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QUESTION: My wife and I are 80 and have a 2005 Aveo 5 without ABS. We average about 8,000 kilometres a year. Most of our driving is local with the occasional longer trip. I plan on buying one set of new tires this fall, which will remain on the car all year.

Should I consider winter tires or all-weather tires? Living in the St. Lawrence River area, we can either have lots of snow, or next to none. Generally, we don't have to use the car if conditions are bad.

Obviously most of our driving is on pavement or sanded streets. My previous car's winter tires were quite noisy on pavement, which I don't really like. But I want to take the safest option. - Peter

ANSWER: That's a tough call. Your driving patterns would indicate that you could indeed get by with a set of really good all-season tires, with the understanding that you do not venture out when the thermometer drops well below freezing or when there is snow or ice present or forecast.

The problem is that all-season — or compromise tires, as I call them — are designed and constructed to cope with a wide variety of conditions above the freezing point. Below that, they get stiff and lose much of their grip.

Conversely, winter tires, which are designed to remain flexible and grippy at low temperatures, lose much of their ability as the thermometer climbs above 10 degrees. Not only will they become so soft they wear prematurely, they will not provide as much traction in the wet or emergency conditions.

It's a coin toss. But if you live in Quebec, the decision has been made for you: Starting next month, winter tires are mandatory for vehicles registered in the province.

Battery issue

QUESTION: I have a new Acura RL with 500 miles on it that we drive every two or three weeks. The last two times we went to drive it, the battery was dead. The dealer says the computer might be wearing down the battery because so much runs off the battery even when the car isn't in use. He says the vehicle needs to be run every week. I don't buy it. Do you? - George

ANSWER: No, I don't. Although the modern automobile, especially a high-end luxury car such as yours, is filled with features and devices that require a constant source of electric power, that draw is slight and has been taken into consideration during the development and testing process.

The battery should provide enough power to allow a start after a month or even more of rest.

Having said that, it can only do so if the distance driven when you take the car out is sufficient to allow time to recharge the battery. If you are going only a few kilometres and shutting it off, it is entirely possible the battery is never getting back to its original state of full charge.

I encountered this problem with a few of my own vehicles that spend inordinate amounts of time between drives. My solution was to buy a special "trickle charger" designed for sustained low-input use. It automatically maintains a proper charge state, turning itself on and off as required.

The dealer can use a related type of equipment to test how much draw there is from the systems on your car with everything shut off. I doubt that is the problem with such a new vehicle; it is more likely that the battery is not being fully recharged.

Tire age

QUESTION: In 2006, in response to a question about the safety of aged tires, you wrote "Safety groups are pushing for legislation that would require tire manufacturers to post a 'best-by' or expiry date on the sidewall of tires indicating when they are no longer safe." Can you update readers as to whether any legislation has to come to pass in this regard? - Leslie

ANSWER: To my knowledge, no such legislation has been passed anywhere in the world.