TL_Captain

As always, I should refer all maintenance schedule according to user's guide, but I have a slight unusal situation here and would like to get some advices from the experts.

Got my '06 TL new. Due to work, taking assignments out of hometown and joined tours (as a civilian), I really don't have much chance to drive the TL. It's 4 yrs old and only got less than 5000 miles (yes, five thousand).

I keep one oil change roughly every year. Have someone drive the car at least once a week. If no one is available, I keep the car on the "battery maintainer".

It's close to 5000 miles, should I do tire rotation (due to the length of time)? What else should I do?

Thanks.

LuvMyTSX

I would change the brake fluid if you didn't already do it at 3 years.

Cyberdemon

The tire rotation shouldn't really matter. Tire rotation will combat uneven wear, but with the car sitting your bigger worries would be dry-rot or flat spotting. But as long as the car is driven once a week it should be OK.

If the battery is kept on a charger and the car is driven periodically your next biggest issue is going to be bad gas. You should make sure that the gas in the tank is cycled frequently enough that it gets flushed and refreshed every few months. You can also have gas stabilizer added which will help, but if the car is driven enough that might not be an issue. Make sure you or whoever drives it gives it some throttle to get everything heated up and moving around so that everything is getting up to the proper temperature, will avoid things turning to sludge.

Other than that it's worth just checking everything over when you get to the point you want to drive the car full time again. Make sure that none of the hoses or belts have any issues, brakes look and work good, and all the fluids and coolant is topped off and fresh.

TL_Captain

Thanks for the reminder about brake fluid

Glad I asked. Wow, I never thought about gas would go bad. Guess anything sitting around would eventually turn bad. Flushing/draining the gas tank sounds dangerous. The most I've done (or, can do) is changing the engine oil, so draining gas is out of the question I'll make sure someone uses up at least one tank of gas every few months.

Thanks again.

Eoanou

Or you could make sure they don't fill up with much gas not more than 2 gallons or so, that way they use 2 gallons each week or so and the gas is constantly cycling.

imj0257

iTrader: (1)

I'd move this to the 3G TL forum...

pimpin-tl

Full tank of gas, and Fuel stabilizer. You won't have to worry about new gas anytime soon then.

JS + XES

iTrader: (1)

Man, just sell it and save the cash.

TL_Captain

thanks all.

thought about selling, but still need a ride when I'm at home.

Another question. Did a bit search on google. Looks like the average battery life of TPMS is around 3 yrs. I don't know how long Acura TPMS batteries will last. Should I replace them as a preventive measure?

Cyberdemon

Don't replace the TPMS. TPMS is not a "Critical" piece of the car. If it fails, you'll just get an error on your display. Whereas if your brakes or belts fail, you will die. ;-)

The TPMS on most cars are designed to turn themselves off automatically to conserve battery life. Not sure if that is true on the Acura or not, but at this rate if they haven't died yet, just keep driving them until they do.

You SHOULD however monitor the tire pressure manually to ensure you have the right inflation and that you don't have any slow leaks while the car is sitting.

NSXNEXT

iTrader: (2)

Wrong forum.
Moved to 3rd gen TL forum.

01tl4tl

keep the fuel tank full to prevent moisture -
add seafoam or stabil to full tank and it will keep the gas good for 6 months
Stop driving it every week unless its 45 minutes on the freeway, any less time and it wont dry out moisture- the big killer of sitting cars~
Once a month on the freeway will keep it conditioned- have them use `AC on` for 30 minutes too
Keep tires near max pressure when parked to avoid flat spotting

Seafoam it when you return and put the car back in service

Izzy-Type-S

iTrader: (1)

I drive 5k in 2 months...take it for a drive on weekends & enjoy the car.

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

i think you have lower mileage on your car than Xpditor!

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

4 years, 5k! Wow. As others have mentioned, keeping up on the fluids is the best thing you could do.

LoveMyTL-S

I wish my car only had 5K on it.......

I hate cars

So true about starting it too often. You're probably doing more harm than good starting it every week or two unless it's a long trip.

Another small item, a highly polar oil like Redline will cling to parts better than other oils, not that I've ever seen a dry engine even after sitting for years.