Hey All,
So I stored my F type R indoors in an unheated garage this winter (Canada). Every few weeks I'd start her up without issue. Recently though the car isn't recognizing the FOB and none of the functions work on it. The car does start though I have to hold the FOB under the dash in order to have it start. Eventually it does start, but the mirrors don't fold back out. I warmed the car up nicely with a drive around the neighbourhood this morning to get the engine up to temperature, though the mirrors still don't unfold and neither of the 2 FOBs seem to work (other than starting the car). Has anybody else experienced this or have any ideas?

Thanks to all you above average looking people in advance,
richled

 

Did you change the batteries in your FOB??

 

You need to fully charge the car battery. I doubt it has anything to do with the fob. Simply driving around the block does not hack it. There are many posts here about battery problems.
Given your situation, you should (must) keep your car on a battery maintainer like the CTek if you want all its electrical parts to work correctly, after/during storage.
Having read other posts here, the first thing I did was to buy a CTek for my new F-Type, and I do keep mine in a heated garage. Second thing was a nice soft indoor cover.
Cats like soft things!!

 

Right on, I'll grab one. Is there any specific model to look for?

 

I use the CTEK MXS 5.0.
It will likely be capable of recharging your battery even if relatively low, then easily able to maintain it going forward.
There are other CTEK models, though I am not clear why one would choose a different model.

 

That did the trick!

 

A friend owned a 911.
He stored it in a rented garage space for the Winter.
Come the Spring, he could not even open the vehicle.
He had to have it towed to the Porsche dealer to unlock the car.
Suggest you also leave the windows down and car unlocked during Winter if it is in your secure garage.

 

definitely like already stated get a battery maintainer. Secondly, and this might get some mixed replies or opinions, but in my experience and knowledge of vehicles and talking to many many many different car builders over the years is that you should never go out and randomly start your vehicle in winter every couple of weeks. reason being is that you will get fuel dilution, blow by and moisture. if you only run it for a few minutes, that few minutes of run time isn’t long enough for the engine to get warm enough to evaporate all of that stuff out and can build up and be more damaging than just storing it on a battery maintainer and with proper fuel stabilizer etc. if you are going to start the car it should be allowed to get up to operating temperature and taken out for a 20 to 30 minute drive each time so that oil and other fluids will be allowed to circulate fully, and the engine will be able to evaporate fuel and burn off contaminants that collect when the engine and exhaust are cold. i used to do the same thing years ago and thought it was best to start it every couple weeks. Now i add fuel stabilizer, plug the maintainer in, clean her up, make sure to have at least 3/4 tank of gas and cover exhaust and any other opening possible to insure no rodents can enter. inflate all tires to at least 45 psi and i put some dryer sheets around the car because rodents also hate the smell of them. close the garage door and dont start it again for maybe 5 months. been doing that for 10 plus years now and the cars always start right up no issues and everything works perfect!

 

All of the above is good advice...especially the part about not starting the car intermittently...it does far more harm than good. CTEK unit, full tank of fuel and let the car sleep.

 

Very similar to my winter bed down procedure as well.

 

I leave an E Type to overwinter in my garage. Leaving it unlocked is ok (although no need to on an old E Type, no electronic opening), I also leave it on an Optimate (like a Ctek) and leave the handbrake off. But I NEVER leave the windows open - mice get into any garage it seems to me, and love the inside of cars where they can chew yummy things.

 

You could be right about the windows.
Though the only time we had a mouse problem they did not climb through the windows.
They some how got into the engine bay (of a Jeep Cherokee) and built a nest on top of the engine.
Since the vehicle was a daily runner, it was likely done during one or two over nights in the then unheated garage.
Next day out, it took about 4 miles of driving before the engine bay caught on fire.
Insurance covered the damage and Jeep subsequently issue a recall to install a cover over the location where the nest had been constructed.

 

Did you get fried eggs from the nest then?
On a more serious note, I know a few people who have had mice in their cars which have chewed up leather upholstery to get to the stuffing/foam inside for their nests. Make a terrible mess.
I left a window open by mistake and had a bird fly in (my garage is a bit open around the eaves). Obviously had a problem getting back out, because all of the interior was covered in bird poo.
So I NEVER leave windows open now.
Handbrake definitely off though on older cars to stop pads/shoes sticking.

 

Worst similar story was a friend who left his small dog on board his brand new $500K boat while he went to dinner.
The dog ate the inside of the boat!!

Hey Malcolm do English mice lay eggs??

 

Good point!!!