LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Though being stuck on the side of the road can be scary and stressful, experts have explained that there are different things you can do to make sure your car is winter ready.
“Dead or disabled batteries, those types of calls can account for about 30% of all of our call volume throughout the winter months,” said Nick Chabarria with AAA.
Chabarria also explained that those calls usually don't start coming in until December but this year it has been very different.
“November calls have been up compared to this time last year,” Chabarria added.
It’s not just batteries that have caused trouble for drivers.
“Flat tires, or even low tire pressure this time of year is a big one,” said Dee Coleman, owner of Coleman and Son Automotive.
Coleman also said that many customers have been proactive before in making sure their cars are ready before the real chill sets in.
“We've seen an influx of customers come in and get those tires topped off,” said Coleman.
Batteries and tires are important, but Coleman said there are other things you should keep an eye on.
“You have your water pumps, your radiators, things like that, that do malfunction in the colder winter months,” said Coleman.
Those are especially important because some of those mechanical parts have been harder to get a hold of.
“We've seen two weeks backorder or and we've seen six months backorder it just depends on the part,” said Coleman.
Coleman also mentioned that they expect to get busier in the next coming months but they advise drivers that now is the time to make sure their car is good to go.
“If it's 30 degrees now and it becomes 20 degrees, that tire can lose a pound of pressure,” said Coleman.