Author Topic: How to Winterize a Rarely Used Car?  (Read 4515 times)

cn1ght

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How to Winterize a Rarely Used Car?
« on: February 04, 2015, 05:38:24 PM »
So first off I bought my 2014 Hyundai Elantra because the previous car was always causing me headaches (sporadic transmission issues which the mechanics could never find and I found out that the guy who bought the car after me had the same issue!) and I decided that I really would prefer to buy a new car (at the time) rather than dealing with all the hassle.  Also I did this before I found this blog and I normally quite love my car the 1-time a week that I drive it.  The other thing to mention is that I cannot do any work on my car as I live in an apartment and the rules strictly state no work can be done on a car on the premises, so I both have no inclination to do car work and cannot anyway.

That having been said, I live in Ohio where we get a foot or so of snow often and it does NOT melt, it just stays...  I am worried that between the cold and the lack of use my car will have problems.  This was already a fear, but at the moment I am sitting at my apartment waiting for roadside assistance ("free" from the new car purchase) to give my car a jump-start.  I noticed this because I had to buy a new ice scraper (the other broke and I have to give a friend a ride to the airport tomorrow) and when I opened the door there was a clicking noise which I was told is the battery.  This also explains why the remote-lock did not work...

So what am I supposed to do for a car during the winter so that it does not have issues?  Examples, concerns about fuel sitting there for extended periods or anything I can do to hopefully prevent battery from needing to be jump started again?

The other thing, since I strongly suspect this will come up otherwise, is that not having a car is not an option I can consider right now.  I am about to start a 3-month training program after which I will move into a new career path.  I currently take the bus to work, but the training is 50 minutes away (I will be renting a different apartment for those 3 months) and during/after the training I have to be able to get to interviews which could be at least an hour away from the apartment and I will then find another apartment wherever the new job will be.  If I were willing to stay at my current job (100% out of the question) I could actually see myself selling my car, but not with all the uncertainty involved in the near future.

Thank you for any advice you can offer about the car.

JLee

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Re: How to Winterize a Rarely Used Car?
« Reply #1 on: February 04, 2015, 05:44:18 PM »
Are you able to have a battery tender connected to the car where you have it parked?  As long as you're driving more than a very short distance, even once a week is enough that you don't really have to worry about anything else.  I am surprised the battery died on you after such a short period of time sitting, though.

GreenPen

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Re: How to Winterize a Rarely Used Car?
« Reply #2 on: February 04, 2015, 05:51:19 PM »
Maybe don't leave your lights on? I suspect that's what happened, since the battery is new and you couldn't even unlock the doors.

cn1ght

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Re: How to Winterize a Rarely Used Car?
« Reply #3 on: February 04, 2015, 05:54:12 PM »
The quick glance on amazon indicates that this would require an electrical receptacle which I do not have access to.  I also cannot get an extension cord there as my apartment is on the opposite side of the building and there is nowhere near the parking lot (such as laundry area) for me to be able to get a cord to it.

I am wondering about how good the car is honestly...  6 months ago (2 oil changes) I had to replace 4 rear lights because they were burnt out.  So this is not the first expected, if minor, bad thing to happen to the quite new car.

Also, the distance is at least 20 minutes of driving each way.  Normally I meet my dad for lunch somewhere (it makes him happy to eat out) and hit Costco the same day.  If I hit Costco there is on the order of 1 hour of driving that day, half or so on highway.  I drove the car yesterday for maybe 0.25 each way (same friend needed me to drive her instead of walk) and I also did drive for those 40+ minutes on this past Saturday.  Considering that there was no battery warning light on and I just recently drove it this is not a good sign...

@GreenPen
The lights were not left on.  I always lock the doors then as I am walking away I click "lock" again so that the headlamps turn off.  Unless my friend turned "on" the inside lights instead of "on when door opens" or whatever that setting is.  However, I am almost confident that I would have noticed if the indoor lights were on.

cn1ght

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Re: How to Winterize a Rarely Used Car?
« Reply #4 on: February 04, 2015, 08:26:34 PM »
Just to give an update:
My interior car lights were NOT left on (the switch was in the "door" position) and my car has a timer so that the lights turn off so long after the doors are locked.  Why did the battery die?  As an electrical engineer I cannot give an answer.

But I guess I am not entirely convinced yet that I do not need to "do" anything to winterize the car.  I have had several coworkers tell me that I need to add some sort of stuff to the fuel tank if it is not being used often, someone else told me that I should start the car everyday (which seems stupid since THAT would drain the battery if the car never actually runs).  It is not that I want to do anything, it is that one person saying "eh, what you are doing should be good enough" is not enough to outweigh the dozen or so people who have told me otherwise.  So, yes, I actually am just looking for several people to say "Hey I also live in a cold area and my car is fine without doing anything special".

caliq

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Re: How to Winterize a Rarely Used Car?
« Reply #5 on: February 04, 2015, 08:31:48 PM »
Just to give an update:
My interior car lights were NOT left on (the switch was in the "door" position) and my car has a timer so that the lights turn off so long after the doors are locked.  Why did the battery die?  As an electrical engineer I cannot give an answer.

But I guess I am not entirely convinced yet that I do not need to "do" anything to winterize the car.  I have had several coworkers tell me that I need to add some sort of stuff to the fuel tank if it is not being used often, someone else told me that I should start the car everyday (which seems stupid since THAT would drain the battery if the car never actually runs).  It is not that I want to do anything, it is that one person saying "eh, what you are doing should be good enough" is not enough to outweigh the dozen or so people who have told me otherwise.  So, yes, I actually am just looking for several people to say "Hey I also live in a cold area and my car is fine without doing anything special".

I live in Connecticut and am currently the only driver in a household with two cars.  I also carpool to school/work at least 4/5 days a week, so our cars really don't get much use.  My dad (who put himself through college in the 80s by flipping cars & continues to be a hobby mechanic) told me to just try and drive them each once every week or two.  We have a 2010 and a 2004, which is having weird issues right now regardless of its not being driven situation, and they've both been fine.  I drive the 2010 about an hour or two a week, in maybe 2 or 3 separate trips (far away doctor's appts usually).  And the 2004 gets driven MAYBE a half hour every two weeks.  I should probably drive it more, at least according to my dad, but no issues so far except those that were pre-existing. 

And please no facepunches about the situation, I know it's not mustachian and sounds ridiculous but we have our reasons/plans to fix. 

JLee

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Re: How to Winterize a Rarely Used Car?
« Reply #6 on: February 04, 2015, 08:46:14 PM »
Just to give an update:
My interior car lights were NOT left on (the switch was in the "door" position) and my car has a timer so that the lights turn off so long after the doors are locked.  Why did the battery die?  As an electrical engineer I cannot give an answer.

But I guess I am not entirely convinced yet that I do not need to "do" anything to winterize the car.  I have had several coworkers tell me that I need to add some sort of stuff to the fuel tank if it is not being used often, someone else told me that I should start the car everyday (which seems stupid since THAT would drain the battery if the car never actually runs).  It is not that I want to do anything, it is that one person saying "eh, what you are doing should be good enough" is not enough to outweigh the dozen or so people who have told me otherwise.  So, yes, I actually am just looking for several people to say "Hey I also live in a cold area and my car is fine without doing anything special".

I grew up in northern New Hampshire. Unless you're running the car rarely enough that you're using the same fuel for 6+ months, it's fine. When you do drive, try to drive long enough for everything to reach operating temperature - this will get moisture out of the oil, exhaust, etc.

Matthew

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Re: How to Winterize a Rarely Used Car?
« Reply #7 on: February 04, 2015, 11:38:57 PM »
Here's what I recommend, if you absolutely can not plug in any installed accessories:
1.  Have your battery tested.  This is free at AutoZone, Napa, and Carquest.  Probably other places too.  Replace it if they recommend.
2.  While there, get one of the cheap battery terminal brushes, a couple anti-corrosion felt pads for the terminals, and a can of anti-corrosion spray.  If your battery terminals are loose, pick up some shims too.  All told, you'll be up to about $20.  Clean your connections, install the felt pads, the shims if necessary, and then spray the connections.
3. Don't bother with any gas additives unless your engine sounds rough or hesitates.  If that happens, just add a bottle of Heet. Red bottle for fuel injected cars.
4.  Consider getting a battery jump starter, for those rare occasions you leave your door ajar or something.  It happens to us all sometimes, but it happens very frequently to those of us with kids.

I grew up in the middle of Canada, I now live in Fairbanks AK.  If you were going to winterize for a really cold climate, there are a lot of accessories you could add (battery tender, battery heater, oil heater, tranny heater, coolant heater, etc) but they all require being plugged in.  Some people install a main switch for their battery, just in case anything is left on, but that's a poor option for newer cars. 

mwulff

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Re: How to Winterize a Rarely Used Car?
« Reply #8 on: February 05, 2015, 01:50:30 AM »
I have seen perfectly good brand-new batteries go flat because of a week in the cold and snow. I would recommend buying a battery-booster, that way you can start the car yourself.

For your case you would need to buy a portable booster with a battery-pack and keep it in your apartment, but it is worth it.

Other than that I don't think you need to do anything.

A really mustacian alternative is to take out the battery and bring it into your apartment every time you leave it standing for a week, but that might be very impractical.


Prairie Stash

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Re: How to Winterize a Rarely Used Car?
« Reply #9 on: February 05, 2015, 05:22:30 AM »
I leave my car for weeks at a time, sometims a month or more in winter. I found not having a plug next to the car strange, where I'm from, canada, a heater block cord is standard. Everyone has power plug access.

I love my battery booster pack. It's light and easy to transport, gives 3 decent boosts. When my last battery died , 7 years old, then the replacement died a year later (warranty replaced for free) it was great.

I do nothing for winterizing. Driving once a month is fine. If you do have a dead battery you should run the car 20 minutes for the alternator to finish charging the battery; pretty much go run errands.

davef

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Re: How to Winterize a Rarely Used Car?
« Reply #10 on: February 05, 2015, 01:46:17 PM »

I am an ASE Certified Mechanic, who grew up in Chicago.
Fuel now has Ethanol added in 99% of the country. That is the same thing your fiends are telling you to add. As someone else said, unless it sits for 6 months you don't need to touch the fuel.

Regarding the battery, if you start it and let it run long enough to get up to temperature every week or so that will do it. You may be able to go 2-4 weeks depending on the car. All cars have some parasitic draw on the battery. (current draw with the key off) Some cars as low as 20 milliamps. some as high as an amp with lots of gizmos installed (alarms, sound systems, dvds, etc.) Sometimes a short in your wiring or corrosion on the terminals can cause this current draw to be artificially high, draining the battery in days rather than weeks. 

If you do not have an outlet, the best options are:

Run it weekly or so, for at least 5 minutes, If you are not going to drive it, rev it up to 2000 RPM for a minute or so, alternators don't produce full voltage at idle.
Or, buy a portable booster, charge that inside, and plan on using it when you start your car.

Note, car batteries are not meant to be deep cycled (drained to zero voltage) deep cycling a car battery as the second method would be doing will likely shorten the batteries overall life by about 2 years from the normal 5-6 years they last.


Also, If you leave the car set for months, make tire pressure is maintained, and move the car at least every few months or you can have tire damage.

 

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