How often and how long / far should you drive your vehicle if you are not using

[JimPghPA]

As many of us go into the hunker down and not go anywhere mode there is something we should keep in mind, and that is how long can you leave your vehicle(s) sit and still have the battery have enough charge to still start and run the vehicle, and also not have the metal disks of the brakes get too rusty.

It's been a few days since I drove my 2016 Honda CR-V EX so I drove it for a while today to prevent the disk brakes from rusting and to charge up the battery. I drove it in the day time so I could leave the headlights off so the alternator might do a better job of recharging the battery when the engine RPMs were low. I went 8.2 miles at speeds around 20 to 40 MPH and got 25.0 MPG. Because of the much lower amount of traffic I did not have to stop anywhere near as often as usual and for just driving in the south hills out Brownsville road and back on Rt 51 the MPG was higher than I ever got before.

When I got home I marked Honda on the calendar for today and plan to drive it again in 5 days if I do not use it much before then.

Just wondering if anyone has any better idea of how often I should be driving it, and how long I should be driving it to keep the battery charged, and to prevent the brakes from getting too rusty. A new battery was put in it in the end of December by the dealer before I bought it.

Stay safe.

 

[JimPghPA]

PS, I did a google search and found that there were several complaints about 2019 Honda CR-V having their batteries go dead if they were not driven for 2 days. Apparently there was a problem with that year, I do not know if it has been fixed with some revision yet.

 

[eljefino]

My F150 goes 4 miles every weekend, and runs for ~15 minutes going to the dump, idling while I dump, and driving back. It does fine and the brakes are fine. I figure the idling at the dump gets it up to temp (on the gauge at least) and the drive home blows most of the nasties out. Brakes are fine.

My dodge plow truck sits in the shade all summer, not moving, and somehow its discs are fine too!

A little fuel stabilization, a little battery tending, and drive every other week should do you, but you've got the best visual on your brakes. The stabilization is probably overkill as the EVAP-sealed fuel system won't let much evaporate or decay.

"Those germs" die on steering wheels after 3-ish days.

I have 2 Prius that I drive-- one with snow tires, one without. The one on snows gets a weekly drive (due to this snow-free weather) to keep the pint-sized battery charged, and it has keyless entry and a bunch of other computer doodads that suck things dry.

 

[samven]

I would not worry about the rust on the rotors, I have seen surface rust happen in a day or 2 in the summer at the beach but a short drive and normal breaking cleans them off real fast. My RV can sit for months and the rotors are clean before I get to the highway 8 miles away. Keeping your battery charged is a more difficult call. Some cars have a large dormant draw from all the electronics with active memories and some have almost no draw. If you can manage a 1/2 hour drive every week with the occasional longer drive every month you should have no trouble. I have a 4 watt solar maintainer that sits on the dash and it keeps the battery at a 13.2v in the RV and it can sit for a month and starts right up.

 

[JimPghPA]

I am going to check to see if the 12 Volt accessory connection still has power when the vehicle is off. If it is switched so it only comes on when the vehicle is powered up then it would not make any sense to buy a solar charger to place on the dash and connect to the 12 V accessory socket when not in use.

 

[JOD]

I travel a lot, so I face this often. 3 weeks is my threshold. Longer than that and I pull the battery and put it on a battery tender. Realistically, I think that's a bit too long, and 2 weeks would be more appropriate. I go w/a battery tender even if you're doing some short drives. I think driving enough to get the oil up to temp once a week isn't a bad idea.

Surface rust on the rotors is a non-issue. One stop and it's gone.

 

[Snagglefoot]

I have a third car I keep around for when the kids visit or if doing maintenance on the others. I drive it every second weekend for about a half hour, some at highway speed and during the winter I'll put a smart charger on it and charge it once a month. I haven't noticed any issues but we're in a pretty low humidity area.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

In a previous part of it's life, my truck has sat 8 months without starting and fired right up. More recently, it has sat from October 19 to Feb 20 before I pulled it out of the garage. My Jeep has always had a battery drain, so sitting for a week or two and the battery is dead.

 

[CaptainHazelwood]

Other than being concerned about the battery running flat a car should have no problem sitting over a month without being start and run.

 

[Nick1994]

I'd worry after it's sat for a few months. Anything less is a non issue IMO.

My great-aunt and great-uncle live in Europe for 7 months of the year, sometimes longer. Their 98' Plymouth Breeze sits the entire time they're gone. Once every 2 years I drive it a couple months into their stay to emissions to renew the registration. Last couple years I drive it 1/2 a mile to my grandpas house to charge the battery every month or two. But for years before that, it just sat all summer. Usually started up fine when they came back. A couple times it needed a jump but no I'll effects on the battery.

 

[02SE]

We have four motorcycles and two cars that sit through winter, and sometimes for a month or more the rest of the year. The batteries are all connected to Battery Minders whenever they are parked. I use Stabil in the gas, and when I drive/ride them I get the engines and oil up to temp and ride/drive at least half an hour to get rid of any condensation in the oil sumps. No problems with any of them so far.

 

[FT92]

i have had my cars sit for almost two months ,never had a problem , I did go out and start them , let them run for 10-15 mins and shut them down did that like every two weeks

 

[Olas]

most people take a 2 week holiday without any prep or maintenance and their cars are fine when they get back from their holiday.

battery isolator switches are good

 

[Lubener]

No problem sitting five days. There are way more important things to worry about than a car falling apart in five days.

 

[Railrust]

Honestly, with the warm weather on its way (hopefully), letting the car sit for a few weeks might not do anything. If it's a warm day you should be able to turn that thing over without issue if your battery is in good condition.

And surface rust on rotors will wear off by the time you drive down the street.

Having a jump pack charged and ready to go probably is your best option. You can buy one nowadays for $50 bucks. If the thing won't start, just jump it and the alternator will take care of the rest.

Now if it was the dead of winter things would be a little different.

 

[CourierDriver]

We are a car poor nation, its the important things in life , isn't it???

 

[JHZR2]

If you were talking a vehicle that was a keeper, that was only going to get occasional use and you wanted to keep running forever, the discussion would be different. This conversation is short term short tripping or no tripping.

If you have a battery charger, put it on every few weeks. Don't idle in place - doesn't warm things up quick and builds up moisture.

If you have to drive, drive. If you have to change the oil sooner, change it sooner. Once you are able to move around more again, drive on a long trip to drive off any moisture.

It's something to think about if chronic. For a short time, a few months, not a huge concern.

 

[Cujet]

My 2009 F150 goes dead over a period of about 4 weeks. It had been sitting for well over a week and already I noticed the starter seemed very slow yesterday. I think it's a good idea to put a battery tender on seldom used vehicles, or risk a dead battery in a time of emergency.

 

[Lapham3]

I'll use a battery tender on the newer vehicles with their parasitic loses. My larger issue is rotor rusting when outdoors and not driven very often.

 

[benjy]

anytime a vehicle sets its discharging the battery + with all the unnecessary trinkets on todays vehicles its worse. as long as you periodically charge its ok, but if a battery sets discharged sulfation sets in + a lot of it will kill a battery as the coating it puts on the cells will NOT allow it to charge. why worry as a decent smart charger will keep a battery healthy a long time. one charger can be used on several vehicles extending battery life + paying for the charger + then some