I'm probably within a week or 2 of winterizing my car and covering it up until probably April.

If I remove my battery, will there be any security precautions that I'll have to do in order to regain full functionality of my vehicle upon reinstallation of the battery?

I know that some manufacturers put in pin numbers for the radio and NAV systems so that thieves who steal them won't be able to use them if they try to put them in another car.... and was basicly wondering if there's anything like this in our vehicles(I have the factory Navigation option installed as well as the Premium package Stereo System).

Also...

Will I lose my Navigation settings and fuel economy history... as well as maintenance status, or are those stored in a CMOS BIOS or small hard-drive in the Navigation Unit?

I'm aware that I will definitely lose my radio station presents(who cares), and that my car will forget whatever settings that it learns based on my driving tendencies... but is there anything else that I'm forgetting?

 

Before disconnecting the battery, be sure to lower the windows slightly to allow access to the inside of the car. Don't forget the windows drop slightly when the doors are opened to allow the window to clear the frame.
You'll probably cover the car to keep dust off it as I do, and I also lower the driver's side window all the way.

No PIN #'s that I know of for the radio and Navi.

From what I remember, the only setting in the navi you'll lose is the MPG's.....that reverts to '****' after the batt. is disconnected and reconnected, but the trip odometers will revert to zero, and you'll lose radio presets.

The 5 to 6 month battery disconnect will just mean a 6 month ECU reset.....nothing to worry about since the ECU relearns quickly on redriving.
Let's hope for an early spring.
C.

 

Agreed...but you don't necessarily need to crack the windows open any. Well then again I only had my battery disconnected for a few hours, not a few months. I've seen this gadnets which is powered by 9v batteries, where you plug into the cig lighter and supposedly when you d/c the battery terminal, it'll retain your cars' memory. Anybody with insights on this gadget?

Man I'd hate to live in the east coast. Can't drive my baby for 4 months? Crazy...

 

The East Coast completely sucks.

I hate living here, but I also don't want to just up and leave everyone and everything I know. If I could get a few friends/family members to move to Cali with me, I'd be gone in a heartbeat.

I almost completely forgot about the window thing.

Unfortunately, My car will be outside all winter but under a car cover. I just ordered a CalCarCover today(stormweave). I'm a little leary about leaving my window rolled down at all though, because it is going to be stored outside and I don't want any leaks to occur or anything else getting into the car.

I guess I'll test it out on my passengers side door before I cover the car up by disconnecting the battery with the door closed, and see if I can still open my door cleanly with the window fully closed... and also do the same thing to determine if the window leaks with it partially down(like when you open the door).

I suppose I could always just pop my hood and leave it closed but only latched down to the first level(not latched down so that I need to get into the car to open it)... then when I put the battery back in in spring, I could just open the hood from the outside, put the battery back in and then open my doors.

I guess the proper procedure to do all this would be(includes a full tank of gas, and a fresh wash/wax and oil change):

1) Park Car On Tarp
2) Chock Wheels
3) With Car in Gear, Release E-Brake
4) Pop Hood
5) Lock passengers side door only and Close all doors with windows fully rolled up
6) Remove battery
7) Close Hood so that it is only locked on the first level(not requiring hood release to open from outside)
8) Use Key to manually lock drivers side door from outside
9) Put on Car Cover

I think I read somewhere that you could still open the door with the window all the way closed and no power.. because the rubber seal around the window will bend/flux? Can anyone confirm this?

 

Does anyone here have any familiarity with fuel stabilizer in a Car?

I used to use this crap in my old dirtbike as a kid, but have never tried it in a car.

I have heard that a full tank of gas is good for winter storage, to prevent small gas quantities in the tank from gumming up... and also to prevent quick temperature changes from causing the tank temperature to rapidly fluctuate... resulting in freezing and water condensation on the outside of the tank, and eventually leading to rust.