Car being left for two weeks, anything I should do?

Was thinking disconnect the battery but will it lock afterwards?

Tyre pressures - over inflate to compensate being left standing?

Never done anything before, just leave it and come back lol

leaving it should be fine

if you disconnect the battery the alarm will go off.

 

I'd just leave it, 2 weeks is not long at all in the scheme of things. My late fathers Fabia has been parked now for 3 weeks, and tomorrow it will start on the first turn of key. His car has had little use since he died in May, and gets the odd run when I visit my mother.

raise it on axle stands, drain all fluids, disconnect the battery, put some mothballs in the glove box, but make sure all this is carried out in a hermetically sealed, static free environmet.

 

Or leave it as is, it's only two weeks

As said

Leave it as you park it overnight

It will be fine

My car sits there months at a time without being used. 

I move it on and off the drive to get the bike in and out

otherwise it just sits there. 3k miles in over two years and I've

done a third of those since March. 

I'm sure two weeks won't hurt at all. Less so still if its garaged as well. 

 

 

More importantly, where you going for hols Adam?

The only thing I make sure when leaving the car for up to a month is that all lights and in-cabin appliances/gadgets are switched off/unplugged.

 

Also, when leaving the car abroad for 2 weeks in heavy winter, on collection I make sure to double-cycle ignition to allow glow plugs to reach full temperature, and idle the engine for a while to make sure there is full oil pressure everywhere in the engine. Not particularly relevant to current weather.... or is it? :p

Edited 20 August, 201411 yr by dieselV6

Leave it on my drive,  I'll get a trackday in whilst you are away and stop it seizing up

Make sure your jump leads are in the car?

Leave the tank fullish. Being tired and grumpy at 1am is not the best time to be searching for fuel.

Check tyre pressures - before you go. You don't have a slow puncture do you?

Don't leave any Gummibears inside. We may be lucky while you're away and have decent weather.

Leave it !

Lol

Thanks for the replies - it's as I thought, leave it alone! I will top the tyre pressures up before I go though.

Taking the wife's car to the airport, my vRS can stay at home.

Gary - off to sunny Port Frejus, next to St Raphael in the south of France. My wife's parents have a place there so we are taking advantage of it again now our daughter is a bit older and walking, she's 14 months now

Next time Adam..... Roadtrip it

Then the car won't be sat at all then...

I would. 

Next year I have every intention of spending a fair bit of time in

Europe whilst on a bike.

2 weeks out of every 8 my car is parked up at one of a handful of UK airports.

 

The only biggies are lock it,, check windows are all fully up and do not leave lights on, but if you do remember that most UK airports have an AA van on site for just this, don't waste an hour or so waiting for your own recovery service, call the airport helpline, someone will be with you in 10 minutes.

 

Oh and avoid the meet and greet services, some scroat will have your car as a taxi or worse while you are off.  Or if you do photograph all of the outside and the odometer and tell the attendants you have done so.

 

The leaving the car for two weeks is the easy bit.

 

As for dealing with the plain, my littly boy is 2 yrs old in a months time, if you have a portable device with iPlayer, I suggest downloading copious amounts of CBeebies for the plane, utterly invaluable, whatever her poison is "Peppa Pig, "Sara and Duck"  you can fill your boots and the downloads don't expire for a month, so you are good for the way back.

First, I normally take the car for a decent drive the day before to freshly charge battery and clear the brakes etc.

Bare in mind my car doesn get used everyday; then do my regular checks - oil, coolant, tyre pressures, etc.

 

Car is washed and waxed, parked up and drivers electric seat is put into an un-drivable position towards steering wheel and fuse removed! 

 

I have a custom stereo cover which is fitted to hide the RNS510 then all in-car camera equipment and radar install removed.

Car locked with long hold key press on key fob for fulll window closure check and keys placed in safe keeping..... job done.   

Even with the alarm on, it takes about a 3.5 weeks to a month, to fully deplete the battery on my Fab (about mid 60 amp hour).

 

I only use my car about once a week and leaving the car unused and outside in a residents car park. It is only a problem for me in winter, when the cold shaves off some of the battery capacity. Doubt whether that's going to be a problem for you, even taking into account the unseasonally low night temperatures at the moment. I just stick a small solar panel (Output about 6W)  on the rear parcel shelf, connected to the cigarette lighter socket.

 

If its left outside in a public car park , you might want to fix one of those windscreen sunshades back and front to help take the edge off the temperature when you pick it up - I think were are due another sunny spell for a week or so in early September. Or if its left at home, outside, cover it with a car dust sheet or tarpaulin.

 

Leave the air circulation knob set to footwells - apparently this keeps air circulating within the cab.

 

Inboard all protruding wing mirrors and stow whip aerials, especially if its in a public car park.

 

Depending on the sort of area its left in, you might want to secure the wheels with lockable wheel nuts and put  an additional  lock on the controls in the cabin.

 

 

If your leaving it in a public car park, there may be some virtue in locking it up manually using a key rather than clicking the remote.

 

 

Nick

Two weeks?

 

Lock it, go on holiday.

 

Unless your battery is dodgy it won't be a problem.

 

Oh and avoid the meet and greet services, some scroat will have your car as a taxi or worse while you are off.  Or if you do photograph all of the outside and the odometer and tell the attendants you have done so.

 

I did this last time we went away with the company recommended in the Freedom discounts section.

It was a piece of cake, and cheaper by 50% than the airport car park.

I just took the van, nobodys gonna use that as a taxi and I don't care if it gets damaged so happy days. 

When we returned the van had done 8 miles since dropping it off.

Never done anything before, just leave it and come back lol

 

^^ THAT!!^^

2 week holiday

 

Just leave it, modern cars are generally not a problem, if you are really bothered, then just check tyre pressures when you get back, a bit pointless over inflating before you go as they are most likely to be the same when you get back & you will most likely have to deflate.

Lock up & enjoy the holiday.

Lol

Thanks for the replies - it's as I thought, leave it alone! I will top the tyre pressures up before I go though.

Taking the wife's car to the airport, my vRS can stay at home.

Gary - off to sunny Port Frejus, next to St Raphael in the south of France. My wife's parents have a place there so we are taking advantage of it again now our daughter is a bit older and walking, she's 14 months now

 

Andy,

 

Sounds like a perfect location for a young family holiday.

 

As for the car, it's old and big enough to look after itself.  

 

 

ENJOY!!

Leave it on my drive,  I'll get a trackday in whilst you are away and stop it seizing up

 

What a surprise ... 

 

 

.. that it took 8 posts for someone else to suggest this :p

 

I knew it would be in there with the replies reading the first post  

After the handbrake seized / rusted on during a very wet 2 week stay in an airport carpark I'd be tempted to leave it in gear rather than use the handbrake.

 

This was on a BMW E46 though which has some sort of weird drum-type handbrake in addition to the rear discs!

Also, when leaving the car abroad for 2 weeks in heavy winter, on collection I make sure to double-cycle ignition to allow glow plugs to reach full temperature.

 

And be sure to use the last drop of the charge in the now flat battery

Ill look after it....

And be sure to use the last drop of the charge in the now flat battery

 

Actually, it is far less energy than cranking cold engine for an extra 5s, or even an extra 1s for that matter. Also, it warms up the battery gradually over a few seconds, which allows it to produce more current during cranking. Rules on starting engines 15deg below freezing are a bit different...