Infrequently driven vehicle

[Dyusik]

My Jeep sits up to a year at a time. I trickle charge it every so often, re park it to rotate the tires ever few months. It leaks at the doors, so I run it with the heater blasted on a warm day, but that's the only reason I really run it. I've been waiting for signs of bad gas, but no, last fill up was in December of 2015 or January of 16. Every time I run it, I turn on the lights, cracked tail lights, again, not your issue.
If I had a decent car that sat, I'd fill it up, put it on a maintainer and blocks to relieve pressure off the tires and forget it.

Thank you for being actual parents, enough morons are being (un)raised these days.

 

[Ddubya]

Originally Posted By: Tman220
Originally Posted By: cmhj
I like responsible parents


I like responsible adults... Their kid is 18, he should probably get out from under the wing and figure out what it takes to keep a car (if he wants one) without mommy and daddy directing from the helicopter.


Wow, that's a hot sports opinion. Actually, he's 17, a great student, has a job, plays sports, and does some volunteer work, and outside of us setting some reasonable curfews he pretty much does his own thing, so we are pretty far from helicopter parents. But I do appreciate the unsolicited parenting advice on a car maintenance forum. I think I got it from here.

 

[AZjeff]

Originally Posted By: Ddubya


Wow, that's a hot sports opinion. Actually, he's 17, a great student, has a job, plays sports, and does some volunteer work, and outside of us setting some reasonable curfews he pretty much does his own thing, so we are pretty far from helicopter parents. But I do appreciate the unsolicited parenting advice on a car maintenance forum. I think I got it from here.


Well said.

 

[Nissan101]

Give him the car

 

[Anduril]

Originally Posted By: Tman220
Originally Posted By: cmhj
I like responsible parents


I like responsible adults... Their kid is 18, he should probably get out from under the wing and figure out what it takes to keep a car (if he wants one) without mommy and daddy directing from the helicopter.

I know I couldn't wait to buy my own car when I went off to college. Got a job and bought one freshman year. Gave the one my parents were letting me borrow (and constantly made sure to let me know was not mine, and they could take away from me at any time) back to them, and freed myself from a lot of their bull[censored].

 

[Canadastang]

My .02 - My Mustang is stored every year from November to April-ish and I've been doing this for years now with no issues:

1. Fill up the tank with premium fuel, preferably no ethanol, then add a fuel stabilizer, whatever's cheapest. Make sure to run the car for a couple minutes with the stabilizer in it to ensure that stabilizer is in the lines and injectors.

2. Fill up the tires a few psi above the recommended pressure.

3. Put scraps of carpeting under the tires - this, along with a few extra psi really seems to help stop them from flatspotting.

4. Either disconnect the battery or put a trickle charger on it.

That's it.

The stabilized fuel will be good for 6 months at least, and the full fuel tank will prevent condensation from forming.

Don't short trip the car, you'll only be doing more harm than good - taxing the charging system, diluting the oil with fuel and condensate.

Remember, it takes a long time to get the oil up to temp, at least 30 minutes of highway driving, so I say leave the car parked as noted above.

 

[Alex_V]

I think the car will be lowest maintenance in the long run if it's driven a few times a month. At that rate, no maintenance other than the usual should be needed. Do an annual oil change and keep an eye on tires and such if they have any age on them. Since the same batch of gas may be in it for months at a time, I'd find a source for ethanol-free fuel and fill it up with that. You could just keep the fuel level low and put a few gallons in it every time you go out to freshen it up, but my guess is leaving more air in the tank to condense moisture into the gas isn't a good idea, not to mention electric fuel pumps last longer when not run right down to empty frequently.

 

[LeakySeals]

I'm working on a free Nissan Maxima I acquired for a new student driver that sat outside for a year and a half. Its got all kinds of fuel related problems. And rodent issues. Squirrels. Acorns. Mouse nests in every orifice. And rot. So if the car is not properly stored in a garage, driven at least once a month, get rid of it now before it gets problems. Can't be stored outside not running.

 

[Silverado12]

Originally Posted By: Anduril
Originally Posted By: Tman220
Originally Posted By: cmhj
I like responsible parents


I like responsible adults... Their kid is 18, he should probably get out from under the wing and figure out what it takes to keep a car (if he wants one) without mommy and daddy directing from the helicopter.

I know I couldn't wait to buy my own car when I went off to college. Got a job and bought one freshman year. Gave the one my parents were letting me borrow (and constantly made sure to let me know was not mine, and they could take away from me at any time) back to them, and freed myself from a lot of their bull[censored].


That's basically what I did, but my parents never gave me anything to begin with. I bought a POS 1964 WV and learned to work on it. But to answer the OPs question, a car can set months at a time as long as you have a battery tender. No need for anything else in your case.

 

[Kestas]

I remember living on campus my junior and senior years. I had a mild withdrawal not having a car or driving for long stretches of time.

 

[Ddubya]

Sincere thanks to those of you with insights and constructive advice. I appreciate it.