My Corolla won't be driven for 2 weeks

[Trewithy]

I will soon be going away for 2 weeks and leaving the car in my garage.  I intend to permanently connect my CETK to keep the Battery topped-up but I was wondering about other things.  Should I check the tyres are properly inflated before I go or check them when I return, should I fill the fuel tank or leave it nearly empty.  Perhaps being laid up for 2 weeks is not long enough to get concerned about it.

[john p williams]

16 minutes ago, Trewithy said:

I will soon be going away for 2 weeks and leaving the car in my garage.  I intend to permanently connect my CETK to keep the battery topped-up but I was wondering about other things.  Should I check the tyres are properly inflated before I go or check them when I return, should I fill the fuel tank or leave it nearly empty.  Perhaps being laid up for 2 weeks is not long enough to get concerned about it.

tyres, when you return and fuel,leave  a small amount.

[Spo2]

26 minutes ago, Trewithy said:

I will soon be going away for 2 weeks and leaving the car in my garage.  I intend to permanently connect my CETK to keep the battery topped-up but I was wondering about other things.  Should I check the tyres are properly inflated before I go or check them when I return, should I fill the fuel tank or leave it nearly empty.  Perhaps being laid up for 2 weeks is not long enough to get concerned about it.

If you have been driving your car regularly, I don' think anything should get wrong in 3 weeks or so. Do people report Battery getting flat in 2-3 weeks with a car that has been in reasonable use? 

[Bernard Foy]

21 minutes ago, Trewithy said:

I will soon be going away for 2 weeks and leaving the car in my garage.  I intend to permanently connect my CETK to keep the battery topped-up but I was wondering about other things.  Should I check the tyres are properly inflated before I go or check them when I return, should I fill the fuel tank or leave it nearly empty.  Perhaps being laid up for 2 weeks is not long enough to get concerned about it.

The last line in your post is the correct one and as previous poster John says check the tyres when you come back. Re the petrol for a short period like two weeks in your garage wouldn’t have a detrimental effect. However if you’re using the E10 fuel, it contains more ethanol and over a long period of time it definitely deteriorates in efficiency. Two weeks shouldn’t matter to either E5 or E10.

[Cyker]

Funny isn't it - In the old days, esp. with my diesels, I'd not think twice about not driving them for a month, nevermind 2 weeks, but the hybrids seem to get lonely faster!

If it was a diesel I'd say top off the tank so there's no space for condensation to form, but with E10 I'm not sure if it's better to brim it or leave it! If it's less than full that leaves more surface for condensation, but if it's full that's more ethanol to absorb water. What to do?? That said, probably overthinking it as 2 weeks is unlikely to be long enough for that to be an issue so I reckon it's okay to just leave it with whatever it has left.

re. tyres, they're probably okay; If it was for longer the general recommendation is to over-inflate them (e.g. to 60psi) so they don't flat spot. They might settle a bit after 2 weeks but once you start driving they'll sort themselves out quickly enough.

re. the Battery, I was going to say disable the Smart Entry system as that has been shown by other members to  prolong the 12v Battery life greatly, but if you're going to hook it up to a maintenance charger then that's a non-issue anyway.

 

[Spo2]

1 minute ago, Cyker said:

Funny isn't it - In the old days, esp. with my diesels, I'd not think twice about not driving them for a month, nevermind 2 weeks, but the hybrids seem to get lonely faster!

If it was a diesel I'd say top off the tank so there's no space for condensation to form, but with E10 I'm not sure if it's better to brim it or leave it! If it's less than full that leaves more surface for condensation, but if it's full that's more ethanol to absorb water. What to do?? That said, probably overthinking it as 2 weeks is unlikely to be long enough for that to be an issue so I reckon it's okay to just leave it with whatever it has left.

re. tyres, they're probably okay; If it was for longer the general recommendation is to over-inflate them (e.g. to 60psi) so they don't flat spot. They might settle a bit after 2 weeks but once you start driving they'll sort themselves out quickly enough.

re. the battery, I was going to say disable the Smart Entry system as that has been shown by other members to  prolong the 12v battery life greatly, but if you're going to hook it up to a maintenance charger then that's a non-issue anyway.

 

Agree with your points about diesel. Never had an issue even when the car was left for 6 months, and I used to drive like 5 miles a day ( 2.5 miles to and fro). I think for those who park their car on the streets, putting a trickle charger will be not possible. So it would mean, coming back and seeing a dead Battery and then try to jump-start.

[Tomv]

2 weeks is nothing, connecting Battery to charger is more then enough, the rest is waste of time.

[Cyker]

Yeah, I think we're just paranoid because of so many HSD owners having dead batteries after relatively short periods, and it just provokes an overreaction for any period of non-use! But as you say just cover that with the charger and the rest should be fine.

[TonyHSD]

Two weeks is a short period of time, nothing to worry about. On your return you can check and top up tyres and also you can then connect and recharge your Battery since you have a charger, Battery will be happy 🔋⚡️👍

 

[Patrick07]

After breaking my hip my car was left for 6 weeks without being driven. It then started first time! Took it for a two hour drive to get everything working again and it seems fine.

[Parts-King]

When I had Covid, my car never turned a wheel for two weeks, in fact a flat Battery was the last thing on my mind during that time. When I was let out again, it started first time, no problems at all. My car does 40 miles a day, minimum, the problems come from people who day in day out pop to the shop for a newspaper and the supermarket once a week, they don't do sufficient mileage to keep the Battery in tip top condition.

[Hybrid21]

You should not need to do anything different to leave it for two weeks.

Similar to leaving at the airport for two weeks for instance.

Iain

[Roy124]

My car was parked up for 2 weeks.  I don't know if the car park people had a problem starting it. 

It was then run for 5 hours. 

10 days later the Battery was flat.  I then plugged in the CTEK and it entered float phase in an hour. 

You will have no Battery problem leaving it on charge.  If you were leaving it on a self park car park I would buy a jump starter Battery or make a note of the breakdown service number. 

[Deano68]

Just enjoy your holiday and don't worry about it 🙂 

[Bernard Foy]

9 hours ago, Parts-King said:

When I had Covid, my car never turned a wheel for two weeks, in fact a flat battery was the last thing on my mind during that time. When I was let out again, it started first time, no problems at all. My car does 40 miles a day, minimum, the problems come from people who day in day out pop to the shop for a newspaper and the supermarket once a week, they don't do sufficient mileage to keep the battery in tip top condition.

Same here, after Covid isolation for ten days and freezing temperatures at night not a problem, and I rarely drive more than 20 miles per week. This is my third Yaris Hybrid and never a bother with the 12volt or lithium traction Battery. Maybe I’m lucky 😊

[TonyHSD]

What causes the 12v Battery to go flat in Toyota hybrids is lack of use or improper use to include very short drives combined with frequent turnings ON and OFF instead of keeping the car in ready mode. Leaving the car unlocked and walking pass by with key in the pocket, and perhaps some of the connected services as additional to everything above.
The biggest power draw from this small Battery is when the brake system pressurises itself and then depressurises after you turn off ignition. Many car owners doesn’t even know about all that is happening or even noticed of yet.  My suggestion, never rush to turn off your car when arrive at destination, turn off all electronics manually first , make sure you have everything prepared to take with you from the car, then turn off ignition and you can exit the car, take all your belongings from rear seats or boot etc and when you are ready to leave the car lock and off you go. 
What is so different here from standard cars? 
The brake booster pressurise and de pressurise process which is happening every time you open or close the drivers door, lock and unlock the car and this is the biggest enemy to your Battery, bigger than short 20 min journeys. 👍

[AndrueC]

5 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

What is so different here from standard cars? 
The brake booster pressurise and de pressurise process which is happening every time you open or close the drivers door, lock and unlock the car and this is the biggest enemy to your battery, bigger than short 20 min journeys. 👍

Is that what the whirring/whining sound is?

[TonyHSD]

2 hours ago, AndrueC said:

Is that what the whirring/whining sound is?

Yes, and if you you are seated inside the car with interior lights ON when the pump is working the lights are dimmed a bit because of the power drain then goes back to normal  ⚡️👌👍

[Mikw]

On 3/31/2022 at 7:25 PM, Trewithy said:

I will soon be going away for 2 weeks and leaving the car in my garage.  I intend to permanently connect my CETK to keep the battery topped-up but I was wondering about other things.  Should I check the tyres are properly inflated before I go or check them when I return, should I fill the fuel tank or leave it nearly empty.  Perhaps being laid up for 2 weeks is not long enough to get concerned about it.

Bring it here, i'll look after it for you, as long as i can drive it every day! 🙂

[twintopp]

don`t worry about it just leave things to sort them selves out , i`m sure you will come back and just start the car as normal,  people panic about things  that are not a problem.  

[JBond007]

While i travel to uk, my corolla stored away in california usa for 8 mos.  I learned from the car storage company,  they topple the gas tank to full, inflate the tire to 45-50psi.  This will prevent tire damage from sitting on 1 spot too long.   Make sure when return, the tire need to be deflate back to 34psi before driving it.  Another option is put the car on 4 Jacks.

My 2006 corolla sedan is 260k miles and still going strong.  First owner and run Mobil 1 synthetic every 5k miles.