Cars left for three months

[TrudyM]

OK I tried the search feature and found nothing.
Do people do anything to their cars when they leave them for three months. We are coming down Dec-Feb and will be leaving our cars at home in the garage and leasing a car there. Is there anything other than disconnecting the battery cables that I should do? Do I have to put them up on blocks? I know our second car sits for 5 weeks at a time with no one driving it and doesn't seem to have any problems. They will be in the garage so I don't have to worry about rodents getting at the electrical harness, (they have crawled up and chewed it up in the past when parked in the driveway).
Do the flat spots come out of the tires if you take her out on the freeway at high speed for a bit? If the battery is dead when we get back I have auto club who could come and jump it.

Thanks guys,

[mulligan]

If you have AAA anyway, why disconnect the battery and take a chance of screwing up the computer?

[Bogie Shooter]

How to Store a Car: 15 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow (http://www.wikihow.com/Store-a-Car)

[Penguin]

Where do you live and what kind of car are we talking about.

[TrudyM]

Where do you live and what kind of car are we talking about.

We have two Honda Accords, one is a 1998 and the other a 2011. We live in Mercer Island Washington just over the bridge from Seattle. Its an island so we rarely get much below freezing. Lows usually around 37 in the winter.

[OldManTime]

OK I tried the search feature and found nothing.
Do people do anything to their cars when they leave them for three months. We are coming down Dec-Feb and will be leaving our cars at home in the garage and leasing a car there. Is there anything other than disconnecting the battery cables that I should do? Do I have to put them up on blocks? I know our second car sits for 5 weeks at a time with no one driving it and doesn't seem to have any problems. They will be in the garage so I don't have to worry about rodents getting at the electrical harness, (they have crawled up and chewed it up in the past when parked in the driveway).
Do the flat spots come out of the tires if you take her out on the freeway at high speed for a bit? If the battery is dead when we get back I have auto club who could come and jump it.

Thanks guys,

Disconnect the battery, nothing else unless you want to put "Stable" in the gas. I stored my classics all winter, did nothing other than disconnect the battery. AAA has an office here in the Villages

[Indy-Guy]

I would call the Honda dealer in your area and ask for the service manager and tell him what your question is. He will be happy to tell you what is proper for your particular car.

[Penguin]

We have two Honda Accords, one is a 1998 and the other a 2011. We live in Mercer Island Washington just over the bridge from Seattle. Its an island so we rarely get much below freezing. Lows usually around 37 in the winter.

I have 2 cars I store one old and one new. Here's the real world answer. 1) get a battery tender, it will maintain your battery without disconnecting anything allowing you to just the car and drive away. No resetting anything like a clock and radio stations. 2) fill the gas tank up 3/4 and add the appropriate amount of fuel stabilizer. 3) Fill tires to proper inflation ( should be a tag on the inside of the drivers door) no need to worry about flat spots if you have radial tires. Also you can put some dryer sheets inside the car to keep critters from chewing on anything plus makes the inside smell nice after a few months of hibernation. This is what works, I'm sure there are other good tips but these steps wont let you down. I live in northern Illinois. Good luck.

[George Bieniaszek]

I have an older Corvette that hibernates all winter and doesn't get driven too often. I make sure that the gas tank is topped off to reduce condensation, use some Sta-Bil to treat the gasoline. I don't disconnect the battery. Yes it discharges some during the time of non-use, but it is a relatively new battery and the Vette fires up first time every time.

[asianthree]

our dealership gave us a list for the jeep

[CFrance]

If you have AAA anyway, why disconnect the battery and take a chance of screwing up the computer?

Mainly because when we didn't do that to our brand-new car, it killed the battery. Had to have the car towed out of the garage over to the dealer, who had to replace the battery as it was shot. Fortunately, all of that was covered under the warranty, but I would guess if your car isn't that new, you are taking a chance.

We stored our 2005 Dodge Magnum with battery connected for 3 months once and 6 months another time, no problem. But it doesn't have as many bells-and-whistles electronics as the new car.

As to the other part of your question, we stored our 1967 Mustang for 9 out of 12 months, not on blocks, just with the battery disconnected, and the tires were fine and the car fired right up. Did this for 15 years.

You will get all kinds of differing opinions on this, because I've seen threads on it before.

[TrudyM]

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate all your personal experience. I told my husband about the idea of leaving a Battery Tender plugged in an running, with no one to check on it makes him uneasy. Our son will check on things once in awhile but he works 60 hr weeks sometimes and may not get over to look at things too often. And although he could program a computer to do back flips he doesn't know anything about mechanical stuff (and we aren't much better) always has his BMW serviced at the dealer. We get power surges and hubby is afraid it might fry the governor in a battery tender and then overcharge and start a fire. The computer can be reset with the code so we may just put a note aside with the codes and figure it might have a dead battery when we get back.

[bonrich]

We had a '07 BMW Z4 kept up North when we went South. First year did nothing for the battery. When we came back, battery was dead. Jumped it and got it going, but some of the features didn't work or not well. Such as a/c and fan speed, plus a couple of other items. Took it in to the BMW dealer and he told us the car went into a "transport" mode and had to be hooked up to their computer to be brought back to "life". Seems when the new car is transported to a dealer, it is put into a transport mode to stifle anything turning on, lights, etc. When at the dealer, put into the proper driving mode. It could have been worse, such as speed, lights, turn signals, etc. So, after that episode, I have used a battery tender for the months we are in TV. Trickle charges when needed.

[livsea2]

I was a snowbird for the last 6 years and left 1 car home in the garage and drove our main car down here for Jan-Mar never did a thing. Car started right up in April each year, same car 2006 Camry the whole time. Guess I was lucky.

[Penguin]

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate all your personal experience. I told my husband about the idea of leaving a Battery Tender plugged in an running, with no one to check on it makes him uneasy. Our son will check on things once in awhile but he works 60 hr weeks sometimes and may not get over to look at things too often. And although he could program a computer to do back flips he doesn't know anything about mechanical stuff (and we aren't much better) always has his BMW serviced at the dealer. We get power surges and hubby is afraid it might fry the governor in a battery tender and then overcharge and start a fire. The computer can be reset with the code so we may just put a note aside with the codes and figure it might have a dead battery when we get back.

A battery tender is designed to maintain your battery. If you lose power the tender will also lose power but when power is restores the tender will continue to keep your battery at peak levels. Again the Battery Tender is DESIGNED to leave connected to your battery. Batteries go dead on newer vehicles when not in use because many of the systems need to stay powered up. When you drive your car for normal intervals, the battery stays charged. When you don't drive your car the systems slowly drain the battery thus the need to keep the battery charged. You do what you feel comfortable with but keeping your battery charged safely ( which the tender does ) Will save you time and money when it comes time to drive your stored vehicle.

[Advogado]

A battery tender is designed to maintain your battery. If you lose power the tender will also lose power but when power is restores the tender will continue to keep your battery at peak levels. Again the Battery Tender is DESIGNED to leave connected to your battery. Batteries go dead on newer vehicles when not in use because many of the systems need to stay powered up. When you drive your car for normal intervals, the battery stays charged. When you don't drive your car the systems slowly drain the battery thus the need to keep the battery charged. You do what you feel comfortable with but keeping your battery charged safely ( which the tender does ) Will save you time and money when it comes time to drive your stored vehicle.

In addition to inflated tires, gas stabilizer, and a battery tender. I recommend rat traps, baited with pecans (ants will find and eat the traditional peanut butter). I would also put out a couple of trays of rat poison as backup. This is because, unless your garage is virtually airtight, little critters (mice, rats, or chipmunks) can find a way in and totally destroy your wiring harness.

[FoPAA]

How to Store a Car: 15 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow (http://www.wikihow.com/Store-a-Car)
Very useful, thank you.

[mac9]

When we built here in2006, we brought a 96 honda accord with us. At that time we were snowflakes...6 weeks here, 2months back north, back here for 6 weeks, etc. Did it for 2 years. Left the accord here the whole time and never did anything special. Started up every time!

[jpflier]

Do not disconnect the battery. The ob computer will not like it & you will have problems. Of course, classic cars have no ob computers, so no big deal, but newer cars should not have batteries disconnected. Connect a trickle charger to the battery. Will not overcharge, chargers slow down and will not overcharge. As the battery discharges over time, the trickle charger will maintain the charge, and the life of the battery.

[CFrance]

As you can see, there are a variety of opinions here. I see sort of a connection... the people who had no problems leaving a car with battery either connected or disconnected are the ones with older cars--2006 and older. I think they have fewer electronics. We would go with the battery tender if we had to do it again with our 2011 model.

Also, when we left our cars in our garage up north for the winter, we always put mouse bait about in the garage, so the poster above makes a good point.

[Advogado]

Do not disconnect the battery. The ob computer will not like it & you will have problems. Of course, classic cars have no ob computers, so no big deal, but newer cars should not have batteries disconnected. Connect a trickle charger to the battery. Will not overcharge, chargers slow down and will not overcharge. As the battery discharges over time, the trickle charger will maintain the charge, and the life of the battery.

It is my understanding that you want a battery tender, not a trickle charger.

[chuckinca]

We leave a car in the garage in Fla for 4 months and one in Calif for 8 months - disconnect the batteries and put Stabil in the gas tank. Charge the battery overnight when we return and usually we are on the road. The tires are a little bumpy for a few miles but they recover quickly.

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