# How to handle the winter



## Neely (Jan 14, 2013)

Hi guys, I'm moving the Canada in May and am looking at buying a car. I'll be travelling a bit and have no idea what to do with the car in the winter months. What are some tips that will help me defrost the car? When do you need snow tyres? Is this a requirement? I live on a tropical island at the moment so any assistance is appreciated. Thanks!


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## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

What do you think Canadians do with their cars in the winter? They drive them. I don't know what you mean by defrosting a car. The cars are equipped for winter. Winter tires are required in some parts of the country and are not needed in others.


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## RGS (Jan 24, 2011)

Neely said:


> Hi guys, I'm moving the Canada in May and am looking at buying a car. I'll be travelling a bit and have no idea what to do with the car in the winter months. What are some tips that will help me defrost the car? When do you need snow tyres? Is this a requirement? I live on a tropical island at the moment so any assistance is appreciated. Thanks!


Most cars in Canada are equipped with an "engine block heater". You plug your car into an electrical outlet to keep the engine warm when temperatures go below -15c to -20c. Cars run fine in Canada... summer and winter. Generally if it's winter and cold outside you start the car and let it run for a minute or two first before you drive off. The colder it is, the longer you let the car warm up... plus the fact that no one likes getting into a cold car when it's -30c outside, and sitting down on a frozen car seat. Many cars now come with remote start, where you can push a button on a remote (usually attached to your keychain) and start your car remotely without having to run outside to start it. If the car isn't already equipped with a remote start, you can usually have an after-market one installed for a nominal charge. Winter tires are optional in most parts of Canada, except for the province of Quebec, and certain parts of British Columbia.


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## Wexford_Ireland (Mar 6, 2012)

I presume by optional you mean not a legal requirement as opposed to being not required at all in winter or a common sense thing to get?


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## RGS (Jan 24, 2011)

Wexford_Ireland said:


> I presume by optional you mean not a legal requirement as opposed to being not required at all in winter or a common sense thing to get?


Winter tires are not required by law (except in the province of Quebec)... which means you don't have to put winter tires on your car. As you said, its a common sense thing to do, but not required.


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## Neely (Jan 14, 2013)

Thank you RGS your comments are very helpful. I'm a bit naive when it comes to any temp lower than 10 degrees as I've never experienced that. Perks of living in the tropics. Thanks again!


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## Guest (Jan 22, 2013)

Hi,
in Quebec you must have your winter tires by December 15 
You cannot use 4 seasons tires either after that date.


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## Joan Tack (Jan 17, 2013)

Save your money. You don't need snow tires, just drive carefully. Depending on where you're living you might need an extension cord to plug your car in (block heater) when it gets really cold. If you're living in southern Ontario or BC, no need. Truth is, there is very little you need to worry about. Most cars are made for cold driving.


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## JimJams (Jan 11, 2010)

Joan Tack said:


> Save your money. You don't need snow tires, just drive carefully.


You may save some money, but you are certainly likely to either kill yourself or someone else in the process. There is a reason that it is required by law in Quebec to fit winter tyres and it makes a HUGE difference to the amount of grip it provides. All season tyres will be slipping all over the place and your stopping distances will be much greater. Since you are coming from the tropics and will have very little driving experience in these conditions, FIT WINTER TYRES.

As RGS and Wexford_Ireland said, it's the common sense thing to do, but common sense isn't always as common as it should be...


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## pfilby (Apr 16, 2009)

I don't know one person who has a block heater, they all say that you needed them years ago, but that cars don't now. I have a three year old Hyundai and don't have a block heater and have no problems. You need snow tyres, or now that I'm in Canada I should say tires! I live on a hill and in the first snow you could see all of the people who had not fitted snow tires all stuck and blocking the traffic.


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## RGS (Jan 24, 2011)

Block heaters are generally recommended if the temperature is going to be lower than -20c, and your car is going to be sitting outside. Its not that your car won't start when it's colder than -20c, its just generally easier on your car's engine at temperatures lets say lower than -25c


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## jamesandkim (Jan 22, 2013)

Dont live in Canada but have lived in Sweden during the winter. We had to fit studded tyres by law, there were amazing! just like driving in normal dry conditions


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## RGS (Jan 24, 2011)

jamesandkim said:


> Dont live in Canada but have lived in Sweden during the winter. We had to fit studded tyres by law, there were amazing! just like driving in normal dry conditions


I had studded tires years ago on my car, and they are amazing. The only downfalls is that they are noisy on dry pavement, and do chew up the pavement overtime. A lot of people do use snow tires, at least here in Alberta. I personally don't.


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## jamesandkim (Jan 22, 2013)

Yes very noisy on dry roads! similar to walking across a gravel foot path.

So when you say "snow tyres" you don't specifically mean studded tyres then just normal unstudded tyres designed for snow. I see, guess they can be driving on normal dry roads for longer aswell. How much do they cost?


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## lorgnette (Dec 19, 2010)

I'm moving the Canada in May

May should be warmer, so evaluate the situation then. A sound alternative is have a car rental for a week (normally fitted for the seasonal weather conditions) if it snows hard and avoid investing in snow or all weather tires.

Expect May to be pleasantly warm.


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## JimJams (Jan 11, 2010)

May will be warm, if you fitted winter tyres then need to legally fit them between 15th December and 15th March in Quebec. I would probably say you need them between begin December/end March. If you are in Quebec then you can also look at using Communauto :: Autopartage, l'autre façon d?avoir une auto which is a good alternative especially if you are living downtown.

Not sure how much a set of tyres will cost, depends on the size/make etc but somewhere around $600 I would say.


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## RGS (Jan 24, 2011)

jamesandkim said:


> Yes very noisy on dry roads! similar to walking across a gravel foot path.
> 
> So when you say "snow tyres" you don't specifically mean studded tyres then just normal unstudded tyres designed for snow. I see, guess they can be driving on normal dry roads for longer aswell. How much do they cost?


There are "snow tires", then there are "studded snow tires". If you're going to buy snow tires, most just buy regular snow tires (non-studded). Depending on what part of Canada you move to will depend if you need snow tires (or not), and how long you will need them on your car. Generally speaking, winter in Canada can last anywhere from November to April. But there are huge exceptions to this rule. Some years we've had kids halloweening on October 31... walking around in snow, and other years on Halloween its been no snow and a nice fall day with a temperature of +15c. We had Christmas in Alberta with absolutely no snow on the ground at all (we call it a "brown Christmas"), and we had Christmas where we've had several feet or a couple of meters of snow. Generally whatever part of Canada you're in... any snow on the ground will melt in March and April. The month of May usually has no snow left on the ground, but we may get a one day winter storm in May, and it melts over the next couple of days after that. The west coast (Vancouver) and area rarely gets snow, and if they do, it only lasts a day or two, so most people in Vancouver don't use Winter tires. Snow tires are obviously not needed in Spring/Summer/Fall (May to October).


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