This past weekend was our first snow fall in the Worcester, MA area. This means I'll be putting my CL in the garage for the rest of the season. I'll only be taking it out if there is an emergency and I need to drive it (like if my winter car breaks down).
My question is what should I do in winterize my car where if I need to, I can drive it in an emergency.

- I'll wash the underbody and wash and wax the car
- Put a car cover on it

How often should I start it and for how long should I let it run?
Should I disconnect the battery?
What's the purpose of putting the car of blocks?

Answers and suggestions would greatly be appreciated!

 

I would run it every 3 weeks for 10 minutes. Make sure you turn your rear window defroster, and heat seaters too. They consume a lot of electricity, this will actually make battery charging more effective and making it keep charge longer.

And dont forget to exit the garage before you suffocate

 

what about putting the car on blocks? What's the purpose of it?

 

So you do not cause any damage to tires. It is belived that when car is not moving and tires stand in one spot, there is to much pressure on one spot of the tire, so your tires might get uneven.... therefore handling will not be as good....
I personally think this is a little over kill, but if you realy have free time and love your car, I would do it ....

 

The putting the car on blocks to prevent a flat spot int he tire is a leftover from the 50's... New tores really don't get flat sopts, and if they do it'll be such a small amount you'll never notice it.

 

Putting the car on blocks is a good idea if it will not be moving for a while. Jacks are cheap now ($30).

Put Stabil in with the gas. That stuff is really recommended.

Disconnect battery and/or keep battery on a trickle charge. You want to get the Battery Tender. It will keep your battery fully charged and shut off when it is.

 

Yeah, you can keep your CLS preserved like that for ages, so you can show it to your grand children, they will love it !!!

Its rediculous ....

 

Several additional suggestions to what has been posted:

1) If you do not want to use jacks to protect the tires, you can put plywood under them - that also works
2) Close the recirc button the heater - you do not want little critters using your car as a nursery or a cozy place to hold up
3) change the oil and oil filter
4) Definitely put a trickle charger on it - you can make a cheap one by getting a 500 milliamp 12vdc wallo wart from Radio Shack, putting some large alligator clips on the ends, and running the whole thing off of a timer that runs 12hours a day (one of those security light timers). That way, you won't overcharge, and it still will cost you 1/2 of something like a Battery Tender
5) Start the car at least every two weeks - let it run a good ten minutes - move the gear selector all the way through the detents 5-4-3-2-1 and 1-2-3-4-5 - that will help keepo the soloenoids in the transmission agile

 

What about a rug/carpet? I see them do that at the mall. They put little squares of carpet under the tires. Is that to protect the floor or the tire?

 

Protect the floor - the reason plywodd works is that it has "life" - the cellulose absorbs water - it dries out - it changes shape with temp, etc - appranetly just enough to keep the tire happy. Plus, the plywood will indent a bit, so it takes most of the hit.