If you have maintained your vehicle properly (proper fluid changes - coolant, tire maintenance, etc.) you will have no issues with these temperatures, in the same way that people from up north have no issues driving in the summer temps of the south/southwest with their vehicles. Stock coolant is good to -20F as it leaves the factory. Toyota usually says flush/replace every 5 years. Even if you haven't done the flush, at 6-7 years, you should be fine for the forcast temps of ~ +10F. Expect what we call "normal winter driving conditions" Roads will be clear (and salted). It will be cold, and there may be small patches of ice here and there, which will momentarily reduce grip (especially under the edges of bridges). Drive like you would in any situation where reduced grip is present, and you will be fine . I'll add that you might want to keep the gas tank from running below 1/4 of a tank. Any water in the tank may cause problems. The gas up here is all E10, so the Ethanol will mix with any water in your tank and should make it a non-issue. Keeping 1/4 tank or more insures that you have enough gas to stay warm should you (or someone around you) do something foolish and end up in a ditch, or get caught in a traffic jam. When you get back south, make sure to wash off the road salt, including from the underside of the car. I'd suggest getting together for beer, but I'm headed back east on Monday.
I thought it was 150 miles...my mistake. Either way...it was 25mph max speed the whole way....all ice, and we figured I'd be there in time for dinner at 6 and I rolled in at midnightish. It was over 22 years ago....generally my long term memory's pretty good, guess that detail has faded a bit.
I lol'ed. You sound exactly like all the customer's I've had to tow in or jump start the last two weeks. 5 years is getting near life cycle for a typical lead acid battery. Most i've seen is 10 years and was causing multiple communication codes, average is about 6-7 on a good OE battery and about 20 minutes on a Walmart battery. I've seen a host of electrical issues all related to batteries, even ones with good open circuit voltages, and they usually crop up when? Ding ding ding, when the temp drops in the fall. I'd be buying a new battery, a jumper pack might not help if a cell shorts or you have some other issue with it.
Don't know 'bout that November comment....After Thanksgiving one year I was leaving Pittsburgh via the PA turnpike. That was 36 hours I'll never get back.
But that's PA. and you mentioned you took the turnpike and that alone can add 3 ~ 4 hours just for wind. Then there's the "what month is it" delays. November is 2 hours, December is 3 and January is either 1 or 6 depending on the wind and how the Steelers did. Then there's the snow in the morning, 60 degrees in the afternoon and the sleet in the evening.
I appreciate all the suggestions. NWS says be prepared, hence my thread creation. Blizzard conditions? 40-50MPH winds? Best wishes to all that live in NW Chicagoland.
Some MREs and first aid supplies. I pack an aid bag just in case...and used it in Poland when an 80 y/o man cracked his head open in the hotel parking lot. Also a strap cutter/window buster (mine is Benchmade...thank you military) Safe travels
Cant wait for it to start. Gonna go out and watch the hilarities. Amazing how fast people forget how to drive or even use common sense (like they use it in the summer at all anyways). Always fun to see a huge lifted 4x4 buried in the ditch 20yds off the road. Usually its a 12" lifted brodozer on low profile tires. Darrin did you live in Janesville around that time? If so did you ride a streetbike? If you did, did you hang around with the sportbike group that usually met up at the Holiday gas station on Milton Ave?
I laughed so hard when all of us guys from the South went and started drilling in Pennsylvania...it took a long time for most to figure out that ice doesn’t care how big your mud tires are, even in 4WD you can’t stop. Nothing wrong with being prepared, we just had a very early freeze in South Texas. To pile on I’d say do the battery and take a good look at your belt(s). Most are cheap and can be changed in a few minutes.
I don't even plug my truck in until it is a consistent 0 or colder for the lows at night. Maybe tonight. I wouldn't worry about it, but you might as well throw a battery in it as you will need one pretty soon anyway and I think the peace of mind will be worth the expense. Given the forecast, I would also make sure I had some snacks and drinks with me since the Chicago area drivers suck and they could easily cause traffic to come to a halt on the freeway as they smash into each other and then sit around and gawk. You could end up sitting a while waiting for the stupid to end.
Still just heavy rain here on Chicago's southern border @ 8PM 38 deg F https://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KILCHICA119
You'll be just fine, we can handle some snow. I work in Lisle and live out in Aurora. Geez, I don't carry any extra provisions in my truck. I could just walk to a fast food place if I have an issue.