Driving In Cold Climates - Cadillac BLS Owner's Manual

460_OM_MY09.book Page 160 Wednesday, April 2, 2008 10:32 AM
160 Starting and driving

Driving in cold climates

In cold weather, special attention should be
paid to the following:
• Before driving off, make sure that the
wiper blades have not frozen to the wind-
screen.
• Remove any snow from the heating
system air intakes between the bonnet
and the windscreen.
• If necessary, inject oil into the locks to pre-
vent them from freezing. Use molyb-
denum-sulphide oil (MoS ). If the locks
2
freeze, exercise care when unlocking the
car (manual unlocking) to avoid breaking
the key. Warm up the key or use a de-icer.
• It is particularly important when the roads
are slippery that the brakes and tyres are
in good condition.
• For how to check the level of antifreeze in
the engine coolant, see page 182.
• Add carburettor spirit when refuelling sev-
eral times before the onset of winter. This
will prevent condensation water in the fuel
tank from freezing and causing interrup-
tions in the fuel supply. The likelihood of
condensation is lowest when the fuel tank
is full.
If the car is parked outside and the tem-
perature is below zero, carburettor spirit is
of little use as it cannot remove water that
has already frozen. Park the car in a warm
place so that any ice that may have built
up melts, then add carburettor spirit when
refuelling.
Condensation is caused by temperature
fluctuations, either in the outside temper-
ature alone or when the car is alternately
parked outdoors and in a garage.
Cars with diesel engine: Make sure that
you use winter grade fuel. At very low
temperatures, paraffin crystals can
develop in the fuel, which can block the
fuel filter and starve the engine of fuel.
Park the car in a warm place so that the
paraffin crystals melt. See also "Cars with
diesel engine 3" on page 135.
The car is equipped with tyres designed to
provide optimum grip on both wet and dry
roads, although this has been achieved at
the expense of somewhat reduced grip on
snow and ice. For regular driving on snow
and ice, we therefore recommend that
winter tyres be fitted. However, winter tyres
achieve this extra grip at the expense of grip
on bare road surfaces.
Winter tyres, particularly studded tyres,
generally make driving safer on snow and
ice.
Acquaint yourself with the legal provi-
sions governing the use of different
types of winter tyres and snow chains.
Studded tyres are not allowed in some
countries. If winter tyres are fitted, the
same type must be fitted to all four wheels.
A local workshop will be able to advise you
on suitable tyres for your car. We recom-
mend that you contact an authorised
Cadillac workshop.