Not driving car for 1-2 months - how do I prepare it?

[Who's on first]

Loan it to a buddy.

[ano0oj]

Not much to be concerned about, at most you can put a car cover on. I could be wrong, but I don't think the M3 falls into that supercar category where battery life becomes a concern after a few weeks.

[AutoTalent]

Chances are the battery will be fine, if it's going to sit somewhere safe then disconnect the battery. Fluids sitting for 2 months is nothing to worry about.

[G35POPPEDMYCHERRY]

all u need if u want to be super safe is the ctek li-on battery charger, everything else is fine. i left mine for 5 months with just trickle charger and everything is fine no flat spots

[MannyS]

Current M4 (and other previous BMWs) sit in the garage for 2 months and experience no issues starting them up or with flat spotted tires. Have done this for years.

[figure99]

My E90 regularly sits for 1-4 months in the winter depending on the weather (it's not a daily driver), and my F80 will as well. For 1-2 months, you should be fine, but it obviously wouldn't hurt to do some of the things everyone has discussed if that makes you more comfortable. For me since there's almost always a risk it'll sit longer than 2+ months - I'll fill the tank +90% with fresh gas, use Stabil fuel stabilizer, and have a battery tender/charger hooked up to it just in case. I'll try to start and let it idle for ~10-15 minutes every ~3-4 weeks and be sure to run the AC for a few minutes as well to condition the seals, but again only if it's not going to be used for 2+ months. Perhaps overkill for some, but it's worked for me in the 9 years I've owned my E90.

Originally Posted by Agamemnon

They are lighter but I suspect BMW is using them more because they handle the electrical demands of the car better and have a superior recovery from a deep discharge. Not going to be fun paying for a replacement, though! It wasn’t really widely known that the batteries were lithium ion even amongst people in the dealerships. This forum is fabulous for finding out stuff like this. Some really knowledgeable people post here. I don’t consider myself to be one, though.

Good info! I didn't realize the F80 had a lithium ion battery... I don't believe the manual even mentions that. I was going to purchase a second charger anyway and may have figured that out when researching but thankfully noticed this thread and now know!

[TransporterG]

2 months is fine without anything. Particularly in winter in LA. Good to go. I've done it regularly for the last decade.

[doug_999]

Originally Posted by Agamemnon

They are lighter but I suspect BMW is using them more because they handle the electrical demands of the car better and have a superior recovery from a deep discharge. Not going to be fun paying for a replacement, though! It wasn’t really widely known that the batteries were lithium ion even amongst people in the dealerships. This forum is fabulous for finding out stuff like this. Some really knowledgeable people post here. I don’t consider myself to be one, though.

Two things..
1. a regular battery replacement from BMW will run you close to $1K (you cause they have to code the car - which I read is not required with a Lithium Ion battery - very cool)
2. I had heard that if a Lithium ion battery goes too low, it can't recover - but that was on the 787

[SD ///M4]

Just to clarify any doubts about the battery, the F80/F82/F83 come with a Lithium Iron Phosphate battery (LiFePO4). It's a smart battery which will not completely discharge to prevent damage to itself, and it's relatively light, but because of this, it is very expensive (over $1,000). It can only be trickle charged with a trickle charger designed for this type of battery. There's plenty of info available with a simple Google search on this type of battery and there is plenty of discussion on Bimmerpost. Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithiu...sphate_battery

The recommended battery (trickle) charger is the CTEK (56-926) LITHIUM US 12 Volt Fully Automatic Lithium Ion Phosphate Battery Charger, available from Amazon for about $100.

I use this charger on my M4 from time to time and I have another CTEK charger full-time on my Z4 M Roadster because it doesn't get driven very often.

[nicknaz]

Originally Posted by SD ///M4

The recommended battery (trickle) charger is the CTEK (56-926) LITHIUM US 12 Volt Fully Automatic Lithium Ion Phosphate Battery Charger, available from Amazon for about $100.

Not to take us off topic, but I feel that CTEK charges more for less features, as compared to say, noco.

Also, on the topic of battery discharging, I thought I read elsewhere on the forums that you have to lock the car in order for the electronics to completely shut off. (e.g. lock it if you will store it for the 1-2 months)

[DBACE]

This might help......

[Emcee]

Originally Posted by nicknaz

Not to take us off topic, but I feel that CTEK charges more for less features, as compared to say, noco.

Also, on the topic of battery discharging, I thought I read elsewhere on the forums that you have to lock the car in order for the electronics to completely shut off. (e.g. lock it if you will store it for the 1-2 months)

Really? I think they auto shut off after a while, that would seem like a horrible electronic design flaw to leave the electronics on unless the car was locked.

[clutchdj]

+1 for CTEK. Cheaper than a new battery.... Especially if you are in a cold climate. It also has a travel bag & cool little meter w/ reset button.

[04cobra]

My car sits every year for 5-6 months:

1) Clean it - I usually put dryer sheets in the car too
2) Fill up the gas and throw in some fuel stabilizer
3) Trickle charge it with the lithium charger ctek is the go to
4) Throw some towels in the exhaust (to keep any critters out)
5) Cover it
6) Walk away

For 1-2 months though you don't need to really do any of the above.

[04cobra]

Originally Posted by figure99

I'll try to start and let it idle for ~10-15 minutes every ~3-4 weeks and be sure to run the AC for a few minutes as well to condition the seals, but again only if it's not going to be used for 2+ months.

You actually should NOT start the car, unless you can drive it for 30+ minutes. The condensation will build up inside and cause more damage if you don't clear it out then just letting it sit.

I don't know anything about seal conditioning, but living in Minnesota I rarely turn the A/C on (gone 2 years without turning it on) and A/C always works perfectly even on my car that was 10 years old. Also, if you cant dry out the vents/ducts from when you turn the A/C on, you are going to get that mold smell. So again better to just let the car sit until ready to be used.

[Nick7700]

Yeah, I agree with others that you'll be fine. The one thing you might want to be cautious is rodents hibernating in the car and then chewing on the electrical wires . That will definitely be a pain. This time of year when it gets cold, they tend to crawl into cars that have been sitting long.

[SD ///M4]

Originally Posted by Emcee

Really? I think they auto shut off after a while, that would seem like a horrible electronic design flaw to leave the electronics on unless the car was locked.

Everything will shut down eventually if you don't lock the car, but it will shut down immediately if you lock it. You can test this by turning on the radio and then exiting the car. If you don't lock the car, the radio will continue to play, but eventually it will shut off. If you lock the car, the radio shuts off immediately.

[MaynardZed]

Uh, yeah don't take a chance without the Lithium trickle charger. I didn't put one on my M4 and it sat for about 2 months. Wasn't planned, just got busy and didn't drive it for awhile.

Dead Battery, dead as a doornail. 0.43V and can't revive not matter what I try. CTEK won't recognized it as a valid battery anymore and tried a couple of internet tricks to bring it back to life. Don't want to push my luck anymore. Supposedly they can blow up / catch on fire if they are too far gone and you try to revive by doing stupid stuff to it.

Fingers crossed on warranty coverage for new battery, but not holding my breath.

[carenthusiast]

Originally Posted by MaynardZed

Uh, yeah don't take a chance without the Lithium trickle charger. I didn't put one on my M4 and it sat for about 2 months. Wasn't planned, just got busy and didn't drive it for awhile.

Dead Battery, dead as a doornail. 0.43V and can't revive not matter what I try. CTEK won't recognized it as a valid battery anymore and tried a couple of internet tricks to bring it back to life. Don't want to push my luck anymore. Supposedly they can blow up / catch on fire if they are too far gone and you try to revive by doing stupid stuff to it.

Fingers crossed on warranty coverage for new battery, but not holding my breath.

Just wondering if you've tried this procedure below. If the battery shut itself off as described below, the charger won't recognize that it's hooked up to a battery until it's reset.

FYI, I haven't had to do this, just remember reading it in the manual. I've got the BMW branded version and it says something similar as I recall.

BATTERIES WITH "UNDER VOLTAGE PROTECTION"

Some Lithium-ion batteries have an on-board UVP (under volt-
age protection) that disconnects the battery to avoid it becom-
ing too deeply discharged. This prohibits the CTEK charger
from detecting that there’s a battery connected. To bypass this,
the battery charger needs to open the UVP.

By pressing the RESET-button for 10 seconds, the charger
opens the UVP. During this process, the charging STEP 7 is
lit. Once the UVP has been opened and the battery is ready
to be charged, the charger automatically starts the charging
cycle.

[nicknaz]

Originally Posted by MaynardZed

Uh, yeah don't take a chance without the Lithium trickle charger. I didn't put one on my M4 and it sat for about 2 months. Wasn't planned, just got busy and didn't drive it for awhile.

Dead Battery, dead as a doornail. 0.43V and can't revive not matter what I try. CTEK won't recognized it as a valid battery anymore and tried a couple of internet tricks to bring it back to life. Don't want to push my luck anymore. Supposedly they can blow up / catch on fire if they are too far gone and you try to revive by doing stupid stuff to it.

Fingers crossed on warranty coverage for new battery, but not holding my breath.

I got the noco g7200 because it has a "supply mode" that just outputs a constant 13.6V. I used that for a little bit to bring the battery voltage up to the point where it would be recognized by the charger

(note of caution: I did this on my 6TT which did not have a lithium battery)

[figure99]

Originally Posted by 04cobra

You actually should NOT start the car, unless you can drive it for 30+ minutes. The condensation will build up inside and cause more damage if you don't clear it out then just letting it sit.

I don't know anything about seal conditioning, but living in Minnesota I rarely turn the A/C on (gone 2 years without turning it on) and A/C always works perfectly even on my car that was 10 years old. Also, if you cant dry out the vents/ducts from when you turn the A/C on, you are going to get that mold smell. So again better to just let the car sit until ready to be used.

I've never had any issues with condensation for the 9 years I've owned the car, and I store it almost every winter (it's never been driven in the snow or while salt is on the ground (except while in Germany during ED pickup)). The car sits in a garage, and while not environmentally controlled like the house, it is insulated... I suspect that helps.

Sorry I should have been more clear about turning the AC on - Have you used your front defroster in 2 years? (I suspect you have living in Minnesota) That accomplishes the same thing as turning the AC on in modern cars... it turns on the compressor. Turning on the compressor ensures that the refrigerant will circulate in your system keeping the seals from drying out. I've never had any mold smell in any of my cars over the years of doing this... I typically turn the defroster or AC on with a warm temperature instead of cold, perhaps avoiding that. Again, it accomplishes the same thing by turning the compressor on. I've owned several cars where it is advised in the manual to ensure the compressor is turned on via the AC system or defroster as often as every 2 weeks to properly condition the AC system seals. The AC system in a 10 year old daily driver Acura I owned worked perfectly for all 10 years, until it was no longer my daily driver and I did not used it for about 4 months... my own fault, several of the seals went bad and had to be replaced. I suppose it's technically possible for a vehicle manufacture to program the vehicle to run the compressor without you knowing it if it hasn't been turned on in a while to help alleviate this issue, but I've never heard of any manufacturer doing that... and doubt they do.

[MaynardZed]

Originally Posted by carenthusiast

Just wondering if you've tried this procedure below. If the battery shut itself off as described below, the charger won't recognize that it's hooked up to a battery until it's reset.

FYI, I haven't had to do this, just remember reading it in the manual. I've got the BMW branded version and it says something similar as I recall.

BATTERIES WITH "UNDER VOLTAGE PROTECTION"

Some Lithium-ion batteries have an on-board UVP (under volt-
age protection) that disconnects the battery to avoid it becom-
ing too deeply discharged. This prohibits the CTEK charger
from detecting that there’s a battery connected. To bypass this,
the battery charger needs to open the UVP.

By pressing the RESET-button for 10 seconds, the charger
opens the UVP. During this process, the charging STEP 7 is
lit. Once the UVP has been opened and the battery is ready
to be charged, the charger automatically starts the charging
cycle.

Yeah the CTEK manual says the same thing, same charger I think. I did that procedure like 29 times, LOL! Best I could get it up to was about 1.9V then it would discharge quickly. Battery reads 0.00V now.