Routine Maintenance Is Your Car's Best Friend In The Winter

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The cold spell the region is experiencing is having a big impact on road service. Sub-freezing temperature underscore a car owner's need to keep up with routine maintenance.

Jim Lardear, AAA Spokesman, said that when temperatures dip down into the teens, cars that are not well maintained tend to breakdown and have starting and battery problems. Requests for road service swells from an average of 150 calls per day to over 600 calls in the city alone. "Anybody with a battery that is older than three years or so, may have an inability to get enough cranking power," Lardear said. "The cold really puts a lot of demand on car batteries."

It is also important to keep a car well tuned, have its electrical system checked, and to inspect tires and tire pressure.

Reported by Al Novack, KYW Newsradio