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-   -   Long-term Parking : Do's and Don'ts (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/technical-stuff/3468-long-term-parking-dos-donts-6.html)

Prits,

5 months is quite a long time and I am not sure if your tires are going to hold out for so long. And since they will be stationary, I suspect them to develop a weak spot at the point of contact! :(

It would be great if you can get someone to just give it a small round once a month, at least.

And no, basement garage and jacked up vehicle might cause more damage - aka - missing wheels! :D

Hello guys,
My Swift VDi (Aug07, done 12K) is parked at the basement parking of my apartment since the past 6 months. I will be be back in the country in another 3 months. Before leaving I had ensured the following

1. Removed the all the ICE equipments from the car.
2. Disconnected the positive terminal of the battery.
3. The car had 1/2 tank of diesel.
4. The car was covered.

Now my questions are
1. What will be the reliability of the battery once the car has been started and the battery charged considering I have two amplifiers running?

2. The car had undergone its regular 3rd free service at 10K. The engine oil was changed. I am planning to get the oil changed once I am back. Any other oil needs to be changed?

3. Will the diesel have any kind of sedimentation inside the tank? How difficult is it to get the diesel tank opened and cleaned? Is it worthwhile?

4. Regarding the tires, I have taken this as an opportunity to upgrade them:D

Is there anything else that should be done?

1. Get the battery fluids topped up and re-charged before using it for the first time. Should hold out good.

2. Do not think that the oils needs to be changed just because of them being idle for some (long) time. But, the first start, let the car start of slowly, meaning, do not rev her hard right after start. And if it does not start in the first try, crank again, but always in short intervals. Since the battery would have been charged and the car is new, if not the first, the second or max, third attempt should do it.

3. Do not think this will be required. In fact, you will be getting cleaner diesel since all the dirt would have settled down! :)

4. Great decision.

Hi Guys!

Since i'm a seafarer, my cars are REGULARLY left unattended for 8 months of the year! Nobody drives my cars 'cause i don't allow it!
What i do!

1. Fill nitrogen in the tyres...fill 'em up to 35 psi (normal is 30 psi). Also since nitrogen leaks a LOT less than normal air.
2. Fill the interior & boot with mothballs (at least 5 packets)
3. Disconnect both battery terminals.
4. Fill the fuel tanks at least half with as premium a fuel as i can afford.
5. Use 2 car covers on 1 car....trust me NO DUST above the wheels!
6. Just before parking the car...i give the car a good coat of wax/polish.
7. I thoroughly clean the interors...no trace of edible items should remain.
8. I would suggest a engine-bay polish coating...help a lot in preventing the rodent menace!
9. Fill up the wind-shield washer tank with distilled water so that no deposits form when the tank runs dry.
10. I also stick sections of bubble-wrap on the side where my neighbours car is parked so that the possibility dings & dents is much reduced due to opened doors etc.

All this takes at least 2-3 hours of work...but when i am back my sweet heart is waiting for me...looking brand-new!:thumbs up

Explains your avatar, Captain Haddock! :)

Good listing! And what do you do about your tires?

Nothing...absolutely nothing besides the increase in pressure. There are NO problems with modern steel-belted radial tyres.:thumbs up

Hi,
It's generally advised to disconnect the batteries while parking the car for longer periods of time. But what will happen to the central locking system? Isn't it working off the battery?

Nothing will happen to the central locking. It just gets deactivated. And any setting that might have been done might be lost. You can continue to manually lock / unlock the doors.

Most of the points have been covered already.

Just rememebr to have someone clean your car daily and have a neighbour to check on it.

Preferably give someone trustworthy the key to start it up once or twice. As a month is quite long.

One of my relative is going to US for about 1 year. During this period his i10 (Era irde) will not be used. He has inquired at the Authorised Dealer about precautions to be taken and he has been told that nothing is required except disconnecting battery cables.

Is this sufficient? What about tyres and engines. What else is required to be done?

@Mods:
I tried to search but could not find any topic on such issue. If this is not the right section kindly transfer it to suitable section of the forum.

Thanks.

have you gone through the whole thread.?? if not, now is the time.

Really Good Idea. :)

Pretty old thread coming alive. I think 2-3 months should not create any problem other than battery if car is parked properly in shed and covered and its not rainy season.:)

Hi Guys, I have recently traveled abroad and had planned to leave the car with my parents. Unfortunately, there is not much need for them to drive the car...

Looks like the car will be parked for about 3-4 months min. How bad will it impact the car?

Any pointers?

Thanks in advance.

I do not think 3-4 months will have any adverse effect on the car. You can disconnect the battery to ensure the battery does not drain out completely. It will be good to change the engine oil on your return. If possible, you can also remove the wheels and keep the car on jacks, though I don't think that is really required if it is for only 3-4 months.
Have a good trip abroad and don't worry. Your car will be just fine. I hope the car is parked in a covered area.

I would second what dinu says below, but also, if there is a possibility that someone could start and run the car for five minutes once a week, that should keep the car perfectly ok.