With temperatures dropping and wind chills of 30 below zero in parts of the Midwest, it might be difficult getting around. Particularly if your car won't start. But that isn’t the only issue mechanics are seeing.
It’s definitely a sound you don't want to hear when you go to start your car in this bitter cold, that slow turning over that screams “dead battery”. The freezing cold temperatures can suddenly drain batteries that are old. That cold weather can also create issues with your tires.
As the temps drop low tire pressure warnings can suddenly occur, which Thomas Westbrook at D & D Auto Works in St. Louis Park, Minnesota says many people ignore. And that’s a problem. Driving on low pressure tires is a bad idea.
“That tire light is letting you know there’s an issue with the tire,” Westbrook says. “You may have a flat tire or in your case, all your tires are low at the same PSI which means you’re probably starting to have a bead seal leak around your rims. If you start driving on it, you’re putting a lot of weight on that wall of the tire. And it’s going to destroy the tire. And weaken it. You’ll start having bulges in the tire. It’s just not safe.”
Westbrook also recommends getting snow tires for your car to use over the winter in places as snowy as Minnesota.
Westbrook says they see a common issues every year and you shouldn’t ignore them.
“A lot of battery issues, a lot of tire issues meaning the with colder weather the tires expand or contract, and the bead seal may not be as tight as it should be.”
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