[ron82x3]

Originally Posted by ramnaresh_2000

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

• 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.

Buy a bottle of vinegar and spray it around the perimeter every 5-7 days. Controls pests and dogs. Vinegar come cheap, max 30 bucks for a bottle (will last at least 3 times). I've found it highly effective. Additionally you can combine it with rat killer cakes which are also cheaply available. Keeping a piece on top of the engine inside the hood is very helpful unless you forget to remove it while starting the engine
But the vinegar trick works wonders.

Put it in P as against N. Applying handbrake is not advisable because the brake pads fuse with the rotors when left for a long time. But if you are able to release the handbrake and re apply it again every week, then there should not be any problem.

Here is my video describing how to preserve a car for months.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzptxppmhdE&t=2s

[Kannan]

Originally Posted by GTO

Maruti shares the following tips. Am intrigued by point no.2. SHVS owners, take note:
Attachment 1986179

I follow the same except for Tip 2. But instead of one month I do it once in every 2 weeks.

Mine is 11 year old Diesel, battery is almost 4 years old and tires are almost 5 years old or have run around 10,000 kilometers.

The one big difference is, my car used to stay in partially covered car park in Chennai, now in Bengaluru its standing under the tree with cover, so worried about rats.

[Ravi Parwan]

My two bits
1. It is not sufficient to overinflate the tyres. all things being equal, the tyres are still bearing weight in only one spot, so it is prudent to take the car for a short spin. This can be done even within the compound or within the garage, but care should be taken that the tyres don't end up resting on the same spot. Movement will also keep the bearings and seals happy, along with the brakes
2. Petrol pumps come under essential services so will remain open. Getting fuel should not be an issue, just make sure you fuel up well in advance as some might be closed due to lack of workers
3. Disconnecting the battery is taboo for modern cars, as all ECUs will get reset. All good trickle chargers come with overcharge protection so no need to worry on that account. Just monitor the voltage after a couple of hours to make sure everything is hunky dory. (I got my battery changed at home a couple of months ago. The battery walla jump started my car, disconnected the battery and replaced it while the car was running. I was anxious so monitored the voltage using the OBD reader. apart from slight variation in voltage as the car was running, all went well. plus side, I did not have to reprogram the radio!)
4. Running all the peripherals like AC and blowers, wipers etc will help keep them ship shape.
All the best and keep motoring!!

One question: Rodent protection is very important, but since we can't get tobacco or any other products right now, what is the alternate using house hold materials?

[arindambasu13]

Originally Posted by Ravi Parwan

My two bits
2. Petrol pumps come under essential services so will remain open. Getting fuel should not be an issue, just make sure you fuel up well in advance as some might be closed due to lack of workers

This is a tricky one in the current scenario. I am reading lot of reports from some states where there are clear directives that petrol pumps should supply fuel only to vehicles providing essential services, and not to private car or bike owners. I am not sure to what extent this has been implemented, but if that is the case, it might spell trouble for private car/bike users in genuine need cases.

[saur95]

I've read that it's ideal that you store the car with a full tank of fuel to avoid water content in the fuel lines and tank but it pertains only to vehicle storage for more than a month. Was close to reserve so we just filled it up anyway like we always do.

We take the car once a week to pick up grocery and manage a 4-5 km drive and idling outside the store. Makes it easier to reach optimum temperature since she's a diesel.

Luckily washed the car before the lockdown and we have covered parking so a dusting every 10 days or so is all that's required.

Originally Posted by ron82x3

Additionally you can combine it with rat killer cakes which are also cheaply available. Keeping a piece on top of the engine inside the hood is very helpful unless you forget to remove it while starting the engine

I'd recommend keeping these cakes in a 'rodent bait station' under/near your car rather than on top of the engine. Rats love this stuff and small bits of it which break off during their meal will get stuck in crevices in your engine attracting more of them. When the spot is hard to reach, they will resort to chewing through whatever is in their way. Further, this bait station will prevent other animals/children from eating it.

Since you might not be able to purchase one at the moment, you could keep the cake inside a cardboard box with a hole at two ends for entry/exit.

This is what it looks like for reference https://www.amazon.in/Rodex-Heavey-S.../dp/B01N5HZW1A

[samay300]

Hello Bhpians,

I hope you all are safe and sound during this lockdown period. Stay home, wash your hands regularly and try not to touch your face at all. I thank all the Bhpians in this community who are working in some or other way to control and regulate this virus situation.

Coming to the protection of our vehicles during this lockdown, I'll describe briefly how I did it.

ARRANGING REQUIRED THINGS

• RESQTECH Tyre Inflator
• Michelin Tyre Pressure monitor
• Jopasu Duster
• Keys

ARRANGING THE VEHICLES
This is the hardest part . Brezza is parked in a fully covered Garage, Scooty and Alto Lxi is parked in a partially covered garage behind Brezza. And Alto 800 is parked in a place that has a roof but its open on the three sides.

• All the cars and the scooter were taken out one by one and I parked everything, where alto 800 was parked which helped in completing the first step of moving the cars stationary for a long time, this will prevent the development of flat spots in tyres.
  
  
  
• I parked the vehicles in such a way that I was able to use the 12V socket in the brezza for powering the Tyre inflator as none of the other cars were having them. The Tyre inflator has an attachment which connects to the battery terminals in the case of absence of 12v charging socket but there are two problems associated with this, firstly, the terminals of the battery need to be opened and screwed in together with the tyre inflator terminals which makes the task lengthy, the second problem is that the length of the wire coming out of the tyre inflator is not enough to reach the rear wheels once connected to the battery terminals at the front.
  
• Starting with brezza :
  
  It was completely washed so it was not dirty. The vehicle was kept running on idle. I opened the bonnet and checked all the fluids and I checked for the trace of any rodents. As it was parked in a covered space nothing like that was found. I then checked the tyre pressure and found that all the tyres had equal pressure and it was 32.5 psi. The recommended pressure is 33psi. The inflator was plugged into the 12v socket and pressure was given to all the four tyres. A new battery was installed two months ago so I did not worry about that. This vehicle is regularly detailed at the petes dealer in Bhubaneswar, Odisha and so its paint and other plastic components always remain protected.
  
  Engine bay
  
  
  Before pressure was given
  
  
  Pressure being given
  
  
  After pressure was given
  
  
• Alto lxi
  The vehicle was kept running on idle. The bonnet was opened and all the fluids were checked. While checking the engine bay I found traces that confirmed rodents were dwelling in the engine bay. I checked all the wires, hoses etc and everything seemed fine. Luckily the rodents did not destroy anything. All the tyre pressure were checked and the recommended psi was given to all the tyres. At last, I turned off the engine and the engine bay was thoroughly washed and left to dry. Wax was applied a month ago for paint protection after which it has not been washed so the paint is still protected.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Scooter
  Nothing much to do in this. Before lockdown, I had washed the scooter properly and I had also applied Wax on the paint for paint protection. Just kick-started the scooter left it running on idle for 15 to 20 mins and checked its tyre pressure and gave the tyre pressure as recommended i.e. For only rider - Front tyre: 22psi and the rear: 29 psi. The Inflator was powered by the 12v socket of Brezza. By the way its Honda Aviator Disc. I ride it rarely. It is around 8 years old and it has clocked around 11,000Kms only. I am more of a car guy
  
  Pressure is given to the front tyre of the scooter
  
  
  Final Pressure of the front tyre
  
  
  Pressure being given to the rear tyre
  
  
  Final pressure of the rear tyre
  
  
• Alto 800
  The car was left to run at idle for 15 to 20 mins. Engine bay was checked and everything was completely fine, no sign of rodents. I moved the car back and forth. But I was unable to check the tyre pressure on this car as its wheel covers were very tight and I couldn't open them. And the Michelin tyre pressure monitor was unable to reach the nozzle with the wheel cover covering the steel rims. This car is also regularly detailed at petes so I didn't have to worry about the paint and the plastic and rubber trims.
  
  Tyre pressure monitor unable to reach nozzle
  
  
• The garage was cleaned and all the vehicles were kept back in their respective places.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Now I have planned to repeat this process every 5 days, I'll be excluding checking of the tyre pressure as it is not required to check it every 5 days. I will repeat the other steps every 5 days to avoid developing flat spots around the tyre .

[Guna]

Originally Posted by Arjun Reddy

I for sure am starting my cars and running it on idle for atleast 15 minutes every 3 days to protect the battery from discharging.

Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez

This is simply a waste of petrol. Starting once a month is sufficient (and even that might be unnecessary).

I would still start and idle my cars for few minutes as this helps in even keeping the mice away. Idling hardly consumes petrol.
I also take a small round within the compound 2-3 times a week so that the mechanicals/fluids get some movement.

[Sandeep500]

I agree with McLaren, because I think idling for few minutes is more harmful for the car until it is not fully warmed up. When you start your car you should ensure that it warms up to normal operating temperature because otherwise water drops we see coming from exhaust in morning will not evaporate and as a result will damage exhaust system . This is reason you see many cars with corroded exhaust pipes.

Secondly if you make it a habit to switch off the a.c a few minutes before switching off the car,then the battery life will be extended. This includes lighting also. I have on few occasions not started my cars petrol and diesel included for more than 20 -25 days and as such not faced any issues .Just ensure when you start ,drive it enough so as to fully warm up the engine. Even today only I took my Jeep Compass for drive after about 25 days of it sitting at home.

[Rachit.K.Dogra]

Originally Posted by vharihar

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.

To be honest, I am not sure. I just tried to start the car and it didn't and all the dashboard meters and all went off.

I can jump start, but to charge the battery I would need to drive it for some distance which in these situations is also very difficult. So I have just put cover on it and waiting for the lock down to end.

Rachit

[vharihar]

Originally Posted by Rachit.K.Dogra

I can jump start, but to charge the battery I would need to drive it for some distance which in these situations is also very difficult.

Your don't need to drive at all. After jump starting you just need to crank the engine and have it running in neutral gear for about an hour.

[Sachin V.W.]

Thank you friends for all tips.

Looking at the current situation and the rate at which the positive cases are increasing, I doubt it will be over by 14th. Especially in Maharashtra, the cases are high and I don't think state govt will ease the lock down any time soon.

I'm currently stuck at my Pune residence. Came for 2-3 days work and could not go back to Mumbai.

Here, my parking is open to the sky. But society is big so can take a short spin once in 2-3 days. Since the car is new (2.5 months old) and had a 3M paint protection done, is it OK if I leave car exposed to the sun (4-5 hours a day) and wash it in morning twice a week ?

[gadadhar]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

How is the amplifier & dash-cam wired? Both always ON? If yes - that can surely drain the battery.

I use Akaso dash-cam powered through the 12-V socket, amp wiring I am sure is also not done with always ON.

Everything is fine by theory, but I guess addition of some these accessories (includes front and back parking sensors, DRL, few other lights) might be resulting in some powerless while parked considering it is modification to the original wiring. Also my vehicle is 7 years old and it is quite possible there are week points in the electrical circuit. I generally do one long trip every 2 months, but didn't do any during last few months due to my son's 12th grade and exams. The battery I am sure would not have been on full charge with only my regular office trips, that too with Amp, AC etc running full time. Batter drain would have been a cumulative effect of all the above factors.

I revved the engine for 20 mts on Day at 1500 to 2000 RPM, did it for 10 mts next day and plan to continue the same for few more days and then move to alternate days.

Thanks for all your suggestions. Portable charger, checking of the wiring etc need to wait till things get better. I hope above will keep it ticking till then

[Hayek]

Filled my Vento up on Day 1 of the lockdown so that I don’t have any problems if I need the car. The X3 has a tank that is more than 75% full, so am living with that. Have taken each of the cars out once - for grocery and medicine shopping. Have also been driving the cars around through two loops of the parking and Podium levels (about 2 km - we live in a large society) once every 3-4 days, hopefully that will keep the batteries alive. Can’t clean the cars since the society is discouraging that, but we have a covered stilt parking, and I am away from the windows, so the cars are quite clean so far.

[RM Motorsports]

Maruti Suzuki has been constantly sending SMS's about vehicle care during this lockdown since last few weeks.

It's a good thing for people who are not Petrolheads like us. Atleast they get an idea how to keep the cars in good condition during long periods of non running.

[Sanidhya mukund]

My car stays in a closed garage and also stays covered all the time. During the lockdown, I have been starting it and idling it every 3 days. Today, when I opened the garage, I saw a few cuts in the cover. I immediately opened the bonnet and saw that a few rodents had been inside and cut a lot of rubber. Thankfully, they haven't damaged any wires and there are no warnings on the instrument cluster (except for the one begging me to service it). It turns out, starting the car and warming up the engine tempts the rodents to get in and try to make a nest. Those stupid creatures even chewed on my LHS wiper.

For now, I have moved it out of my garage, but being parked in the open has other demerits. The weather hasn't been all that good lately, with strong winds bringing down twigs and branches :(