Storing Car for 2 Years - Tips?
 

Question for the experts here....

I will be putting my car in storage for 2 years. Any tips as to what I should or should not do?

Better idea. Sell your car, buy 2017 model when it comes out.

Here was some advice I gave in another thread

For you, I'd also recommend a good car cover and plugging exhaust, intake, and any other holes to prevent critters from making a home.

Honestly though, given the depreciation hit from storing a new car for 2 years you would be better off financially selling. You can always buy another after the 2 years are over.

I do intend to cover up the intake and exhaust.

I have a Monogram series so I'm not entirely convinced they will bring its creature comforts back. I suppose they assume such a buyer would just get a BRZ, but that's not an option for me.

This is not a financial decision, and I'm okay with that. My car has quite high mileage for its age (27,000 km in 9 months) so I think the hit I would take wouldn't be worth it. Plus I would have to deal with selling the car and finding a new one when I come back, which I just don't have time for.

Anyone know whether disconnecting the battery for so long would do any harm beyond losing ECU learning? I'm more worried about the dashboard lighting up like a Christmas tree...

Yeah, removing it is no problem. It'll just screw up throttle response for the first few driving hours after power is returned to the system.

Why, if you don't mind me asking, are you storing it for two years anyway?

Leaving for a work assignment.

That sounds relatively harmless... Saves me having to buy a battery tender.

Just the opposite- depreciation when manufacturing years aren't too big an issue (read: the twins are going to stay relatively like they are now) would be factored around mileage as the primary driver over the asset's useful (depreciable) life. 2016 and 2017's aren't going to be wildly different... he'd be taking a huge hit right now selling it low mileage after he just got it

You should definitely still get a battery tender. Lead Acid batteries slowly discharge on their own so you an either get a battery tender now, or a new battery once you get back.

That's what I would do.

if you dont end up jacking up the car, put some carpet squares/ sample pieces (thick carpet) under your tires. this will prevent your tires from getting flat spots. car cover, plug holes (intake/ exhaust), perhaps look into covering your seats, steering wheel, etc with large covers (e.g: bed sheets) just to cut down on dust on hard to clean areas.


in all honesty, look into selling the car. i don't know how your insurance works where you are but if you're storing a car you should look into theft, fire and storage insurance.

may be wise to take the hit on the car now rather than spend money on storage insurance, things to help the car during storage and potential problems you may need to face when you get home: theft, fire, earthquake, critters, wearing parts.. etc etc etc

It's better to put carpet squares under the tires, than to put the car on jack-stands for extended periods of time. Granted the car doesn't have much droop when lifted, you'd still end up with some suspension geometry issues if you left the car on jackstands for 2 years (unless you were also supporting the wheels/tires with blocks or something)

What was suggested above is definitely the way to go.

Don't forget to put a "dry ball" (called that in swedish) to collect moisture inside the car.

^^ Definitely spend the $20 on a battery tender. You'd be amazed how often those things come in handy!

I have some old winter tires on the car now which I don't intend to re-use when I get back. So I'm just going to pump it up a bit higher and leave it at that. No problem there!

Good call, will do!

I think I will. It would be a terrible tragedy if it somehow started a fire though :lol:*knock on wood*....

It's such low voltage you should be fine, and I'm sure it has an inline fuse on it somewhere that will break :thumbsup:... It would also be a terrible tragedy if you came back home from work and couldn't drive your baby!!

Is there anyone you can ask to drive it every so often?

Make sure you put a fuel stabilizer in the tank! 2 years is a long time to let a car sit

Nick C.

2 years is too long! Sell it!

Having stored a couple of cars when deployed/posted overseas for extended periods I agree that most of the ideas already given are good.
Here is my thoughts (sorry for the repetition but just to have them all in one spot)
Disconnect the battery if not worried about losing ecu settings. Had a buddy get mice in his engine compartment and chew some wires. The wires shorted and burnt half the car up before it was noticed.
Use a tender on the disconnected battery. This way you reduce fire hazards but still keep the battery good.
Use crappy tires and don't jack anything up. Sounds like that is your plan and it is a good one.
Cover it. Again your plan.
Do what ever you can to seal it all up. Critters seem to be the worst enemy to any long term stored car I have ever seen!
Get somebody you trust to check it every once in a while. You didn't say where you are storing it but if somebody checks on a regular basis they can stop any problems before they get too bad.
Make sure you have some insurance on it (or it is covered by where you are storing it). Just in case!

Fuel stabilizer is for sure!
Technically I can ask my dad to start it up every so often. But I've heard that starting it without running it decently hard may actually do more harm. I'm a bit wary of actually having him take it out for a rip because it won't have insurance.

Good idea on disconnecting the battery but keeping it on a tender. I think I will do that.

I don't intend to put a cover on it, but my car will be kept in my garage. For the time being I intend to be back in July and intend to wash and wax it at that point.

Thanks for the tips! Keep em coming!

Also, any tips for when I fire it up again when I get back? My biggest worry is the fuel. I intend to fill the tank and add stabilizer. Should I just try to crank it?

Throw some octane booster in, fire er up and drive. The gas will be a bit stale even with stabilizer but that just means the ecu will have a little more work to do through that tank.
The longest one mine sat was just short of two years and it fired up second crank. Now mind you that was pre ecu days but still...

Ideally it would be good to fog the cylinders with some cylinder fogging oil, but this is difficult on the twins.

Critters, moisture, and overall dry rot is the biggest enemy here.

Do you have an extended warranty? Cause you could have issues that arise from sitting that long that if you're paying out of pocket could make it wiser to simply sell it.

Quite honestly, I would store it without fuel at all if possible. Siphon the tank, and pull the pump fuse. Crank it up to get residual fuel out of the lines, and then let her sit. That's jmho

Octane booster is a big no-no for the FA20 IIRC, perhaps someone else will chime in with more feedback?

Nick C.

Even when sitting for two years?
I am not talking day to day use.
Always used it is stored cars before but with this engine you could be correct.

Doesn't this pretty much guarantee condensation in the tank, followed by mold and all that good stuff?

Look into "Star-Tron enzyme fuel treatment". We used stabil for years & it was always so/so.. We've had very good luck with this stuff as far as curing our enthenol issues while the machines sit aside for awhile. We use it in our cars, trucks, motorcycles, lawn mowers, chain saws, basically any gasoline engine. Claims to stabilize gas for up to 2 years.

I'm surprised no one else suggested this. Our gas tanks are a saddle type, so it would be pretty difficult to get all of the fuel out by siphoning. However, I was just outside feeling around under the car, and I think there is a drain plug on both sides of the tank. I'm doing an oil change on the weekend, so I'll have a look-see while I'm under there.


I'm fairly sure our tanks are plastic, so condensation shouldn't be an issue.


I'd run the gas tank low, change the oil, put a good dose of stabilizer in the tank, go for a rip around the block, then park the car and get all the fuel I could out of it. I park the Mustang for 6 months of the year (damn winter), and leave the gas in it (with stabilizer). I haven't had any problems doing that for 7 seasons now, but 2 years gives gas a long time to turn into poo.

I don't mean that it would rust, but would become a breeding ground for bacteria and mold and other gunk.

Here's what Toyota recommends. http://www.ft86club.com/forums/attac...9&d=1379350290

If anyone cares for an update, I returned right at the end of December.

What I ended up doing was:
-disconnected and removed the battery
-pumped tires slightly beyond Toyota's recommendation
-filled the gas tank with gas
-put in a dose of fuel stabilizer/octane booster (stuff was rated for 2 years)
-put a sand bag behind each wheel. Roll onto them in neutral, then leave car in gear. Handbrake off.
-stuffed a microfiber in the exhaust tip
-stuffed a microfiber in the intake, behind the filter
-left a note on the driver's seat to remove said microfibers

I also bought a moisture absorbing thing from a dollar store and left it on the centre console.

I left right at the start of January 2015. I returned for a visit in July of that year. At that time I changed the oil and took the car for a quick spin. Basically everything was fine. Couldn't tell it was ever in storage. When I left I put everything back as above.

I returned for another visit in august 2016. By this time my battery was toast so I did nothing to the car.

I finally returned for good at the end of December 2016. I installed a new battery and changed the oil. Car fired up with no problems. For the first 20 seconds or so it sounded and felt like the idle was a tiny bit rougher than usual, but no problems otherwise. I was impressed with how well the tires held up. I noticed a hint of shaking at highway speeds, but definitely drivable. I was able to make a 40 minute drive to my father in law's shop to get fresh michelin X Ice tires on.

The car has been used daily since then with no issues. The one thing I would do differently is put the moisture absorber on a dish or something. It comes in a plastic container but it split apart. So after all the moisture was absorbed, some of it leaked onto my centre console and into the seat heater switches. Everything still works just fine, thankfully.

Thanks for everyone's advice and I hope this might help someone in the future.

LOL, it's the details that count! This post should really be stickied. It's the perfect example of how to store a car. Some might say to put the car up on jack stands, but as good as that is for the springs and tires, it's bad for the dampers, IMHO you did it right.

What? How does it hurt your dampers? How do you manage to force the suspension into the dampers by putting a car on jack stands?

It's bad for dampers to be at full extension for long periods of time. They've been known to get locked in that state and have to be replaced.

Thanks! The way you wrote it confused me and I thought you meant they would be over compressed somehow. That is why the jack stands should be under the suspension not the body of the car. Suspension components should never ever be left dangling since they are not designed for that.

LOL that's a funny visual. Imagine someone putting the jack stands under the wheels

Oh you have to know it was done at least once!