Extreme heat affecting electric cars

The heat is causing major issues for electric and hybrid cars owners in California.  Several drivers say their vehicles are not starting in extreme heat.

Problems range from display screens not working to cars not starting all together.

Christian Cordero owns a BMW I-3.  When she went to start the car after work earlier this week, no luck.

"My battery was overheated and that it would need time to cool and therefore, the car would not operate," Cordero says.

After waiting a few mintues and still nothing, she hitched a ride home with her husband.

"He went back a couple hours later to get my car, and it still wouldn't start," Cordero says.

It was a similar story for Mark Licon, who owns a Ford Focus.

"Went to start my car around three or four o'clock and it wouldn't start," Licon says.

BMW says it has not heard about the issue but a study by the AAA Automotive Research Center in Southern California shows similar problems.  The study found that at temperatures of only 95 degrees, the range electric cars could travel dropped by 33 percent.

AAA and BMW recommend storing electric cars in a garage or trying to find shade to park, along with cooling the car while it's plugged in to reduce battery drain.