Hello there,

I own a 2008 Honda Civic sedan. During a cold snap where the temperature bottomed out at -30 Celsius, the wind picked up and blew some snow into the engine department. I was at work at the time. Only the battery was covered with snow and it refused to start, so a coworker helped me to jump start it. Now that the temps are hovering around 0 Celsius, the car starts just fine.

Could the snow have affect the battery this much, or should it be replaced? The battery is less than a year old and the car had only been sitting for four hours,.

Thank you.

Brian

 

The snow didn't likely have an effect.

Maybe you have a weak battery, or a starter with added resistance from age.

Or some other factor.

 

I think the -30 temps had an affect on the battery. I just put a brand new Honda Battery into my 2007 Si Coupe this past fall (August or beginning of October). Our temps are around 0 celsius right now and I noticed the car sounds like a weak battery when starting in the mornings. If you don't have a battery designed for extreme cold, the -30 will stop the battery from putting out current until it warms up.

I charge my rechargeable batteries and throw them in the freezer to keep their charge until I need them. At first they don't power up the device until they warm up a few degrees.

 

Thank you, TomCat39.

So it's most likely a defective battery; I placed a similar battery in my van a few years ago and it's still working well.
I hope that the warranty stands.

 

I literally just replaced a three year old Honda OEM replacement battery in my 2010 FA5. The temperatures here in MB are the sane as you were experiencing, with the difference that -28C to -30C were the highs for the last two weeks.

My battery was toast. It started the car once and I ran the car for 35 KMs to see if it would revive the battery, but the next day it was a door stop. New battery for me, no chances taken.

I dislike that fact that the original factory batteries have a green window maintenance indicator, but the OEM replacement batteries have no such luxury.

 

Might not be defective, just not designed for really cold temps.

Canadian Tire makes a battery that is supposed to be good below -40 where other batteries fail.

Bet you can take your current battery and stick it in a summer car or car in Vegas and it will be just fine.

I'm just surprised the OEM Honda battery isn't designed for the cold like some after market ones are.

Personally, I like costco batteries as their warranty is far superior and my wifes battery (costco) has had zero issues this winter or the previous.

 

Thank you, 97emsedan.
That green indicator *would* be nice. It's not cost effective, I suppose.

 

Heh, you're not alone preferring Costco batteries, TomCat39. I wanted to take a look at their selection the other day, but the rack was practically empty. Lots of batteries failing in the extreme cold.

 

I do the same with rechargeable, but I put them in my pocket to warm them. It would probably work for any battery. Not suggesting to put your Honda battery in your pocket, but a garage sure helps.

 

Snow shouldn't effect it as long as the terminals didn't short. But extreme cold can reduce the effectiveness of a battery.