Car Sat in Parking Lot a Year Due to Covid (2015, CRV)

[franniejacks]

Long story short: we shipped one of our cars to Arizona in January 2020 to begin house-hunting. We flew out 3 times and used the car to look at homes for sale. Then Covid hit.

Car has been in an airport parking lot since March 1, 2020.

We finished our 2nd vaccine dose two weeks ago and are flying out next week.

While we're pretty certain it won't start, what other issues do you think we might have? Should we attempt to drive it off the lot (assuming we get it started after a jump or delivery of new battery)?

It's a low mileage 2015 Honda CRV (18K miles). It was full of gas and serviced at Honda dealer in late December 2019, prior to shipping. The battery was under a year old; we always did all our regular dealer maintenance.

Should we expect this to be a total loss?

[sinsativ]

Quick jump startt should do the trick. I would have the oil changed and check the belts, also tires for dry rot. all fluid levels up to par and drive it. Take it easy for a few days, but shouldn't be a problem. Just curious, what is the parking charge gonna be for that? That should be like crazy.... but good luck.

[franniejacks]

6 bucks a day, so about $2,200. I try to look at as a monthly bill.....$180 a month for secure parking doesn't sound so bad.

[sinsativ]

Don't they have that, Lost my parking ticket option, so they just charge the base? Also, are you positive your car is still there? Some places, especially airports will have them towed after a certain periodd of time. Unless you've been in contact with them to let them know the car is not abandoned.

[robr2]

Jump start it and get the oil change soon. The tires will have flat spots and with driving might even out. If not, you'll be replacing tires as well.

$6/day per parking - that's cheap. In the long terms lots in Boston, it's something like $170/week.

[franniejacks]

Originally Posted by sinsativ

Don't they have that, Lost my parking ticket option, so they just charge the base? Also, are you positive your car is still there? Some places, especially airports will have them towed after a certain periodd of time. Unless you've been in contact with them to let them know the car is not abandoned.

We called them 2 weeks ago and while they didn't go look for it, they said because lot has been at 20-30% capacity they haven't towed any. Said they contact DMV to find owner before they tow, anyway.

[reed303]

Depending on amount of gas in tank,
if low, fill up soon to mix fresh gas with old
if full, consider having it drained/siphoned, and fill with fresh.

Also, if jump starting, when you first get there, see if any lights (dome etc) work. If not, battery may be to dead to jump.

If some light, try a jump, but don't try to start car right away. Give it a couple minutes for battery to get charged up. Else car may stall when disconnecting cables because battery is not charged enough yet.

Good Luck........

BTW, check to see if any rodents have made a home under hood or in air filter housing , or worse, chewed any wiring

[marlinfshr]

You should be alright, but the battery will be dead. As stated, your car might drive a bit hopity for a bit because the tires will probably have flat spots (similar to the older biased ply). Just take it easy a bit.

I did a lot of traveling in the past and my truck would be left from 6 months to a year or so sometimes as I was crewing on boats out of the country. The only issues I had, other then the battery, was one spring, upon returning, my truck was acting pretty rough and was barely drivable. Stupid critters decided they liked the taste of electrical wires. Danged rodent cost me 500 bucks because since I couldn't find the issue I took it to shop and they had to spend some time looking before they found the chewed wire!

[Ultrarunner]

Looking forward to how you make out...

Some seasonal equipment batteries are kept up with solar chargers that actually work.

[Lillie767]

Due to the extreme heat and dryness in AZ, check the belts before you start the engine. Some of the rubber or other materials may have rotted and fallen into the engine. It's best to have these fresh when you start the engine so they don't snap under the pressure.