Cold weather can impact a vehicle’s battery, causing it to lose efficiency, or worse — causing it to fail altogether.

With recent below-freezing temperatures, and more frigid weather on the way, a local battery dealership in Walnutport is fielding calls about dead batteries.

“Although heat can be just as bad as the cold weather, here in the North East we see it more during the winter months because of the extreme cold temps in the morning hours,” explained Tim Jones, general manager of Interstate Battery of Allentown, West Mountain View Drive, Slatington.

Jones explained that an engine requires more cold cranking amps to start a vehicle in lower temperatures.

“As a battery gets older, it loses cranking amps and there is not enough to crank it over when it’s cold. Therefore, we see more people calling with dead batteries,” Jones explained.

Those who don’t want to find themselves in that predicament, he said, should remember to have their mechanics test their batteries during annual inspections or when their vehicles are in for repairs or maintenance. Mechanics, he said, can make sure batteries are functioning as they should.

“A car sitting for a period of time can discharge a battery as well, make sure you drive the vehicle every once in a while too,” Jones said. “If you do have to jump start it, the battery should be charged by a charger, simply by driving it will not recharge the battery to its full capacity.”

The shop in Slatington, along with other Interstate Battery dealers in the region, can test batteries and install a new one of needed, he said.

It also sells portable jump packs to “jump” a vehicle, along with battery chargers, Jones said.

With the chilly temperatures, AAA is experiencing a bump in the calls from those who need their batteries jumped.

“Last winter alone, we received more than a quarter of a million dead battery calls,” said Jim Garrity, director of public affairs for AAA East Central.

It’s something the travel agency prepares for.

When temperatures fall to at or near freezing, batteries can only produce about 30% of their full capacity, AAA reports.

“We see a lot of these calls come in when the temperatures dip,” Garrity said. “We make sure that our call centers are ready to go.”

Like Jones, AAA recommends having batteries and charging systems tested.

The travel agency also recommends that batteries older than three years, or those that have been previously jump-started, should be tested and replaced if necessary.

If possible, try to park in a garage or other sheltered area. Even parking in an unheated garage is better than leaving a car outdoors.

Cold temperatures could also mean reduced driving ranges for electric and hybrid-electric vehicles, the U.S. Department of Transportation reports.

AAA also notes that cold can affect tires, which lose about one pound per square inch of pressure for every 10 degrees the air temperature drops. Tires also normally lose one PSI per month due to aspiration.

And any moisture in a vehicle’s fuel lines can freeze, preventing gasoline from reaching the engine. Drivers should keep their gas tanks at least half full during the winter so that there will be no room for moisture-laden air.