My 2002 Kia sedona mini van is having to sit for 2 weeks until I can afford to have the timing belts and crank shaft sensor replaced by the dealership due to the costs to have it done. My question is should I go out and start it once or twice and let it run for a couple of minutes during that time period or is it okay to just let is sit there.
Not for two weeks, no. Just let it sit.
Running it for just a few minutes is worse than not running it at all. 2 weeks isn’t enough time to even bother prepping it for storage.
Agree; 2 weeks is nothing. I have been on 2 week business trips and had my car sit at the airport for that long.
If sitting two weeks causes a problem, likely it needed a new battery anyway. I can't think of anything else that would cause a problem, unless it also needed work.Call around and get prices from other shops besides the dealership for that belt job, it might be cheaper
Ive let cars sit for a month or more while out of town or them being back up vehicles but if its going to sit for say a season then its best to use a fuel stabilizer and change the oil if its close to three months old. Disconnecting the battery to for a lengthy storage or hooking up a trickle charger would also be recommended as well as making sure the tires are aired up and covering the vehicle with a car cover and securing it so that it wont cause a rub rash from the wind moving it over the surface.
Imagine your car was on a sales lot, what would they do? Nothing!
Cars on sales lots do get started and moved around often, I’ve worked in the industry and its rare for a car to sit in one spot for more than a week.
I don’t understand the question - if there’s a timing belt problem, how will the engine run in the meantime?
It could be that the belt is worn and making noise or otherwise still functional enough to let the car idle but not drive at anything over an idle rpm.
I am having the timing belt changed out due to miles on the van and not knowing when they were last changed. The van was driving great till it shut down at two consecutive stop lights for what I found out to be a bad crank shaft sensor, which just so happens is located in the area where the belt is, so having all work done at same time, but which wasn’t for 2 weeks.