Tips on how to care for your car to prevent breakdowns, dead batteries this winter

PHILADELPHIA - The winter weather the region is facing is definitely not a best friend of our vehicles as the conditions can be tough to drive in, and the frigid temperatures can beat up on vehicles. 

Ironically, while out reporting in South Philadelphia, FOX 29 came across a driver whose battery died at the gas station, and he didn’t have jumper cables. 

Thankfully, we lent our cables to him and his car was up and running in no time. 

Even though T claims she doesn’t know much about vehicle maintenance, she definitely can tell the cold weather is impacting it. 

"I can start my car before I get in, I warm it up but even today when I was driving, my car wasn’t driving as smooth as it usually does in warm weather. I think it just took a little bit more time to warm itself up," said T. 

AAA experts say with the cold temps they’ll see an increase of service calls for dead batteries and flat tires and with another winter storm on the horizon, they encourage people to start working on their vehicles now. 

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Start by making sure your tires have enough tread for slick conditions and making sure your car battery is good. 

"Be proactive in terms of testing your car battery," said Jana Tidwell, AAA spokesperson. "You can take that to a trusted mechanic or to any AAA car care location. They’ll do it for you free of charge." 

Another word of advice…make sure your vehicle is always full of gas during winter.