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Statistics say that only 30 percent of car batteries will last 48 months. However the life expectancy varies quite a bit by where you live. Your battery could last 51 months in extremely cold climates but could last as little as 30 months in extremely hot areas.

Why is this? Well, we can blame our modern vehicles with all their electronic accessories on this one. Things like, DVD’s, GPS and entertainment computers keep vehicle batteries from maintaining a full charge. The longer a battery goes without being charged, the faster it will die.

It is the alternators job to charge the battery. The difficulty is when the vehicles demand for electricity is high and we are driving short trips or in stop and go conditions. Keeping the battery charged can be tricky because sitting for just 24 hours in hot weather between charges can be too long and sitting for several days when the weather is really cold will cause discharge.

So some highway driving will help keep your battery charged if it has not been run low. However using your alternator to charge a deeply run down battery is also very dangerous. The Alternator will charge the battery too fast. If you do find yourself with a deeply depleted or dead battery, use a good quality battery charger to slowly recharge your battery to full. Follow the instructions on the charger or ask one of our friendly and knowledgeable service advisors here at Hilltop Tire Service.