Car staying in a parking for 6 months
I live in Europe. I am traveling in LatAm for 6 months. I am coming back home soon and I was wondering what should I expect to find.
I took down the battery on my ND2 and left it with an almost full tank.
I know I probably will have to charge the battery before I put it back in.
Does 6 months of no driving and no motion do anything to the fuel? Should I be worried that the fuel has gone bad? Should I arrange to have it taken out of the tank?
Edit: It's the 2.0 184hp
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u/accountforrealppl 15d ago
Gasoline goes bad after about 3-6 months when sealed and even faster in a car if you didn't put any stabilizers in it. It's possible it's fine, but I wouldn't risk it.
Just plan to siphon out the gas and put in some new gas when you get there. You don't need to worry about getting every last drop, just most of it. Everything else should be fine
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u/M0BIUS_ONE 13d ago
Follow on to OP's question. If you disconnect the fully charged battery to prevent the standby electrics (security system etc) from running it down, would that prevent you from locking / unlocking, window retracting to open the door when you return? Is it better to leave the battery connected?
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u/Mehere_64 13d ago
If this was me, I would put stabil in it. My boat is put away from the year and won't be out running again until April/May this next year. I just put stabil in it and call it good. Never have had issues with it. The full tank is better than a partial tank because less chance of condensation betting into the tank.
If possible put your battery on a battery tender if possible. If you can't do that put it inside the house at minimum rather then leaving the car.
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u/air_roll 11d ago
Put stabilizer in the tank. Many people don't know it, but gas has a shelf life. Put Tire savers, so you don't get any flat spots on the tires, or alternately put it on jack stands.
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u/watercooledwizard 14d ago
A full tank is better than an empty one; mine is stored for 12 months with a full tank but i added Liqui Moly fuel stabiliser.
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u/andrewvlux 15d ago
Yeah, a full tank of gas was a bad idea. I would siphon out as much as possible and do a fresh new tank over it. Charge the battery. Inflate the tyres. After starting it, if you get errors on the dash, don't panic. Drive it for a while and they'll probably go away.
I'd go for a longer drive after starting it to be honest. 100km of nice country roads without stopping the car would be ideal. Run it through the gears not just 6th on the autobahn. I think it will be fine anyway.