I'm very thankful for the wonderful advice I've received in the past, so here I am again, with a few more questions.

I've searched the forums, and it seems our car is very capable in the snow. This upcoming week is my spring break, and I'm taking my girlfriend through Northern California up to Portland, Oregon. There has been snow fall along the way, and recently it was pretty heavy up in Portland. Oregon is supposed to be sunny for most of the time we're there, so it most likely won't be snowing, but there may be snow already on the ground. I've never driven in snow, and I'm pretty nervous. My girlfriend wants me to buy chains, but I have no idea how to install them. How much snow can our car handle? Are chains a big help- should I have them? How tough are they to install? Any advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

My other quick question is sometimes my car gives me the message "DRL OFF". What exactly does this mean? I've searched the manual and forums but didn't find anything. Thanks in advance!

 

DRL OFF means daytime run lights are off. This message shows up when the parking brake is on while the car is on.

As for driving in snow, the key is to do things slowly. Do not gun the gas or slam on the brakes or take turns super quick. Also, if you are in a turn (or driving around a bend) you do want to not hit the brake unless you have to. The key basically is to anticipate things.

Since the RL is AWD it is more forgiving in snow than FWD or RWD cars so your inexperience shouldn't be as "bad" as you may be thinking.

The car can handle a good deal of snow that people would ever drive in. I personally feel it is better with more snow that hasn't had time to compact and get slippery.

Can't comment on chains because they're illegal here but from what I have gathered they do help but I can't imagine you'll encounter that bad of conditions to need chains.

Oh and if it has snowed it most likely will be plowed and salted unless you are taking total backroads that have 2 cars on them per day. Also remember that the heat from the cars and the sun will melt the snow if it is on the road unless the temp is super cold. We had that last January...a good sized snowfall here (contrary to this winter wehere we've had maybe 7-8" TOTAL for the last 3 months) and it was so cold the snow that couldnt get plowed (they had the plows go through while it was still snowing so an inch or so after that was left unplowed) didnt melt for a couple weeks. All it did was get compacted so it was super slippery. That wasn't fun and my RL didnt like that. hehehe

 

I'm sorry, this just makes me giggle. I guess it is possible that people could grow up and live in areas where they'd never see snowfall..

Speaking as someone born and raised in the Northeast, that's not an issue for me.

Anyway -- I doubt you'll be tooling around in any appreciable amount of unplowed snow... are you staying to highways and main roads, or are you, say, going up Mt. Rainier during a storm?

If you're staying on major roads and urban areas, between traffic and municipal snow-clearing (i.e. plowing and salting) you'll be fine. Take it easy, and remember that AWD only helps on acceleration and turning, not on braking, so leave a good distance between you and the guy ahead.

Tire chains? Chains help in deep snow (say, more than 4" or so) and in some mountainous areas they require you to have chains on to use some roads. Oregon does have some of these restrictions on some roads... so check their website re your trip:

http://tinyurl.com/lk56k


But unless you're going to be outside of an urban area directly IN a storm, I doubt you'd need them. If they'll make you feel better, you can get a set of quick chains cheap and throw them in your trunk. They take seconds to install (basically they bungee cord around the tire) but aren't made for constant use. They sell them in pairs, and you'd put them on the front wheels. You wouldn't need them on all 4 wheels.

I've lived in the Northeast my whole life, and I've never once used tire chains. True, I have put winter tires on cars, but I haven't bothered to do so since getting cars with traction control -- that is, the last three cars I've owned. With AWD and traction control and VSA? *shrug*. They'll plow the roads in a few hours, I don't need to get through the deep stuff, and it's just not an issue.

DRL off means your daytime running lights are off. Do you set your parking brake? I've had that message pop up when the parking brake is on -- apparently, it disables the DRL and then it WARNS you about it. *shrug*

 

I would not worry about the chains. You will not be required to put them on as long as you have AWD and M&S tires, which I believe the standard 17" tires are. As long as you don't do anything fast (accelerate, turn, stop, etc.) you will be fine. Also, don't follow closely behind the car in front of you. You will also generally get better traction on the part of the road that is white vs. black, as the black is generally pure ice.

If you don't put chains on properly, you can do quite a bit of damage to your car. If you need to have chains on a AWD vehicle on a major interestate, you are probably better off waiting out the storm. I have done that drive quite a few times and there are only a couple of spots that get much snow. I wouldn't worry too much about snow in Portland. If it does snow it is generally warm enough that the roads are more just wet than covered in ice.

Enjoy your trip.

Kris

 

I asked the dealer about the DRL off message and they said it was so that the service people can service the car w/o draining the battery. As stated, the lights are off only when e-brake is set and engine on.

 

From what I've read on the Oregon DOT website, the original tires on the RL are not qualified for exemption on the mountain passes that require chains. M/S is not enough. The symbol you need to see on the tires is a mountain with a snowflake next to it (which isn't on my Michelins). But I woudn't worry too much. I live in the Portland and we rarely get any snow (less than 1" a year typically). However, if your heading up to Mt. Hood for some skiing or crossing the mountain passes in southern Oregon you might run into some snow.

 

This may sound elementary, but please don't go into a lane that appears to be empty when other cars stay in one of the other lanes. It is usually a lane with ice and snow, and other more experienced drivers are avoiding it. This situiation is a trap for a driver inexperienced in driving on snow.

 

You will only need chains if you are going to drive in a snowstorm at altitude and chains are required by CalTRans or the equivalent agency in Oregon. Don't think that because you have AWD you don't have to be cautious in snow - leave yourself plenty of room behind the car in front of you for braking and just take it easier than with any other kind of driving - even a small bump into another car will give you a very bad day!
The DRL warning comes on for a while right after I change the oil in my car. The lifting of the front end seems to be the cause of the temporary warning. At the second start up it goes away.

 

After the blizzard New York suffered in February, we had to move a bunch of cars to plow our lot. (Yes, I work for an Acura dealership.) The cars were parked in two rows with an aisle down the middle kind of like this: // || \\. One of the guys jumped into an RL and before we could even plow a path in front of the front bumper, he just started it up and busted right out of the spot. Over 24" of snow and that RL just drove straight out. We stood there with our mouths open and just said, "Wow". It did better than the MDX's we moved! Now that's a testimonial to the RL and SH-AWD. Just thought I'd share that.

 

If you are truly worried about needing chains, call a few tire shops that may carry them and see if they have a "returnable if not used" policy. Some of the tire shops here in Montana will allow you to buy a set of chains and if you don't use them they give you back your money. If you have a Costco with a tire deaprtment, buy them there. With Costco's liberal return policy it should be no problem. The big caveat was stated earlier in this thread - if you put them on wrong you "will" do damage to you car and it won't be pretty. Better to just drive safely and let AAA give you any help out of a snow bank.
just my

 

I really appreciate all the advice. The weather here just took a turn for the worse (Northern CA) and it looks like it will be quite a drive tomorrow. Les Schwab didn't have chains in my size, so I think I'm going to try Costco or Walmart later, just so I have them if they're required at any part of my trip. Wish me luck!

One other question. It was just hailing here really hard, and I was out driving. It seemed like the Driver's side windshield wiper wasn't clearing it's full part of the windshield. I don't remember it performing poorly last time it rained though; does hail sometimes stick to the blade and cause poor performance or something? My car only has 4k miles so I can't imagine it needing new blades already!

 

[One other question. It was just hailing here really hard, and I was out driving. It seemed like the Driver's side windshield wiper wasn't clearing it's full part of the windshield. I don't remember it performing poorly last time it rained though; does hail sometimes stick to the blade and cause poor performance or something? My car only has 4k miles so I can't imagine it needing new blades already![/QUOTE]


It may be that you your wiper blades are dirty. Before you buy a new pair try cleaning them by taking a damp rag and wiping the rubber blade. Dirt and grime build up on the part of the wiper blade that contact the window. This does not allow the blade to have proper contact against the glass. I find that I wipe off my blades everytime I get gas and clean my windsheild. We don't get alot of rain in Southern California so dust and grime build up often [I use my wipers more with the window washer than in rain].

 

Look at the manufacture date of the vehicle on the door sticker. Depending on when it was made v. when you purchased it, it's entirely possible that the car sat on (a) a boat from Japan, (b) the DOT impound lot/dock/railway lot and then (c) a dealer's lot, in the sun, for months and months and months. Therefore, the wiper blades could very well be dried out and crappy, even though *you* haven't had the car very long.

I'd ask the dealer to replace them. If they won't (they should...) the inserts are only like $8 at the parts counter and take seconds to install.