# Should I disconnect battery while out of town for 2 weeks? **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Tags:** subaru, forester\ **Created:** [May 23, 2016, 5:25am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/should-i-disconnect-battery-while-out-of-town-for-2-weeks/93362 "2016-05-23T05:25:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shelley7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b2d939/32.png) [@Shelley7](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Shelley7)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 5:25am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/should-i-disconnect-battery-while-out-of-town-for-2-weeks/93362/1 "2016-05-23T05:25:00Z")
I just purchased a 2016 Subaru Forrester. I will be out of town for 2 weeks & the vehicle will not be driven. What’s the best way to ensure the battery doesn’t die while the vehicle isn’t used? Should I disconnect the battery terminals? Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 5:31am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/should-i-disconnect-battery-while-out-of-town-for-2-weeks/93362/2 "2016-05-23T05:31:12Z")
It should be fine as is. You might take it for a 30 minute freeway drive before parking it. ---
**Author:** ![UncleTurbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9a140/32.png) [@UncleTurbo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/UncleTurbo)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 5:33am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/should-i-disconnect-battery-while-out-of-town-for-2-weeks/93362/3 "2016-05-23T05:33:12Z")
If the car has been driven regularly, the battery should be a full charge. Two weeks should not be a problem. ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 6:10am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/should-i-disconnect-battery-while-out-of-town-for-2-weeks/93362/4 "2016-05-23T06:10:54Z")
Just leave it alone. It’ll be fine and probably sat on the dealer lot a lot longer than that. Disconnecting the battery will cause the computer to lose its memory. If you are really worried buy a cheap jump start unit and put it in the trunk. ---
**Author:** ![Shelley7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b2d939/32.png) [@Shelley7](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Shelley7)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 6:24am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/should-i-disconnect-battery-while-out-of-town-for-2-weeks/93362/5 "2016-05-23T06:24:46Z")
Thank you all very much for your helpful advice!! ---
**Author:** ![RandomTroll](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/randomtroll/32/12184_2.png) [@RandomTroll](https://community.cartalk.com/u/RandomTroll)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2016, 5:29am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/should-i-disconnect-battery-while-out-of-town-for-2-weeks/93362/6 "2016-05-24T05:29:22Z")
You can figure it out for yourself by buying an ammeter and measuring the current when it’s off. My '87 Toyota pickup draws 6 milliamp (the clock?), 1 amp-hour/week. Because I can go a year without driving it I leave the battery disconnected. 2 weeks is unlikely to drain your battery significantly, but sometimes something is drawing current you don’t know about, enough not to matter over 24 hours but enough to matter for a week. ---
**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:** [May 24, 2016, 5:42am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/should-i-disconnect-battery-while-out-of-town-for-2-weeks/93362/7 "2016-05-24T05:42:52Z")
The OP’s car is a 2016 so there is nothing to worry about. Cars set in airport lots for two weeks all the time. My 1998 Sonoma would set for two months without a problem. ---
**Author:** ![ok4450](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ok4450](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ok4450)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2016, 8:11am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/should-i-disconnect-battery-while-out-of-town-for-2-weeks/93362/8 "2016-05-24T08:11:30Z")
Back when Subaru was manufacturing most of the U.S. market cars in Japan those cars often spent a few weeks on the freighter without being driven. ---
**Author:** ![Docnick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Docnick](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Docnick)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2016, 4:02pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/should-i-disconnect-battery-while-out-of-town-for-2-weeks/93362/9 "2016-05-24T16:02:35Z")
No! ---
**Author:** ![BillRussell](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/billrussell/32/3179_2.png) [@BillRussell](https://community.cartalk.com/u/BillRussell)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2016, 6:05pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/should-i-disconnect-battery-while-out-of-town-for-2-weeks/93362/10 "2016-05-24T18:05:40Z")
No, leave it as is. And if you do have to disconnect the battery, just disconnect the ground lead.