Calls pour into CAA during deep freeze

WINNIPEG – Vehicles are paying the price as the city hits its fourth day of below seasonal temperatures.

CAA Manitoba has responded to hundreds of service calls, 90 per cent of them battery-related.

The service expected to respond to 800 calls by the end of Sunday and was bracing itself for what’s predicted to be a busy Monday.

“People haven’t driven because it’s been so cold over the last couple days,” CAA Manitoba’s Liz Peters said. “We all snuggled up in our houses, just relaxed inside and haven’t driven our cars, so that battery is going to be even more cold because it hasn’t been used in two or three days. So we’re expecting Monday morning to be probably our busiest day yet over the winter.”

To prevent having to make that call Monday, Peters recommended plugging in your vehicle and going for a drive to warm it up Sunday.

“When you have three or four consecutive days of this deep freeze weather, it just continues to build as more and more people start to realize a battery after one day might start but after the third or fourth day, you’re really going to have some trouble,” said Peters.

Peters also recommended making sure all fluids are topped up.