Parking car outside for about 2.5 months

[mclasser]

Hey guys, I have an extended work trip coming up and as a result, my Accord is going to be parked outside our 2nd home for about 2.5 months in the winter weather. Unfortunately, a garage isn't possible. I have never left a car unused for this long. Reading around the inter-webs, I came up with this list of stuff to do:

- Air up tires to around 40 PSI to minimize flat spotting.
- Disconnect neg. battery cable and wrap in Ziploc bag to prevent accidental contact (I thought about a battery tender but the car will be outside & keeping the hood ajar to run the cables isn't feasible).
- Top off all fluids.
- Car cover
- Add a bottle of Techron & keep gas level low so don't have to burn through much old gas when I drive the car again.

Car's got almost 230k miles and the battery is a 4.5 yr old AAP Gold. Hope I don't have any issues when I come back....

Anything else you guys recommend that I do?

 

[Blinker]

2 months? Don’t even worry about the gasoline it’s an absolute waste of time and money. Just wash it before putting the cover on and then disconnect the battery.

Id also pull the fuel pump fuse and the ignition fuse just incase some tries stealing it while you’re away

 

[dadto2]

I wouldn't worry about the gas either, except that I would top it off rather than leave it empty. Less air in the tank to minimize the risk of condensation in the tank. The gas will be fine after 2 months. I top off my boat prior to winter storage.

 

[atikovi]

A solar battery charger on top of the dash would be ideal, otherwise take the battery out, bring it inside and connect to a maintainer. A 4.5 year old battery probably won't start the car after sitting 2.5 months. Main concern in a condo parking lot is the tires going flat and having them tow it away. I'd pump them up to 50 psi. And have a friend maybe do a driveby every 2 weeks to check up on it.

 

[JC1]

Sounds like a good plan. Before you start it, I would charge the battery if you can. When you first drive it, the rotors will be rusty, so be careful when you first drive off. I would take it for a drive slowly and press the brake pedal many times to get that rust off the rotors. Can you see the rotor clearly through the rims or do you have steel wheels and wheel covers?

 

[jstert]

full gas tank, over inflated tires, battery tender (cables easily fit with hood closed and locked) for my sw snowbird yaris that has sometimes sat for up to 4 months or more. no problems other than topping off tire air pressure and hoarding .25 coins for spray off car wash. i bought the simple base yaris for precisely this reason.

the ne passat also gets left out when im away, 6-8 weeks max. no battery tender. no problem. i recently replaced its original 7 year old battery. my sister checks it and allegedly runs it for 20 min once in awhile, though knowing her im honestly unsure.

 

[chartrue2]

Three more items in addition to what you listed: Park the tires on some kind of vapor barrier, account for moisture inside the vehicle by using something like DampRid and fight rodents with something like FreshCab.

 

[38Chevy454]

Agree on full tank of gas and 40-50 psi in tires. Instead of removing neg cable, better to just take battery and put inside on a maintainer. Alternatively leave battery in car hooked up with a small12v solar charger on the dash plugged into cig lighter. I don;t like the cover idea, it will just blow around and probably off the vehicle in a good wind. Better to have the air circulation to keep car dry. Plus being covered is dead giveaway it is not being used.

 

[earlyre]

Hey guys, I have an extended work trip coming up and as a result, my Accord is going to be parked outside our 2nd home for about 2.5 months in the winter weather. Unfortunately, a garage isn't possible. I have never left a car unused for this long. Reading around the inter-webs, I came up with this list of stuff to do:

- Air up tires to around 40 PSI to minimize flat spotting.
- Disconnect neg. battery cable and wrap in Ziploc bag to prevent accidental contact (I thought about a battery tender but the car will be outside & keeping the hood ajar to run the cables isn't feasible).
- Top off all fluids.
- Car cover
- Add a bottle of Techron & keep gas level low so don't have to burn through much old gas when I drive the car again.

Car's got almost 230k miles and the battery is a 4.5 yr old AAP Gold. Hope I don't have any issues when I come back....

Anything else you guys recommend that I do?

plan sounds fine, except for the low fuel. as others have said, fill that tank up, so you don't leave room for condensation. 2 month old gas is nothing. if you're really worried about the fuel, put some sta-bil in.
as far as the battery? if you already have a tender, just pull the battery and hook it up inside. otherwise, you plan sounds good.

 

[Donald]

Everything happens a lot slower in cold weather from gas degrading to battery self discharging. The minimum you need to do is nothing.

 

[WylieCoyote]

May not be a huge issue at your house, but you might want to buy a few packets of rodent repellent (smells strongly of mint) and disperse them around the car, especially around the tires. Wouldn't want your under-hood wiring to become a nest.

 

[Donald]

May not be a huge issue at your house, but you might want to buy a few packets of rodent repellent (smells strongly of mint) and disperse them around the car, especially around the tires. Wouldn't want your under-hood wiring to become a nest.

Not an expert, but the mice and so on look for a winter home in October or so. So by now they are warm and toasty in their winter home and shouldn't be looking for a new home.

 

[atikovi]

Not an expert, but the mice and so on look for a winter home in October or so. So by now they are warm and toasty in their winter home and shouldn't be looking for a new home.

Unless they got evicted by the neighbor next door.

 

[supton]

Careful with disconnecting the battery, the one in my CRV went flat and now it wants a code. Don't have the code so... Just something you should check on, before disconnecting the battery.

 

[WylieCoyote]

2 years ago around this time, I had a huge rat attempt to take up residence amongst the stacks of microfiber towels in my garage. He was using the top of one stack as his toilet. He got the glue trap treatment, and I now have mint packets laying everywhere. Haven't seen any hints of vermin this year. They may have different habits in Texas, as it's not bitterly cold here.

 

[2010Civic]

If you care about the paint I would skip the cover.

 

[yakiniku078]

Use the opportunity to wrap your electrical harnesses with anti-rodent tape. This is advisable for vehicles and farm equipment stored outdoors regardless of the duration.

Many of these products are capsaicin-based, the active component of chili peppers.

Example product:

 

[Silver]

I left a vehicle sitting outside for a year or so with very infrequent drives.

Two bad things happened: squirrels chewed up the fuel injector harness and mold started growing. I think the mold was mostly because it was sitting on dirt that held moisture when it rained. I never got the mold smell out.

 

[Donald]

Use the opportunity to wrap your electrical harnesses with anti-rodent tape. This is advisable for vehicles and farm equipment stored outdoors regardless of the duration.

Many of these products are capsaicin-based, the active component of chili peppers.

Example product:

This sounds like a good idea until you open the hood with your roll of tape and say crap, I will never get every wire wrapped.

 

[RooflessVW]

Max PSI in the tires.
Battery Tender (no need to leave anything ajar - just shut the hood)
Full tank with Sta-bil to minimize moisture buildup.