STATE COLLEGE, CENTRE COUNTY - The number of phone calls for car troubles has risen significantly in the past few days.
Agencies across Centre County say the most common problem is dead batteries.
For the past few days, cold temperatures have rocked the Centre region. But it's not just humans these freezing conditions are affecting, it could be damaging to your car, too.
"First of all, we haven't had any cold weather for the past four years," John Tennis said. "Now we've got a blast of an arctic front coming in and it gives us a real shot of cold weather, so it's definitely a change."
John Tennis, of Tennis Towing in State College, says any time the temperatures drop, the number of calls his garage receives rises. And he says this time around, most of those calls are for dead batteries.
"A slow start or something, that's an indicator that your battery might be failing," he said.
Jimmy Tennis says you can tell whether or not the battery is frozen, just by looking at it.
"They do freeze and if they freeze, batteries get bloated, they expand," he said. "So if it does freeze, you don't even want to jump start it because the battery can then explode."
And to fix it, Tennis says all you have to do is get it tested.
"Battery age, you just leave it as question mark because you don't know how old the battery is," he said. "Then battery results, replace battery."
It's as easy as one, two, three, but to save you from having to deal with a dead battery in the first place, Tennis says the sooner you check your battery, the better.
You can buy battery testers yourself, but they can be expensive, sometimes running up to $100. Tennis suggests if you notice your battery is swollen or you have trouble starting your car, to bring it in to a garage or auto repair shop to be checked.
Agencies across Centre County say the most common problem is dead batteries.
For the past few days, cold temperatures have rocked the Centre region. But it's not just humans these freezing conditions are affecting, it could be damaging to your car, too.
"First of all, we haven't had any cold weather for the past four years," John Tennis said. "Now we've got a blast of an arctic front coming in and it gives us a real shot of cold weather, so it's definitely a change."
John Tennis, of Tennis Towing in State College, says any time the temperatures drop, the number of calls his garage receives rises. And he says this time around, most of those calls are for dead batteries.
"A slow start or something, that's an indicator that your battery might be failing," he said.
Jimmy Tennis says you can tell whether or not the battery is frozen, just by looking at it.
"They do freeze and if they freeze, batteries get bloated, they expand," he said. "So if it does freeze, you don't even want to jump start it because the battery can then explode."
And to fix it, Tennis says all you have to do is get it tested.
"Battery age, you just leave it as question mark because you don't know how old the battery is," he said. "Then battery results, replace battery."
It's as easy as one, two, three, but to save you from having to deal with a dead battery in the first place, Tennis says the sooner you check your battery, the better.
You can buy battery testers yourself, but they can be expensive, sometimes running up to $100. Tennis suggests if you notice your battery is swollen or you have trouble starting your car, to bring it in to a garage or auto repair shop to be checked.
