Heat, cold and your car battery
Hot afternoons and cold mornings both wear batteries down. Here’s how weather affects your battery and when to act.
Weather is hard on car batteries. In Southern California it’s often the heat that does the most damage, slowly wearing the battery down over the summer until it fails when the weather turns.
How weather affects your battery
- Heat speeds up wear inside the battery and shortens its life
- Cold makes the battery work harder to start the engine
- Big temperature swings are when weak batteries usually fail
When to act
If your car struggles to start, your lights flicker, or your battery is more than 3 years old, it’s a good time to have it tested, before the next heat wave or cold snap.
How Auto Pulse helps
- 1We come to you, rain or shine.
- 2We test your battery and charging system.
- 3We replace the battery on the spot if it’s needed.
More battery help
All topics →Lead-acid or AGM? Choosing the right battery
Not every battery fits every car. We show you only the batteries that fit your vehicle, so choosing is easy.
Read moreBattery replacement 7 days a week
Car trouble doesn’t wait for Monday. We replace batteries 7 days a week, including weekends.
Read moreHow mobile battery installation works
No tow truck, no waiting room. Our technician comes to your car and installs the new battery where it’s parked.
Read more