Vehicle has been sitting..

[Luftmasse]

What was the longest amount of time you had your vehicle sit and still able to start the vehicle without jumping it?

I got a vehicle sitting in the garage about 4 months with doors unlocked. I am not there to start the vehicle but wonder if it is able to start without jumping it.

 

[atikovi]

Any car I have sitting more than a month or two I'll either put on a maintainer or remove the battery to use in another car. You can turn the headlights on and see how bright they are to give you an idea how much juice the battery has. Or use a voltmeter.

 

[Luftmasse]

I should have mention without a maintainer.

Rather than doing that, I might as well as start it.

 

[Soft Cars]

These modern cars are always drawing a little bit of current even though they're asleep. How MUCH they're drawing is what you have be mindful of. If it goes dead overnight, you gotta problem.

 

[CKN]

This is a very specific vehicle question....which I guess is a secret since the OP doesn't mention the vehicle in question. I can tell you with late model F150s that it doesn't take long to have a dead battery if you don't start it.

 

[ctechbob]

I should have mention without a maintainer.

Rather than doing that, I might as well as start it.

You'll need to do more than just start it. Start it and take it for a 15-20 min drive if you want the battery to top back up properly. 5 Min of sitting around idling usually won't get the job done.

 

[atikovi]

I should have mention without a maintainer.

Rather than doing that, I might as well as start it.

Unless it's an inop car, I try to start it every 4-6 months and run it for 30 seconds to a minute to keep the fuel pump from seizing and the lifters from draining down completely.

 

[Luftmasse]

It is a 2022 RX350.

Yes, I am aware I should drive it to get it charged.

The question is would it need to be jump started.

I don't know if it matters but the doors are Unlocked. Which means security is not activated.

 

[paulo57509]

How long until it needs a jump to get it started? I think it depends on the battery.

The battery in the Lumina tests at 95 CCA when "fully" charged. This is good enough for maybe two weeks before I need to jump start it.

Typically, if anyhting sits for more than 14 days, I either drive it someplace of find a way to put it on a maintainer.

 

[andyd]

Every month or so, I charge the battery in my lawn ornament '94 Ranger. IIRC , the engine hasn't been started in at least 3months. I use a 1/2 amp trickle charger purchased at Harbor Freight. I have another one for my sit-down mower too.

 

[tblt44]

E46 sat for 1 year 4 months.
Dumped 5 gallons of non ethanol in.
New battery and she started right up.
Sank in the ground a few inches. 2 tanks and less than a week fuel pump died.

 

[Legal Eagles]

I stored a 2006 Mercury Grand Marquis 4.6L V8 for four months (15 December to 15 April).

All I did was fill the tank to the top with gas and disconnect the negative terminal from the battery before leaving the car for the winter.

I expected to have to jump it when I picked it up in the spring, but said "What the heck... let's give it a shot..." and reattached the battery cable.

After a couple seconds cranking for the fuel system to pressurize it started right up... I was pleasantly surprised.

 

[SC Maintenance]

What your really asking is how long the battery will hold charge.

Lets start with the type of car, the type and age of the battery, and I am assuming you didn't disconnect the battery.

If you did disconnect, then if the battery is healthy you might get it to go maybe as far as 6 months - if your really lucky. I would say more than likely 2 or 3 months.

If you left the battery connected, its likely completely dead. Most modern cars even when fully asleep are pulling 20mA, so that is about 1/2 Ah a day x 120 days - call it 60Ah, which is likely way more than a start battery. That's not counting internal resistance drain.

 

[gman2304]

Why would you not hook it up to a battery maintainer? My wife’s ES350 has been driven less than 100 miles since she retired on December 30th. I have a 1.5 amp $30 Schumacher maintainer on it and her car has a lot of parasitic drain but I can go to the garage and hit the starter and it won’t turn over more than a couple of times and it’s running. The battery is 6 years old.

 

[Lubener]

Unless it's an inop car, I try to start it every 4-6 months and run it for 30 seconds to a minute to keep the fuel pump from seizing and the lifters from draining down completely.

If that is what you are concerned about, why not just cycle the key on several times to run the fuel pump? A 30 second run is doing more harm than good versus a longer run on the road.

 

[TheLastWord]

I parked a 62 Buick at Ft Benning for 4+ months. It started with no jump. Had a new Sears battery and I pulled the clock fuse - the only thing that drew current. I remember the dates because it was a week before RFK was killed and Oct 68 when I could drive it. There were other cars with similar stories.

 

[Nick1994]

About 3 years ago the 1970 VW Beetle I had last charged the battery and then it sat for about 5 months and started. Took a bit of cranking as the gas went bad, the car actually sat for a year.

I haven’t driven my ‘96 Cherokee in a couple months but charged the battery maybe a month ago.

 

[andrew_j]

My parents left a their 2000 Tundra for 7 months in barn. It started

 

[PF52]

My 2002 Impala has sat for a few months at a time and once for an entire year and always started as if it had been left overnight.

But a newer car probably has more "stuff" going on even when it is parked. For example, my WRX often sits for 2-3 weeks without driving it and I used to just leave the key in the center console. Then someone advised me that was a bad idea: the car will be constantly in a state of readiness because it knows the key is there. So now I keep the key in the house so it won't drain the battery. <I don't know if that is true but that's what I was told LOL.

 

[RaymondP]

May be lucky, depending on state and type (AGM?) of battery as left when last used. I Aalways leave them on a maintainer if I anticipate not using the vehicle for more than a couple of weeks. As others have said, later models all have something operating resulting in a draw on the battery. Now is the time to buy a quality battery charger/maintainer if you don't own one. Use it for 24 hours before trying to start and see how it goes. Some of the more sophisticated chargers will typically run an analysis to inform you of the battery condition. Have found it to be a useful feature.

Have also noted on late model vehicles, the vehicle's operation is compromised if battery is at the low end of its performance capacity. Remember having the battery tested on a Mercedes as was having some strange anomalies. Honest battery salesperson assured me the battery was fine. Told him to change it anyway. This was on a 7-year-old AGM factory battery. New battery installed and everything ran fine again.