Is Your Car Ready for the Cold? - Valley News Live - KVLY/KXJB - Fargo/Grand Forks

Is Your Car Ready for the Cold?

 It's not official yet, but winter is here. And if you want to save yourself some aggravation, you're going to need to make sure your car is ready for cold weather starts.

  Jim Brandt just moved to Grand Forks from New Jersey a couple of months ago.

Jim Brandt, Grand Forks: "I thought I would like it."

Reporter: "No a great way to start the morning?"

Brandt: "Not yet."

  Brandt says the battery in his 9-year old car had never been changed.  Today, it required a tow truck call and jump start to get rolling. Even the tow truck driver had problems with his vehicle today.

Reporter: "Winter is here?"

Jason Fairchild, Tow Truck Driver: "Yeah, I guess. Eight-below and nobody's ready for it. My auto start didn't work this morning."

  Back at the shop, mechanic John Lutheran says today's fuel injected cars do a great job of starting in the cold. But, you need to have a good battery. He offers this rule of thumb as to how often to change your battery.

John Lutheran, Cenex: "Commonly in North Dakota… probably about every 4-years. Here we test batteries every oil change. We'll let you know if it's getting low on cranking amps."

  And Lutheran says it doesn't take long for a good battery to   pay for itself.

John Lutheran: "It's cheaper to get it checked and change it now. Two jumps starts will pay for a battery."

Reporter: "Change it now?"

Lutheran: "Do it now."

  Especially,   since it's now clear our cold weather won't be going away anytime soon.

   Lutheran says when buying a new battery, you can usually check your old one, to find the correct amperage battery for your vehicle.