Car Care During Winter Weather - Valley News Live - KVLY/KXJB - Fargo/Grand Forks

It's a terrible feeling when you get in your car and it's not going anywhere. The cold weather is rough for cars, on the batteries, tires and engines.

We haven't had much snow, so there haven't been too many cars stuck in ditches this season, that's the good news. But tow truck drivers have seen many empty gas tanks and dead batteries this winter. And to keep people safe they gave us some advice.

"A lot of cold weather stuff like jump starts." says MTW Towing Operations Manager Mark Burke. The past few weeks tow truck have been busy running about. Mark continues, "Generally because their batteries are low, not enough fuel in their engine or in their gas tanks, a little moisture and stuff like that so they are not starting."

This winter some calls could be prevented, like by filling up with fuel. If your gas tank is too empty it could get ice in it. "I go by half a tank," Mark says, "You know keep your tanks full. you get moisture in you're gas tank, and then the mixture to gas to water, doesn't quite fire properly."

His top three tips are to keep your tires and gas tank full, and to know the battery's cold cranking amps. "You know tires fuel and battery, you know pretty much common sense things. Just walk around your vehicle and see what you've got." Mark says. Things every time we drive we should be aware of so our vehicles don't need mark and his truck to pick you up. Mark continues, "People need to realize that the towing business is kind of backed up when the weather hits like this, and they need to be patient and we'll get to them when we can."

Here's one more tip for your car in the winter, the other day Valley News Live talked to an auto body shop, and they say that the salt and sand on the roads is dangerous for your car. Salt is what makes rust, so the best thing to do is get your car washed to get the chemicals off.

The experts also say taking your car in for a tune-up will help check for any of those problems, as well as help keep your car running longer.