looking to get some advice on car care as the winter approaches....I have two (2000)platinum xj8(s).....one long and the other base model (but has some options my long doesn't even have)....

I am looking to sell the smaller xj8 and hope to do this before the winter sets in...I live in the northeast and the winters can get pretty volatile here. Farmers almanac predicting more snow and colder for this year than previous.

My main concern is the " long" at this point. last year...i kept it garaged. I generally take off the insurance for the months of January, February March and part of April.....When i put it back on...I generally use it as a week end ride and as i am also a maxi-scooter enthusiast.....so hardly use my toyota tacoma....as the weather gets warm.....but its the vehicle of choice for the winter.

Last winter i removed the battery from the car....when i put the battery back i had some problems with the key global opening/and with sun roof....i eventually corrected the problem by removing battery terminal again and connecting again....computer reset.....it also reset my on board emissions....so i had problems when i went to inspection and they could not test it for emissions....put a lot of additional miles on the car and i am hoping they will be able to inspect it...

year before....got the car in middle of winter....and garaged it, and trickled charged it to keep the battery up.....although i did not drive it until well into the spring....

so I ask...what do you do ?.....take the battery out completely and store it somewhere warm ,trickle charge it.....drive right through the winter...etc....what is the best practice in this regard?....in jersey....we usually get a good deal of snow and it can get pretty cold.....best to keep kitty in in the garage(even though not heated).to avoid the snow and salty roads....

 

To be honest, leaving the battery on the car with a digital controlled charger that 'tops it up' its the safest way, although removing it is another option, but it will reset the car's memory once installed, which in most cases is no problem. A fit battery on these cars is a must, if it's an old battery, renew it.

 

Since my car is my daily driver I've been driving her through the winter through the eight years I've owned her.

I am a firm believer in driving the cars as much as possible and making sure you do things like working all the windows, power mirrors, sunroof, etc., on a regular basis when you do.

If you live in the heavy salt belt I understand wanting to keep the car away from that. But even in those areas there are plenty of occasions throughout the winter when the roads are dry and "minor weather" has purged salt from the roads until the next major storm requires its reapplication. This is all the more true in places where salt is now applied as a liquid spray before a storm rather than as salt crystals.

When you have the chance during the winter to drive the car you really should. Nothing is worse for a car (or any machine, really) than being put away and simply not used. All sorts of things freeze up, dry rot, etc., from lack of use that have much longer lives if used regularly.

 

appreciate it .......i just replaced the battery....which gave me the re-set problems ...re emission testing. I think i will use the trickle charger to keep the battery up.......I don't think not using the car over the winter will harm the car especially if i start it up/warm up on schedule.....i am more concerned (in addition to snow and salt).....with getting into an accident not that id be driving in a blizzard anyway.....but if it stays cold the snow and ice and slipperiness remains....

of course unless we have a winter like two years ago.....virtually no snow at all....with sub winter temperatures.....i don't think we will see one like that again for a long time.