7 Easy Tips for Maintaining Your Idle Car

For many people, the past few months have meant working from home and reducing or completely eliminating the amount that they leave their house. This also means people are driving way less. If you fall into this category and are rarely hitting the road, your vehicle could be considered an idle car.

So what constitutes an idle car and how should you maintain it? An idle car, not to be confused with an idling car, is one that is not in use for an extended period of time. If you aren’t using your car for days or weeks at a time, it is important that you still take steps to maintain your car. If not, you may find that it won’t start up (due to a dead battery or a variety of other reasons) the next time you need it.

1. Drive your car around the block

The first step in maintaining your idle car is starting it up and driving it around the block. It’s important to note here that we don’t just mean starting your engine while the car is parked. This is called idling. 

We often get asked “Is it bad to let your car idle?” or “Is idling bad for your car?”. Technically, idling isn’t bad, but it does use up some gas without the added benefit of actually driving your car. If you’re looking to properly maintain your car, it’s important to do more than just letting it idle in your driveway. Take it for a quick spin around the block.

So how often should you start your car and drive it? This can depend on a variety of factors – the weather as well as your car’s make, model, and age – but it’s a good idea to start and drive it at least once a week. 

2. Invest in a battery maintainer

If you are going to let your car sit idle and don’t have the ability to start and drive it, it’s best to invest in a battery maintainer. A battery maintainer is different from a battery charger for fairly obvious reasons – a maintainer maintains your existing charge level whereas a charger charges the battery. For that reason, a battery charger should be disconnected once the battery is fully charged, making it less ideal if you’re storing your vehicle.

A battery maintainer, on the other hand, helps to prevent your battery from losing all charge and requiring a jumpstart next time you try to start your vehicle. As a vehicle sits idle, it will continuously lose charge in it’s battery, so a battery maintainer will help to prevent that.

3. Be aware of tire pressure

Checking and addressing tire pressure is another important part of maintaining an idle car. If your car is sitting in the same spot without being driven frequently, it is likely that your tires will slowly lose air. Be sure that your tires are filled to the proper pressure, as under- or over-inflated tires can be dangerous when you do drive your vehicle again.

4. Add a fuel stabilizer

You’ve likely heard that it’s best to keep a full gas tank when your car is sitting idle, but that is often an item that is overlooked. If you don’t end up with a full gas tank before your car sits idle for a while, there are some other options that you can do to help protect your vehicle.

Add a fuel stabilizer to your gas tank. The fuel stabilizer helps to prevent evaporation of the gasoline, which in turn preserves the fuel and keeps all the various motors running smoothly.

5. Check fluid levels

After your car has been sitting idle for an extended period of time, it’s possible that there may be leaks or reduced fluid levels, which would need to be addressed before driving the car. In order to prevent an issue with your fluid levels, plan to regularly check your fluid levels throughout the duration of your car not being in use, rather than just at the end right before you start driving it again.

6. Cover your car

If your car is parked outside, it is a good idea to place a cover on it. While this may seem like it’s for purely cosmetic reasons, it’s important for the preservation of your paint job as well as to prevent rust and other potentially threatening conditions. 

7. Clean your car

Related to covering your car, it is important to clean your car (both inside and out) before parking it for an extended period of time. This will prevent irreversible damage to your car from bird poop and other external elements that can damage your car’s interior and exterior.

Now that you know the tips and tricks for maintaining your idle car, it’s time to get started. Remember, many of these steps will need to be repeated, depending on how long your car is sitting idle for, so be sure to cycle through this list as needed. And if there’s only one thing you take away from this post, make sure that you start your car up and drive it around. If nothing else, that will help to maintain your car for longer.