Piston Slap: A Snowpocalypse Kills Old Cars?

Sajeev Mehta
by Sajeev Mehta

TTAC Commentator Pete Zaitcev writes:

Dear Sajeev:

Here’s a qustion that’s not “what car should I buy”. My town had a “snowpocalypse” event: it was 65F for a week, then an inch or two of snow fell and the temperatures fell into low 30s for a day. The usual followed, like a miniature Atlanta. But what surprised me the most was the number of broken cars parked alongside highways. They didn’t fall to accidents, they just stopped. But why?

I can imagine one guy being silly enough to eschew 50/50 antifrieze and get a block cracked. But there were dozens of them all over, and they ran until they stopped. So, probably not heat/cold as such.

None of cars I saw was brand-new. I saw BMWs, Fords, even Acuras. My personal suspicion is that electrics got salt water into them.

Is that a reasonable suspicion?

Is this something I can test for?

Sajeev answers:

The odds of salt water (or anything else) getting in there is unlikely. Modern engine electronics are quite impervious to the elements, short of an underhood steam cleaning.

Crystal Ballin’ the reason for so much Hooptie Snowstorm Fail is tough. Maybe they’re running on worn out batteries or alternators that finally died, where one component finally killed the other. It wouldn’t be the first time!

Or maybe…umm…I’m sticking with a combination of dying battery and worn alternator. Especially considering how temperature changes can wreak havoc on a conventional lead-acid battery. New cars have new batteries, right?

Off to you, Best and Brightest!

[Image: Shutterstock user Mariusz S. Jurgielewicz]

Send your queries to sajeev@thetruthaboutcars.com. Spare no details and ask for a speedy resolution if you’re in a hurry…but be realistic, and use your make/model specific forums instead of TTAC for more timely advice.


Sajeev Mehta
Sajeev Mehta

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  • JimC2 JimC2 on Mar 05, 2015

    Am I the only one overlooking the obvious? Many of the "abandoned" cars were temporarily abandoned because the owners gave up and left them there. 10-30°F temperatures and nothing mechanically wrong with them, just stuck for lack of traction or lack of driver skill- as @jmo put it, bald tires and fear. Well, maybe not always bald tires, summer tires or summer tires masquerading as all-season. Just call me a stick in the mud. Or a stick in the muddy snow.

    • Lie2me Lie2me on Mar 05, 2015

      I was thinking the same thing. Snow was mentioned, but not as being an issue. In Atlanta when this thing happens it's because the car is stuck or ran out of gas in snarled traffic

  • Koshchei Koshchei on Mar 06, 2015

    I'm going to take "Water in the radiator rather than antifreeze" for $500, Alex.

    • JimC2 JimC2 on Mar 06, 2015

      Mister Connery, you're still in control of the board!

  • Analoggrotto I am sick and tired of every little Hyundai Kia Genesis flaw being blown out of proportion. Why doesn't TTAC talk about the Tundra iForce Max problems, Toyota V35A engine problems or the Lexus 500H Hybrid problems? Here's why: education. Most of America is illiterate, as are the people who bash Hyundai Kia Genesis. Surveys conducted by credible sources have observed a high concentration of Hyundai Kia Genesis models at elite ivy league universities, you know those places where students earn degrees which earn more than $100K per year? Get with the program TTAC.
  • Analoggrotto NoooooooO!
  • Ted “the model is going to be almost 4 inches longer and 2 inches wider than its predecessor”Size matters. In this case there is 6” too much.
  • JMII Despite our past experience with Volvo my wife wants an EX30 badly. Small, upscale, minimalist EV hatch is basically her perfect vehicle.
  • Dukeisduke Is the Volvo EX30 even on sale yet? It was pulled from the NACTOY awards because they were having software problems with the vehicle.
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