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Corona Virus - car not going to be used

Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2020 8:57 pm
by Mel5454
Hi,

My wife has an impaired immune system, so under the current recommendations she needs to stay indoors (self -isolate) for 12 weeks. I will also be following the same procedure.

Question - what, if anything should I be doing to my Karoq during that period - I know that just starting it up for a few minutes periodically is not good practise, but wondered if just leaving the car for 12 weeks is OK. (I can charge the battery asIi do have a "smart" battery charger).

It is a 1.5 petrol SE DSG and is in a carport next to the house.

Any comments would be welcome

Thanks,

Mel

Re: Corona Virus - car not going to be used

Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2020 9:21 am
by CJJE
Honest John (the Telegraph motoring columnist has published the following on his website https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/coronaviru ... nd-owners/#

"I'm planning to self-isolate for three months, how do I store my car?

"Car owners who are self-isolating may wish to put their vehicle into storage on their driveway or in their garage.

"To avoid potential battery draindown, it’s important to switch off the vehicle’s interior light and radio before switching off the ignition. Also, check that the boot light and the glovebox light go out when they are closed. You can do this with a smartphone by setting it to the video record setting and shutting it in the boot or the glovebox. If the light does not go out you may need to remove the bulb or switch it off - the vehicle’s owner’s manual will show you how to do this.

"Clean and polish the car. Leave it to dry outside and thoroughly heat through all systems to evaporate off any condensation.

"Overpressure the tyres to 40 PSI, this will help prevent flatspotting which occurs when the weight of the car presses down on the tyres and causes a flat spot to appear at the point where the tyres are in contact with the the road/driveway/garage floor.

"If you can, connect up to a trickle charger which monitors the car battery and keeps it to a constant 13.5 volts without damaging the electronics. If storing in a garage, leave one window open slightly to keep the interior ventilated, but not open enough to allow mice to get in, and cover with a cotton sheet.

"If storing outside, consider using a car cover. Most will allow some breathing, but condensation will also occur under them. They need to be tied down with a washing line wrapped under the car to stay on in a high wind.

If the car has an automatic transmission, make sure you can get access to the battery because if it's flat when you return you may be unable to access the engine bay if you have parked next to a wall or object."

Best Wishes for you all,

Chris

PS: I see that there's also a lot of advice on the Parkers website at https://www.parkers.co.uk/car-advice/ca ... ge-advice/

They say that most new or nearly-new cars should be fine for a month, but give detailed advice for older cars or longer storage periods.

Chris

Re: Corona Virus - car not going to be used

Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2020 10:09 am
by kodiaq
Chris,
You beat me to it, I also was going to suggest HJ's Q&A on the subject.
Good luck Mel. Keep your wife and self safe.

Re: Corona Virus - car not going to be used

Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2020 3:56 pm
by Mel5454
Thanks very much for the suggestions - I shall have to move it anway, as the passenger door is next to the wall, and I can't open the bonnet without having the passenger door open - I'll take that opportunity to overpressure the tyres to avoid flatspots.

Really appreciate the advice

Mel

Re: Corona Virus - car not going to be used

Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2020 5:26 pm
by CJJE
Mel5454 wrote: Sun Apr 12, 2020 3:56 pm Thanks very much for the suggestions - I shall have to move it anway, as the passenger door is next to the wall, and I can't open the bonnet without having the passenger door open - I'll take that opportunity to overpressure the tyres to avoid flatspots.

Really appreciate the advice

Mel
No problems,

Stay Safe :)

Chris

Re: Corona Virus - car not going to be used

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2020 10:46 pm
by Mark-Guildford
Mel5454 wrote: Sun Apr 12, 2020 3:56 pm Thanks very much for the suggestions - I shall have to move it anway, as the passenger door is next to the wall, and I can't open the bonnet without having the passenger door open - I'll take that opportunity to overpressure the tyres to avoid flatspots.

Really appreciate the advice

Mel
Hi,

Following some advice which I saw on a different forum, I have just ordered a CTEK MXS 5.0 device from Amazon. It enables you to maintain the battery correctly charged. It plugs into a mains socket, and connects to the battery. It costs £72. I also ordered one of the optional accessories (comfort indicator cig plug) which was £15, and which apparently enables you to get a quick battery status indicator, and even recharge the battery via the cigarette lighter, which could come in handy if you can’t get the bonnet open. I haven’t received it yet.

I also installed the My Skoda app on my phone. If you are able to park your car close enough to your home’s wireless router, you can connect it to your internet connection, and the app will then tell you the exact voltage level of the battery, the last time it connected. Beware, because until I had connected the car to my home wifi connection, the app was showing the battery voltage as something like 11.9V, whereas after connecting it to my home internet connection it now shows 14.7V.