Airport Parking

[Chriss27]

Parking my car up for 2 weeks in the Summer at an airport car park, what are the chances of MY22 starting on return. I have jump leads in the boot, anything else I need to consider. 

[AndrueC]

I think it will be fine. I've left mine for longer than that during the lock downs.

[Mojo1010]

Think it will be fine in the summer, provided the car is used well before it gets there. 

[Rosgoe]

You should have Toyota breakdown still (with a bit of luck) in force included for the first year so call them if needed and to be honest it’s not bad value after the first year it’s underwritten by the AA It covers at home and abroad if you had to buy it separately through the aa it would be twice the price.

[Cyker]

It's always worth having a jump pack as a precaution, but I've left mine for 2 weeks and it didn't bat an eyelid when I started it after. As Mojo says, as long as you've used it regularly beforehand and haven't just been e.g. driving to the corner shop and back and then leave it for 2 weeks, then it should be fine.

 

[TonyHSD]

From now until the summer there is a long time and the Battery from good and healthy can become a weak and two weeks of non use can cause some issues. Jump pack it’s a good idea or if car not used regularly prior to the holiday a smart charger hooked for a day to recharge the Battery might be essential.

[Chriss27]

Thanks all, I have a 100 mile trip to the Airport so hopefully from what you say everything wlll be ok on my return. 

[Jiff]

Just don't wash and wax the car just before you go with the key in your pocket.

I did just before Christmas and the car kept unlocking and locking again, I thought nothing of it. On the morning we were going away, I opened & packed the car with no problems, but when I went to start it to leave, it wouldn't. All the warning lights lit up saying everything was wrong, Handbrake, Radar, Parking sensors etc, so I didn't think about the Battery.

The AA man came about 4 hrs later and started it immediately with his booster pack, but it was too late to leave then, so we missed a days holiday, and I had to unpack the car to get at our personal stuff out. Lesson learned.

If you are going to the airport, missing a day usually means missing the whole holiday 😬

I believe I've now got a booster pack for my birthday next week 😃

[Rhymes with Paris]

In addition to looking after the Battery, I would also suggest looking at all available reviews for the car park that you intend to use.

Don't know if you are looking at an on airport car park,or an off airport one.

It is not unknown for cars to become filthy inside and out, and gain a fair bit of mileage while supposedly stood still,or even be hired out, uninsured.

Of course this only happens with the dodgy off airport car parks AFAIK, I did see plenty of them when I was working near Heathrow.

Had good service from purple parking at East Midlands a few times.

 

[50p]

22 hours ago, Chriss27 said:

Parking my car up for 2 weeks in the Summer at an airport car park, what are the chances of MY22 starting on return. I have jump leads in the boot, anything else I need to consider. 

Don't forget that if the Battery has issues there's a chance you won't be able to get to the jump leads in the boot as it won't unlock! There again I guess you could use the manual key and release the rear seat back ....

[Bper]

Surely you could have another 2 weeks holiday for the price it costs to park at an airport.😁

[AndrueC]

22 minutes ago, Bper said:

Surely you could have another 2 weeks holiday for the price it costs to park at an airport.😁

It's not expensive at Birmingham. A week's parking at Birmingham is £140 for Valet parking at P1 which is a ten minute walk from the terminal. Non-valet in P1 is £99.

Cheapest appears to be P5 which is a 5 minute coach ride and costs £79. 

I'm not a fan of flying (I hate crowds and get bored early so airports annoy me) but B'ham is as close to pleasant as it gets. If I don't have to wait for luggage I can be driving home on the M42 within ten minutes of getting off the plane.

[TonyHSD]

The only airport car park I will ever use are those who can park your car and pop into a bus that takes you to the terminal. Anything else is very suspicious. For the keyless entry when washing the car or do anything around best to unlock it first and open and close any of the doors so the car will go to sleep been unlocked and no Battery drain. But surely one car wash won’t affect the Battery, it most likely been just added to the already weak Battery. 👍

[Chriss27]

It’s Manchester airport so any experiences of airport parking there appreciated - possibly Manchester Official drop and go, get a decent discount through the Shell App, better than blue light discount 

[TonyHSD]

22 minutes ago, Chriss27 said:

It’s Manchester airport so any experiences of airport parking there appreciated - possibly Manchester Official drop and go, get a decent discount through the Shell App, better than blue light discount 

Park and go it’s fine. Most important is no one to meet and no one to drive your car, because then its when the problems start. 

[DC_Ms]

3 hours ago, Jiff said:

Just don't wash and wax the car just before you go with the key in your pocket.

I did just before Christmas and the car kept unlocking and locking again, I thought nothing of it. On the morning we were going away, I opened & packed the car with no problems, but when I went to start it to leave, it wouldn't. All the warning lights lit up saying everything was wrong, Handbrake, Radar, Parking sensors etc, so I didn't think about the battery.

The AA man came about 4 hrs later and started it immediately with his booster pack, but it was too late to leave then, so we missed a days holiday, and I had to unpack the car to get at our personal stuff out. Lesson learned.

If you are going to the airport, missing a day usually means missing the whole holiday 😬

I believe I've now got a booster pack for my birthday next week 😃

So what is the best way to wash the car then ? 

[Cyker]

Without the key in your pocket!  

Just to clarify, they're not saying the problem is washing the car, but rather the water repeatedly triggering the keyless entry system to lock and unlock.

It's best to leave the smart key in the house or do the hold LOCK and press UNLOCK twice trick to put it to sleep so the water doesn't keep tripping the smart entry system.

 

[DC_Ms]

If I do what Tony suggested , unlock the car - open and close any of the doors …. and leave the key in the car

would that work ? Any risk for the car to lock while the key is inside ?

[Cyker]

Hmm, y'know I'm not actually sure what happens if the key is *in* the car! Supposedly you can't lock the car from the outside if the car detects a smartkey inside the car, but given someone posted about this happening to them in another thread I'm not sure how much I'd trust that...

Personally, as a rule of thumb tho' I'd never leave any key inside the car without a human to go with it - Why risk it getting locked inside unnecessarily in the first place afterall?

[TonyHSD]

No problem leaving the key inside the car will never lock itself because it will know the key is in. When you unlock the car and open any door but not the drivers one its the easiest on the Battery because it will not trigger the brake pump and the car goes to sleep with unlocked doors knowing that you are around. And yes the jet wash stream can lock the car if you go too hard around the door handle., it doesn’t happen often though but if you leave the key inside and happens the car will continuously beep. 
You can leave your key inside the house and car locked. Wash exterior first , then unlock and finish interior too. Don’t forget to wipe your door shuts and make it look pristine ✨❇️😂

[Gray86]

My dad parked his 22 CHR 2.0 in Manchester airport multi storey in winter and left it for 2 weeks, it was fine (like me he has a CTEK & charged it fully beforehand) 

[Talking Hoarse]

11 hours ago, Gray86 said:

My dad parked his 22 CHR 2.0 in Manchester airport multi storey in winter and left it for 2 weeks, it was fine (like me he has a CTEK & charged it fully beforehand) 

Me too - except mines a 22 Corolla TS 2.0, and parked at Bristol multi storey.  Must admit I never gave the 12v Battery a thought, but it had a 1.5 hour drive before parked.  I was reassured that I could check the car location via MyT app when away though, so my confidence was high that the car was where I had parked it!