Hello guys! Hope all is healthy and doing well.
I’m sad to announce that I won’t be able to drive for the remainder of the year due to a medical condition.
If I disconnect the car’s battery for this long of a period, what are the negative consequences ?
A family member will be accommodating me using the rav4, so no need to park it. But the Lexus needs to be put away for some time.
Thank you.
The car itself will come to no harm. The battery will self-discharge (go dead) over that year unless it is hooked to a battery maintainer. Depending on the battery age and condition, it may not come back with a full re-charge. If this is not possible for some reason, you likely will need to buy a new battery when you want to drive it again.
If you park the car where a battery maintainer can be attached to the battery and plugged into the wall socket, you can leave the battery in and it will be ready to start up when you are ready to drive again.
I hope your condition clears up quickly and offers you little suffering during the next year.
Just to clarify…what’s your intent on disconnecting the battery?
Are you trying to somehow “save” the battery, or protect the car?
Personally, I agree with putting a battery maintainer on the battery, while the car is parked, and leave it hooked up under the hood. If you disconnect the battery for a year, it’s likely the battery will go bad and need to be replaced after a year. If you hook up a battery maintainer, the battery should stay “healthy”.
Plus, you never can tell; you might need to drive or move the car sometime over the course of the year. Life happens sometimes.
Get well soon, @clueless33.
I’m trying to protect the car. I wonder if letting the car sit for this long will deteriorate the TPS ( tire pressure sensors) and other stuff I might not be aware of.
No, the TPMS sensors will not be affected.
Letting the car sit, engine not running, will be the worst “damage” you can do. It might make sense to have someone drive the car for a little while weekly, like to the grocery store.
Just sell one of the vehicles because even not driven still requires insurance and license plates.
If you’re sure the car is going to sit for a year I would have the oil changed and add some fuel stabilizer to the gas tank.
If I have a car that’s going out of service for a year I cancel the insurance and I don’t license it until it’s ready for the road again. Why would I spend money on license and insurance for a car that isn’t going anywhere?
All the best to you @Clueless33 and to a speedy recovery…
It depends on state laws. In MD I can’t cancel insurance unless I prove that I no longer own the car. The MVA actually notifies the insurer to verify a transfer took place.
Surely there are provisions for inop or non-registered cars?
If my timing chain breaks and I don’t plan to fix the engine until next spring I’m not going to drive or license the car this year. Or that 63 Olds with no engine that I bought as a parts car, etc.
I have let tags expire many times on various vehicles when not being driven, when I go to get tag however many years later, just sign a form stated that the vehicle had not been driven.. Ins, just call/email ad say remove car from ins, not being driven at the time, however, it may change the price due to multiple vehicle discounts etc etc and the policy might have to be redone, but no different then if sold or whatever, so I normally just leave ins alone, but tags, I get them when I need them, not if the vehicle is down… Vehicles do not affect property tax either in TN…
My boat battery goes 10 months without use. I use a maintainer when I get to the family shared cabins as elect is on June to Sept. It is not a deep cycle. My last battery lasted 13 years. I bought a solar battery maintainer for $29 for the RAV4, as the last battery only lasted a year and a half, replaced under warranty but figured 6 weeks without use probably lead to its demise. It has clips and PowerPoint connection. Previous battery lasted 7 years, so not sure why, but hope maintainer helps.
In NY, all you have to do is surrender the plates and they will give you a form that lets you cancel the insurance/ Then when you re register it you can get a 10 day permit to get it inspected. However, many municipalities say you cannot have a car visible from the street with no plates on it. I get around that with an old set of plates, many others use car covers.
When put my Vette up for winter storage I didn’t cancel the insurance, but I did cancel the liability and collision portion (which is the most expensive). Just keep comprehensive. People with classic cars do this all the time.
Either put the batter on a trickle charger (which I do with my vette). If that’s not convenient where the vehicle is being stored, then pull the battery and store it someplace where you can put it on a trickle charger. Do NOT store the battery directly on the ground or concrete. Put it on wood or plastic. If you can’t do any of those, then the very least disconnect the negative terminal on the battery.
If you decide to cancel the insurance on the vehicle you will need to turn in the license plates. Some states will prorate the registration if there is over 6-months left. However, if you cancel the insurance on the car, you may lose a discount for a multi-car policy and the savings may not be that great… Having someone drive it occasionally is the smarter idea if you plan on keeping it for a while after you start driving again. Otherwise, sell it now and it will be worth more now than later after it sat a while…
You forgot in some states…
Also, TN does not require you to turn in your plates, Lived here all my life, never once turned in plates nor ever been asked to… Removed and kept or trashed many customer’s plates.. Not every state is the same… lol (kept them for personally use, fab work)…
Didja use the plates to patch holes in the floor boards? 
Nor does NJ. While it’s a good idea to turn-in your old plates (and get a receipt for them), it’s not required.
Well as a matter a fact… I did use an old plate to cover the hole in the left side of the trans tunnel where the factory mechanical shift linkage went trough the floor, I was installing a custom mounted B&M shifter that uses a cable… The white ring is the OEM gasket that I reused, worked great, no air passed by it…
Old plates can be used for all kinds of crap, sometimes ya just gotta think outside the box.. lol
