I might be taking a trip to visit family during the holidays and it's about ~3500 miles round trip. I've never taken a trip that long and just want to know what precautions I should take other than the obvious oil change, oil filter change, new air filter, and ???? My tires are in ok condition, the only issue I think might be my battery. If I leave the lights on for about 20 minutes with the car off, the battery dies and I need to recharge it. I've recharged it about 2 times in the past 6 months, so I don't know if that can be an issue or if I can just be careful about leaving the lights on/door open and taking a battery charger with me. The car currently has almost 40,000 miles on it.

 

I would def. replace the battery. Depending on the climate, make sure you have an emergency kit including a shovel and the like.

Good luck.

 

Hey Carwatcher.....I used to do around half that mileage a week, every week on business in much "lesser" cars.

You've more or less described a service and other than checking tyres etc, replacing the possibly weak battery I can see no other immediate precautions needed......although the emergency kit and shovel are a good suggestion...

Have faith in your car and enjoy your trip my friend

Pics of the road trip / scenery / car in wintry conditions etc would be good....Please post here

 

Well, I'm driving from Southern California to Houston and back, so not much wintry conditions. Just maybe some snow in the high desert. I will definitely get an emergency kit and cross my fingers.

 

I'm sure you'll be fine and no need for crossed fingers if your cars properly maintained and prepared as I'm sure it is.

As I said I used to drive around 1500 miles per week on business, the most ever was 700 miles in a day ( longgggg day that was ) and that was in a Peugeot 309 / Ford Mondeo and never had any problems, or expected any to be honest.

sometimes cars break down and there's very little or almost nothing you can do to prevent certain things from happening, but, it sounds like you're golden

Please dont forget the pics???
Take plenty and post them on up......you can repost here and tell us how great the Jag did too

 

Do what you say you are going to do and enjoy the time with the kitty. Who knows, maybe in the desert you can let the kitty stretch a little bit and see how she handles as she sprints around.

You would probably be fine for the trip to use the current battery. But, why have that question hanging around in the back of your head. A battery is fairly cheap and it will make the long drive a lot more peaceful.

 

Well, I plan on driving the whole way there without stopping...so 1600 miles in about 24-26 hours. I'll take plenty of pics.

 

Yeah, I think I'll do it for the peace of mind. It's just that it's a last minute trip and every dollar counts.

 

I drove my X-Type from Dallas Tx -Anchorage Alaska Via Disneyland - up the Oregon / Washington Coast. I did the normal routine maintenance. Make sure your spare tire is in good condition and you have all tools for a flat. I recommend a portable Air Compressor. I can tell you from experience -not checking if the spare has air in it - WILL ruin your day. I got a flat at the 4 corners monument,(AZ/CO/UT/NM) and my spare was flat too - Luckily a lady had a portable Air Compressor, so I was up and running again. Could have been a horrible experience, as the nearest service station with WORKING air was about 40 miles away.

 

That's a long trip , happy safe driving
I trust your X will be doing find during the trip

 

Whoa....thats a lotta miles in one hit and probably wayy too much for one driver to do safely.....Do you have a co pilot?

As I said, I used to drive sometimes very long distances as part of my job and 700 miles in one hit was a killer + a lotta hours and concentration.
I have to be honest and really couldn't imagine doing 1600 miles in one day

Personally, unless you have a co pilot, for your safety and other road users I'd suggest you rethink

Good call on the portable air compressor for the spare

 

It's not a good idea to leave the lights on that long with the engine off in any car. It will drag the battery down every time you do it. I'm not sure I'd trust that battery since you say you've had to charge it twice now in 6 months.s
I don't do anything special before we take a trip. I change the oil and filter once a year no matter what. I rotate and balance the tires once a year also.
Our X has 78,000+ on it now and we've made 3 3000+ mile trips since buying it in Aug 2007 and are planning another of almost 4000 to Key West next year. She hasn't given us any problems so far plus getting 30+mpg to boot. I'm 73 and do all the driving as my wife doesn't drive. I drove professionally in my younger days and have close to a million miles behind the wheel.
She's sitting out this winter tucked away in the garage for a well deserved rest because we are snow birding in the Philippines til spring next year.