BRZ stored for the winter...should I check in on it?

[7 skulls]

I park my car in winter too. I just leave it in the back yard and start it to move for snow clearing once a month, letting the coolant and oil heat up to operating temp. I run the AC and heater as per a Toyota issued PDF on long term lot vehicles. Other than that, I shoot squirrels on sight. Airguns are great for that.

[BirdTRD]

They're sneaky little bastards...

[Brink]

Check your bumper for nests. Was just working on my car today and I noticed the outer corners of the bumper seem to accumulate every twig and leaf and whatever else has ever fallen on the car so it's pretty much ready for something to move in.

[guybo]

cover your intake and tailpipe. There's a ton of different opinions on what will repel rodents, but I'd try all of them if you even saw one around.

Did you use fuel stabilizer? If not, do it now and drive over and fuel up- top it off. Gas with Ethanol in it will start to stratify in a couple months and when you go to start it, your engine will get a big gulp of almost pure ethanol.

[Capt Spaulding]

Could be a lot worse. I was reading about a guy who parked his $1.8+M bizjet on the ramp at Dallas Love for a couple of days. When he started the engines, one went into a hot start so he shut both down. Turns out a swarm of bees had set up housekeeping in one of the engines. Repair ran over $400k.

[pkolanko]

Originally Posted by MRCA1ST

I have had battery tenders fail, so that is worth checking on. Sticking steel wool in your intake duct will at least ensure they don't eat through your air filter and set up shop in your air box - just make sure to take it out before you fire it back up. and +1 on traps/poison

Battery tender shows green light on it, like it is fully charged. It's in my basement, not attached to my car.

[pkolanko]

Originally Posted by guybo

cover your intake and tailpipe. There's a ton of different opinions on what will repel rodents, but I'd try all of them if you even saw one around.

Did you use fuel stabilizer? If not, do it now and drive over and fuel up- top it off. Gas with Ethanol in it will start to stratify in a couple months and when you go to start it, your engine will get a big gulp of almost pure ethanol.

I did use sta-bil. Haven't seen a rodent though. Saw one cat underneath, but he was cruising through the neighborhood and I must have spooked him, so he ran under my car. A minute after I got into my house I saw him walk down the street.

[pkolanko]

Originally Posted by venturaII

When I bought my FR-S, it was barely a year old and had ~11K miles on it. A few weeks after getting it I was poking around under the hood and decided to check out the air filter. To my surprise and disappointment, there was a golf ball sized hole chewed right through the filter material. So much for paying extra for a "Certified Pre-Owned Toyota" when they clearly didn't inspect a thing.

When I park my bikes for the winter, I use steel wool in the exhausts to keep uninvited campers out; you could do the same in the tailpipe AND the airbox snorkle.

Mine was used with 1200 miles on it, but I went over it with a fine-toothed comb.

[pkolanko]

Originally Posted by Leonardo

That Sucks when you find a rats nest and/or hole in the air filter. I have had this happen many times while living in rural Oregon.




Moisture is a problem where I live too. Even if the car is in a garage, it can get a musty smell. I run a heater in my car for a few hours about once a week to combat the mildew/mold. Don't know if this is an issue.

Without a battery, will it lock/unlock?

[pkolanko]

Originally Posted by Ernest72

Come on, just drive the car. Its only a Subaru and subies love the winter. Cars that sit have issues.

Northeast PA sucks for salt use. I have a truck for the winter and I was trying to keep this car for a very long time. If it was just cold, I'd drive it on sunny/dry days, but with salt all over the roads, it's putting a lot of unnecessary wear and tear on the vehicle.

[pkolanko]

Originally Posted by 7 skulls

I park my car in winter too. I just leave it in the back yard and start it to move for snow clearing once a month, letting the coolant and oil heat up to operating temp. I run the AC and heater as per a Toyota issued PDF on long term lot vehicles. Other than that, I shoot squirrels on sight. Airguns are great for that.

I was under the impression that only starting it would not really do much for the vehicle. I thought you had to drive the vehicle to get the RPMs up.

[pkolanko]

So i just checked on it. Inside looks and smells exactly the same as I left it. No evidence of creatures or moisture in the cabin. Engine bay looks fine with no evidence of chewed wired. Exhaust has no evidence of rodents The car cover tightly presses against the exhaust, so i assume nothing can get in there. We also have very little rodent presence where I live. I might have seen less than 5 squirrels in the 4 years I have lived here, which I thought was odd after the first year.

[pkolanko]

Originally Posted by pkolanko

Without a battery, will it lock/unlock?

Realized the keyfob can open the door manually

[pkolanko]

This is the reason why I store it for the winter. This car was purchased in sept 2014 and this is what the engine bay looks like today with no cleaning. The rain, snow, and salt would have made this look like a dirty sock. Side question... does the little water mark on the intake concern anyone? Should i take it apart and see if anything is inside?