2013 CX-5 Touring NYC Snow Storm-01/23/16

[arnolj25]

Yesterday there was a big snow storm that hit the East pretty hard and NYC got it pretty bad,25 inches or so.I had my CX-5 parked on the street on a hill going upwards and I was worried the car was going to get buried with snow(on the OUTSIDE of the car). Today I shoveled around the car until bare concrete and put salt along the parking spot.I finally went to turn the vehicle on and it cranked 4 times and turned on.I expected that because it was a little below freezing.What I did not expect was when I opened the hood to the engine bay,there was snow covering the top of the engine,battery,all along the bottom of the plastic cover,air intake filter cover,all on the ac lines,attached to the fire wall,and a bit snow on the wiring. I was initially worried but then I quickly just brushed the snow off and removed about as much as I could physically reach while the engine was on.I then wanted to test the electronics so I checked the electronic steering,power windows,lights,windshield wipers,radio. The heat was working really well and I also moved it around a bit,just in the parking spot though because if I would've taken it for a drive there would have been no parking because everyone's staying home.All the electronics seemed to work fine.Hopefully I did not short anything or fry the electronics.There were no strange noises or anything of that nature,just a slight vibration of the Low AC line and top of the engine,nothing major.The fans also kicked in on and off quite frequently on this chilly day,it was most likely because I had the heat on 4 and high.Any advice or comments about this situation is helpful(what to do in these situations,what to inspect,how to access the situation etc).

 

[MikeM.]

I'm not sure why you started it if you weren't planning to go anywhere. Just clear off the snow, shovel around it and let it continue to sleep. It can stay like that for weeks on end, the colder the better (to a point obviously). Cars are not people and don't need to be kept warm or even warmed up periodically. That has zero benefit and actually provides more opportunities for wear, tear or for melting snow to sit where it shouldn't and slowly corrode electrical connections, etc. Let it sleep until you are ready to take it on a drive.

When you do drive it, just make sure the tires are properly inflated.

 

[Kedis82ZE8]

I wouldn't sweat it... it sounds like everything was working fine. I assume it was windy there? This would have cause the snow to potentially blow up under the hood areas.

 

[davesxx01]

Your fans turned on and off because you had your defroster on.

 

[russiankid]

With the type of weather the northeast received, snow can get into many places. Hell, I moved my car during the storm, when I opened the drivers door, the wind blew and a crap ton of snow got into the interior. I wasn't happy, but I got as much of it out as possible and then the following day I just let the car run with the heat to melt it away.