Our world right now is in a paused state, most of the countries are under some form of lockdown brought upon by the Corona Virus COVID-19 which emerged from Wuhan, China in 2019.

Any machine if not used regularly undergoes some sort of decay or degradation in performance. This is also true for our vehicles which are nothing but a combination of multiple systems. Let us look at the different components which we need to take special care of when our vehicles are not in use every day.

TLDR;

The proper functioning of a car will depend on the below 6 areas, depending on a car’s make/model and age, each car will experience some form degradation in the below mentioned 6 areas.

A moving car is a happy car, if you can do a 5 min drive of your car like I am suggesting below, once a week for petrol and twice a week for diesel engine you don’t have to worry about a thing.

Otherwise, keep a watch for the below 6 common problems.

1. Starting your car.

Starting your car is a combination of multiple things, but this is a good step to begin and find if there are any issues. Start your car at least once a week for Petrol and twice a week for Diesel.

While starting your unused car we need to have some additional steps, consider this as a checklist,

  • Even before starting, we need to check the underside of the car for any leakages around the engine bay, fuel tank, and wheels.
  • Put your key into the ignition, but don’t start the engine just yet.
  • Wait for a good 1-2 minutes for all fluids, oils, to circulate through all systems, allowing them to undergo a smooth start-up.
  • Check for any warning lights on the dashboard.
  • Open the car hood, check if any wires have been damaged due to rodents or environmental conditions.
  • When all is good, get back into the car, open all windows.
  • If your car has motorized windows, then don’t open windows (this will draw power from the battery) instead just keep your driver door slightly open.
  • Remove all brakes and parking breaks,
  • Keep your car in neutral (No gear).
  • Turn off all power drawing features of your car such as climate control, AC, headlights, car interior lights, USB chargers. Make sure no additional power is drawn by the car and all power is available for starting the car.
  • Then start your car in neutral
  • If the car has started and the engine is running without issues, lower all windows, if not already done.
  • Wait for 2-3 min before putting it in gear and moving away.

2. Battery Care.

The most important component needed to start a car’s engine is the battery. Most car batteries are ~12V in a standstill and ~14V-14.5V under running conditions. Dry cell battery has a lower rate of discharge (they are also called as maintenance-free batteries). Wet cell battery requires water level top up regularly also comparatively discharge rates are higher quicker.

** Cars with Diesel engine require a higher voltage to start than petrol cars, hence diesel cars should not be left undriven for long.**

To take care of your battery,

  • Inspect car battery terminals regularly for any accumulated carbon and ensure the contacts are contaminants free.
  • If you have a dry cell battery, there is not much to do except the above point.
  • If you have a multimeter, you can check for any voltage drop at regular intervals.
  • For wet cell battery, inspect the water levels and if needed top them up.
  • If your car doesn’t start, most likely the battery is discharged or doesn’t have enough power to start the car. In such cases don’t keep starting the car, you will damage the starter motors.
  • You need a spare battery to jump start your car so that your discharged battery can be charged back.
  • Some people also advise disconnecting the battery completely.
  • However disconnecting car battery is a very extreme step and is done in some exceptional cases, this should not be done unless consulted with a mechanic. Dont attempt it if never done before, you run the risk of causing a short circuit in your car.

3. Climate control and Air conditioning.

There is not much that goes wrong in your air conditioning system unless there is a leak in the condenser pipes. The only problem that can happen here is bugs, spiders will take refuge in the air vents and make it their home, also causing a bad smell.

It is advisable to not directly start using air conditioning and climate control in a car that is standing still for some time. As advised in the “starting your car section”, start your car with everything turned off.

Once the car is moving at speed above 20 kmph, start by opening the air vents of your air conditioning unit to take fresh air in. As per our steps, you should have already lowered all your windows by now. Let enough fresh air circulation to happen, you can also start your AC in fan mode and keep the fan blower at full speed to ensure all bugs and bad smell is flushed out from the vents.

Once you are driving for at least 2-3 min, only then close air vents, close windows, and start your AC. Dont try this in a standstill car, your radiator will heat quickly, especially if fluids are low and no fresh air is hitting the radiator.

4. Tires.

When car tires sit in one spot for a long period, they develop flat spots and deformation. Especially in extreme cold and heat conditions. However, this is not an issue for some weeks or even a couple of months. This will happen if a car is left undriven for 3-4 months.

The best way to avoid any such issues is to roll your car a few meters forwards and backward every week. If you can start your car then good exercise is to change the parking spot of your car every week, this would indirectly take care of everything.

5. Brakes & wheel hubs.

When a car is not in use, car brakes, calipers, suspension springs, bearings, hubs all get stuck at one place and their contact points dry up. You will hear this noise if you start a car after a couple of weeks.

Hence it is advisable to not Overspeed in a car that has been idle for a long time. Best to take it slow, apply brakes slowly, steer slowly and feel if everything is working fine and keep ears open for any noise, Springs, bearings hubs get in shape quickly (within the first kilometer) as the grease and oils start to coat all surfaces again.

Brake & brake calipers need some time to get up to an optimal performance. So smooth application of brakes for first 8-10km is must, this will ensure the friction remove any rust and contaminants sitting in between brake discs and calipers and they work optimally for you.

6. Hand brake or parking brake.

NEVER USE HAND BRAKE TO PARK A CAR if you can’t drive your car regularly. Handbrake is a physical braking system, unlike car brakes which are a fluid-based system. Handbrake is a cable to each wheel hub which stops it from rotating. If the hand brake is kept applied for a long time, these cables get rigid and can snap or get stuck. So even if you remove hand brake from inside your car, the car wheel is still under braking tension as the cable is stuck.

The solution is very simple, if your car is parked on a flat surface, just put the car in gear and park it. If you want to feel extra safe, keep a stone or wheel wedge in front.

If your car is parked on a slope, do the same, but in this case, the stone or wheel wedge is a must.

Stay safe!

Happy Driving!