Car Care Experts Say Cold Can Wreak Havoc on Car Batteries

(KNSI) – Car batteries are in focus as the winter has already brought one blast of well-below-zero temperatures this season.

Granite City Auto and Tire General Manager Jesse Nelson says the cold can cause problems, but summer tends to be when the real trouble occurs.

“The hardest thing on a battery is extreme heat. That’s harder on it than extreme cold but, as we all know living in Minnesota, the temperatures start getting to around the zero mark or below, that’s when you’ll start running into problems with vehicles that won’t start.”

Nelson says it isn’t as obvious as in the past when a battery is on the fritz. He says the best thing you can do is to listen to it with the windows down. If you hear the battery straining or it has trouble turning over, it is time for it to get checked at a shop.

Nelson says it’s best to ask for help when replacing it. He says batteries vary from model to model, not just in technology but also location. That affects the price and the ease of swapping them out. Some require hours of work to install.

“Some of them are tucked in there where you have to take the wheel off, take the inner fender out to remove the battery. A lot of newer vehicles also have a fuse box or support wires above them. Some vehicles are the standard, you know, a quick 10-minute replacement, and some can take up to a couple of hours.”

Nelson says some cars now have the battery under the rear seat, which requires a venting system. Liquid batteries remain the cheapest but many models will use what is known as an absorbent glass mat, or AGM, battery. They are designed not only to start your vehicle but also to provide consistent power for the many electronic systems built into today’s cars.

___