Battery

Maintenance/Repairs
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1

I am leaving Boston for February and March. Should I turn off my battery on my 2009 Honda Accor while I am away? Will the battery be dead if I don’t when I return home?

2

It could be dead in the two months. Choices:

  1. If it will be garaged or near electricity, get a battery tender for it, approx $30 or less.
  2. Plan on charging the battery (meaning a trickle charge overnight or so, to get it back up to full strength, not a jump start and run) before you start up the car when you return.
  3. Find a friend to drive the car for 30 mins or so about once a week while you are gone.

I would also run the car down to between half and quarter tank, and put in a fuel stabilizer, to ensure the fuel will be OK. This may be overly conservative, but the cost is minimal.

3

Thank you so much for replying so quickly. Don’t know what a “battery tender” is but I will find out!

4

It is a small trickle charger that cuts off when the charge is full, and starts back up when it charge gets low. Available on amazon, auto parts stores and walmart. I would prefer the battery tender if your car is going to be secured in a garage.

Also called battery minder. If you don’t have a battery charger, the Battery Tender Plus which is a slow charge and a battery minder may be a good deal (on Amazon). I think every car owner needs a real battery charge in case they need it (and my family does with some level of frequency).

5

Jay gave you some good advice. I would like to add this:

Assuming your car is insured, you likely are paying when your car is at home and not been driven. There is a good chance that you insurance company can temporarily deactivate the Collusion insurance (that is the part that takes car of the other car if you are the cause of an accident). That is an expensive part of your insurance. However, don’t let anyone drive it while the collusion is not active.

[i] Personally I don't like the idea of having someone drive your car while you are out of town.  If they have an accident you may end up loosing a friend.[/i] 

If you remove the battery from the car, you are also making the car a lot harder to drive since they generally don't carry around an assortment of batteries.  I suggest removing the battery and take it into your home, aways from the car and use on the the ideas jay suggested to keep the battery charged. 

I also suggest that
6

WHOA THERE, HOSS!

First, it’s not “collusion” it’s “collision”. Typo, water under the bridge.

BUT: “the part that takes car of the other car if you are the cause of an accident” is LIABILITY insurance, not COLLISION insurance.

“Assuming your car is insured, you likely are paying when your car is at home and not been driven.” Yes, you pay for insurance whether or not you drive the car. The insurance company does not check.

“However, don’t let anyone drive it while the collusion is not active.”

Make sure you clearly understand what kind of insurance you need and have.

You might want to call your insurance company rather than getting insurance advice on the internet. If you cancel your insurance, check with your state about whether you need to turn in your license plates. If they require it and you don’t do it it can cost you big bucks.

7

If the car is parked outside, they also make solar-powered chargers that might just be the thing to keep the battery up. If the oil is nearing change time, getting it changed before you leave would be a good idea too instead of leaving dirty, contaminated oil in the crankcase.

I think instead of using a fuel stabilizer, the best thing would probably be to fill the tank all the way with a good quality gasoline and leave it full. That way there won’t be any air in the tank to react with the gasoline. Two months isn’t that long, and gas tanks on modern cars are well sealed. The gas will be fine.