[Oddpod2]

Just wondering if there are precautions to take for 3 month storage of a smart fortwo? Though various web people suggest putting the car up on blocks, my local Mercedes dealer says the car is so light, there is no need to lift it. He did suggest a battery tender though. Yes, and I'll be covering it.

 

[smark]

Battery tender. Fuel stabilizer.

 

[Smart Bob]

I would store your vehicle with a full tank of gas & put a little extra air in the tires as well as leaving it on a battery tender. I would also make sure the vehicle is washed and put a cover over it to keep it clean while in storage.

 

[InjuredAgain]

Also make sure that the last drive before you store it is a long one that gets everything up to operating temperature and keeps it there for a while. Then, when getting it out of storage, do a regular maintenance cycle (change oil, bleed brakes, etc.) before getting it back on the road.


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[Miss Mercedes]

I had my 453 stored away from home for two months and two weeks recently. I stored it with three bars remaining and tyres pumped just under max pressure. It was in a garage, so no cover. I didn't start it at all either. At the end of the two months and two weeks, I got in and drove it away, no issues to report other than flat spots in the tyres that went away after a few minutes of driving.

The 453 and the 450 won't be driven during the winter (seeing what these Chicago winters have done to my 451's subframe is saddening) and will sleep in my garage all winter. It seems the 450 is more quirky than the 453, so I'll just start both every 30 days. The 453 has 4700 miles while the 450 has 24000 miles.

It seems the only car in my fleet that has issues with long term storage is my 451...but 135k miles on the original battery and as of now has spent most of its life outside, so not surprised.

I'd recommend a battery tender just to be safe. For a car cover, I'd make sure you get a form fitting one with a soft internal fabric. Super cheap eBay ones will scratch the heck out of your tridion cell (don't ask how I know).

 

[jwight]

I personally don't see any need to change fluids after three months of sitting - it's not like the car has been in a barn for 20 years. If the fluids were OK when you put took the car off the road, they'll still be OK three months later. Same with fuel stabilizer - if it makes you feel better, fine - but it's not needed for only three months off the road. Just make sure the tank is full. YMMV, of course.

 

[DowneasTTer]

Since Max was new (2008) he has been alone during the summer months. For the first few years I did use a battery tender. Now however I simply fill the tank, make sure the battery is fully charged and disconnect it. The only things I find I need to do after Max sits in the heat of summer in a Florida garage is connect the battery, do a transmission reteach, check the tire pressure and drive. The only time I have used a fuel stabilizer is went I store my summer driver for 9 months when back in FL. btw Kinda wish now I hadn't returned so soon!

 

[jzchen]

Hoping for the best down there in FL, religious references aside...

 

[limoak]

One more thing to consider.... Run the A/C for about 5 minutes and then put the ventilation system on recirculate before you shut off the engine. I always put my "idle" cars on a battery tender. A full tank of gas and stab-il are good ideas too. Definitely wash and wax it before you put a cover on it.

 

[Oddpod2]

Regarding waxing; I was curious about how to take care of the black textured vinyl wrapped roof on a Passion model. Since it's textured, I'm reluctant to put regular paste wax on it.

 

[limoak]

I likely wouldn't wax the 'wrap'. If you haven't already, ask the installer, or see if the manufacturer of the wrap has a website that'll give you advice. Now if you still can't find any guidance, and if you decide to put something on the wrap, I'd be tempted to just use something like ArmorAll or one of the many tire shine products.

 

[Oddpod2]

The 2016 Passion models have a textured roof with what looks like vinyl. Just curious how to take care of it. Yeah, maybe Armor All. Wondering how time will treat it.

 

[limoak]

I didn't realize that Smart 'wrapped' some 453's roofs. The Smart car manual doesn't mention anything but cleaning your roof, so it's no help. 3M and Avery are the two big manufacturers of vehicle wraps. The 3M site says no to wax. Check out what the Avery site says- AVERY | Care and Maintenance for Vehicle Wraps! - Paint is Dead. I believe Armor All has petroleum distances in it, so it sounds like you'd better stay away from it too. I guess if the wrap fails, you can peel it off and install another wrap. ?

 

[Miss Mercedes]

Oddpod2 has a solid roof. I imagine cleaning it is similar to cleaning the piano black plastic on the back, but don't quote me on that :3

 

[Jo e Lefors]

Just a thought. How long do you reckon some cars new and used sit on a dealers lot with just a weekly washing and nothing more. And they're just fine. Three months is nothing.
People on this forum have bought "new" cars that are years old and they seem to be fine.

 

[OliverB]

Three months of non-use is nothing. Most I would definitely is put a float charger on the car. lol vet had cars inactive for longer than that without problems. Gas won't deteriorate that fast.

 

[Miss Mercedes]

Just a thought. How long do you reckon some cars new and used sit on a dealers lot with just a weekly washing and nothing more. And they're just fine. Three months is nothing.
People on this forum have bought "new" cars that are years old and they seem to be fine.

That's actually hilariously true. My edition #1 has a build date of 7/15, but I got it 10/16. I mean, it had to sit still most of that time, right?

 

[OliverB]

Several years ago VW used to equip every car shipped here with a very nice solar charger plugged into the 12v port so the battery wouldn't discharge while at the port of entry awaiting shipment. Don't know if that's still done. When the cars arrived at dealers the panels were usually disposed of.

 

[Niteshooter]

I go through this ever winter when I 'park' 3 of our vehicles. The two in the garage have battery tenders, the one outside uses a solar tender. On the smart I plan on running a tender though sitting three months is probably not going to kill. It will be under a cover. Other then tenders/solar chargers I don't do anything special to the cars, the two in the garage are 31 years old and other than routine oil and fluid changes I don't do anything special. Though I only run synthetic on all our vehicles. This year I did do all fluids on the 86's since it has been a few years since they have been done, main thing was to drain and replace the brake fluid and coolant. I also did the differentials and manual transmission fluids with Ams oil.

On the smart, I did a recent oil change so it will just get the battery tender and a cover. I do want to get a car stacker at some point so I can shoe horn 3 cars in our double garage.

 

[HarleypsychRN]

Fuel Stabilizer and battery tender recommended. Doubt you'd develop a flat spot in your tires in just 90 days. Car cover...agree with all the above!