SMYRNA, Ga. – To AAA, Labor Day in recent years has been a busy time for service calls – and an especially busy time for dead batteries.
“It’s a busy holiday for motorists and extremely hot – the heat alone can drain a battery,” Jay Bolster, senior manager, AAA Battery Service Operations, said in a news release. “Traditionally, car batteries last an average of 37 months in a hot climate but now, the average life of a battery can be as little as two years because of the massive amount of power required by the average ‘modern’ car and driver.”
Between 2008 and 2009, AAA saw a 40 percent increase in the number of dead battery calls during the Labor Day weekend – from 640 statewide in 2008 to 893 in 2009.
“The increased temperatures and use of more after-market products increase the chance a car battery will die,” John Droese, AAA Regional Fleet Manager in Georgia, said in a news release. “If you need to change your car battery this holiday weekend, it’s important to know your limitations because things are not like they were in the old days.
“Even though the battery itself has not changed in more than 30 years, what used to take 15 minutes, can now take up to an hour if you don’t have the right tools since cars are designed so differently,” Droese said.
