Most people think of winter as hard on their car battery. But, as another McCullom Lake summer rolls in, we find that this is the season that is really hard on your car battery.

We all know that McCullom Lake winters are hard on your car, truck or SUV battery, right? After all, when are you more likely to need to replace the battery in your vehicle? Are you more likely to find yourself with a dead battery on a nice day in June or a bitter cold night in January?

Obviously, the answer is January. That cold night in McCullom Lake will find your battery can’t do the job of starting your car, truck or SUV. You’ll be calling for a jump and you’ll wind up replacing the battery. It’s all terribly clear … or is it?

In reality, summers are much harder on car, truck and SUV batteries. Why? Because heat is hard on batteries and extremely hot days are brutal on batteries. You’re thinking this doesn’t make sense?

Yes, a weak battery is more likely to show up in the winter because a battery has to work harder in the winter. Batteries have to work harder in winter because the cold thickens the oil in the engine of your car, truck or SUV. If the battery is failing, a cold night will prove it. But summer is still harder on your battery.

Have you ever heard of someone storing household batteries in the oven? That doesn’t make sense at all. However, some people put their AA, AAA, 9-volt, C and D, and other household batteries in the refrigerator believing it will extend the life of the batteries.

Keep in mind, the heat of a summer day adds to the heat produced under the hood when your car is running. In other words, that battery is often exposed to excessive heat during the summer.

A car battery will typically last three to five years, but less than that in Southern regions. This is because the temperature is hotter down South.

Batteries generally don’t fail overnight. It’s possible but unlikely. For instance, you could hit a bump or pothole so hard that the jarring it gives your car breaks a connection between the lead plates and a terminal. But batteries are fairly durable and this isn’t very likely with most of the inconsistencies we see in roadways these days. 

Since batteries don’t fail suddenly, we may see signs of a failing battery before it gives up the ghost. We may notice that it doesn’t crank the starter as fast when we start the car, truck or SUV. We’re more likely to see this in the winter but it can happen in the summer, too.

If you have any doubt about your battery’s condition, you can have it checked out at a trusted auto repair shop. You may want to make a point of this before taking a long trip. You don’t want to find yourself with a dead battery when you’ve driven your car, truck or SUV hundreds of miles from your McCullom Lake home.