RICHMOND, Va. β Now that Central Virginia is hopefully out of the worst of winter weather, drivers have a new list of to-dos to ensure their vehicles stay safe on the road.
Morgan Dean with Triple-A says after the massive snowstorm, they saw a huge increase in service calls, with 34% related to battery issues.
"At 32 degrees, a car battery loses 35% of its power," Dean said. "By the time it gets closer to zero, it's lost about 60% of its power."
Dean explains that extreme cold significantly affects battery life, especially for older batteries.
"Extreme cold affects battery life in a very very big way," Dean said. "For those that have a battery that's three to five years old, that is end of life period for a battery. It may get the job done on a mild day, but once we get into this cold weather, you may start to notice that your car's a little slow turning over. It may even start to do some of those clicks before you start to get going."
Dean also notes that fluctuating temperatures from cold to warm and back to cold compress and expand tires, causing them to not all be in sync.
Dean recommends grabbing a tire pressure gauge and trying to get all tires matched to proper pressure, especially since lingering snow and ice on some roads means you need extra traction for safe driving.
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