Extreme cold causes car troubles for drivers across the Twin Cities
MINNEAPOLIS — The extreme cold means your car might have trouble starting.
Meseret Jota got stranded in Dinkytown on Monday with a dead battery. A jumpstart didn't help.
When temperatures dip below zero, sometimes cars don't have a chance.
Few know this better than Jonathan Jones, who's been towing for Twin Cities Transport and Recovery for 25 years.
On days like Monday, he says the most common problems are dead batteries and blown-out tires from low pressure.
"Everyone likes to pick on EVs but really it affects everything," Jones said.
At Maplewood Toyota, service manager Tara Moreno says lines were out the door Monday with people needing help.
"That cold weather is just enough to tip those batteries over," she said. "There can be no rhyme or reason to it. It's just that kind of day with the negative-degree weather."
Moreno advises keeping the battery charged, whether that's with a trickle charger or just by driving, but those aren't perfect solutions.
She says better-quality batteries help, but if one's going to die, there's not much anyone can do to stop it.
"Unfortunately, Minnesota's just hard on cars," Moreno said.
