Not running the car for days

[pinkandblue15]

How long can cars be left without running?

I've read cars must be run at least weekly in order to charge up the battery. I don't have to use the car to go to the supermarket but worried the car will be affected if I leave it weeks/ months on the drive?

My dad mentioned this to me yesterday. No idea really. I can remote start mine from an app but wonder if 8-10 mins is remotely enough.

You could always get in the car and do I little 10/15 minute run once a week to keep it ticking over. You don’t actually need to go anywhere just take it for a drive. No contact with others.
If you have a motorway or National speed limit road nearby even better. My plan is to take the car on the motorway, drive it three exits, get off motorway and then back on to head home.
It won’t need much more than that to keep it ticking over and shouldn’t use too much petrol either.

How long do you leave it if you go on holiday? How old is the car?

You can get car battery chargers that plug into your mains.

The RAC advice says just starting it up briefly will probably cause more strain on the battery than leaving it alone.

Car is 8 years old. I haven't been on holiday since buying a car so I have never left it for more than a week without running it.

Older cars are likely to cope better as less gadgetry to drain the battery. I was told 2-3 weeks should be fine unless the battery is already on its last legs, which is about the length of time people often leave their car for a holiday. I've seen most of my neighbours leave their cars for that long without issues.

Do you have at home breakdown cover if you need help starting it? Or getting a battery charger might be cheaper if you don't.

It depends on a few things OP. If it's diesel, then ideally onto a motorway and drive at 50+ mph for about 10-15 minutes. This is to clear the diesel particulate filter. You need to do this maybe once every few weeks/once a month.

Petrol and diesel engines also have issues around fuel degradation. So fuel goes off, especially if it's in the sun. Because fuel nowadays has less sulphur in it, it grows microbes more quickly which will gunk up the engine. So in ideal conditions (dark, kept under 15 degrees, and completely full so there is no air in the tank to provide oxygen for microbial growth) fuel will last around 6 months.

What I would suggest it means is that it is worth running your fuel out every 2-3 months, especially with summer around the corner. If you are not able to do this, then at your next car service ask your mechanic for a fuel line flush, and ensure that even if it's a minor service they change the fuel filter (should add around £50 to a service).

If you don't use the car for several months it will depend on the general condition of the engine (fuel pump, spark/glow plugs, etc) but generally it will start if reluctantly. If it does fail to start or starts reluctantly contact your local mechanic about the cost of a fuel line flush/fuel filter change/draining fuel tank.

Sorry modern batteries shouldn't have that much of an issue- but a battery change is neither expensive or difficult if your car is failing to start due to a dead battery (although I appreciate it may be difficult to go and pick up a car battery without a working car).

I work abroad and leave my 17 year old diesel car in the garage for (usually) 2-3 months at a time, sometimes longer. I use a battery isolator switch:
www.halfords.com/motoring/battery-maintenance/battery-accessories/halfords-battery-isolator-switch-hef390-869552.html
Car has never failed to start first time, never had to charge the battery

Also if you run the engine at all, you need to do it for long enough to get the exhaust system up to full temperature, otherwise you can get condensation build-up and it will rust through.

I didn't use mine for six weeks after I gave birth in November. I just didn't occur to me to worry about it until it was time to use it again and then I wondered if it would start!

It was fine but it's only a two year old car so obviously not an old banger. My tyre did blow the first time I drive it though and I'm not sure if that had something to do with it being sat in the cold for weeks or it was just a coincidence!

You could always get in the car and do I little 10/15 minute run once a week to keep it ticking over

This is not essential driving. If the OP doesn't need the car, she doesn't need to keep it "ticking over".

If the battery goes flat it's easy enough to jump start it or charge it from the mains.

The police are finding people where I live for unnecessary travel - this is unnecessary travel. Going for a run on the motorway is a stupid idea.

I’m not touching mine. The likelihood is I won’t be using it for some weeks yet. If it wont start then I will get it seen to.

Well my car is old and I do need to run it to keep it ticking over. I’m not actually travelling anywhere - not getting out of the car and not interacting with anyone else.
I don’t fancy the headache of trying to locate a new battery and having to collect it via public transport when we are finally out of lockdown. I am the only driver in my house and we are also doing occasional food drop off for parents in law who are over 70 and not leaving the house at all. They are pretty well stocked but still need things every couple of weeks to top up. I need my car running to do that for them (otherwise it’s 2 busses/ 1 train and a 20 minute walk). Keeping my car running is the best bet. I see that as essential. Many of you might not agree but I don’t care. We are not even doing the 1 hour of daily exercise thing (not outside the house anyway). We are in the house and the garden exclusively and the only time we are around other people is for food shopping. Everyone and their granny is suddenly obsessed with daily walks and the local parks and walkways are mobbed at the moment. Running the car once a week is far less risk for everyone than the ‘I need my daily walk’ brigade.

How would you feel if you had an accident that necessitated an ambulance and a stay in hospital?

You could say that about anything? You could be hit with a car crossing the road when you are out buying food. You could fall in the park during your daily walk /cycle / exercise and break your leg and end up in hospital.
I need to keep my car running so we can keep bringing supplies to PIL. My car is old and if it sits for too long it struggles to turn over. It can cope with a week or two at a push, provided it’s not too cold overnight. I could technically drive to the large supermarket about 5 miles up the road but we are choosing to walk to the smaller one nearest our house, even though it has a more limited selection. I think we are doing far more social distancing than the majority of people at the moment. In 8 days I’ve left the house once for food shopping, my DH hasn’t been out at all and DD has been in the garden only (twice for about 10 minutes to help me hang out a washing). We are needing to go over to drop milk, bread and a few bits at PIL on Monday. We will drive over so the car will get a run then.