Ice and Bumper Cover

Hello,

So, I am currently out on a business trip (Michigan area), and have a HUGE chunk of ice stuck on the bottom of my rear bumper on the left side. I attempted to knock it off, but it won’t budge. I will be here tomorrow, and then have to drive home to WI. It is currently about 2 degrees here. Will this knock off my bumper cover? Is there anyway to get this off without having a garage handy at this time?

To WalMart you will go.
Purchase ice pick you will.

   Yours truly, YODA

ice pick?

Will that crack the bumper cover since it’s so cold out? I am not sure how flexible it will be?

You live in WI and this is new to you? go through a good car wash and prepare for frozen doors and windows, or live with it until there is enough salt on the road to loosen it or the temp goes up until it is warm enough to take care od itself. You can do more damage trying to fix it than living with it.

well, I have a heated garage at home, so all ice/snow has melted off. I’ve never had this happen on a road trip where the temps were so cold I was afraid I’d break the bumper cover trying to remove it…

Is this not the bumper cover that you already damaged? If so chip the ice off or pour cold water on the ice until falls off.

Nope, different car, LOL.

I can’t believe its going to hurt anything but the last thing you want to do is go kicking it and banging it damaging the bumper cover in the process. Just let it be or if there is a self-serve car wash still open, with the wand, you can use that the dissolve the ice chunk. Just don’t spray anywhere else or everything will freeze up and you’ll never get home. Ice picks at Walmart? I haven’t seen an ice pick for sale for 50 years but I’ll look next time. I’d like to have one again.

I used to carry a 3 lb hand-held sledgehammer in the back for knocking those off.

Cars seem to be able to handle ice a lot better than I’d expect. Have you ever driven into an icy parking lot, and see dozens of sharp spikes of ice sticking up? You can drive right over those, and they seem to never puncture the tires. It goes to show how tough cars are when it comes to ice.

That is true, George! So, you all think I am safe for the time being with it on the bumper? I am hoping it will fall off when I drive it on the highway. I will look for a DIY car wash tomorrow.

The diy car wash idea is the best solution. Those things got stuck on my car and truck all the time, and never caused any problem. For me anyway. I was concerned they’d fall off and the car behind me might get thrown off course, that’s the main reason I tended to knock them off my myself when they got too big.

At 2 degrees F? The water will freeze the moment it hits the car… maybe even on the way there… IF the car wash is even open… which IMHO is highly unlikely. And if you should find a drive through wash open and go through it, your doors will be frozen shut and your car covered in a sheet of ice.

Guys like jman, barkydog and bing live in the area and so are likely familiar with what is available. Back when I lived there, car washes had enclosed bays for the automatic wash and a door opened to let you in and then another to let you out on the other side. It’s reasonably heated to prevent freezing. The bay has an air knife to force almost every drop of water off the car on the way out. The idea that a sheet of ice would form on the car is kinda funny. Heck even the open bays are open most of the time. I recall walking on a small glacier to hose off my car with the wand.

At any rate, this is why I always walk around my car and give a tap to the corners right when I park. It knocks off the chunks before they become impenetrable bergs. The car wash typically isn’t long enough to get the mass heated enough to loosen it in one pass…I wouldn’t purposely hope it falls off on the highway or expressway, that could be dangerous for others. I bash at them with something heavy below the body work. That usually breaks most of it free and doesn’t harm the car…

@Jman136

As the late, great Yogi Berra said it, “You can observe a lot by just watching.”

Look around! You will notice that your car is not the only one with this affliction. It’s normal in Michigan during winter driving.

Either ignore it or take Bing’s advice and wash it off with the force of warm water under pressure.
CSA

TT, I lived in North Dakota for three years, and NH most of my life, and I’ve seen and had water freeze to the car’s surface many times when trying to wash it in temperatures not even that low. And I’ve had the doors freeze shut. I speak from experience rather than theory on this one.

I’ve had good luck with a hair dryer. When you get close to the bumper material, put the heat on medium.

@GeorgeSanJose wrote

"I used to carry a 3 lb hand-held sledgehammer in the back for knocking those off. "

Hand-held VS what.
Is there an App for a phone now, so it’s a “Voice activated sledgehammer” :slight_smile:

Yosemite

Is there another kind of sledge hammer besides hand-held?

TSM, that’s nice but we’re not talking about you trying to wash your car with a hose. This is an automated car wash with an air knife at the end. Did you have an air knife to dry your car? Your experience means nothing then when discussing using a car wash in geographic areas used to this kind of weather…BTW- I have gone through them too many times to count when I lived in WI. I never had a door freeze shut let alone a sheet of ice encapsulating my car. Frankly, your ignorance of the car washes in this area would seem to indicate your experience isn’t relevant…