Car sat idle for up to two weeks at a time, maintenance tips required

For a couple of weeks at a time I wouldn't worry. If the battery is fine it'll all be ok.

cheers, clive

Thanks for that.

As far as I'm aware the battery is the same one that been with the car since new, I'm the second owner of it from 32,000 miles so I'm not certain if it should be replaced at some point or if I should just check the level of the acid in it ?.

If its not sealed - yes check it by all means. But really, two weeks at a time is no problem for a modern vehicle in any way shape or form. The most you may have to worry about is rust on the discs, but i leave mine up to a month at a time out in the UKs lovely wet weather and never have a problem.

Replace it if it stops working. If it's not maintenance free, maintain it (ie check the level, top it up if necessary). But you should be doing this anyway - the only difference with leaving the car a couple of weeks is battery problems will show up sooner.

cheers, clive

The brakes will eventually bind, the battery will develop problems sooner and bearings will wear out quicker. This of course is all relative to a car that is being well used. The fact you will only uise it every couple of weeks means you probably won't notice this any sooner time wise bt it will be earlier by mileage.

Having a car stood for 2 weeks will not cause any of the above, in fact a car which is being used for a short commute every day will wear out quicker (mileage wise) than a car used for a decent run every couple of weekends.

Bollocks

Mike P

If it is the original battery, there's a good chance that it's nearing the end of it's life. It's willingness to start the car after a couple of weeks, should give you an indication of how well it can hold a charge. The engine turning over slower than usual, could be one sign of this, and that it might be losing capacity. If so, it's life could be prolonged by trickle charging it a day or 2 before use, but almost certainly it'll need replacing before the winter. Mike.

Seems a waste of a VTi. Does it need a home? :)

I've left my cars both new and old bangers standing for 2 weeks at a time regularly for the last 20 years with no ill effects. Yes you have to park it in gear and the hand brake off to stop it binding. I usually judge the battery condition on how well it starts after 2 weeks but it never affected the battery life. The old Cavalier I had for 10 year only had one battery change in that time and I sold the car with it still starting well after 2 weeks. I only had to change one front wheel bearing in that time as well.

Bob

I will miss driving it to work each day :(

I don't feel so bad though knowing I'll save around £100 a month on petrol and loads more on servicing and not having to replace tires due to wear etc. :D

Interesting advice there about placing it in gear and 'not' using the handbrake. I can see the logic behind it, however, this is something I've not heard of before (not using the handbrake due to binding that is, I place the car in gear allready).

Leaving the h/brake off is important. I forgot to mention that in my post about the battery. Brake shoes binding in the drums is relatively common on cars that are left standing for any length of time. Condensation causes rust, which can effectively glue the shoes to the drum. Firmly enough to prevent the springs pulling them off. Can also happen with clutches, but that seems to be much less common. Though I had to regularly wedge the clutch pedal down on an Escort van, when it was irregularly used, otherwise it would stick solid. Mike.

It's good advice. My Dad left his car parked in the garage with the handbrake on while he went on holiday for 2 weeks. When he came back the handbrake would not release!

Depending on the temperature (higher the temperature, the greater the natural self-discharge) and parasitic drain on the battery, two weeks will cause sulfation to start to accumulate. Please see Section 16 in the FAQ on

Kindest regards,

BiLL.......

Sulfation eh ?, another new fact learnt today :)

Thanks Bill. (and everyone else for the excellant advice presented here, it seems like it would be smart to ensure that my car is driven for a short while at least once every weekend)