[Weege]

Living in New England, I avoid taking out my car in winter even if roads are clear because there's always salt. So it basically sits in the garage from mid October to Spring. I use a battery tender, top off the fuel tank, and fill the tires to 40 psi. The question is about occasional starting. There is some advice that letting the engine run a few minutes every week or two is a good idea. But I'm inclined to believe the advice that short runs only increase condensation issues, and unless the car is brought to full temperature for a prolonged time, it's better just to let it sit. What do fellow cold storage folks do?

[Wierd Harold]

Let her sit,I sit in garage and peel back the cover once a week with a scotch in hand.Wife thinks Im nuts.lol

[Ron2ss]

Originally Posted by Wierd Harold

Let her sit,I sit in garage and peel back the cover once a week with a scotch in hand.Wife thinks Im nuts.lol

I concur. Just let it sit on a tender I leave mine uncovered so I can enjoy the experience of seeing it. I make sure to take several forays to the garage to make sure my Camaro is fine. Before I go to bed I go to the garage (which is attached) again to make sure the door is locked (haha). My wife has accepted this as normal behavior. LOL

[Weege]

Originally Posted by Wierd Harold

Let her sit,I sit in garage and peel back the cover once a week with a scotch in hand.Wife thinks Im nuts.lol

That's weird Harold.

[ember1205]

Let it sit. You will do more harm than good by starting it and letting it idle.

Moisture will build in the exhaust and will lead to premature decay/rot, you will drain more energy from the battery than idling will replace, you will cause "start-up wear" on the internals that isn't necessary, and you're going to be too tempted to actually drive it one of those times.

[SomeGeoffGuy]

I put a good trickle charger on mine too. For some reason on a lot of the 6th Gens, the battery will die after a couple weeks of storage in the cold. Never had that problem on my 5th gen.

-Geoff

[Chutzpah]

I kinda have an opposing opinion. I’ve had cars that sat for many months (over multiple seasons). One of them had a valve seal dry up and pop off and one car developed an engine knock. Till this day I wonder if those problems would’ve occurred if I took the car for a good ride every once in a while, rotating otherwise frozen position of the engine internals (valve springs in particular) So that’s what I do..take it for ride.

[ember1205]

Originally Posted by Chutzpah

I kinda have an opposing opinion. I’ve had cars that sat for many months (over multiple seasons). One of them had a valve seal dry up and pop off and one car developed an engine knock. Till this day I wonder if those problems would’ve occurred if I took the car for a good ride every once in a while, rotating otherwise frozen position of the engine internals (valve springs in particular) So that’s what I do..take it for ride.

Being able to drive it and get everything moving and up to temps is definitely the ideal.

[MR's 2SS]

Ours sits out in the cold under a cover. If theres salt on the road its staying in the driveway. I theres zero salt Ill be taking the cover off and driving it. Thats why I put winter wheels and tires on it. Just sitting for months isnt good for anything.
Once they salt I wont drive it until at least one good rain and no visible salt.
Before we got the Honda Accord the plan was to drive it 12 months a year like any other car weve owned.
We do like it more than any regular car... and salt sucks the life out of your vehicles.
That said. While winter rages and salt remains I will pull the cover on a nice day and run it. The opinion that its more harm than good is valid. Unless you run it at least 20 minutes. Up to full operating temp and keep it there a good while. Dont leave it idling. Sit there with it and hold 1000 rpm... then rev it up higher a while. Rev it sometimes. Basically vary rpm and hopefully run it at operating temp long enough to burn off moisture that may accumulate in the oil due to sitting in cold... then warmed by the sun.. then cold again.
So the object is to fully charge the battery and burn off moisture too.
But driving it is best.

[Gunkk]

Originally Posted by Weege

Unless the car is brought to full temperature for a prolonged time, it's better just to let it sit.

This.

[Kevin0311]

November to april stored upstate ny, fluids changed, batteries charged, put in transport mode ( 2 of the 3 ) full detail, inflate tires to max on tire and let them sit.
2007 solstice gxp
2017 chevy ss sedan
2022 zl1 vert

Never any problems for several seasons on 2/3 first winter for the Z

[mrwonderful]

I always do the full bore winter prep; interior cleaning, wash/wax, fluid top off, fuel stabilizer, rags in the exhaust, trickle charge, cover. But I have a frustrating story to tell, I mean all out idiotic but now funny.



Seeing the winter was over, I pulled the trickle charge to use on my son's quad in April. Come May it's time to have a little fun, so I unwrap the car and get everything ready. Remote doesn't work; no problem, open the door manually to drive a get a new battery for the remote. Car won't detect the Fob in the cup holder; 2 batteries later, I thought I lost signal for the Fob so I go through the reprogramming, still doesn't work. I realize the trickle charger was keeping a bad battery on life support all winter.



During storage I back the car into the garage extremely tight, like paper-thin close to the wall on the passenger side and trunk. I go to open the backseat manually using the key to access the battery; thinking I just had a bad angle, I put extra pressure on the key...break it off in the lock! Used the other key, got to the battery out after an hour on my back, finally got the battery replaced, all is well. And no, the car wouldn't allow me to put it in neutral to push it off the wall. LOL

[ember1205]

Originally Posted by mrwonderful

I always do the full bore winter prep; interior cleaning, wash/wax, fluid top off, fuel stabilizer, rags in the exhaust, trickle charge, cover. But I have a frustrating story to tell, I mean all out idiotic but now funny.



Seeing the winter was over, I pulled the trickle charge to use on my son's quad in April. Come May it's time to have a little fun, so I unwrap the car and get everything ready. Remote doesn't work; no problem, open the door manually to drive a get a new battery for the remote. Car won't detect the Fob in the cup holder; 2 batteries later, I thought I lost signal for the Fob so I go through the reprogramming, still doesn't work. I realize the trickle charger was keeping a bad battery on life support all winter.



During storage I back the car into the garage extremely tight, like paper-thin close to the wall on the passenger side and trunk. I go to open the backseat manually using the key to access the battery; thinking I just had a bad angle, I put extra pressure on the key...break it off in the lock! Used the other key, got to the battery out after an hour on my back, finally got the battery replaced, all is well. And no, the car wouldn't allow me to put it in neutral to push it off the wall. LOL

If the battery voltage drops below 9V, the shift-lock is supposed to not be functional. I wonder if your battery was dead enough that nothing worked but alive enough that it let the shift-lock function.

Sucks that you had to go through it!

[Dathomas94]

Don’t leave the charger on. I have a surge protector but still have herd stories of lightning. So I charge mine once every 3-4 weeks for a day. I get the odds are slight but we are car freaks …..