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You guys probably already know the answer to this one but bear with me. Im old and Im too lazy to look this up on Google.
My question is how often do you need to drive your car to keep its widgets in working order. And if you dont drive that much what should you be doing. Should I start it and let it run in place or does it need road miles.
My driving has decreased drastically since my husband passed away last summer. Lots of driving before that. Doctor and hospital visits and then SNF visits. Now I might drive once a week. Usually less than five miles. Some weeks not at all.
Forgot to add. 2015 Honda Odyssey. Live in country. Park outside.
This is actually an interesting question that I've thought about too. I have a second car, that I mostly use for long trips, so it sits a lot during the week; I make it a point to drive it to work periodically because I don't want it sitting too long.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Driving at least once a week is ideal, and our main two vehicles rarely go more than a day or two without being used. My Nova, however, is not going on the road in weather below freezing, heavy rain, or snow. It has manual drum brakes, only 2 speed wipers, no anti-lock or other modern safety features. About mid-October it gets fuel stabilizer in the tank, and a trickle charger hooked up. This winter so far there have been 3 days when it was dry and warm enough that I was able to take it out for a cruise of 20-30 miles.
On collector cars I have, it is not unusual to go 2-3 months without them leaving the garage. The only thing I do is have them on a battery tender and try to start them every 3 weeks or so.
My Mother also does not drive much (4,000 miles on a 2015) and she will need AAA to come out once or twice a year to get a jump or a new battery.
On collector cars I have, it is not unusual to go 2-3 months without them leaving the garage. The only thing I do is have them on a battery tender and try to start them every 3 weeks or so.
How long do you run them ...I do 30 minutes...I have no charger,
And drive one 1-2 times a month on a highway.
It's not a problem driving infrequently, it's the short trips that will cause the most wear and tear on the engine. Occasional short trips are fine, but my recommendation is to make sure the engine gets up to temperature a few times a month to burn off any contaminates in the oil and to make sure the battery is getting charged fully. I'm not sure 5 miles will really do that, so a few longer drives would be good.
I'm guilty of this as well since I work from home and most of my trips are pretty short. I do try to get my cars out for longer trips on the weekend.
You guys probably already know the answer to this one but bear with me. Im old and Im too lazy to look this up on Google.
My question is how often do you need to drive your car to keep its widgets in working order. And if you dont drive that much what should you be doing. Should I start it and let it run in place or does it need road miles.
My driving has decreased drastically since my husband passed away last summer. Lots of driving before that. Doctor and hospital visits and then SNF visits. Now I might drive once a week. Usually less than five miles. Some weeks not at all.
Forgot to add. 2015 Honda Odyssey. Live in country. Park outside.
Don't do that. Every two or three weeks take it out for at least a 30 minute drive. You should be able to find somewhere worthwhile to drive to once or twice a month.
I had an issue with my battery dying completely from sitting while the car's computer was on standby. It could sit for a month, but I had to start it up about every 7-10 days. It should be running for at least 20 minutes to recoup the battery, but other parts need to be used, so take a 20-minute highway drive (less starting and stopping). The brakes will corrode from disuse.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,550 posts, read 81,103,317 times
Reputation: 57750
Quote:
Originally Posted by kitty61
I had an issue with my battery dying completely from sitting while the car's computer was on standby. It could sit for a month, but I had to start it up about every 7-10 days. It should be running for at least 20 minutes to recoup the battery, but other parts need to be used, so take a 20-minute highway drive (less starting and stopping). The brakes will corrode from disuse.
I'm using a solar trickle charger, which produces some voltage even in cloudy/wet weather. With disc brakes the rotors will rust from the humidity if not used. That will wear off after the first few time you but the brakes but they will be a bit grabby and may make some noise then. For our classic cars with drum brakes that won't happen since they are enclosed.
I currently have 6 cars and trucks and am the only driver in my household. I try to drive each at least once per week, but sometimes it's much longer than that. I keep them all on intelligent battery chargers (not trickle chargers). So far, no issues and no varmint damage, even though only 1 of the 6 is garaged (the remainder of the garage is taken up by my loader/backhoe and a bunch of motorcycles.
Car/truck mileage by year:
1993. 108,000 miles. I purchased it used in 2018 and I've put less than 100 miles on it. Still drives OK, but will probably need new hard brake lines shortly, but that would have happened even if it had been daily driven
2014. 22,000 miles. Purchased new. 9 years, 4 months old, which works out to 196 miles per month.
2018. 8,900 miles. Purchased new. 4 years, 9 months old, 156 miles per month.
2019. 3,800 miles. Purchased new. 4 years, 1 month old, 77 miles per month (unused during winter).
2021. 2,900 miles. Purchased new. 2 years, 6 months old, 96 miles per month (unused during winter).
2022. 5,100 miles. Purchased used in Nov 2022 with 4,700 miles on it. 400 miles in 5 months, 80 miles per month.
In my experience, keeping the battery charged and the fluids fresh (including changing the brake fluid every 2 years) doesn't seem to cause any issues. The only exception is that the blower motor on the 2014 went out a year or so ago, probably from rust developing on the shaft.
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