# Going away for a month - will my battery be ok? (2016 Buick Encore) **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** encore, buick\ **Created:** [January 21, 2019, 8:08pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/going-away-for-a-month-will-my-battery-be-ok-2016-buick-encore/133060 "2019-01-21T20:08:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/65b543/32.png) [@JRK](https://community.cartalk.com/u/JRK)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 8:08pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/going-away-for-a-month-will-my-battery-be-ok-2016-buick-encore/133060/1 "2019-01-21T20:08:15Z")
I’m going away for the month of February, my car will be parked outdoors & it’s cold here. Should I disconnect my battery or do anything else to be sure it starts when I return? ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 8:23pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/going-away-for-a-month-will-my-battery-be-ok-2016-buick-encore/133060/2 "2019-01-21T20:23:51Z")
No. It should be fine. ---
**Author:** ![Docnick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Docnick](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Docnick)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 9:46pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/going-away-for-a-month-will-my-battery-be-ok-2016-buick-encore/133060/3 "2019-01-21T21:46:24Z")
Agree! Many cars sit on the dealer’s lot for much longer and still start when the salesman shows it to a client. ---
**Author:** ![MikeInNH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@MikeInNH](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MikeInNH)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 10:02pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/going-away-for-a-month-will-my-battery-be-ok-2016-buick-encore/133060/4 "2019-01-21T22:02:03Z")
If you’re worried, then just disconnect it. ---
**Author:** ![Tester](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/tester/32/15976_2.png) [@Tester](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Tester)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 10:10pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/going-away-for-a-month-will-my-battery-be-ok-2016-buick-encore/133060/5 "2019-01-21T22:10:54Z")
Before disconnecting the battery on a modern vehicle, read this first. [https://www.aa1car.com/library/battery\_disconnect\_problems.htm](https://www.aa1car.com/library/battery_disconnect_problems.htm) Tester ---
**Author:** ![shanonia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de053/32.png) [@shanonia](https://community.cartalk.com/u/shanonia)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 10:12pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/going-away-for-a-month-will-my-battery-be-ok-2016-buick-encore/133060/6 "2019-01-21T22:12:56Z")
Disconnect it only if you comfortable doing that and reconnecting it safely AND you know what else has to be done to get the car back to normal. Knowing and entering an antitheft code into the audio system and reprogramming saved radio channels has to be done on my 1999 Honda; a newer car like yours may have many more complications. If I had a 2016 car I’d leave it intact and accept the small risk of it needing a jump or a booster pack when I got back to it. ---
**Author:** ![tcmichnorth](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/tcmichnorth/32/25126_2.png) [@tcmichnorth](https://community.cartalk.com/u/tcmichnorth)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 10:15pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/going-away-for-a-month-will-my-battery-be-ok-2016-buick-encore/133060/7 "2019-01-21T22:15:28Z")
If your worried, you can get a battery tender. But if there’s nothing wrong with the vehicle, then I wouldn’t worry about it. If your battery is dead (sick) when you get back, there is probably something wrong. It would be a good time to deal with it then instead of having battery or drainage problems on the road. ---
**Author:** ![JRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/65b543/32.png) [@JRK](https://community.cartalk.com/u/JRK)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 11:10pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/going-away-for-a-month-will-my-battery-be-ok-2016-buick-encore/133060/8 "2019-01-21T23:10:50Z")
Wow. Good info. Thanks so much. ---
**Author:** ![Barkydog](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/barkydog/32/2470_2.png) [@Barkydog](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Barkydog)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 11:12pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/going-away-for-a-month-will-my-battery-be-ok-2016-buick-encore/133060/9 "2019-01-21T23:12:12Z")
Your battery should be fine. No worries/ ---
**Author:** ![VOLVO-V70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@VOLVO-V70](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VOLVO-V70)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 11:18pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/going-away-for-a-month-will-my-battery-be-ok-2016-buick-encore/133060/10 "2019-01-21T23:18:18Z")
> [@tcmichnorth](#): > > If your worried, you can get a battery tender Probably not a good idea since this vehicle will be parked outside . ---
**Author:** ![common-sense-answer](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/common-sense-answer/32/716_2.png) [@common-sense-answer](https://community.cartalk.com/u/common-sense-answer)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 11:23pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/going-away-for-a-month-will-my-battery-be-ok-2016-buick-encore/133060/11 "2019-01-21T23:23:02Z")
> [@JRK](#): > > I’m going away for the month of February, my car will be parked outdoors & it’s cold here. Should I disconnect my battery or do anything else to be sure it starts when I return? Cars are cold blooded creatures. They don’t mind the cold at all, but rather prefer it. 🐧 A month is nothing. I leave 4 cars and a snow blower in the frozen north for nearly 6 months, but I do keep battery maintainers (tenders) connected to them. I leave one car in the hot south (Florida) for nearly 6 months, but leave a solar tender attached to the battery. Also, It’s not unusual for me to leave a car parked for a month or two with nothing done to it and it has never been a problem. _ **CSA** _ 🌴🕶🌴 ---
**Author:** ![Whitey](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/whitey/32/24680_2.png) [@Whitey](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Whitey)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2019, 3:27pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/going-away-for-a-month-will-my-battery-be-ok-2016-buick-encore/133060/13 "2019-01-22T15:27:35Z")
Your battery should be fine, but if I was storing a vehicle and not starting it for a month, I’d either use some fuel stabilizer or fill it with ethanol-free gasoline before I store it. You likely won’t have any issues if you don’t do one of these things, but I’d err on the side of caution, and the fuel that’s in there will be there longer than a month unless you take the car right out for a long drive right when you get back. ---
**Author:** ![common-sense-answer](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/common-sense-answer/32/716_2.png) [@common-sense-answer](https://community.cartalk.com/u/common-sense-answer)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2019, 5:25pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/going-away-for-a-month-will-my-battery-be-ok-2016-buick-encore/133060/14 "2019-01-22T17:25:30Z")
> [@Whitey](#): > > Your battery should be fine, but if I was storing a vehicle and not starting it for a month, I’d either use some fuel stabilizer or fill it with ethanol-free gasoline before I store it. One could I suppose. I never do anything other than to be sure the tires are plumped up a bit. I’ve been doing this for decades. However, in the scheme of things, I would guess cars parked in the frozen north like JRK’s and most of mine experience slowed chemical reaction because of the frigid temperatures. Seems like high heat would exacerbate a fuel degradation process. When I start one of my cars that had been parked for months the car doesn’t even know I’ve been away ( I don’t write and it doesn’t miss me). The cars just think I went to have a cold beer somewhere and I’ve come right back. They have absolutely no concept of time passage. They fire up immediately and run just fine. _ **CSA** _ 🌴🕶🌴 ---
**Author:** ![JRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/65b543/32.png) [@JRK](https://community.cartalk.com/u/JRK)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2019, 5:49pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/going-away-for-a-month-will-my-battery-be-ok-2016-buick-encore/133060/15 "2019-01-22T17:49:56Z")
Thanks everyone.