Prolonged immobilization of a vehicle: how to protect it?

Certain circumstances (a trip, for example) may require a person to park their vehicle for a while. However, a vehicle left unattended for an extended period without prior precautions is more likely to break down when it is put back on the road. To help you avoid this, this guide presents some tips and precautions to take to preserve the condition of a car despite prolonged immobilization.

Prolonged immobilization: protect your car

Due to weather conditions that can cause significant damage, you must find a suitable place to park your vehicle. Ideally, it should be parked indoors. A garage is the best place to park. However, you will need to make sure that your garage is not too damp.

If you don’t have a garage, you can park outside. This is where the benefit of having a car cover comes in, to protect your car properly. Covering your car with a cover protects it from the sun’s UV rays, which can dull the paint and damage the seals if overexposed. Furthermore, you won’t have to worry about corrosion caused by humidity. An outdoor protective cover can be effective even for extended periods of storage, such as more than a year. If your vehicle is in a garage, you can also cover it with an outdoor cover to effectively protect it from dust and other damage. Car cover, outdoor protection

Clean the vehicle When you go on vacation, for example, it’s important to clean your vehicle to keep it clean, especially if it’s not parked in a garage. To do this, you must thoroughly wash the bodywork and let it dry. Putting a protective cover on a dusty body can cause scratches on the paint.In addition to the bodywork, you should also

If this seems difficult, have it done professionally at a car wash. If possible, apply rust inhibitor to unpainted parts (especially if the car will be parked for an extended period). Preserving the car’s overall condition: necessary preventative measures When your vehicle is parked for a long time, simply covering it or cleaning it thoroughly isn’t enough to prevent breakdowns. You must also

protect the technical components such as the brakes

. Here are a few simple steps to take.

Release the handbrake Many people forget to release the handbrake when they park their vehicle for a long time. However, this is an important step. In fact, when a handbrake is held engaged for a long time, the brake shoe springs can seize

. That’s why it’s important to leave the parking brake released while your car is stationary. If you don’t have a parking brake, use wheel chocks to block the wheels.

Overinflate the tires Even when your vehicle is stationary, its tires can wear out quickly if they aren’t relieved of the car’s weight. To prevent this, you have two solutions:raising the vehicle;

overinflating the tires.

A few sturdy wheel chocks are all you need to raise the car

and prevent the tires from bearing its weight. However, if you don’t have a jack available to raise the vehicle, you can overinflate the tires by an additional 0.2 to 0.5 bar. Be sure to readjust the air pressure before driving your car again.

• Disconnect the car battery
• Like a smartphone, even when the car is parked, your car battery continues to function. It keeps the onboard computer’s information up to date. Therefore, to prevent your battery from completely draining when you restart the car, disconnect it. To do this,

simply unscrew the negative terminal.

However, if the vehicle is going to be parked for an extended period, it’s best to remove the battery and store it in a safe place.

Car batteryFill up the fuel tank

If your tank is nearly empty while the car is parked, dust and other particles can settle at the bottom, forming a kind of sludge. When you start the car again, the engine will pump this sediment and could easily break down.

To avoid this, simply

fill the tank at least halfway before you leave.

Note that gasoline can lose quality over time. When you put the vehicle back on the road, fill the tank completely with fresh fuel. This will help improve the quality of the old gasoline.

Protect your windshield wipers

During a period of inactivity, the rubber of the windshield wiper blades can stick to the windshield. When you start driving again, this can leave streaks on the windshield or, in the worst-case scenario, tear.

To prevent this,

wrap the wiper blades in plastic wrap or a towel.

There are also protective socks specifically designed to protect windshield wipers. They only cost a few tens of euros.

Top up your brake and coolant fluids

Before putting your car away, you should

check the brake and coolant fluid levels.

If the fluid levels are low, top them up. Also, if the brake fluid was last changed more than a year ago, you’ll need to replace it with fresh fluid before you leave. As for the coolant, we recommend using an all-season coolant if the car will be parked for a very long time. This type of coolant prevents both freezing and corrosion.