I don't use my car in winter. I am planning to save on gas. Should I take it for a ride regulary for maintenance purpose and to keep the battery up or just warming it twice a week while it is in the same place will do the job? I don't want to spend money but I don't want it to brake down for not being used. any body have advice with maintaining a parking car?
2007-01-02 08:03:06 · 6 answers · asked by mab 2 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
no....the engine must be under load. the reason for this is so the alternator can overcome resistence from the battery to charge it. i suggest instead of just warming it a few times a week that you actually use it for short rides. if you seriously don't want to drive and battery maintenence is all you are concerned with buy yourself a battery charger called BatteryTender. It is a slow charge called a trickle charge and will not over charge your battery. Keep in mind if you don't drive for long periods of time that your fuel breaks down and will ruin your hoses and could clog jets or injectors. In this case you should put in fuel stabilizer and follow instructions...some ask you to empty the tank other do not require this. Another thing...after oil has sat for so long in an engine when you first start it up again it takes a while to get everything lubricated...don't just start the car, rev engine, and peel out. This can cause quite a bit of wear if not real DAMAGE to your vehichle.......i hope this helped ;-)
2007-01-02 08:14:05 · answer #1 · answered by pundragonrebel 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually start it once a week for 10-15 minutes and it will be just fine. If you have mice around the area, slice some Irish Spring bar soap and set some pieces in the trunk and on the engine area by the wires. Mice love to chew on the wire insulation for some reason and the soap will keep them away. The trunk is just to keep them from nesting there.
2007-01-02 16:34:23 · answer #2 · answered by gary t 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Rather than 5 minutes in place every three days, I'd do a 15 minute drive every week to week and a half.
Actually driving the car does all sorts of good things, like keeping the tires from getting flat spots, to "shaking up" all the fluids to keep sediment from accumulating
It keeps the brakes from failing from not being used and keeps the drums and rotors rust free.
It fully heats the exhaust system and motor, keeping condensed water from mixing with combusation gas and forming nasty acids, which can rot your exhaust and even trash your motor!
2007-01-02 16:14:16 · answer #3 · answered by econofix 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. You'll use more juice to start it than you'll get by charging it for 5 minutes. It will also be very bad for your engine and exhaust to run it for that short a time so often. You need to drive it long enough to get up to operating temperature so the coolant will circulate and the exhaust will get hot enough to burn off the water you leave in it every time you run the engine.
2007-01-02 17:36:39 · answer #4 · answered by Nomadd 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well fuel is so expensive [in the uk] so it may be better to just buy a new battery if this one goes flat. Or buy a charger and just charge it.
2007-01-02 16:11:13 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
you can start it once a week and let it run for five or ten minutes. And your car should be fine.
2007-01-02 16:10:11 · answer #6 · answered by Toby K 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋