How often should you drive a car? (Edit: To prevent a dead battery or deterioration from disuse)

[Zathras]

Like many people, I'm working from home and not going out as often as I did during "normal" times. Maybe once a week, I try to fire up my Mustang and take it for a drive, if, for no other reason, to try to keep the battery alive. But, I'm just kind of wondering, is once a week really "often" enough? Are my gaskets and seals drying up? If I only run it once a week, is there enough of an oil film on the parts to prevent startup wear? Is there corrosion happening on internal engine parts or accessories?

I'm probably being paranoid, but when I was in college I didn't need to drive much, and that car had tons of problems (leaks) with the air conditioning. I wonder if it was because the car was sitting a lot.

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[gamecoc430]

You should be fine. Often new cars sit on dealer lots for several weeks, or even months, and they don't seem to have any related problems

 

[Interceptor]

when you do drive it make sure its over 15 minutes and get up to hiway speeds or over. Drive it like you own it.

 

[SAL-E]

I would suggest that 15 minutes is not enough. The oil needs to get good and hot to boil out moisture and stuff, and unless you are running it hard, i doubt that 15 minutes is enough.

 

[XS]

Honestly, a year is about max you want to go without a good drive (provided you have a battery tender on it). I flipped bikes, all kinds, from Harley's to Ducatis - and the vast majority of bikes I would get hadn't run in many months or longer. Motorcycle engines, especially the European stuff, are extremely high strung. However I never had a problem with bikes that sat for up to a year. After the one year mark it wasn't seals and gaskets that dried up that were big problems - it was charging system, fuel system, and brake calipers. The engines were almost always fine with an oil change, but not using calipers would make the caliper pistons sticky. Keeping old fuel in the system would gum up injectors or carb jets. Stators and magnets would get surface oxidation and wouldn't charge. So imo, driving the car once a month for an hour is plenty. If you let the fuel sit longer than 6 months, think about draining it and replacing it with fresh gas.

 

[Hack]

I think you should drive a car (if you really care about it) enough to burn through a tank of gas every month (two at the most). Modern fuel just sucks. If you can buy pure gasoline where you live rather than the ethanol blend crap we have to buy here you can probably extend this to every six months going through a tank.

 

[IrishStallion]

Mines a play car, but I still try to get it out 2-3 times per week for 30 minute plus drive. Enjoying the better traction before the weather turns cool.

 

[Skems5]

Hi all. My husband and I just received our 2020 GT premium PP2 manual - it’s getting ceramic coated which is why I don’t have the picture up yet. We live in northern NY near the Canadian border so the car will be garaged from sometime in November to possibly May if the weather doesn’t cooperate. We have a stand alone garage for it and figured on starting it every couple weeks to let it run. What are your recommendations for the storage period? They use a ton of salt sand and pebbles on the road in the winter so we will NOT be taking it out until the roads have had a chance to be cleared by rain and street sweepers. Can we use fuel stabilizer? The 93 octane here has ethanol but the 91 does not. Can we put 91 in it (asking because of the response above about ethanol)? This is our first mustang and first play car. So we would be very appreciative of any knowledge you could impart. Thank you!

 

[Ecoboosted]

Hi all. My husband and I just received our 2020 GT premium PP2 manual - it’s getting ceramic coated which is why I don’t have the picture up yet. We live in northern NY near the Canadian border so the car will be garaged from sometime in November to possibly May if the weather doesn’t cooperate. We have a stand alone garage for it and figured on starting it every couple weeks to let it run. What are your recommendations for the storage period? They use a ton of salt sand and pebbles on the road in the winter so we will NOT be taking it out until the roads have had a chance to be cleared by rain and street sweepers. Can we use fuel stabilizer? The 93 octane here has ethanol but the 91 does not. Can we put 91 in it (asking because of the response above about ethanol)? This is our first mustang and first play car. So we would be very appreciative of any knowledge you could impart. Thank you!

There are many threads here about storing a car during winter months. If you can’t drive it for a good drive during the winter months to burn off the moisture I wouldn’t even start it up. Use a battery tender to keep the battery topped off. The fuel in the tank will be ok for the months of storage in the winter time. I would use up the 93 until the tank is about empty and top it off with the non ethanol 91. Some use a fuel stabilizer with the ethanol fuel. I like to use dryer sheets around the engine bay for rodents who like to chew up wires and make nests. They don’t like them and stay away. There might be a few other things you can do but can’t remember at the moment. Good luck and congrats on the new Mustang!

PS - Be careful driving in cold temps with summer tires they can get squirrelly driving and can crack.

 

[Balr14]

I was told some time ago, don't start a car with direct injection if you aren't going to drive it.

 

[StangTime]

Hi all. My husband and I just received our 2020 GT premium PP2 manual - it’s getting ceramic coated which is why I don’t have the picture up yet. We live in northern NY near the Canadian border so the car will be garaged from sometime in November to possibly May if the weather doesn’t cooperate. We have a stand alone garage for it and figured on starting it every couple weeks to let it run. What are your recommendations for the storage period? They use a ton of salt sand and pebbles on the road in the winter so we will NOT be taking it out until the roads have had a chance to be cleared by rain and street sweepers. Can we use fuel stabilizer? The 93 octane here has ethanol but the 91 does not. Can we put 91 in it (asking because of the response above about ethanol)? This is our first mustang and first play car. So we would be very appreciative of any knowledge you could impart. Thank you!

As others have said, don't start it unless you are prepared to drive it and get all the way up to temperature. It's best to just fill it with a non-ethanol top tier fuel (like Shell V power 91). Then wash it, dry it, change the oil, add fuel stabilizer, drive around the block to mix the stabilizer and flush the clean oil through the motor, park it, overfill the tires about 5 psi, connect battery tender, don't start it until spring. Optional: car cover if your garage is dusty.

 

[NoVaGT]

Put a cat in the garage.

Mice are the real enemy.

 

[Hack]

Put a cat in the garage.

Mice are the real enemy.

If you have a cat in the garage better make sure your cars are covered or you will end up with scratches all over them. Those mats that beep when the animal steps on them can help keep the cats off your cars, but they are also a PITA.

I do agree a cat helps to keep mice away.

 

[rocky5517]

On another site for older cars, the question of starting it up to charge the battery came up. Someone who had some knowledge in electronics did some math, and he calculated how much juice it took to start the car, then figured how long you had to drive it, at normal cruising speed, to put more into the battery than you took out to start it. Not sure but it's more than you think, like around 45 minutes. Any comments?

 

[NoVaGT]

On another site for older cars, the question of starting it up to charge the battery came up. Someone who had some knowledge in electronics did some math, and he calculated how much juice it took to start the car, then figured how long you had to drive it, at normal cruising speed, to put more into the battery than you took out to start it. Not sure but it's more than you think, like around 45 minutes. Any comments?

Install a battery tender. Your friend's calculations mean nothing. New cars, with their myriad of electronics, go bonkers if the battery is even the slightest bit low on juice. The dash lights up like a Christmas tree with faults everywhere, if the battery isn't 100%.

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