Bacr

Hi guys, I was due to visit this week to take the Fabia out for a run and keep it charged up. Unfortunately I've come down with acute bronchitis and am supposed to be isolating as the drugs I'm on knock my immune system back a bit. How long should this car last without flatting the battery? It's in an attached garage that's pretty well insulated, no heating but doesn't seem to get particularly cold. I also suggested fitting a trickle charger but he said it's difficult because he can only open the bonnet by using a release handle that requires the passenger door to be open. The garage space is tight and the passenger door is right up against a wall so it's tough to open it at all. He's not remotely technical & knows very little about the car - Is this definitely the only way to open the bonnet?

Brilliant, thanks so much for this. My guess is that he was told to start every couple of weeks and then ‘drive’ for 20 minutes not ‘leave idling’ for that time. To be honest, he’s fairly pigheaded at the best of times! Luckily, in this instance, it’s going to be incredibly difficult for him to even start it (left hip is the replacement). I just had a vision of him climbing into the car and then getting stuck and not able to get out 🤦‍♂️ Fuel is E10

My mother’s elderly partner has a 2018 Fabia (68 bhp model) with stop/start. He’s just had a hip operation and can’t drive for at least 6 weeks. He’s paranoid that the battery will drain and won’t re-start. He claims a Skoda tech told him he could start it every 2 weeks and just leave it idling for 20 minutes to keep the battery charged. This sounds odd to me but I’m no expert on this car. Questions are: Should it last 6 weeks (garaged) without the battery draining? If not, will this start/idling tactic actually work? Any advice hugely appreciated. He has enough on his plate without having worries about this as well.