With cold weather fast approaching, many of us will be putting vehicles into long-term storage for the winter. Simply letting your car sit for months without any planning or precautions can result in damage to your engine, tires, or battery. So, before you store your vehicle for a long period of time, take these important steps so it's ready to go when you return.
Cover it
The first concern when you're storing a vehicle is keeping it out of the elements and protected from the sun. So, if an enclosed garage is an option, it should be your first choice. If not, invest in a weatherproof car cover. This will keep rain, snow and sun off your vehicle and keep it dry all winter long. Even if you do have a roof over your vehicle's head, it's still a good idea to also use a cover. This will keep dust and other debris off it, and keep the sun from shining on it in the same pattern each day.
Clean it
This is a step that many of us forget, or don't see much value in. When you're storing your car, you probably aren't thinking you should get it washed and waxed first. But, that should be a priority. Without cleaning your car, you run the risk of water stains, dirt and bird droppings damaging the paint. It's not just the paint job you should worry about, however. It's also important to clean the mud and grime from your wheels and the underside of your car. That last coat of wax before storage will then protect it until spring.
Change the oil
If you're planning to leave your car untouched for more than a couple of weeks, it's important that you change the oil just before. Used engine oil isn't particularly damaging if you're regularly driving your vehicle, but if it's left sitting for weeks at a time, the contaminants in the oil can cause damage to your engine. Check your owner's manual and you'll find that it recommends an oil change before any long-term storage.
Fill it up
Again, you might not think about topping off your tank when you're not planning on driving your car anytime soon, but doing so has a lot of benefits. With a less than full gas tank, you run the risk of moisture building up in the tank and the seals drying out. To protect the engine from damage and to prevent ethanol buildup, consider adding a fuel stabilizer as well. Most stabilizers will last up to a year in storage.
Charge it
The ideal scenario when your car is in storage is for someone to start it and drive it for about 15-minutes every week or two. Unfortunately, that's not a realistic option in many cases. So, if you're forced to leave your car for months and have no way of regularly starting it, you have two options. First, you could simply disconnect the negative battery cable. This will keep your battery from losing its charge and the only real downside is you'll have to reset a few settings like the time and stereo presets. The other options is to use a trickle charger, or battery tender. You'll need an available wall outlet to use it, but this will deliver enough power to keep your battery charged all winter.
No parking brake
If brake pads are left to sit in contact with rotors for long periods of time, you run the risk of them fusing together. This would obviously make your vehicle undriveable when you return to it. For this reason, it's not a good idea to set your parking brake when you store your car. Instead, a tire stopper, or chock, can be used to keep the car in place in almost any situation.
Follow these tips before storing your vehicle and you'll have the good fortune to return to a working vehicle.
If your BMW, Mercedes or Hummer H1 needs maintenance before or after storage, or any other time, come see the experts at Benzin Motor Works.