Auto Kit for Winter in Chicago (credit card, hotel, to buy)

[SubconsciousMe]

Hi All. We had to buy a car for my work, and I will be driving for work during winter--and my car is a Prius, so nothing AWD or 4x4 (don't bother with why didn't I get a AWD or 4x4 living here).

So my question is this--it's our first winter here owning a vehicle, so what do you recommend keeping in it? Mind you, it's not the hugest vehicle, and we live in an urban area, so some of the searches produce recommendations like "sleeping bags" which seems a bit overboard considering our location.

I'm getting a smaller snow shovel. And already have a basic kit (with jumper cables and the like). What else do you recommend?

[pidgeon92]

A bag of salt or sand to give you traction if you can't get out of an icy spot.

Mostly, don't forget your cell phone and charger.

Beyond that, my best advice is worry less about moving the car, and more about stopping it. Black ice is virtually invisible, and you'll find it most often on side streets that aren't salted as well as main roads. Give yourself plenty of room to stop, several car lengths.

[Not_liking_FL]

You want a good set of tires. The tires that came with your Prius will probably not be good enough if you're doing a lot of winter driving. I'll also add that some folks drive like there isn't snow on the road around here. Pidgeon gave some good advise, but when you're trying to leave enough room to stop and some jacka** is a foot off your bumper it can be a little unnerving.

Edit- If you're driving to areas where you may be stuck in your vehicle or outside for extended periods of time a heavy sleeping bag and some good quality gloves and hats could be a life saver. If your'e just driving around the city I don't think you would need to go to this extreme. Last winter was pretty extreme, and I would not have wanted to be caught off guard.

[Drover]

Dedicated winter tires. I'm never going back to all-seasons for as long as I live in the Snow Belt.

[ToriaT]

A good scraper and a brush combo to scrape your windshield and to clear snow off. Make sure your windshield wipers are in good shape and the fluid is refilled in the chamber. You can get all of these at any hardware store.

[Lookout Kid]

The only things I've ever used in nearly 40 years in Chicago and Wisconsin are a scraper and a small shovel (the scraper is used almost daily, and the shovel hardly ever). I've never owned a set of snow tires. I've only recently had all-wheel-drive for the first time in my wife's car, which is a small SUV. It's nice, but not necessary.

If your car or battery are older, you may want jumper cables. I haven't had to have a car jumped in more than 20 years, though. It's not a bad idea to have a blanket for long trips--just in case.

[rzzzz]

A scraper and a charged cell phone are all that is truly necessary. A Triple-A membership is a good idea.

[CSD610]

Kitty litter works well for traction also.
The sleeping bag is not a bad idea a pillow or two.
Extra hat, gloves, socks and boots won't hurt.
Snacks just in case but nothing that will spoil.
A couple hundred in cash just in case you need it in an extreme emergency for hotel or pay a tow truck.
Not everyone takes debit or credit cards.
Bottled water.

[snoylekim]

The item you'll probably use the most is a scraper/brush .. and mostly the brush , so don't skimp on this . I use a very sturdy combo with a nice, long handle for a reach to the mid-windshield , and a larger brush that quickly gets everything . Our winters laugh at and will break the cheaper ones . The small shovel and kitty litter are good ideas as well .
The tire conversation has a lot of variations. Drover is correct in that the best overall choice are dedicated snow tires .If you can swing the extra money for a dedicated set of Blizzaks, and have someplace to store the other tires, you're covered for all reasonable driving scenarios ( nothing works on ice that's legal here..) . Second best choice, especially if you don't need to drive in the Indiana snow belt or make trips to the x-burbs or to farther parts of Illinois are All Season Tires that have an M+S RATING. "All Seasons' by itself is a generic , marketing term , but M+S ( Mud and Snow) is a decent indicator that , for city driving , would be fine for all but the worst situations. The worst choice are the low profile 'performance' tires that come standard with some 'sporty' vehicles and true higher performance rides - these are truly 'summer rated' in that the rubber in these tires stiffens when the pavement temp gets below 35 degrees . Probably not on your Pruis , but if so, switch to something else before it gets too cold . These can be tricky even on dry pavement.

[Lookout Kid]

Stock all-season tires are fine. My guess is that greater than 80% of the population just leaves the same tires on their car year-round. I'm sure there is some advantage to snow tires, but most people don't find it worth the hassle to change/store an extra set of tires and rims.