Advice for returning to a frozen car at long term airport parking
I'm returning home from a trip and am on my 4th layover in a nightmarish series of delayed flights and last minute changes; when I get home it will be 5 degrees (F) which was not the forecasted temp when I left, so I did not make any kind of preparations and left my car in uncovered long term parking, a 5-ish minute walk from the airport. It dipped into negative temps while I was gone and I'm terrified that I'll get back to a car with frozen locks and no lighter, lock de-freezer, hair dryer, etc, anything to help me get in. I've searched for advice but everything I've read seems to assume you're at home, not at a airport. I'm already so drained and exhausted and it will be late when I get there so I'm just trying to find something, anything that might be helpful in advance before I'm stuck standing outside in unexpectedly, dangerously frigid weather with no plan in jeans, sneakers, and a hoodie. Apologies if something like this has been posted, I couldn't find anything and feel like I'm about to collapse. Any advice is appreciated, even obvious things, I'm sure I may have overlooked something that would be clear to someone else. Posting this before I board my next flight in the hopes there may be some replies by the time I get home. Thank you for reading
Update: made it back, took an Uber home and will pick up my car either tomorrow or the day after during the day. I should have thought of it myself and feel silly that I didn't. Thank you all so much for the feedback, really saved me some stress, I probably shouldn't have driven home even had it not been so cold out with how tired I was. Will definitely use all the advice here to be more prepared when leaving during the winter in the future, no matter the forecast.
Take a cab/uber/lyft/friend home and then return to your car the next day with the appropriate toolset and attire. Otherwise see if the appropriate toolset is available commonly at airports or something you can get before you board. You can try calling the airport you're arriving at (or the company who runs the parking lot) and see if they have assistance. You can call AAA if you have that.
EDIT: I see you're already at the airport. Well, if you find yourself situated like this again try to do what you can prior to getting on a plane. My advice about calling AAA or the parking lot operator and simply going home to return the next day still apply.
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Five degrees Fahrenheit is a perfectly normal temperature for a car to be resting at. It will be uncomfortable for you to sit within it for at least fifteen minutes, however it is very unlikely your key locks will be difficult nor will your battery be in trouble.
We have just recently dealt with -50°F weather in my region and while cars started with great trouble, they still turned over. I have never in my life of dealing with -40° regularly every single year, needed a lighter nor antifreeze to get into my locks.
Do you not have remote locks? If not go out to your vehicle and gently insert the key. If it enters without issue turn the lock with firm but not overbearing power. Basically don't force it. Once you are inside turn the car on and let it idle for 10-15 minutes before driving it.
At the fifteen minute mark the majority of any issues caused by a cold start are gone, especially at 5°F. You will be uncomfortable so you will have to decide whether or.not to return to the airport while your vehicle idles, but otherwise the machine is absolutely designed to function properly in 5° weather.
Not everyone is used to dealing with sub-zero temps. OP is also only wearing jeans, a hoodie, and sneakers so at 5°F/-15°C, they're gonna get pretty uncomfortable pretty fast during the walk to their car, especially if it's windy.
That's probably because you don't tend to get freezing rain very often in the places where those extremely low temps are a yearly occurrence. And it's not just the cold that causes locks to become frozen, it's usually caused by freezing rain either sealing off the key hole, or water getting into the locking mechanism itself then freezing. And while I don't know where OP lives, we've had strong winds with freezing rain off/on here on the East coast for the last few weeks, so frozen locks is a genuine concern here, and something I've experienced several times over the last few years.
That, and while a car sitting at 5°F/-15°C for an extended period is fine™, it also greatly increases the likelihood of the battery being dead, or diminished in strength enough that it will fail to start the vehicle. Which isn't uncommon either... and it happening multiple times to my BiL over the last few years is precisely why I bought him a portable battery jump starter for Christmas this year. ;)
And, sure, while OP is unlikely to die given their car is only 5min away from the airport, IMO it makes no sense for them to go out into that kinda cold in that clothing when they can just take a cab home, and return to pick their car up later when they're better dressed and prepared.
I just want to second that coming from a Very Cold™ place (not an Extreme Cold™ place), I was shocked by the amount of trouble that living in Cold Classic™ places could cause. Thick-ass sheets of ice that you can't just scrape off the car, handles that cannot be opened without a chisel or a whole bunch of basically punching the door until the inch-thick reinforced ice shatters. Extreme Cold™ comes standard with Extreme Dry™, which is much easier to deal with than Humidity Classic™. That's also why the places with Cold Lite™ shut down after minor precipitation and at 32°. The roads are sheets of super slippery ice and cars will crash everywhere, no matter how careful the drivers are. Driving becomes irresponsible in those conditions.
I would be so completely baffled by impenetrable ice all over my car, I just have no framework within which to approach that problem.
It really is baffling. You kind of just have to either give up and decide not to go anywhere right now or give up on normal ice-clearing tactics and just start smashing the ice. You can remote start your car but even that isn't necessarily effective because cars rarely have heated handles. Luckily my car has a feature that lets you remotely unlatch the door, but even that is only the first step to actually driving your car.
Just heard from a coworker who was traveling last weekend from Extreme Cold™ back to our Cold Classic™ locale. He had to unbury his car (open airport lot, 10 °F, nearly a meter of blowing and drifting snow...) while wearing walking shoes. He's lived here all his life, but like OP, he got home exhausted after extensive cancellations/weather delays and nearly frostbit himself.
Combined with the chaos from the MAX 9 planes out of service, there's a lot of unpredictably extreme weather going around right now - plan for the worst.
100% agree with @cfabbro.
-5F is fine for a lot of people, but OP just happens to fit the bill for a ton of risk factors just on one particular night: little experience with freezing temp, cold, dark, not dressed for the weather, exhaustion, already mentally drained / dealing with adrenaline, likely no winter emergency supplies in the car, emergency services swamped with other calls. For additional example, for Hong Kongers, anything under 10 degrees positive celcius is a big deal and in -5F (-20C) it possible that someone could literally die 5 minutes from the airport because they won't even know the signs of hypothermia.
And it's just not people, it's also cars: I recently learned that not all cars have heating systems!.
I'm sure on a regular day OP is a highly resourceful person who could have planned for any number of things, and packed any number of supplies in the car, but man, that kind of cascading airport disruption, being alert to more changes, that super wears on a person and it's very possible to mentally skip even obvious solutions.
I don't know where you're returning to, but if it's in the parts of the U.S. where it's 5 degrees F right now, there's also a good chance your car is covered or buried in snow. You definitely do not want to contend with this in the absence of daylight, appropriate clothing, and an emergency kit.
Airport parking services are well-equipped to deal with dead car batteries and other minor emergencies, but I'd imagine they're dealing with many travelers in your situation. You're best off finding a warm place to stay for a good night's sleep, and getting assistance in the morning. I've slept in airports after cancellations, and it's not ideal, but you'll be safe for the night if you can't get to a hotel.
Question 1: how far is your home? -- can you Uber or public transit home instead of driving your own car, even as a back up plan.
Question 2: should you be driving in this weather in this exhaustion? The hotels near the airport might be hectic but if it's already very dark it might be safer to rest for the night and try to get the car during the day.
I would suggest not going to the car alone all by yourself and underdressed. If I were in your shoes I would stay the night and try again with fresh eyes during the day. Alternatively, I would order an Uber and get the driver to wait next to my car for a few minutes and if i can't get it or it won't start, Uber home. If it does start I'd have paid the driver already and just tip appropriately and wish him a good day with free time.
Addendum: does your credit card have concierge service? Now is not the time to mess around if you can pay for it - tell concierge to book you hotel near the airport under X dollars, and arrange a ride there.
If driving home --
Getting car key hole unfrozen with a chemical product like this https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/pacer-lock-de-icer-defreezer-lubricant-30-ml-0381101p.0381101.html -- do NOT use hot water.
If you must drive home, make a worst case scenario assumption that the car could suddenly die along the way home -- make sure your phone is charged and some kind of car towing number to call. Have some kind of warm blanket in the car and ready to hunker down to wait for rescue. Chocolates and water and small bit of high energy food. Hand warmer you can activate.
Snow shovel, ice scraper, gloves are a must even once you get into the car.
And if you could let us know if you made it home okay :) @cherryswitch and then if you want to share I'd love to hear your epic tale of getting home and layovers
Warm wishes for your last leg of the journey home
I've never tried it but I suspect hand sanitizer would probably work as a lock deicer you could find at an airport. Looking at the MSDS for that products lists its ingredients as 85% isopropanol and 13.9% propylene glycerol, which are really similar ingredients to most hand sanitizers.
Not to make light of OP’s situation and I hope they figure it out safely — but your mention of credit card concierge piqued my interest. My card has the same service through Visa Infinite Privilege and to be honest it always struck me as a gimmick — it would never occur to use the concierge for anything. Is there a reason you’re suggesting it here? Maybe just because OP is tired and busy?
Just trying to figure out if there’s a killer app for this thing that I’m missing.
I suggested it in this particular situation because OP is going on a plane (presumably offline) and OP is tired. Last time I was involved in a mass cancellation/ delay event, I tried calling hotels and looking online and it super sucked. So i would personally try it in this situation to save time and the sanity of being turned down one more time (straw camel back). I've also heard that sometimes because they represent a big cc company they have more "pull" and have access to reserves or booked out stuff than us little single consumers.
I'm usually traveling for work, and we have a travel service for bookings. It's not just for fare cost management; there are travel agents on call 24/7 for exactly this kind of situation. There are also corporate credit card concierge services and travel insurance that may not be accessible to general card consumers. I've had occasion to use most of them over the years, and they're very, very helpful.
I don't know if OP might have had this available.
At 5 F your car will probably be fine unless there was a bunch of freeze/thaw cycles or your battery is weak.
That said, NOTHING will make your car warm up quicker. I would find another way home and deal with it when I could be dressed properly.
This is a reminder I should pack a blanket or sleeping bag in my car in case I get stuck in like a snowstorm or something similar and have to wait it out and don't want to waste gas
Because you have no jacket or long underwear etc, hat, gloves, I would agree. Get home the most effective way you can and return in protective clothing to deal with the car.
If home is hours from the airport, get an airport hotel and after sleep, go shopping for winter gear. Do not risk extreme cold waiting for triple A or other assistance in a parking lot
Oof that sounds awful :( I don't have advice for getting into your car, but could you maybe ask someone for a ride home? You can come back the next day and handle the issue with proper tools and maybe some help. If you're already exhausted and not dressed for the weather I'm not sure you'll be in the best state of mind to deal with this. I hope things turn out better for you, that does not sound fun.