AAA sees calls spike in cold weather

PHILADLEPHIA (WPVI) -- The extreme cold is taking a toll on car batteries.

In South Philadelphia Monday morning AAA fired up a car battery that went south on the vehicle owner because of low temperatures.

It was one of nearly 900 battery calls AAA Mid-Atlantic had received by 11:00 a.m.

By 3:30 p.m., it was up to 1,500 cars.

The auto service experts knew the high demand would be there today.

It all comes down to the weather and the age of the batteries.

"The age of the battery is a big factor. Batteries only tend to last three to five years today. They are not like the batteries back in the day that last about 10 to 15 years," Car Flinn of AAA said.

AAA expects battery related calls to spike again Tuesday as people return to work and school after this long frigid weekend.

"We probably got 100 trucks out of our fleet location only that are going to be out to service members," Flinn said.

We turned to Day Farmer one of AAA's service techs for key winter car care tips as we soldier on through this brutally cold February.

Farmer told Action News the first four major areas that she examines with each car that comes in during the winter months.

"Batteries, tires, wiper blades, and washer fluid," Farmer said.

The charge on the battery is always key, but so too is the air pressure in the tires.

Some things to think about as you travel in this arctic air.