My son is going to Iraq for a year... I need advice

wvwild · 06-14-08, 05:05

My son has a 2007 Honda Civic. He leaves in September for Iraq for a years tour. The car will be stored in a unheated garage. I can start it and drive it as often as I need to in order to keep the car in good mechinical condition.
Can anyone give me advice on the best things to do? I have bought a car cover for it (even with it being indoor), I bought a gas treatment for stored cars, and I bought some lubercant for the hinges.
Is it ok to leave it on the ground if I drive it a few minutes a month? Should I put baking soda in it to help with odor?
Any advice you could give would be helpful. I don't want his vehicle to have any problems when he returns. Thanks in advance.
Tony

weekendwarrior · 06-14-08, 05:16

Is there any way you could drive the car to work yourself once a week, or once every two weeks? I have a car myself that is kind of a garage queen...some months it may only be driven once. I try to never fill the gas tank above half, that way the fuel gets cycled through, and never sits in the car for months on end. If you do end up only driving the car monthly, I wouldn't see a problem with it sitting on the ground...I don't think you'd have to worry about flat spots. The baking soda deal is up to you. I would think if the car doesn't have an odor or moisture problem now, it shouldn't develop a stench from being garaged.

By the way, thank your son for his service to our country.

AL-53 · 06-14-08, 05:37

Depending on the storage area..I would be concerned about mice getting into it and taking residence.....you may want to use a few bait blocks in the garage and car to prevent mice residents..nothing worse than mouse urine smell and damage....

AL

wascallyrabbit · 06-18-08, 06:07

get a battery minder ( Battery Minder, BatteryMinder Battery Chargers $39.90 ) and fuel stabilizer ( AMSOIL - Gasoline Stabilizer (AST) ). When I went to Iraq I waxed them used fuel stabilizer the battery minder and covered them. Have stored cars like this for a year and then some with out driving them. There is some debate as to wether to store the car on the ground or on jack stands. I leave mine on the ground. Be warned that leaving a car on the ground may cause flat spots on the tires. The flat spots may work them selfs out when you start driving the car again if they don't and the vibration is bother some then you will need to replace the tires. The battery minder is one of the best things you can do. The battery will die if not charged and keep charged. The battery minder does this as well as extend the life of the battery. Driving the car once a week or so will not keep the battery sufficiently charged. I store my cars with a full tank of gas, doing this will minimize the air gap by doing this you also minimize the chances of condensation and contamination. I have used both the products suggested earlier and often plug my cars in over the weekend or when every they are not going to be used for more than a day or so.

Bunky · 06-19-08, 05:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by AL-53

Depending on the storage area..I would be concerned about mice getting into it and taking residence.....you may want to use a few bait blocks in the garage and car to prevent mice residents..nothing worse than mouse urine smell and damage....

AL

This happened to us and we did not even let it sit for a while. We had the blower area cleaned out twice where it nested. We eventually found it dead between the back seat and the floor. It had crawled to the back and was apparently crushed when someone sat back there. We found it because it was stinking up the car.

Vhrus · 06-20-08, 04:23

I would drive it more then a few minutes a month, as a trip around the block won't really do much to help it. Most cars don't like to sit, especially in non climate controlled environments.
If possible I would do what was recommended above and drive it to work every couple weeks. A ~20 minute drive should be enough to get it up to operating temperature, dry out any condensation in the engine/sensors, charge the battery and get the tires warmed up and moving (helps keep them elastic).

If thats not possible due to time or distance constraints, ignore everything I said and go with the battery minder and blocks. Dead batteries and flat spots on your tires aren't much fun.