# Car tailpipe in the snow **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [June 29, 2023, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-tailpipe-in-the-snow/986320 "2023-06-29T23:26:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-tailpipe-in-the-snow/986320/1 "2023-06-29T23:26:24Z")
My wife is reading a book wherein the entire plot basically revolves around the notion that a car’s tail pipe buried in snow caused the occupants to die of carbon monoxide poisoning (leading to a suspected murder plot). I found this hard to swallow, but googling turned up a couple of possible supporting cites. Anecdote: I once backed into a mud bank, plugging up my tailpipe. My car died pretty much immediately and wouldn’t re-start until it was cleared. Also, I presume exhaust is hot enough to melt fresh fallen snow. (in the book, it was fresh fallen - not packed snow. There was enough snow that it required _an hour_ (!) of shoveling [so why have your wife wait in a running car for an hour? but I digress]). So if it was plugged enough for it to push exhaust back into the cab, why wouldn’t an engine just quit (ala Beverly Hills Cop 1984)? Or conversely, If the exhaust melted enough snow, wouldn’t it just dissipate into the snow? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-tailpipe-in-the-snow/986320/2 "2023-06-29T23:34:02Z")
The exhaust would melt snow which would run down and melt more snow underneath, possibly creating a hollow in the snow that redirects exhaust under the car which had an open fresh air vent or some other air leak. There also could be a leak in the exhaust system made worse by back pressure on the tail pipe, or a leak that just wasn’t noticed before which has led to many deaths in real life by carbon monoxide over the years. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-tailpipe-in-the-snow/986320/3 "2023-06-29T23:51:14Z")
Snopes: [Can You Get Carbon Monoxide Poisoning from Sitting in a Snowed-In Car?](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/carbon-monoxide-snowed-in-car/) (marked “True”) Three fatalities in three separate incidences in Montreal after the same storm in 2018: [Carbon monoxide killed three men in snowbound cars: coroner](https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/carbon-monoxide-killed-three-men-in-snowbound-cars-coroner) A CDC page from the 1990s discussing several cases in New York and Pennsylvania, at least one fatal: [Carbon Monoxide Poisonings Associated with Snow-Obstructed Vehicle Exhaust Systems](https://wonder.cdc.gov/wonder/prevguid/m0039929/m0039929.asp) A case from New Jersey in 2016: [Boy, 1, Mom Killed by Carbon Monoxide as Dad Clears Snow in NJ; Girl in Critical Condition](https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/boy-1-and-mom-killed-by-carbon-monoxide-as-dad-clears-snow-girl-in-critical-condition/1196363/) ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-tailpipe-in-the-snow/986320/4 "2023-06-29T23:54:55Z")
Ignorance fought. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2023, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-tailpipe-in-the-snow/986320/5 "2023-06-30T00:30:49Z")
In the good old days when rust prevention was less of a automaker priority, holes in the floorboars were not unknown. (Friend of mine mentioned being pulled over by the Mounties one evening. They searched the car but found no open beer, but when they drove away afterwards there were several beer bottles sitting on the road…) The risk of leaky mufflers, leaking floor pans, etc. was always mentioned back then. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2023, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-tailpipe-in-the-snow/986320/6 "2023-06-30T01:11:33Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > A case from New Jersey in 2016: [Boy, 1, Mom Killed by Carbon Monoxide as Dad Clears Snow in NJ; Girl in Critical Condition](https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/boy-1-and-mom-killed-by-carbon-monoxide-as-dad-clears-snow-girl-in-critical-condition/1196363/) Wow, that was a short, but crushingly sad new story. > Carmona, who was among the neighbors who tried to deliver CPR, said the arriving paramedics were brought to tears by the scene. > > “The paramedic, he cry, and the police cry. Everybody cry,” she said. Boy, there must be dust in the air around me… ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2023, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-tailpipe-in-the-snow/986320/7 "2023-06-30T01:16:38Z")
Plus the flow through ventilation system has vents somewhere back there. They are hidden (on most cars\*\*) but are usually an opening from the trunk. \*\*Various BMWs have had them exposed as a styling feature: [https://www.bmw2002faq.com/forums/topic/172015-adding-a-roundel-to-the-c-pillar-e9-style-cues/](https://www.bmw2002faq.com/forums/topic/172015-adding-a-roundel-to-the-c-pillar-e9-style-cues/) ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2023, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-tailpipe-in-the-snow/986320/8 "2023-06-30T02:35:24Z")
I don’t have any personal anecdotes, but this is one of the cautions that we get when learning to drive in Saskatchewan. If your car slips into a ditch with snow, and you’re staying in it, waiting for help, make sure to clear the area around the tailpipe so there’s no chance of carbon monoxide buildup. I understand that the amount of carbon monoxide produced by modern cars is lower than it used to be, so perhaps not so much of an issue? ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2023, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-tailpipe-in-the-snow/986320/9 "2023-06-30T11:12:10Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > I understand that the amount of carbon monoxide produced by modern cars is lower than it used to be, so perhaps not so much of an issue? The three-way catalyst and closed-loop fuel injection in modern gasoline-engine cars does a pretty good job reducing engine-out levels of CO. Once an engine and its exhaust aftertreatment system is fully warmed up, tailpipe-out CO concentrations are on the order of 2000 ppm. However, assuming no dilution with ambient air, this is still enough to kill a person after maybe an hour of exposure: > **[What Levels of Carbon Monoxide Cause an Alarm](https://www.x-sense.com/blogs/tips/what-carbon-monoxide-levels-will-sound-the-alarm)** > > What level of carbon monoxide sets off an alarm? Follow this page to know more about the levels of carbon monoxide exposure range from low to dangerous. How the carbon monoxide detector detect or alarm in home safety system. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2023, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-tailpipe-in-the-snow/986320/10 "2023-07-01T20:51:17Z")
Thanks for that. Interesting. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-tailpipe-in-the-snow/986320/11 "2023-07-02T18:07:45Z")
Apparently happened last December in Buffalo: > **[Charlotte woman dies after getting stuck in New York snowstorm](https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/charlotte-woman-dies-after-getting-stuck-new-york-snowstorm/N5HF2CR76RA4HPABI53KRWMYOY/)** > > Taylor called 911 and was waiting for first responders that couldn’t reach her. Her mother said the young woman planned to sleep out the storm, then walk home. Instead, she was found dead inside her car ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2023, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-tailpipe-in-the-snow/986320/12 "2023-07-03T00:05:47Z")
Thanks for the link but what an awful story.