Proactive Maintenance For Vehicles That Sit Unused in the age of COVID-19 (or any age)
Due to the COVID-19 virus my company implemented a work from home policy. My vehicle now sits mostly unused. I thought I would start this topic to put this on the radar of unsuspecting vehicle owners and to solicit advice from the experienced automotive industry forum members. A vehicle that sits is going to inherently have problems and owners need to be proactive about these issues.
The battery of my vehicle drains significantly in a short period of time. Some searching on the Internet indicates this may be a common complaint with this particular model, but I know that there have been a host of other vehicle models with this same issue in this era of advanced electronic features. Those of us with problem vehicles are most at risk of batteries dying from sitting unused, but truly every vehicle owner will have problems eventually from a sitting vehicle.
To address this problem I suggest a smart battery charger for your specific battery. Check your owner's manual or consult your mechanic for the procedure for charging the vehicle. I suspect that most modern vehicles will be fine with opening the hood and attaching a charger, but one does not want to harm the electrical system and get a catastrophic bill! If I had a BMW or some of the excessively engineered vehicles out there, I would make sure and get educated first.
The second issue that I am aware of is aging fuel. I have been topping off my tank. I do know that a full tank has little oxygen and thus the degradation of the fuel is relatively slow, but it still occurs. Now may be a time to add fuel preservative to the tank. I have used STA-BIL for a long time but discovered that the fuel injector cleaner Sea Foam is a good preservative and it also uses a finite amount per gallon. STA-BIL recommends to add more of the additive the longer the vehicle is going to remain unused (advantage Sea Foam.)
Corrosion is going to be a problem. When a vehicle is driven periodically the engine compartment heats up and burns off all of the condensation. Also from driving at speed, the air passing through the vehicle helps to evaporate the condensation. The vehicle that sits has zero protection for this issue. A mechanic can periodically clean parts like brake calipers and suspension components and some still recommend a good undercoating.
I park outside both at home and at work and so the effects of weather are not going to be any different for me. If your habits changed based on, for example, a work from home situation, know that the sun, rain, and snow are not friendly to your vehicle.
A vehicle does need to take at least a periodic trip to fully heat up and lubricate the engine. Perhaps someone can make a recommendation for today's vehicles. Is once a month required, or perhaps it can be less frequently?
What else shall we be concerned about?
The battery of my vehicle drains significantly in a short period of time. Some searching on the Internet indicates this may be a common complaint with this particular model, but I know that there have been a host of other vehicle models with this same issue in this era of advanced electronic features. Those of us with problem vehicles are most at risk of batteries dying from sitting unused, but truly every vehicle owner will have problems eventually from a sitting vehicle.
To address this problem I suggest a smart battery charger for your specific battery. Check your owner's manual or consult your mechanic for the procedure for charging the vehicle. I suspect that most modern vehicles will be fine with opening the hood and attaching a charger, but one does not want to harm the electrical system and get a catastrophic bill! If I had a BMW or some of the excessively engineered vehicles out there, I would make sure and get educated first.
The second issue that I am aware of is aging fuel. I have been topping off my tank. I do know that a full tank has little oxygen and thus the degradation of the fuel is relatively slow, but it still occurs. Now may be a time to add fuel preservative to the tank. I have used STA-BIL for a long time but discovered that the fuel injector cleaner Sea Foam is a good preservative and it also uses a finite amount per gallon. STA-BIL recommends to add more of the additive the longer the vehicle is going to remain unused (advantage Sea Foam.)
Corrosion is going to be a problem. When a vehicle is driven periodically the engine compartment heats up and burns off all of the condensation. Also from driving at speed, the air passing through the vehicle helps to evaporate the condensation. The vehicle that sits has zero protection for this issue. A mechanic can periodically clean parts like brake calipers and suspension components and some still recommend a good undercoating.
I park outside both at home and at work and so the effects of weather are not going to be any different for me. If your habits changed based on, for example, a work from home situation, know that the sun, rain, and snow are not friendly to your vehicle.
A vehicle does need to take at least a periodic trip to fully heat up and lubricate the engine. Perhaps someone can make a recommendation for today's vehicles. Is once a month required, or perhaps it can be less frequently?
What else shall we be concerned about?
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I am starting to commute two days a week per the company's policy. The Outback will get back on the freeway for a handful of commutes each month. I know this will be good to keep all of the seals and mechanical parts lubricated, as well as dry off any condensation from the airflow. This vehicle has only taken periodic shopping trips since this COVID issue cropped up. Overall I am grateful for the financial advantage of not putting miles on the vehicle, the resulting delays of any sort of maintenance, and for the tiny fuel costs. I did not even swap the wheels over the winter, the first for that in a very long time. Trying to be financially sound, having kept my last vehicle for 18.5 years, I look far ahead and realize this COVID work from home situation at least extended the usefulness of the vehicle by a year, and put a damper on the depreciation just a bit.