Hi,

Due to a temporary medical condition, I've been unable to drive my car for the past couple of weeks and I'm not going to be able to drive it again for another month.

Should I turn the engine over occasionally, and let it get up to temperature? Or would it be better to leave it sat there for six weeks?

If so, how often should I do it?

 

I'd disconnect the battery and just leave it. Turning it over will only serve to cause condensation in the oilways, as it won't really get fully up to temp for a long period just idling.

 

So I don't have to worry about anything like oil draining out of the engine, over six weeks? ( The oil is only a few months old, if that makes a difference )

 

It is only 6 weeks. Let it sit. I would put the battery on a battery tender, I would not take it off. There seems to be a thread here a few times a month where someone changed out the battery and they run into problems when they fire it up to drive.

 

Oil will not drain off in 6 months never mind 6 weeks. I've disassembled engines that have sat unused for three years and there's as much residual oil on critical surfaces as there was after three hours.

It is never as good idea to start engines in storage 'just to run them'. Does more harm than good.

 

After thought- your battery would most likely be run down or flat after that time period. Best buy a battery conditioner (not trickle charger) to keep it in top shape.

 

My car sits in the driveway and I don't have any accessible power to leave anything plugged in.

Would disconnecting the battery suffice?

 

Disconnecting the battery causes the system monitors to become 'not ready', so it may be best to heed the advice in the above posts regarding a device to keep the battery topped up.

If you do not have electrical access outside, run a long flex from inside so the battery can stay charged.

 

Is there someone you trust who could take the car out for a spin every so often? With these cars it seems that sitting unused ends up causing more troubles and quirks than if regularly driven.

Doug

 

Many of us store our cars untouched over the winter for 4-6 months. No one I know of reports increased problems as a result.

 

Unfortunately not. I had to declare my car SORN ( off-road ), meaning it's not allowed on the road at all ( apparently even if towed, all four wheels have to be off the ground ).

 

QUOTE: "Unfortunately not. I had to declare my car SORN ( off-road ), meaning it's not allowed on the road at all ( apparently even if towed, all four wheels have to be off the ground )." END QUOTE.

For forever, or until you are better? My closest plug-in is ~15'-20' from where I park on my back drive-way. I bought a 150' extension cord from harbor freight when the need arose to charge/tend the battery on my Mercedes, quite frequently, a few years back after surgery.

I used a battery charger/conditioner that I purchased at 'sprawl-mart', on sale for $17.88, regular price ~$45.95; and when I went to buy it, it was well hidden in the store. It has an attachment to permanently mount the cables to the battery clamps, and mounting holes on the body, and is small in size. It is fully automatic, micro-processor controlled, just plug and go; it can determine if your battery is bad, or if it needs to charge or tend, etc.

I asked an associate about the product placement after I finally found the battery charger/conditioner, as I had seen them before the sale, plentiful and front and center, and I was going to buy one. She said it was a local ad, and they were bound to honor it, but that they hid all the back stock, and had been told to move the display way back into the tire center, in the customer waiting area out of sight, on the other side of a soda machine, completely obscuring it from view, and only put out a couple of the sale chargers on the display.

Anyway, I have never had a problem with the cord lying on the ground and the length is more than enough. I have used it extensively on my Mercedes, literally through rain, sleet, snow and sub-zero weather, after my knee surgeries, so the cord was lying on the ground for months.

 

Hopefully until the end of the month.

I'm going to plug in my battery charger over the weekends, with an extension lead - I don't like the idea of leaving it 24/7 as my driveway isn't secure.

 

I would think that would be sufficient to keep your battery topped up. I do not do allot of daily driving myself anymore; retired early due to on-the-job injury. So I rarely have to be anywhere at a specific time. I do take it to the highway at least once a week, if not more as I can jump on the highway easily to bi-sect town, and get some 'spirited' driving in, and have not had troubles.

I live in a community that is comprised of three cities, separated by rivers, with major Interstates running through, so nearly every city street leads to 70 mph zones with frequent on/off ramps.

 

Just reporting my personal observations. The previous owner of my vehicle drove it about 600 miles in the 18+ months he owned it. It was garaged in nice temperate southern California. When I got the car there was a minor fluids drip from somewhere and odd electrical warning messages. Also if tires are kept on the car when "untouched" you tend to develop flat spots. Since I have been driving the car daily (albeit rather short drives) I have had no issues. I always found it curious that someone would have a vehicle that is garaged unused for half a year but then again there is no winter where I am.

Doug