[Reinhard]

• I start both the cars once a week. Let them idle for 10 minutes. Out of that, for a minute, I revv the Nexon at 2000 rpm at the middle of the duration & then let it idle again.
• We live in a gated community. I drive the car a few feet and circle around a building on the internal road. Then park back. This is to ensure tyres rotate sufficiently & don't stay at the same spot in parking.
• Some say this drains the battery more for starter than how much can be recharged in 10 minute idling. But I don't care about it. The battery can be replaced on the spot as a DIY in 10 minutes if it dies. Clogged plumbing and stagnant oil can't be corrected as a DIY.
• Rodents are the biggest worry in our parking area. With the rains also around, rodents find unused car engine bays to be the most comfortable dwellings! I have 3-4 crude tobacco packets (The ones with scary images) zip tagged inside the engine bay as rodent repellents - based on friends' experience advise.
• And - I spray the engine bay with generous doses of Nichem NO ENTRY rodent repellent spray once every 4-5 months. Gave the latest treatment just yesterday. Its extremely effective. (Since yesterday I get the same taste for anything I eat! )
• I also spray it while the engine is running, on the poly V-Belts to ensure they are properly coated. These belts tend to be the favourite snack for rodents based on my personal experience.
• The combination of the tobacco packets & no entry spray have worked really well over last 7-8 months. Not a single evidence of rat entry. Fingers crossed.

Nexon -




Alto -

[arindambasu13]

In my view, idling the car for 10 -15 minutes is an inordinately long period of time to keep the car idle, and simply a waster of precious fuel.

What I do is that whenever I am going out for groceries every 1-2 days, I am taking out both cars for a short spin. That amounts to about 1-1.5 kilometres for each car every 2-3 days. Ensures that the car is brought to normal operating temperatures during these times, and that the oils are circulating properly for that short duration of time. Of course I would have preferred the opportunity to do slightly longer runs, say-3-4 kms at least, but it is what it is.

Apart from that, I am washing the cars once every week to ensure that there is not too much of dirt accumulation.

[Nalin1]

I am taking the car out for an 8 to 10 kms drive every two or three days. Either early in the morning or late at night. This is taking me just 20 minutes!

This ensures everything for the car instead of looking at each aspect one by one.

And I am doing the same for the bike as well.

And yes, I know I am breaking the lockdown.

[libranof1987]

I doubt modern cars need a lot of babying around, especially since nature's elements are currently normal. I have covered parking with 0 incline so on my cars (both AT), all I've done:

a) disengage the handbrake, slot in N (for AMT), P (for DCT), a brick to prevent tyres from rolling
b) Check the engine bay twice a week for any rat marks

Luckily it's not monsoon so no worry of moisture/damping within the cabin and the set of problems they bring in. If this lockdown extends beyond the current timeline, I'll just drive them around inside my apartment complex for 10min.

With car cleaners also not allowed, those that park their cars out on the road may need a thorough wash once this is over, especially if the cars have had a generous helping from birds.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by arindambasu13

In my view, idling the car for 10 -15 minutes is an inordinately long period of time to keep the car idle, and simply a waster of precious fuel.

What I do is that whenever I am going out for groceries every 1-2 days, I am taking out both cars for a short spin.

This is a very valid point. In my case - the grocery & veggie stores are part of the housing complex. So taking car there, means even lesser running time for the engine. . And we are going out to those stores only once a week to get groceries. To avoid moving out & to maintain social distancing at a high ratio.

I never thought the FitKit exer-cycle that I purchased a few months back, would actually be used so much!

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Luckily it's not monsoon so no worry of moisture/damping within the cabin and the set of problems they bring in. If this lockdown extends beyond the current timeline, I'll just drive them around inside my apartment complex for 10min.

Here in Pune - its raining every afternoon for an hour or so since last 4 days. As if its June already. And conditions are constantly overcast. So there is plenty humidity also to worry about. :(

Originally Posted by GTO

The 530d has the Varna Suraksha rat repellent device

Is it good? I have been thinking about installing it since a couple of months. Have you hooked it up directly to the battery +/- in an "always ON" setup? Or its linked via some fuse that is powered during engine off scenario?

[Stribog]

Originally Posted by GTO

Both my cars suffer battery drain, hence I start them minimum of once a week and let it idle. The 530d has the Varna Suraksha rat repellent device, while the Jeep

What a majestic name, "Varna Suraksha" for a rodent repeller.

[Motard_Blr]

I started my car today and ran the engine at a slightly higher speed about (1500 rpm) for a few minutes.

Since I currently have no plans of using the car for the remainder of the lockdown, I used my foot pump to inflate the tyres to about 40 - 45 psi. This will help in avoiding a flat spot where the tyres touch the ground.

[Fordlover88]

I am engaged with emergency services(electricity distribution utility). Though we have been asked to work from home as much as possible, we have to go to office once in a while. I utilize this opportunity to drive as much as possible by taking a longer route to office. Apart from that, i start the engine and let it idle for 5 mins once in 3-4 days. I spray anti-rodent spray once in 3 weeks on the engine bay.

[shatananda.k]

On Sunday, I realized my car has a flat tyre. Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do at the moment.
For buying grocery, I am managing with my TVS Jupiter.

[Kosfactor]

A slightly different thought on this - Its not only the car that needs some attention, we as drivers too. Not using the car for many weeks at a time means our driving skills can go rusty as well, not ideal when one day you do have to go somewhere in an emergency.

We use both vehicles everyday for buying supplies, vegetables, medicines etc. Sometimes we take a longer than usual route, sometimes we go to the farthest store rather than nearest store. It is good to keep in touch with the store keepers once in a while, never know when we need their help.

The positive side of this is that vehicles do cover 4-5 kms a day, brings them to operating temperature, so I give it a good second gear sprint once in a while as they are diesels.

Some things we follow.

1. Use them everyday/ alternate days.
2. Keep them clean . (inside, outside, engine bay - all dry clean)
3. Park in alternate places.
4. Tank full for emergencies.
5. Open all doors (door seals will thank you)
6. Operate all electric motors - Windows, mirrors, sunroof, headlight leveler etc.

While I have seen many FI petrol engines start on first crank after being left idle for even a month, I doubt that is any good for them. My turbo diesels do not like being left idle for long, because they are born to run. Like this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxuThNgl3YA

[Capt. Haddock]

Hello folks,

Not that I am an expert or anything, but this is what I have been doing for the past 15 years of owning different cars. Just thought of sharing the same here.

Being mariner by profession, I have to be out at sea (and sadly away from my car) for extended periods of time at one go. Earlier it used to be 5 to 7 months, which has now thankfully reduced to 3-4 months at a stretch. It all started in 2007 when I came back from the ship and my beloved Baleno wouldn't start. Apparently the wife had not run the car for about twenty days which resulted in a dead battery. Promptly had the battery changed and asked the mechanic if we have an alternative to running the car regularly.
He advised to just remove the negative terminal.

This has worked like a charm for all subsequent years - 2 years on the Baleno, 5 years on the Laura and 6th year on the X1 and counting.
The wife is happy that she doesn't have to run the big car (she hates driving/riding a much as I love it - in fact she would, if given a chance rather employ a 'driver' for the 2-wheeler if possible!).

All points with the tyres / hand brake seem valid after going through the thread, but I have been doing just the opposite and have not faced any issues in the past 15 years or so. May be I have just been lucky! Experts - your inputs are welcome to help me take better care of my beauties.

[civic-sense]

I had imposed a self-lockdown several days before the govt announced, so 5 days after I started my lockdown, one day I had to drive to the grocery store - and guess what - my car won't start. Battery down.

It was a Sunday, yet I called the breakdown service and they came within an hour and jump started the car. I kept idling the car for more than an hour so that the battery gets charged sufficiently, but when I finally switch off the engine and tried starting again... The car won't start. The battery was busted.

Next day - Monday - they sent somebody to pick the car. First the breakdown service people came and jump start the car and left it idling. The driver from the SC came after some time. I guess he managed to drive all the way to the SC without stalling the engine. Evening he brought back the car with a brand new battery - changed under warranty. The car is crossing two years in April.

Now I start the car every 3 days and keep it running for 5 minutes. The advisory from the SC is to start every day, which I find is too often. I have a feeling that once a week should do just fine. I don't want to waste fuel as the car has only half a tank left. I want to have enough for any emergency. If the lock-down go on for months, there is a possibility that petrol pumps may go dry.

[GTO]

Maruti shares the following tips. Am intrigued by point no.2. SHVS owners, take note:

[jayguar]

Starting the engine and/or go for a short ride once a month should be fine as I have pretty much done this with my Civic for a few years. I haven't disengaged the hand brake during any of these long parking breaks and have not faced any issue. If it does affect the brakes, then precaution is necessary.

[Geo_Ipe]

I'm not locked down yet as I'm a healthcare professional. The hospital is 1.5 km one way from my residence & I make two trips a day. I've taken the Jazz once after the lockdown began. The daily driver is my '79 Ambassador.

The Himalayan has been sitting idle for almost 10 days. Need to take her out for a 4-5 km spin in the evening. Planning on a chain cleaning & lubing once I have a little time.

Not too worried about the Pulsar 180! She's happily hibernating under the cover. Will fire her up once all the commotion is over. I'm sure she'll start with the first couple of kicks.