The car not starting due to a dead starter battery is by far the most common car problem in winter, when batteries are significantly less efficient when they are cold.
In the middle of the week reported SVT that the Assistance Corps in Umeå received hundreds of calls a day from motorists with dead batteries.
Car owner? Here are the simple mistakes that will get you expensive fines this winter
“People call all the time”
Rescuer Mattias Nygren says that he has to pull out to act as starting help about 20 times a day.
In some cases, the cars even get so cold that the engine becomes difficult to pull around, and then the whole car has to be salvaged and put indoors to thaw.
– People call all the time. Most of the time it is possible to “boost up” a battery and get it going. But it happens that the car is so cold that the engine cannot be pulled around. Then towing to the workshop and a warm garage is the only option, says Mattias Nygren to SVT.
Electric buses cause problems in Norway – here’s why
This way you avoid problems
Mattias Nygren has a number of tips for what you can do to avoid problems with a dead starter battery.
According to Nygren, the problems are not only due to the cold, but also to the fact that people drive such short distances that the batteries do not have time to charge properly.
He therefore recommends that you occasionally drive slightly longer distances to charge the battery, or that you perform maintenance charging with a battery charger.
Tip: How to extend the electric car’s range in winter
Also applies to electric cars
One could have imagined that problems with the starter battery are limited to petrol and diesel cars, and that everyone with an electric car goes free.
However, this is not the case, as electric cars have starter batteries to power their steering and comfort systems.
In fact, problems with the starter battery are more common in electric cars than in petrol and diesel cars, according to the German Motor Association ADAC.
The most common car problem in winter – applies especially to electric cars