I have Skoda Octavia Mark 4 1.5 TSI SE L. I am planning to park this at Heathrow for a period of 30 days in August. Should I be worried about the battery draining out or the car not starting after being idle for 4 weeks?

 

What has been your experience? I am getting a lot of conflicting opinions on this subject.

Shouldn't be an issue. If you're that worried about it get one of those mini booster packs and chuck it in the boot.

4 weeks is a bit of a long time.

 

A pre-charged booster is a good shout.

 

A friend of mine has his car parked up for long spells and uses a panel like this (others available ) https://www.amazon.co.uk/AA-Essentials-AA1432-Battery-Charger/dp/B084M5ZL5L.

He has an old V6 diesel and he said even coming back to the car over winter, the engine fires up first hit.

 

The panels are to keep the battery at the topped up level but wont charge it up of course.

 

Problem with modern cars are the electronics running in the background that can sap power over a longer period of time which is what will cause issues on re-start.

My 2.0 TSI vRS stayed at the airport for about 6 weeks last year, and I didn't have any issues. It was a few months old, though, if this matters, so the battery was in a good condition.

If you're worried about it leave it at home with a trickle charger on it or buy a solar charger for the car and pop it the windscreen to keep it topped up. 

10 hours ago, TheWanderer said:

or buy a solar charger for the car and pop it the windscreen to keep it topped up. 

Can you do that on an Octavia IV? I didn't think there was a 12V socket, and it certainly won't work on a USB-C socket.

1 hour ago, PetrolDave said:

Can you do that on an Octavia IV? I didn't think there was a 12V socket, and it certainly won't work on a USB-C socket.

12V socket in the boot

Timster just answered it..

Edited 6 July, 20223 yr by TheWanderer