With all of the cold temperatures and record levels of snow fall across the United States, it is important to know how to free your car when it gets stuck on ice or snow. It is also smart to carry a kit in the trunk of your car for just such an event. Your kit should consist of a blanket, extra gloves, an extra hat, a brush and scraper to remove snow and frost from the top of the car, a spade or shovel that can be used to shovel snow, and a small bag of kitty litter. Following these steps will ensure that you will be able to get your car out and moving as soon as possible:
1. If you have a car with part-time four-wheel drive, switch the transmission over to four-wheel drive. This will give you more traction than the more fuel-efficient two-wheel drive setting.
2. Whether you have a four-wheel drive or not, manually shift the car into the lowest gear available. In an automatic transmission car, this is normally second gear. In a manual transmission car, this would be first gear.
3. If the car is unable to move forward, put the car into reverse and try to back up.
4. Turn the steering wheel a little bit and try driving in a different direction than straight forward or straight backward.
5. If none of the previous steps have been successful, take out your spade or shovel and remove as much snow from in front of each tire as possible. Once you are able to get the car moving, it will be able to drive through deeper snow.
6. Determine which of the tires are slipping and not getting any traction. Put salt, sand, dirt, cat litter, a piece or old carpet under the slipping tires, or car traction mats. This will allow the tires to have a surface to grab on to and get some traction.
7. Ask your friends or people passing by to help you by pushing the car while you slowly press on the accelerator. When doing this, make sure that there is nobody in front of the car. Be very careful, because accelerating too much will cause the tires to spin, melting the snow under the tires, causing it to turn into ice.
8. Be ready to steer and step on the brake once your tires get traction and the car starts to move.
