Advices needed please. I will go vacation and have to leave my 2006 Mini Cooper(auto) in garage for a month. What should be done (disconnect battery?)before I leave? Your advices would be greatly appreciated

 

My wife and I went back to Greece for five weeks this past summer... I came home and promptly started my MINI right up. The car was sitting outside from mid August until late September and I had no issue. If your MINI isn't sitting out in sub freezing temperatures I wouldn't worry about it. If you're really concerned, buy a spare battery and keep it storage until the big day when you return. Really, don't worry at all. You'll be fine. Good luck!!
Enjoy your trip. :-)

 

One month really isn't anything. Your car probably sat on the dealer lot or on the transport ship longer than that. If anything, get a trickle charger to keep the battery fresh. Other than that just enjoy the vacation or whatever you'r doing for that month.

 

I used to not drive my MINI as much, maybe once every 2 or 3 weeks, until recently where I'd drive it pretty much every day (unless it rains), but when I left my car untouched for 2 to 3 weeks, I didn't really take much precaution, as it started it fine every time. When I left on vacation, I'd give the car a full detail, and cover her up with the MINI OEM car cover. Of course, I always keep the car in a garage!

 

the only thing to really worry about is your battery. if you dont have a
maintenance charger, i would just disconnect it.

pump up your tires to 40psi cold to minimize flatspots.

 

disconnect your battery, and make sure you have a full tank of gas. park on top of cardboard boxes to get you off the cement and when you first drive it again, be ready for a crazy vibration from you tires getting flatspots in them. other than that a month isnt so long.

 

Again...it's a month. Cars sit on the dealer lot longer than that and don't have any issues. A lot of what has been mentioned above is for winterizing and not sitting for a month. Go ahead and do all that since it certainly wont hurt, but it may be a waste of efforts also. I've been storing an extra car, boat, etc for 15+ years and only if sitting for the winter is it really needed to put any real effort into it.

 

i agree with chpsk8. my cars that hibernate during the winter goes
without driving for 3-4months. even so, the only thing i do is
fill the tank, turn the tires every other week (flat spots) , and
check/charge the battery every 10 days.

i dont use stabil either.

 

My car sat for about 3 months last fall while I was in Japan. It had about a 1/8th a tank of gas and I didn't touch the battery. When I got back, it started right up, the tires didn't seem to have flat spots and pressure only droped a few PSI.

 

Just leave the car alone. You don't need to spend hours preparing a modern car with modern gas and modern tires. It should start right up after 2-3 months of sitting with no issues.

 

wow...surprised to have so many replies. Thank you all for your advices. I will probably just leave my MC in garage for the month as most of you suggest. Thanks again folks.

 

We like to show people that we know everything here.

My 03 MC only has 11,000 miles. It sometimes sets for more than a month and I've had no problems.