Winter in Cary isn’t Buffalo, and that’s exactly the problem: we get a few cold snaps, a couple of ice mornings and maybe one snow a year, and every one of them catches cars — and drivers — that haven’t dealt with it since last time. WTF Towing runs 24/7 through all of it. Here’s what winter does to a car around here, what to check before the first freeze, and what to do when it happens anyway: call (919) 230-4498.
What cold does to a car in the Triangle
- Batteries. A battery loses a big share of its cranking power below freezing, and the engine needs more of it because the oil is thick. A battery that’s four-plus years old and survived summer is the one that dies on the first 25-degree morning in December or January. Slow cranking is the warning.
- Tires. Pressure drops as temperatures fall. A tire that was fine in October is several pounds low by January, and a low tire on a cold, wet road is how cars end up in the grass on Cary Parkway.
- Fluids and rubber. Old coolant can gel; worn belts and hoses crack when they’re cold and stiff; wiper blades that streaked in the fall smear the road spray across your windshield at night.
- Doors and locks. Rain followed by a freeze locks doors shut and freezes keyholes. Don’t force a frozen door handle — it breaks; that’s a lockout call, and we open cars without damage.
Where winter puts cars in the ditch
Ice around here forms on bridges and overpasses before the roads: the Davis Drive bridge over I-40, the Tryon Road and Walnut Street overpasses at US-1, the NC-540 ramps, and the small bridges over creeks on the two-lane roads out toward New Hill and Holly Springs. Shaded curves — parts of Green Level Church Road, Kildaire Farm Road and the neighborhood cut-throughs — hold ice after everything else has melted. Sloped driveways in Preston, Lochmere and MacGregor Downs turn into sleds. And the “snow” calls are mostly the day after, when the slush refreezes overnight.
Most winter winch-outs aren’t dramatic: two wheels off the pavement in the grass, a car nosed into a drainage ditch, an SUV sideways in its own driveway. Our post on when to call for a winch-out covers why you should stop spinning the tires and let us pull it out straight.
Before the first freeze: the checklist
- Battery tested — free at most parts stores. Replace it if it’s weak; don’t gamble.
- Tire pressure set to the door-sticker number on a cold morning, and again after each cold snap. Check the tread while you’re there.
- Coolant at the right level and mix; a shop can test it in a minute.
- New wiper blades, washer fluid rated for freezing.
- In the trunk: a blanket, a flashlight, a charger, water, a scraper, and a small bag of sand or cat litter for traction on a driveway.
- Our number saved: (919) 230-4498.
Driving when it’s icy
Slow down before the bridge, not on it. Leave three times the following distance you’d leave in the rain. No sudden anything: brake gently, steer gently, ease off the gas rather than braking on a curve. If the car starts to slide, look and steer where you want to go. And if the roads are actually iced — the rare morning when the county is telling people to stay home — stay home. The calls we take on those mornings are mostly people who had to be somewhere and got no farther than the first overpass.
If you’re stuck or stranded
- Off the road: stop trying to drive out. Hazards on, stay warm in the car, call. Tell us how the car is sitting so the right truck comes.
- Won’t start in the driveway: a jump start, and an honest answer about whether the battery is finished.
- Slid into something: if there’s damage you can see, it’s a tow to the shop — AWD and electric vehicles on the flatbed, always.
- On the highway: stay belted inside; the shoulder on an ice morning is worse than usual. Here’s the US-1 version.
Common questions
Do you come out when the roads are iced?
Yes, as long as the truck can get there safely. We’ll tell you honestly what the ETA looks like on a bad morning.
My AWD car slid into the ditch. Can you pull it out?
Yes — straight, from the right recovery point, and if it needs to be moved afterward it rides the flatbed, never its wheels.
Is there a winter or holiday rate?
No. Distance, vehicle and recovery work set the price, and you hear it before we roll.
Stuck, slid or dead in the cold? Call (919) 230-4498. When your car makes you say WTF, you call WTF Towing.
