My Trusty Toyota

So, I've been whining about the cold up here. I've also been suspicious that my block heater hasn't been working properly...Friday it was confirmed when the plug snapped off the cord in my hand...I think it hasn't been working for well over a month. My trusty Toyota has still coughed itself into life, despite the bitter cold. Last week we reached about -47 Celsius...plus the windchill. The coldest I have begged my car to start was about -43C...it choked and chugged and screamed, but eventually sputtered into life. Saturday was the worst...I nearly ran the battery down trying to get it started...you know when it starts just clicking at you, it's near done...but I was patient, and left it to sit for a bit, and think about its actions (did it really want to piss me off?) and it thought better of it, and my trusty Toyota came to life yet again.

So how cold is it? What does this cold look like? Well, for one, it's damn foggy - like pea soup out there in the ice fog. They say it's caused by the moisture from car exhaust...maybe that's why I'm choking on it...filth...

My car has an electronic odometer and above that is an outside temperature reading...except it only goes to -30C. After that, it lies...and when it's as cold as it is this past couple of weeks, it is blank. Yup, not a thing on it until the car warms up. The needles on the tachometer (rpms) and the gas gauge don't work either until the car warms up...then they begin to shiver and shake, and then SPRING back into their rightful position. The radio also doesn't work when it's cold...the screen is blank, and no sound comes out. Once the car warms up, the screen's digital figures come fading in, and the sound catches up.

My car door locks don't like to work when it's this cold either. The doors sometimes need a good slam in order to get them to close. Sometimes I'm already driving when I realize my door is not shut. The electric windows are sluggish as well, and groan when I put them down. I put my passenger rear window down to see as I back out as I can't seem to get the car warm enough to melt the thick frost on the inside. I have tried to chisel it off with the snow brush/ice scraper, but with the ice fog, it's just not interested in giving up the window so easily.

My brakes freeze every day...I have to pump them to get them to loosen up. My clutch and gear shifter are also very sluggish until the car warms up. Apparently transmission fluid needs to warm up enough too or the car won't drive uphill...found that one out the hard way...

My tires are square on the bottom...they freeze like that after you park the car, and this means for a bumpier ride when I first drive off. Add that to the ruts in the road from NOT PLOWING THE DAMN SNOW, and we're on a regular jalopy ride with the Beverly Hill Billies...some of the ruts are that deep that my car hits bottom.

Oh but I love my trusty Toyota...there are many other cars in town that have died this week. and with no end in sight to this cold snap, those folks will be walking or taking a taxi while I chug along in my trusty Toyota.