Baby, it's cold outside! Vehicle take beating, but don't skate yet

Frigid temperatures across the Mid-Columbia created havoc for motorists, Ben Franklin Transit vehicles and others Tuesday as the area braced for a cold snap expected to continue through the week.

Extreme cold also damaged some HVAC coils at West Richland's Enterprise Middle School, where district officials canceled class following a power outage early Tuesday.

School is expected to be back in session today unless there's more extensive damage than initially thought, officials said.

Benton County Emergency Management also is asking people who live near the Yakima River to monitor water levels, as ice has formed in several stretches from Benton City to West Richland.

Officials also warned against venturing onto the ice, and to be especially watchful of children. "The ice is nowhere thick enough to withstand the weight of a small child," said spokeswoman Elizabeth Smith.

Single-digit temperatures Tuesday morning took a toll on Ben Franklin Transit vehicles, causing one to stall along a street in south Richland that was taking students to school. And a second bus sent to pick up the passengers also broke down.

"It was a weird thing," said Jerry Otto, transit's fleet manager. "A first for us."

The first bus stalled as the driver kept on the emergency brake to let passengers board, and the air dryer -- which helps take moisture out of the air system in the bus -- froze, he said. The driver couldn't move the emergency brake because the air pressure was too low, Otto said.

A replacement bus encountered the same problem while passengers were getting into it, he said. And a maintenance truck sent out to help couldn't start its air compressor, forcing the transit agency to send another bus and truck to the scene along Bellerive Drive.

The transit vehicles already had gone through a winter prep, Otto said. As part of winter bus maintenance routine, crews used a special additive to prevent the diesel fuel from gelling, he said.

But the transit is taking extra steps to make sure the extreme temperatures don't cause more problems, said Christy Watts, transit's marketing and customer service supervisor.

From now on, crews also will inject alcohol in the air systems in the buses and start the buses about 4 a.m. to warm them up for their daily trips, she said.

Drivers also were taking precautions, as the National Weather Service predicts high temperatures will not get out of the 20s until the weekend, when there is a chance of snow. Low temperatures this morning and tonight are expected in the single digits.

Dave Lownds understand the hazards of extreme cold on autos. The Kennewick resident takes care of his own car, and he was at Schuck's/O'Reilly Auto Parts in downtown Kennewick on Tuesday to buy an additive that removes water from the fuel system to prevent his gas line from freezing up.

"I probably don't need it. But it's preventive medicine," Lownds said.

But other Tri-City drivers were caught unprepared in getting their vehicles winter-ready, said Cassie Devaney of AAA. In the last seven days, the number of service requests by AAA members in the Tri-Cities has gone up 25 percent, she said.

"It's mostly about dead batteries," she said.

Cold puts a lot of pressure on car batteries, said Kevin Goodsel, manager at Tri-Cities Battery. A lot of customers reported problems in starting their vehicles, Goodsel said.

Tri-Cities Battery, which has locations in Kennewick, Pasco and Richland, has seen "a dramatic increase" in battery-related complaints in the last two days, keeping employees busy, he said.

"Nobody took a lunch break Monday," he said.

His technicians also found "a lot of bad cables and bad thermostats." A bad thermostat either won't let an engine heat up, or causes it to overheat, Goodsel said.

Cold can sometimes also cause problems with lubrication of bearings and potentially can heat up a cable, said Don Webb, inside sales manager at AAW Auto Parts in Pasco. His business, which services both wholesale and retail customers, has been busy selling alternators, starters, batteries, water pumps and car heaters. There's definitely an uptick because of the cold weather, he said.

At Schuck's/O'Reilly Auto Parts in downtown Kennewick, customers have been coming to buy batteries, antifreeze, a chemical which helps lower the freezing point and to raise the boiling point of the radiator fluids, radiator hoses, windshield de-icers and fuel additives, said store manger Dave Martin.

Mike Harvey, owner of A-Z Towing & Auto Repair in Kennewick, said he's also seen an increase in business because of the cold spell. It's either a dead battery or people locking themselves out of their vehicles after going out to start them and warm them up, Harvey said.

"Just listen to your car. It'll tell you when it's not happy, " advises Goodsel of Tri-Cities Battery.

Most auto supply stores do some free basic car inspections, which Goodsel and Martin recommend to customers. It's about being prepared, they said.

Consumers also have been rushing to buy heaters, winter wear, gloves, hand warmers, heat tape, and more winter necessities at Grigg's Department Store in Pasco, said Charlie Grigg, vice president of the company.

That occurs every year with the onset of cold weather, he said. And consumers also will be looking for ice-melters and shovels when the first snow falls, he said.

* Pratik Joshi: 509-582-1541; pjoshi@tricityherald.com