winter weather woes

This is my 1st winter with my 2000 Venture & I'm a bit unhappy with the hood/wiper design. The snow & ice accumulate in the wiper area freezing them in place & the only way to clear it is to open the hood. Today I ripped the rubber coating on my new winter wiper blades trying to chip away the ice to free them up. Also, I've notice that as the snow/ice on the roof begins to melt off, it tends to flood the windshield whenever applying the brakes for a traffic light or stop sign - then the wipers have to be turned on. I think it's a piss-poor design & going thru this "ice removal" operation every morning is getting really annoying!

Oh the fun of winter driving! Being "surprised" when you stop quickly and have all the snow from your roof end up on your windshield blocking your view. But seriously, the Venture isn't the only vehicle to suffer this sort of problem. As automotive designers strive to make their vehicles more aerodynamic and stylish, these type of problems crop up. Of all the vehicles i've owned in the last 20 years, I'd say at least 1/2 to 2/3 had problems in the winter similar to these. In fact I remember "burning out" some wiper motors, and ripping wiper blades attempting to free them from snow and ice. And I live in an area that gets close to 200 inches of snow a season.

Laying a "cover" of plastic or some other material over your windshield and/or wipers may help. Then again, it may freeze to the windshield for a bigger problem.
This is my first winter with my Venture so I have only needed to start and defrost a couple of times.
I generally like to warm up my cars prior to ice removal. Does this not thaw the wiper area?

Because the Venture "hides" the wipers under the top edge of the hood, when the wipers are off, it doesn't heat up too well from the defroster down there. I use luke warm water (never use HOT, will crack windshield) to thaw heavy snow ice. That only happens rarely, though, because I park in a car-port with closed sides. Any minivan is going to have the ice sliding off the roof onto the windshield, problem.

Another thing you might want to consider, is using a special windshield washer fluid. I use one that contains a small amount of Rain X. I have noticed that after using it for a few years, I find myself using my wipers less to remove rain and snow, especially when driving. It is easier to remove ice and snow on the windshield, whether you use the wipers or do it manually. And when one of those snow dams comes down from the roof, it tends to slide right off, and not stick to the windshield. They make two versions of the product; one for winter, and one for summer (which does help with keeping those bug guts from sticking to the windshield, and road grime.) You can get it at most auto parts stores, and department stores like Wal Mart (about $1.97 but can go as low as $1.29 on sale.) I think it's worth the extra cost over the blue stuff.

I was just venting a little frustration. None of the other vehicles I've owned had this problem, at least to the extent of the Venture. Unfortunately I can't garage my vehicle & living where I do (Buffalo, NY) we tend to get a fair amount of snow. Preheating the vehicle helps to thaw the windows, but it has no effect on that cavern where the wipers hide. I guess I'll just have to deal with it, but it seems to me that snow & ice should be a design consideration?

I'm glad I am not the only venture owner that this irritates! What a CRAPPY design!

I had to use my wife's 2002 Venture and we got 3" of snow while it sat outside at work. WHAT A PITA!! Even using the remote starter and having the defrost on for close to 10 minutes did not help. From now on if this van sits outside and there is snow predicted, I think I'll leave the wipers on so they are not "hidden". Of course that means I'll ruin the blades when the van starts and the wipers try to move. I guess were SOL...

You wont ruin them if you bust tem loose with the icescraper that you carry in the back of the van. You know right there behind the back seats. Yeah behind that back door that freezes shut and pisses you off!!!

Just put pieces of cardboard under the wipers if you park them in the upright position.
And you guys should see my driver side sliding door, the wife scraped a pole with it pushing in the bottom, so it can only be opened from inside. Opening it requires pushing out on the plastic interior trim which catches if you try to open it from outside.

Living in the frigid northeast, where winters can last from November to late April, we resort to little tricks to make life easier. One of these tricks, I and my friends do is spray our weatherstripping with a cooking spray ( i.e.Pam) This helps the weatherstripping from sticking to the frame when you are trying to open a frozen door, especially after a large temperature drop. It also works well on snow shovels to keep the snow from sticking LOL.

That's it! I knew there was something I was forgetting. Pam works well.