Hello members of this wonderful forum. I have had my G35 for over 3 months now. I take care of her so much that I never pull my windows down, and I never use the air from the outside so that no dust comes in and the "new smell" is preserved. December, I will leave the U.S. for one or two montsh and have decided to put her in a Storage garage (150$ a month). I have a car cover for her too and now I have a problem.

I dont know if I should store my G with the windows up or if I should leave a small aperture so that it breathes.

While I am here, with her, I take wonderful care of her... please help me take care of her while I am not here. What should I do?

Thank you for your help.

 

dude... i understand your car means alot to you.. however, i think this is overboard.. i really dont think leaving the windows up is going to do anything "bad" to the car... the car does have vents to allow a small amount of air to come in..

leave em up .. your going to be ok..

 

Will the battery be drained after two months if you leave it hooked up?
For general knowledge, does anyone have a good procedure for starting the engine up if the car sits for a month or two without driving? I'm asking because all the oil will be in the pan by that point, so how does one go about the initial start up and not worry about all the damage that could be done? Not that I could go two months without driving my car.

 

Thats why you should get a Manual so u can start it using 2nd gear and getting a push. Other than that, you just need to jump start.

So no need to leave a little oppening for air venting ey? Thanx for the info. I have had friends who let their cars fully sealed and due to the weather (warm weather like here in Florida) the windows broke!

I dont think the battery will discharge in 2 months by just using the dash clock will it?

 

If you're worried about draining the battery over a month or 2 (some have had this happen), just disconnect it (neg. terminal). It's easy enough to do.
Fill up the gas tank, and if possible, change the oil b4 leaving.
Upon returning, I would connect the block heater (if equipped) for a couple of hours to prewarm the engine f4 first firing.
As said b4, leave the driver's window down slighly if you disconnect the battery.

 

Park it, cover it, and don't worry about it. I've had mine a year and it still has some of that new car smell.

I would seriously consider a fuel stabilizer for that length of time. Fueld begins to oxygenate after about 60 days. Maybe a full tank helps keep this from occuring, but I think most tanks have some sort of vent so some deterioration would still occur.

 

Even if the battery is disconnected, after 2 months it still should be dischared enough not to crank the starting motor.
The only way to my knowledge to avoid this is to buy a small "charger" that will keep a small flow of electrons to the battery.

Hope this helps.

 

Wow I cant believe that 2 month would drain the battery!

My main consern was either leaving the window slightly opened or not, now I am more worried. So if I dont disconnect the battery, it will discharge in 2 months? and if I do disconnect the battery (the negative cable) I *might* have charge when comming back?

I dont think i have a block heater, but I never drive the car until the temperature of the engine is half way between hot and cold.

It seems that now the car caring is divided to two... Can someone explain what I should do before leaving and what I should do as soon as I get to the car after 2 months? (Car will be stored in a storage room and covered with car cover, apparently, leaving windows slightly open helps).

Thank you for all your input and for further suggestions. This car means a lot to me, as I am sure your car does to you.

 

It might be off-topic, but that's NOT the proper way to warm up your car. Actually, some claim that idling for too long will harm it. What you should be doing after you start the car is drive slowly/ at low engine speed the first few minutes before the needle climbs above Cold.

 

Thank you for that tip. I will do this from now on! I always pressed the accelerator a few times, but I guess driving it at low speeds arround my apartment parking lot is better. Sure I will do this.

Anyone can help me out on the storing and recovery process? Than you for all the info so far!

 

I have been storing a vehicle for the past 12 years during the winter months (Dec- April) here in the cold climate of Nova Scotia.I've learned a few things. Those of you in warm climes will have further considerations due to the sun and heat if vehicle is to be left outside.

STORAGE:
1. change the oil
2. top up the fuel tank (do not add fuel stabilizer as advised by my Infiniti service manager since manufacturer also does not recommend. I have always done this before with no problems with my Mazda MX6 however) FYI BMW manual advises against it. My dealer said the fuel system is incredibly well sealed helping to minimize moisture infiltration
3.pump up tires to 40-45 pounds to help prevent tire flat spotting
4. drive vehicle for at least 15 miles to release all moisture from engine and exhaust system and then park without using the park brake. Insert a ball of steel wool in the exhaust tailpipe if there may be any concern with rodents.
5. try to store on a dry day to minimize moisture sitting on undercarriarge of car. A sheet of 4 mil+ plastic under the vehicle will give you extra protection from moisture if storing inside and moisture is a concern. Using plastic outside will leave water sitting under the car which is undesirable.
6. this is very important with the G- remove everything from the car you will need to consider leaving a reminder sign on dashboard saying " Do not close driver door & remove steel wool from exhaust" for your spring restart. Pull the hood release and open the trunk if you will need to access it. Close the driver/passenger door for the final time. Disconnect the negative battery terminal. (You will have to decide if you want to leave the hood open to access a trickle charger or just let the battery go. My experience is you will have no problem for 3-4 months without a trickle charger and I had regular battery life of about 7 years.) Remember after disconnecting the battery you cannot reclose the doors of the car without damaging the door roof area.
7. Don't restart the car until you are ready to remove it from storage.

RESTARTING

1. Reconnect negative battery terminal and trickle charge battery for 5-6 hours if possible and have a once over of the engine compartment and especially the air filter area to see if there were any rodent friends that visited.
2. Turn ignition on for a minute or so and depress clutch easily several times(if equipped) then start car and idle gently for several minutes. Drive very slowly for a few minutes checking for proper clutch and brake operation and to allow for engine warm up. If you have a small amount of rust on brakes it may clean itself off in short order. If the problem persists you have to go to your dealer to have brakes surfaces cleaned.
3. Pull up gently and progessively a number of times on the hand park brake(if equipped) to help remove any rust accumulated on parking brake and then resume regular driving speed.
4. Change engine oil.
5 Enjoy your car.

 

RBull's instructions are spot on. That is almost the exact same procedure I use for my Buell. Minus the plastic under the vehicle and sign on the steering wheel about the doors of course.

I do put Stabil in my motorcycle, because it sits for 4 months and it has a carburator. I do not however tweak the air pressure in the tires, because I put it up on the motorcycle lift. Same results, no flat spots on the tires.

I also don't bother with a trickle charger. I suppose as my battery ages, I may need one for future spring starts, but as of last spring, it cranked right over on the first try.

If you follow RBull's tips, you should have absolutely no problems. In all fairness, you could probably just park it as-is and still not have any problems, but a little prevention never hurt anything.

 

Why change ethe oil before and after storage?

 

I never saw the benefit to changing the oil before. Used or new, the oil is not doing anything for the motor while it is just sitting.

However even synthetic oil breaks down over time, so its good to give it a fresh change after its been sitting a couple of months.

 

The benefit to changing the oil BEFORE is that old oil can be acidic. You don't want that sitting in your car for months.

It should then be changed afterward due to possible breakdown, water contamination, etc.