Expert help required please

[Yop]

Good afternoon all.   Sad circumstances have  led to a 3yr old  little used Skoda Superb  being parked up  outside , untouched   for  about 3 .5 months.   It is going to need a service and  MOT after Xmas .Can anyone advise me please  whether  Im likely to damage anything by just starting it  up to drive straight to a dealer / garage ?    Ive been told by  someone (not a mechanic)  that  its possible it should have special  handling /preliminaries done first.  (beyond  oil  tyre and lights checks ) , or I could damage the engine.    It has at least  half a tank of diesel in it.  

[KenONeill]

5 minutes ago, Yop said:

Can anyone advise me please  whether  Im likely to damage anything by just starting it  up to drive straight to a dealer / garage ? 

As long as battery has charge, and the oil about the refill mark just start it up and let it idle for 5 minutes to get the oil and water flowing again.

[petrolbloke]

3.5 months is not a lot. Should be fine, just do the usual checks first. Best to take it for a drive if you can rather than just letting it idle - that will clean up the brakes and make sure everything gets properly up to temperature.

[MarkyG82]

Check the tyre pressures before you set off anywhere too.

[jakk]

As others have said, just start it up (assuming battery is ok) - then leave it running until all is warmed up (usually 5-10 mins) and drive it. The only thing is that if the handbrake was on for that time, just be easy when you first move.

[Yop]

  Thanks all.  Ive never driven a car with no handbrake  before , my old Octavia  which I still have,  has one  and Im well used to it .     How difficult do you reckon it will be to  get my head round the lack of one, in my first trip out  , to the garage  a few miles away ?  ( I am insured for it btw incase you wonder) 

Edited 16 November, 2022 by Yop

[Warrior193]

Hi Yop, not experienced the VW/Skoda version, but have driven a few vehicles with electronic hand brakes - familiarise yourself with all controls, including HB operation, somewhere safe before heading out onto the road.  

[Berisford]

3 - 5 months, if the battery is still good I'll be very surprised.........mine can run down in just a month if locked.

[numskull]

It’s 2022 not 1922. As others have said, you don’t need to do anything. 

 

Re the handbrake, try to just forget it’s there. You’ll probably find yourself looking for the handbrake lever for a few drives; I certainly did the first time I drove a car with an auto handbrake. 
 

When you pull away, it automatically disengages. When you stop it re-engages to stop the car from rolling. If you look at the dash, you’ll notice the handbrake light stays green. On a hill, it stops you rolling back; again the warning light stays green.
 

However, when you park and stop the engine, the actual handbrake engages and the warning light turns red and the brake remains fully engaged.

[ApertureS]

37 minutes ago, numskull said:

It’s 2022 not 1922. As others have said, you don’t need to do anything. 

 

Re the handbrake, try to just forget it’s there. You’ll probably find yourself looking for the handbrake lever for a few drives; I certainly did the first time I drove a car with an auto handbrake. 
 

When you pull away, it automatically disengages. When you stop it re-engages to stop the car from rolling. If you look at the dash, you’ll notice the handbrake light stays green. On a hill, it stops you rolling back; again the warning light stays green.
 

However, when you park and stop the engine, the actual handbrake engages and the warning light turns red and the brake remains fully engaged.

You’re confusing the handbrake with the auto hold feature.

 

Handbrake is as simple as imagine the button like your handbrake lever, up to engage, down to release, use it like you would a handbrake before. Except the car will release it for you if you tap the throttle when it gear and doors are shut and seatbelt on. Same way when you switch the car off it should reapply it automatically 

[Bap33]

Rather than letting the car idle for several minutes, I recommend driving very gently when engine is on. because it allows the gearbox oil, the gimbals grease to warm homogeneously. Otherwise, if you only let the engine idle, the engine oil will be OK, but gearbox and axles will be cold.

[numskull]

5 hours ago, ApertureS said:

You’re confusing the handbrake with the auto hold feature.

Not really. In reality, in a vehicle with a mechanical handbrake, one uses this as the “auto hold feature” when in traffic or on a hill. I wasn’t going to add more confusion by introducing VAG terminology to my post by separating the single function into two.
VAG refer to the “Electronic Parking Brake System” as Auto Hold. 

[Warrior193]

15 hours ago, Bap33 said:

Rather than letting the car idle for several minutes, I recommend driving very gently when engine is on. because it allows the gearbox oil, the gimbals grease to warm homogeneously. Otherwise, if you only let the engine idle, the engine oil will be OK, but gearbox and axles will be cold.

+ 1 for just driving off gently as soon as the engine has started.

[Yop]

thanks all. 

[Mickvrs220]

It should be fine to start up and go,the missisus fiat 500 stood for six months during lockdown without handbrake on to avoid it sticking ,we just had to charge the battery it fired up and off it went with no issues 👍