunroof and windshield checked to make sure there isn’t any permanant damage. In fact, your insurance agent might be a better place to go for help than a repair facility.
Most conscientious drivers clear the snow from the roofs of their cars,
NOT where I live…Especially after an Ice storm…very difficult to remove the ice from the roof…
Maybe the drivers in your area are not so conscientious.
All you have to do is run the heater for a few minutes after the car is warmed up. As soon as that warm air hits the roof, it is pretty easy to slide the ice right off. This is how I did it when I was up in the great white north.
I was discussing this very law yesterday evening with a coworker. The law also applies to trucks. Unfortunately, I see a lot of evidence that the law is pretty much ignored. I can’t honestly blame the cops, as they have enough on their hands and would probably create even more dangerous situations by pulling vehicles…especially trucks…over for snow on their roofs.
Beside, how does one clear the top of a 60 foot trailer? With a snowbrush?
All you have to do is run the heater for a few minutes after the car is warmed up.
UUMMMM…NOOO…
It takes HOURS for the 1-2" of ice to melt off a car.
Please READ my post again. I didn’t suggest you wait for ALL of the ice to melt. That would just be plain STUPID. I suggested that as the car body warms up, one can EASILY remove the ice since it won’t be frozen to the car anymore. You just slide the PARTIALLY thawed ice off the roof since it will thaw from the bottom up. It only takes a few minutes if you scrape the windows and clear a path as the car warms up.
I CAN’T BELIEVE I HAVE TO EXPLAIN THIS TO YOU TWICE, MIKE!
This is a pet peeve of mine- people too lazy to clear off their vehicles, riding around with a muffin-top. Last year, they did a flurry of news blurbs to remind people they are responsible for the damage their snow/ice cause. There will always be people who are either too lazy or ignorant to do it. I had to dodge quite a few ice chunks and the roadway was littered with their remains.
Whitey, You’re Having A Rough Day!
Let me weigh in. A few drivers in my area do “try” to clear their roof. Many (most) don’t even clear their windows or just partially cear them. We get many days where the high temperature never reaches zero degrees F. I have no way of removing the ice from the top of my car, short of idling it for a very long (possibly hours) time just to get the roof glacier to begin to slide. I have ice that stays up there for days at a time. Anyhow, I would possibly be the only vehicle with a clear roof. I’m usually one of the few with clear windows.
Contact your insurer and see if they will cover it. Even if they won’t, they may have suggestions about where to take the car.
This is a pet peeve of mine- people too lazy to clear off their vehicles, riding around with a muffin-top.
Don’t you just LOVE the guys who get in their car after a 6" snow storm…and start it up and turn on the wipers…then drive off…Seen way too many of them.
Whitey, I live where Mike lives, southern NH, and I can testify that he’s definitely not exaggerating the difficulty getting the ice off. Sometimes it just plain stays stuck no matter how hard you try. It’s tenacious.
I also have to agree that too many folks can’t be bothered even brushing the snow off, even when tenacity isn’t an issue. Snow bombs on the highway are the norm. The only way to avoid them is to leave plenty of space to react.