A milder winter is leading one auto repair shop in Winnipeg to field calls for service they say are not entirely common for this time of the year.
Approximately six requests to repair damages caused by potholes in the city have been called in since the start of the year for staff at Urban Garage — an auto body repair business near the St. Boniface neighbourhood.
“You wouldn’t usually get any (calls),” owner Robie Wong said. “The thawing… and the heat causes a lot of ground shifting. We’re seeing a little bit more this mild winter.”
Wong said that for cars damaged by driving over potholes, much of the damage leaves either the tires popped or the suspension damaged. For tires, he said the estimated cost could be around $500.
When it comes to working on suspensions, that cost can jump to over $1,000, he added.
“It’s mostly just either the tire blows out or the rim gets bent. Those are generally easy fixes for us… if a suspension gets bent, then it gets a little bit more complicated,” Wong said.
He also noted that the important thing for drivers to do is to be aware when driving. But while you can’t avoid every pothole, he said it helps to be careful when out on the roads.
“Everybody loves the milder winter, but there’s all these factors that come into play, where all these little dangers can come up,” he said.
According to the City of Winnipeg, as of Feb. 10, over 9,000 potholes were filled this year. That’s up by around 8,000 when compared to the same period last year.
In 2022, the Manitoba Public Insurance recorded a total of 1,761 pothole-related damage claims being filed between January and April. For the same period last year, that number was just under 400.