KANSAS CITY, Mo — Nearly 113 million people will travel this holiday season according to AAA, but local mechanics say bitter cold temperatures and snow could impact travel plans especially in the midwest.
Ryan’s Car Care Center in Independence says the cold weather causes a series of problems that impact your car’s overall performance.
“Come Thursday and Friday when we're dropping below zero, we're gonna have a lot of frozen batteries,” predicted Ryan Spears, owner of Ryan’s Car Care Center.
Spears says batteries often loose strength as temperatures drop, so a good rule of thumb is to have your batteries tested and look for any loose connections before hitting the road. Jumper cables are also useful to have on hand, in case it becomes too cold to start your car.
“Battery issues are the number one concern especially with our new vehicles which require so much reserved capacity to actually operate all of the equipment inside of your vehicle,” said Spears.
Another problem people run into are deflated tires, Spears says the cold temperatures directly impacts your tire's pressure, so having your tires checked before the storm hits will come in handy. In addition, Spears is encouraging drivers to purchase de-icer and the appropriate windshield wiper fluid to withstand harsh conditions. Air filters are often overlooked, but Spears says changing them can help your car in the long run.
“Air filters, people don't understand the importance of an air filter when it gets cold outside. It requires a lot of air to get that gas to ignite, so an air filter is actually a little thing that people forget,” said Spears.
Spears says his shop is fully-staffed but other shops are dealing with labor shortages, which means it can take a while for your car to get serviced.
" A lot of places it's two or three weeks to get in, it’s also very important that people really get a car maintained and get your batteries checked and tires checked,” said Spears. “We don't want to be stuck without a running car.”
