Auto Maintenance Tips For The Rarely Driven Or Winter Stored Vehicle

By George I Freed

An auto that is driven rarely whether it be a truck , Sports Utility Vehicle or standard run of the mill car may not be your best bet for reliable or economical transportation on the road. What can an automobile owner or driver do to keep that rarely driven sometimes pristine, sometimes almost ignored vehicle in top and ultimately transportation reliable shape?

Here are some tips to keep that rarely driven vehicle in top shape. If there is one recommendation by both experienced mechanics and new car auto dealership service advisors is that the most important action that you can do is to start stored and resting vehicles at least once each and every month. The autos engine must be run long enough to fully and completely warm up. In most situations this is 15 minutes at idle.

In a cold winter frigid climate say a January northern Minnesota or Edmonton Alberta January climate might require an actual drive of the vehicle for a mile or so either on the road if the vehicle is road insured , or perhaps around the parking lot or at fast throttle speeds if necessary.

What are the benefits to this monthly start up and engine warm ups. First and foremost it will maintain the electrical charge in your battery, important to maintaining its long life span. Running the engine also flushes fresh gasoline through fuel lines, the fuel system and fuel injectors and fuel injection systems. Stale gas in your fueling systems can oxidize and turn into a jelly like state especially in the presence of condensation, contamination made worse and exaggerated in a vehicle stored for several months without use and engine warm-up. It can be said that warming the engine up to operating temperatures will definitely oil off and remove any water or fuel that has condensed or congealed in the oil pan and sitting stale used engine oil and oils.

It is also a good idea to jeep the gas tank full. This leaves less space for air in the gas tank and reduces overall the risk of vapor condensing in the fuel tank or tanks. In colder climes again in the northern American states and up to the north in Canada it may be a good idea to add gas line anti-freeze that is methyl hydrate to your gas tank.

With newer gasoline types the blends with ethanol as part of their mix , this is already taken care of which has a side benefit of not only reducing air pollutants but as well preventing cold weather gas line freezup from condensate. On point the newer E-50 gas might not be a good idea for stored or rarely used vehicles as gas tank fill. E-50 sitting fro an extended period in your gas and fuel system might not be the wisest choice due to potential effects on rubber engine seals in your engine system. It never hurts to play it conservative and use more standard gas mixtures.

Lastly move the vehicle at least two to three feet a month, to put the vehicle weight on a fresh portion of tire tread. Ensure that those tires are kept at their proper inflation and at temperatures that the vehicle will be stored at during wintertime not at summer more moderate temperatures. At the least accurate electronic tire air pressure gauges are available fairly inexpensively. You may have to guess or estimate the tire pressure needed for acceptable cold winter weather tire inflation. Even if you estimate too high remember that leakage across tire seals will occur time, little mile, wear and tear will occur on the vehicle during its time of storage or little use. No one is during in the vehicle long distances so a long bumpy ride for the driver and passengers will not be a consideration.

Following these simple tips will maintain automobile reliability and longevity and will ensure you a long lived, reliably starting and driving vehicle over time. New cars and auto service are both expensive enough.

About the Author: George I Freed Derrick Dodge World’s Canadian largest volume Dodge dealership

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2010

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