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Old 31st March 2020, 17:54   #61
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Re: How are you protecting your car in the lockdown?

I park my TUV on road every day and we have a lot of open space around our house. This attracts rats I already got rodent protection from 3M last year, but this lockdown was unprecedented and no expected it to last so long, else I would have gone for 3M rodent protection again before lock down.

I do the below to protect my diesel vehicle
  • Roll down all windows around 1-2 cms. Summer has begun and it gets really hot down here.
  • Cleaned interiors well before lock down, to avoid any uninvited guests inside my vehicle.
  • Start the vehicle once for 10-15 minutes every 3-4 days, to keep the battery alive.
  • I used to engage handbrake, thanks to this thread, I stopped doing that. As my TUV is AMT variant, so I slot the vehicle in N and keep few stones near all tires to avoid rolling.
  • Whenever possible, I use my vehicle for running errands, even if it is walkable distance.
  • Filled up my tank to avoid rusting in fuel tank. (Also guilty of panic filing )
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Old 31st March 2020, 20:06   #62
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Re: How are you protecting your car in the lockdown?

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Originally Posted by ramnaresh_2000 View Post
As my TUV is AMT variant, so I slot the vehicle in N and keep few stones near all tires to avoid rolling.
Why in N? Shouldn't you put it in D or R instead?
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Old 31st March 2020, 20:27   #63
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Re: How are you protecting your car in the lockdown?

We came to our hometown (Kolkata) from Pune couple of weeks back after offices and schools were closed and now stuck here. My XUV5OO is parked in the apartment's parking and not had any run in for 2 weeks now. We can only go back once the situation normalizes, it can be after couple of weeks or a couple of months, don't know. There's no one at home to take the car out for run in.

Any suggestions on what should I look out for if the car is idle for 2-3 months?
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Old 31st March 2020, 20:41   #64
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Re: How are you protecting your car in the lockdown?

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Originally Posted by VJ05 View Post
Any suggestions on what should I look out for if the car is idle for 2-3 months?
Now that you are far away from it, its not worth bothering about it until you reach back to the vehicle. Once you are back, take a mechanic with you, unlock the vehicle, remove the battery - check the battery, charge it if necessary to bring it up to correct voltage and only then attempt to crank the vehicle. A near dead battery can fry the starter motor sometimes.
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Old 31st March 2020, 20:51   #65
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Re: How are you protecting your car in the lockdown?

Since the lockdown, I haven't moved the car, just started it for a few seconds to see how the battery is holding up.

Disconnected the negative terminal and left it as is. Haven't felt the need to drive it out so far. All the groceries etc that need to be purchased are being done on the Ertiga.
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Old 31st March 2020, 20:59   #66
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Re: How are you protecting your car in the lockdown?

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Originally Posted by Geo_Ipe View Post
2. ...You may safely leave the car in neutral on the handbrake.
No, not in neutral! You must leave it in 1st or reverse gear.
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Old 31st March 2020, 21:29   #67
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Re: How are you protecting your car in the lockdown?

Any suggestions for automatic cars will be greatly appreciated Sir.
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Originally Posted by GTO View Post
Maruti shares the following tips. Am intrigued by point no.2. SHVS owners, take note:
Attachment 1986179
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Old 31st March 2020, 22:15   #68
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Re: How are you protecting your car in the lockdown?

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Originally Posted by Reinhard View Post
Why in N? Shouldn't you put it in D or R instead?
In TUV AMT there is no D. It has A/M, R and N. I do not prefer R mode as the the engine does not crank if we do not change it to N mode. Old habit die hard.
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Old 31st March 2020, 22:28   #69
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Re: How are you protecting your car in the lockdown?

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Originally Posted by ramnaresh_2000 View Post
In TUV AMT there is no D. It has A/M, R and N. I do not prefer R mode as the the engine does not crank if we do not change it to N mode. Old habit die hard.
Yeah I meant "A" - label insignificant. Basically put it in A when the engine is running (or ignition is ON) to ensure the car shifts into 1st gear. And then turn off the engine/ignition.

Thats what I do in the Alto AMT I have. If you keep car in neutral & also without hand-brake - you are putting it all in 1 basket - wheel stoppers outside. Even if kids on the street move them OR they move by some external nudge - your car can roll! Don't ever do it IMO. Thats a back-up. Not primary means to keep a car stationary.

In the Alto AMT (And I think in Tata cars also) - the car doesn't crank unless its in N. Even from forward gear, not just R - one has to shift to neutral before cranking it. Safety mechanism for crank, clutch & gear health.

Last edited by Reinhard : 31st March 2020 at 22:30.
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Old 31st March 2020, 22:32   #70
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Re: How are you protecting your car in the lockdown?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Reinhard View Post
Why in N? Shouldn't you put it in D or R instead?
Quote:
Originally Posted by ramnaresh_2000 View Post
In TUV AMT there is no D. It has A/M, R and N. I do not prefer R mode as the the engine does not crank if we do not change it to N mode. Old habit die hard.
In my Alto K10 AMT, the car is left in 'D' with handbrake engaged whereas in my Ertiga AT (TC), I keep the lever in 'P' and pull the handbrake.

I think in your car, you can slot it in 'A/M'.

Last edited by a4anurag : 31st March 2020 at 22:37.
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Old 31st March 2020, 23:08   #71
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Re: How are you protecting your car in the lockdown?

Well, struck with kind of a bad luck last week only!! Went to start the car last Tuesday, which was about 4 days of being parked without starting, and the car battery died. I was getting the symptoms but mostly felt it is a winter thing as the battery was not very old. Checked the bill, and I had bought it in June, 2018 which means not even 2 years old. Called Amaron care and got a complaint raised, but they cannot visit to check till everything is in a lockdown.

I hope I don't end up needing the car for any emergency as I have heard No Taxi service is working in Gurgaon.

Rachit
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Old 1st April 2020, 07:35   #72
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Re: How are you protecting your car in the lockdown?

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Originally Posted by Rachit.K.Dogra View Post
Well, struck with kind of a bad luck last week only!! Went to start the car last Tuesday, which was about 4 days of being parked without starting, and the car battery died. I was getting the symptoms but mostly felt it is a winter thing as the battery was not very old. Checked the bill, and I had bought it in June, 2018 which means not even 2 years old. Called Amaron care and got a complaint raised, but they cannot visit to check till everything is in a lockdown.

I hope I don't end up needing the car for any emergency as I have heard No Taxi service is working in Gurgaon.

Rachit
Battery dying in 2 years is very unusual. It should last for 4+ years I believe.

You sure battery is well and truly dead, and not just a case of run-down battery (say due to some light left on)? In which case your battery is perfectly fine but you just need a jump start from a neighbor's car.

Last edited by vharihar : 1st April 2020 at 07:37.
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Old 1st April 2020, 07:42   #73
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Re: How are you protecting your car in the lockdown?

Both our cars were driven extensively in the last week just before the lockdown. They were also taken out last weekend for short errands.
So I am good till this weekend.
I will still take out the cars alternately for buying essentials and medicines. This is a small 5-6Kms drive which is sufficient.
Both have half tank of fuel left which should suffice till April 14th.
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Old 1st April 2020, 08:50   #74
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Re: How are you protecting your car in the lockdown?

Quote:
Originally Posted by a4anurag View Post
In my Alto K10 AMT, the car is left in 'D' with handbrake engaged whereas in my Ertiga AT (TC), I keep the lever in 'P' and pull the handbrake.

I think in your car, you can slot it in 'A/M'.
I've seen quite a few banners made by dealers/manufacturers circulating in whats app and other social media platforms in the last few days on how to take care of your car in lockdown period with them parked for extended days. It all talks about not engaging parking brake to avoid binding of brake pads with discs/ drums due to atmospheric humidity. I hope the car owners wouldn't follow this for their AMT cars.

The AMT cars have to be parked with hand brakes engaged. If they park in just D and no parking brake , the car would roll down if it's parked on a slope ( in case of Maruti AMT for sure ). Instead of parking brake, AMT users can use a small block of wood or a brick to prevent the car from rolling.

Last edited by Bibendum90949 : 1st April 2020 at 09:05.
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Old 1st April 2020, 08:52   #75
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Re: How are you protecting your car in the lockdown?

Better than idling [wasting fuel, plus the fact that it is not healthy for your engine, as discussed] is to take your ride for an errand, be it grocery, vegetables or whatever other needs, but please go out when you have no other option.

Batteries and cars are replaceable. Human lives are not.

For AT's, it would be a good idea to put it in P and place a stone or something, but only if no miscreant will remove it and push / roll your ride if you have a shared garage, better to leave it in P.

No one knows cars better than the manufacturers, but, it appears, they are being over cautious in today's times.
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