Reduction in driving

[touringcamry]

Today is the first time I drove the car in about 10 days, and I drove a total of 13.2 miles. This may become the trend for the foreseeable future due to my transportation requirements. Are there any precautions I should take since my car is going to be sitting idle in driveway so much now?

[Frodo65]

The only things I'd consider is adding fuel stabilizer since a tank would last several months and doing oil changes based on the time interval rather than just the miles.

[arabianobsession]

+1
I haven't driven my Camry in over 2 weeks as the weather has been nice and I've been driving the Mustang, and after 10 months of owning her I've racked up a whole 5600 miles. I usually only leave about 1/4 tank of gas in the car (what's the point in having more than that? lol), throw in some stabilizer, and change the oil once a year (mine takes 0w-20 synthetic).

Since I currently don't have a garage, mine sits under a car cover most of the time so she avoids getting beat on by the sun 24/7 and getting tree sap/bird poo/leaves all over her. Your paint will thank you later....just remember to take it off once in awhile and give her a good bath.

[RningOnFumes]

What they said, lol.

I have an emergency 5 gallons in the back yard that has stabilizer in it. The label says it will help to keep the gas fresh up to a year, but I dump it into my car every 6 months.

See if your current schedule of usage is enough to keep the charge up on the battery, otherwise take it out and/or put in a battery tender. I've not looked into it but I guess you can find solar ones that will trickle charge. If you do need and decide on the charger, make sure it has failsafes to keep from overcharging the battery.

[Pilot0617]

I am a commercial pilot and my car some times sits on the garage for weeks and weeks and I haven't had a problem yet. I do turn it over once or twice a week, put some fuel stabilizer, keep the battery charged and schedule oil changes but I use Mobil 1 Fully synthetic oil that I change every 6 months.

[my.rims.are.stock]

If you leave the car sitting for 8 months, and only have people driving/starting it once or twice a month, the battery will go dead :-/

[Punks_Not_Dead5]

I am storing mine for the winter, glad this thread was posted.. helpful tips for sure!

[workerant]

What i'm concern are the rotors for the brakes. they get rusted after awhile. You can see it through the rims.

I'm in the same boat. Hardly drive anymore and no garage. The cover won't help.

Oh well, guess I'll try to find some excuse tomorrow... maybe go to Walmart pickup some car wash cleaning supplies.

[touringcamry]

Originally Posted by Punks_Not_Dead5

I am storing mine for the winter, glad this thread was posted.. helpful tips for sure!

Winter? It's June...then again, you're in Canada.

I have a much funner ride now. Aluminum, carbon fiber, and leather -- front and rear disc brakes, close ratio manual transmission, fat 24" rims and skinny tires.

The stuff Camry owners dream of...

[Punks_Not_Dead5]

^

No i meant i WILL be putting it in the garage for the winter when the time comes. I didn't mean now.

[AlmightyCamry777]

Well what everybody else said. use a fuel stabilizer but remember it only works on FRESH gas - so run it til almost empty then add the stabilizer, then fill up or at least put in several gallons of gas to mix it. By the drive home the stabilizer will be in the fuel lines too.
It's best to drive it every 2 weeks at least, and when you do drive til the engine is warmed up. If you do this there's probably no need for a charger, although a good solar charger might work if any part of the car is in the sun. Remember even while sitting the battery is drawing a tiny bit of voltage for the computer and other electronics like the clock. Admittedly it is not much of a voltage draw, measure in micro- or milliamps usually - but enough that it WILL run the battery down if you ignore the car long enough.

Another good reason to drive the car every two weeks: watch how fast your rotors rust, especially in rainy or damp weather, if you don't drive the car.

[arabianobsession]

^Yep, mine rust within 2 days of sitting. She's been sitting for 18 days now, the rotors make me laugh to look at.

[workerant]

taken from http://www.startribune.com/business/34352474.html

"If you're concerned about some corrosion on the brake rotors, you can spray them with a light aerosol lubricant. This will dissipate with the first applications of the brakes when the vehicle is put back in service."

[arabianobsession]

Originally Posted by workerant

What i'm concern are the rotors for the brakes. they get rusted after awhile. You can see it through the rims.

I'm in the same boat. Hardly drive anymore and no garage. The cover won't help.

Oh well, guess I'll try to find some excuse tomorrow... maybe go to Walmart pickup some car wash cleaning supplies.

Originally Posted by workerant

taken from http://www.startribune.com/business/34352474.html

"If you're concerned about some corrosion on the brake rotors, you can spray them with a light aerosol lubricant. This will dissipate with the first applications of the brakes when the vehicle is put back in service."

Well there ya go, there's your answer. I personally don't care too much if the rotors rust, it will come off later. The car cover doesn't help avoid it completely but when I keep mine on the Camry (mind you, a size too small, I bought it for my 1st Mustang initially), it does make a difference.

[touringcamry]

I think I might end up selling the Camry. In the past three weeks, I've used only 2 Gal of fuel. I'm seriously starting to look into Zip car for my motoring needs. Only thing that concerns me is that my Camry is a 5M so there probably isn't a huge demand for such a vehicle.