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

[fdcg27]

Well, the HAH has a sticker under the hood telling you that it should be driven at least thirty miles after sitting for ninety days, but that's to maintain the hybrid battery.
In your case, I'd invest the thirty bucks or so in a battery maintainer and leave it on when you plan on leaving the CRV unused for a week at a time.
Even if the thing starts just fine otherwise, maintaining a fullish charge will extend the life of both the battery and the alternator.
There is also no need to burn fuel just to drive around to charge the battery.
The only time I ever see serious brake rotor rust is with cars that sat out in the weather for a period of years, so that's not much of a concern.
Unless the CRV will be stored undriven for more than six or eight months, there's also no need for any fuel treatment.

 

[Navi]

I would drive it around the block every day or every 2 days. Let it get to operating temperature, etc. I wouldnt let it sit for 5 days.

 

[Cujet]

Originally Posted by fdcg27
Well, the HAH has a sticker under the hood telling you that it should be driven at least thirty miles after sitting for ninety days, but that's to maintain the hybrid battery.


Oh yeah, what about electric cars? Early on Tesla cars were "bricking" after sitting at the airport for a month or two. I wonder how long they can sit without issues.

 

[supton]

I'd drive once a week, if it's stored outdoors. I've had issues with excessive rusting of rotors. Shouldn't take much, just a drive around town for essentials I'd think would be good enough. I mean, I've let my vehicles sit for 2-3 weeks at time without a problem, it's not somehow critical, but beyond that I think it's probably going to be a problem. Too easy to take the least used vehicle once in a while for a necessary drive for some necessary item (or just for fun in less serious times).

 

[circuitsmith]

I park on the street.
I have a 10W solar panel sitting on the dash.
After a few hours in the sun it brings the battery voltage as high as 13.6V.
In normal times I mostly drive on the weekends. 600 miles in the last 3 months.
That plus road trips add to ~6000 miles a year.
In the past 3 weeks I only made 3 trips to the grocery store, 1.5 miles away.

 

[SeaJay]

If there is minimal power draw on the battery, and the battery is still good it should be many weeks if not a few months before the battery will drain to the point where it can not start the engine.

My suspicion is some of today's newer cars have more than a minimal power draw on the battery causing many of the problems some folks are having.

 

[fdcg27]

Originally Posted by Cujet
Originally Posted by fdcg27
Well, the HAH has a sticker under the hood telling you that it should be driven at least thirty miles after sitting for ninety days, but that's to maintain the hybrid battery.


Oh yeah, what about electric cars? Early on Tesla cars were "bricking" after sitting at the airport for a month or two. I wonder how long they can sit without issues.


Well, as long as main power is available, it shouldn't be much of a problem. You can always plug the car in.
If we see the loss of main power in certain areas for a sustained period of time, then EVs in general may end up as little more than garage decoration.