Hi all,

I will be going on a trip for work for two months. As a result, I'll be leaving my 06 M/T TL sitting in the garage. There will be no one to turn it on or drive it.

Are there any suggestions on any precautions I should take before I leave? Prep her in anyway? Or will she just start right up on my return?

Also, I obviously know to let her warm up real good before I drive her the first time (after the two months), but any other precautions on start up?

Have any of you left your car for this long? Any problems?

Thanksin advance!

 

Here are a couple things about storing your car.

The good thing is 2 months is actually not very long and the car should be perfectly fine. What I will say is unlike what most people think starting your car and letting it idle just to get it running is NOT good for it. So many people think its important to start it up and let it idle then just shut it off when a car is being stored. That is not true the best thing you can do if you cant drive it is to leave it off until the car can be driven. So its a good thing no one will be there.

Two months isnt that long so there isnt much you need to do. Some will say make sure to top off the fuel tank (which I recommend to), sometimes people recommend over inflating the tires a bit to make sure they dont flat spot. Thats not all that important though as they will eventually round out again once you drive for a bit. As for the oil I guess it wouldnt hurt to make sure good fluids are in it. If the car isnt due for an oil change for a while I wouldnt worry about it. However if its close might as well do it so clean fluids are left in it.

As for your last statement its not that important to let the car fully warm up before driving. The best way to go about starting a car for the first time in a long time or very cold weather start is to start the car and drive away NORMALLY. The key is normally! Letting your car warm up for extended times also isnt recommended. Just get in it and go but simply drive normally obviously dont go flooring it for a while so all the fluids can warm up to operating temp.

Do all this and you will be good to go!!

Hope this helps,
James

 

+1 Maybe unplug the battery

 

Just disconnect the battery. I store my mustang during the winter and have never had any issues with the length of time between starts/drives.

Now if it were a few years...different story.

 

Thanks for the info guys. But, I am curious... Why is letting the car idle to warm up and get the fluids going, a bad thing? It may be a stupid question, but my intuition tells me to let it "break itself" in if it's been sitting around for a while.

 

All you have to do is warm the car up for < 60 seconds, per the owner's manual. You could warm it up longer, but it is actually wasting gas. Another good idea is to run your A/C, to get those fluids flowing as well.

 

+1.

 

Where are you located? Hope garage you store it in isn't to hot, last yr i stored my tl for about a month and a half in florida, next thing you know navi was fried and battery busted all dat liquid stuff in it leaked out from the heat, least that's what I was told, so if at a hot location good luck!!!

 

jack it off the ground so you dont get flat spots? car cover?

 

but then you have the suspension hanging, not its normal position, thats not good for it

Just inflate tires to listed max pressure, reset on return if they havnt lost that yet

Full fuel tank with a can of seafoam in it will protect that area and will clean everything internally when you return

Disconnect battery NEG cable - remove battery from car and store on workbench in garage if possible, otherwise just disconnect NEG cable at battery
You will need radio and nav codes when you return, make sure you know them now and are written down

If possible use battery charger overnight on return, battery discharges during storage are normal
Its better for the car to start with a mostly charged battery than jump start it

DONT use all the electrics or ac right away. let the alternator bring the battery to max charge
DO let it warm up a minute or two then start driving- keep it in low gears 25 mph until temp starts to read then 45 minutes on freeway cruise to warm and dry moisture from fluids and exhaust
AC ON during freeway cruise at least 10 minutes or more to circulate fluid -do monthly thru winter

 

wash and wax will protect finish, then a car cover that breathes over that if parked outside

 

I have left my 06 tsx in my mom's garage in NJ when I used her car to bring her to my home in NC. It was not started for over 2 months-did nothing-it started right up. I did not activate the alarm-left the doors unlocked and made sure the radio, etc was turned off.

 

Where do you live? What's your house number? What mods do you have?

 

Just let it sit, but maybe a battery tender if desired. I let the TL sit every winter along with the modified RX-7, full tank of gas and some fuel stabilizer if you want, but I've never used it, and never a problem. I've been doing it with the Mazda for 20 years, and the TL for 2. As far as flatspotting tires, the Yokohama's will develope a flat spot after sitting for 1 day.

 

why would you want to know his location, house number and mods? don't get me wrong but thats not right dude!!

 

if u pull the ebrake, it'll wear it out wonti t?

 

What facts or source are you basing this on?

 

lol quiet noob it s a joke

 

need to do sarcasm in red color~

The acura TL owner book cautions against long warm up periods
Its system is programmed to get warm faster by driving, which heats the cats and intake via EGR- allowing the fuel computer to get on the Lean run cycle instead of Full Rich starting mode

Imagine the old days of carbs and chokes- kicking the throttle to lower the idle,,,waiting 10 minutes for the chevy to run without balking
Well you dont live in that era anymore- welcome to the 2000s!!

Everyone- please have a read of the owner book- filled with usefull operating tips and instructions

Did you know not to use both seat heaters on High while car sits at idle in your driveway? --its too much load on the battery for the alt to replace while its recharging battery from overnight drain and starting amps drawn,,, then you hit the heaters-cabin heat/defrost, lights-radio- its all too much for idle speed- above 1500rpm no sweat- so get moving..note the alternator puts out max amps above 1500 rpm

 

jack it off ???

 

Can you elaborate? Which Acura TL owner book?

I can't find this anywhere in the 04TL owner's manual. Am I missing it?

04TL Owner's Manual

 

I store mine for the winter and do as follows

1) Hook up battery tender (not a trickle charger)
2) Fuel stabilizer in a full tank ( drive it at least a few miles after adding to get it mixed and up in the system)
3) fill tires to max load.
4) good car cover

 

Here maybe this helps you out.

Some people think it is somehow a good thing to start the car every week or so, then either let it idle for a while or go for a drive around the block. This is in fact one of the worst things you can possibly do to an engine. The main reason is that unless the engine reaches full operating temperature, moisture (a natural byproduct of combustion and temperature changes) and acids (combustion byproducts) will build up inside the engine and contaminate the oil and metal surfaces. Obviously this is not good for metal components and results in increased wear and shorter life. This effect is easily seen by looking inside the oil filler tube of any rotary that was used primarily for short trips as there will be a clearly visible rust scale that has formed. During normal driving the engine generally heats up enough to vaporize these nasties which are then drawn off by the purge system and burned by the engine.




DO NOT JACK THE CAR UP

6spdtl-s,

The second myth is that a car should be stored on jackstands to keep the weight off the suspension. The theory is that keeping weight off of the suspension will somehow preserve it's full motion. In fact, removing the weight of the car will pull the suspension out of it's normal resting place and put it in an unnatural state of hyper extension. Keeping it this way over the long term will cause bushings and joints to bind up and the end result may be corrosion building up in the area of normal suspension travel where don't want it instead of the unused areas where it basically doesn't matter.

 

No. You made the statement: ...Letting your car warm up for extended times also isnt recommended.....

That's what I was asking about.

 

So I should turn my car off before it gets warmed up for to long? Or I can not sit in it while it idles? This car is more complicated than I thought.

 

It's not the car, it's the replies!

 

FYI, the 2004 TL owner's manual, pg. 227, would seem to contradict some of the advice previously given:

 

Any suggestions for dealing with a car that hasn't been started in years?

 

Just put something in mind. These cars sit on lots for a while before they are sold. Two months is NOT a lot.

 

Nice find! I dont know what to tell you I guess maybe I was wrong? I would still rather leave the car be if your not going to be able to drive the car for an reasonable period of time and get it to full operating temp range AND varying RPM range as well. I guess thats why it states to make sure that it gets to full operating temp and a couple cooling fan cycles come on.

As far as the suspenion goes I dont know what to say. I definetaly would not want my suspension in the full relaxed position for such a long time all because I dont want tires to flat spot. The tires will smooth out anyway after they warm up.

James

 

I stored my TL in Las Vegas for 5 months. I had concerns about the intense heat. But, fortunately upon my return the only issue was that I had forgot to disconnect the battery. So a short trip to Autozone. Replaced the battery and I was good to go.

 

These cars sit on dealers lots for months at a time with no harm to them. This is only 2 months and I see no reason to do anything. I bet you will come back and start it right up being it is being left in a garage. If your car has Navi you may end up with a low battery but a quick battery charge and you are ready to go. If you disconnect the battery and have Navi you will have to re-enter the radio and navi code. Just leave the car alone.

 

I would just disconnect the battery and put it on a trickle charge. My friend does it to his jet-ski battery for the winter.