I have a 2006 MCS. (I bought it new, so I've had it for a long time.) Two years ago we replaced the engine, so needless to say, I'm fairly particular when it comes to engine maintenance. My oil was last changed in November. It only has 2,500 miles on the oil. (It's not clear, but it's far from dark. It's still golden amberish.)

We're taking our Countryman across the country, and we'll be gone for 6-8 weeks. We have a house sitter that does not drive stick. I've had lots of advice as to how to leave the 2006 MSC. I'm not sure what is best. Some people have said to fill the gas tank and leave it...no worries. Some said to add Sta-Bil. Some have said I need to go ahead and change the oil too. The dealer said not to worry with the oil but to fill the gas tank. One person said to have my house sitter start the engine once a week and let it idle. Can anyone give me insight as to what is actually best? Or what you have done in similar situations?

 

Sounds good, +1 on those general ideas. I'd add sta-bil, drive to the pump and fill 'er up and call it good. You want the sta-bil circulated thru the fuel system.
And have a great time. We've done a few of those great adventures ourselves and heading out again in a couple of weeks.

 

My MCS sits all winter.
I hook up a slow battery charger so it turns off when its at a full charge.
Fill up the fuel tank and add some Sta-bil, and do run it a bit after adding.
When I restart from sitting, I only let it run for about 5 to 10 seconds to get the oil up top.
Then I restart and let it warm up at idle.

This may not be the only way to store a Mini for a short period but it seems to work.

 

House sitter doesn't have to drive it, but it would be good to have them start it and let it run for about 10 minutes a week.


I spend a lot of time out of country and luckily I have a neighbor that goes over and starts my stable (five cars and two motorcycles) and even though I have battery tenders, I feel it is better to have them run than not.


Motor On!

 

If you let the house sitter start and warm up the car make dang sure they know how to leave the hand brake set, get it in to neutral and to keep their foot off the clutch.
I could tell you a story about another routine 3 step process that sent a .45 ACP round innocently bouncing around the mess decks of one of uncle sugars fine ships of the line...wasn't me.

 

You may want to educate your house sitter on how to start/stop your MCS, they may not realize you have to step on the clutch, (what's a clutch) to start the car. When I park my car, I leave it in 1st gear. Once they start the car, you don't want them to take their foot off the clutch if you have left it in gear. I know this may sound simple to you and I, but you did mention that he/she doesn't drive a stick..

 

I just left my Mini in the garage for seven weeks...I didn't have time for prepping it because I broke my leg. I did start it twice during that time and left it running for five minutes or so both times. The only thing I experienced when I finally was able to drive again (this past weekend) was that the brakes were rubbing and rusty from sitting. I drove around the block a few times and changed from my winter wheels to my summer wheels and everything smoothed out...I think it just needed some TLC (I also washed and waxed it). Been fine since.

 

trickle chargers are cheap, gas wont go bad in 7 weeks even without stabil, especially if it has ethanol.

 

I would trickle charge it.

 

On top of the advice recommended by others, I'd remove the four wheels and put it up on stands at all corners. In addition to avoiding flat spots on your tires, you'd also eliminate the potential of the inexperienced house sitter > starting the 6-speed stick MINI > lurching forward > crash disaster!

 

Personally I wouldn't let a clutch novice start my car during an absence. Just trickle charge it and forget about the rest. The time involved is not enough to cause real problems. I had a friend start and idle my '79 Capri weekly when I was away for 7 weeks, and when I returned the carb linkage was frozen in place. It wasn't too hard to release, but that was the last time I had the starting routine performed- and no more issues.

 

Wintertime I'd charge battery, summertime I would do nothing. 8 weeks, is nothing.

 

Ditto to Minnie.the.Moocher

I used to be deployed in Coast Guard years ago when cars were not as well designed as they are now, for longer periods, leave it alone. Oil will settle, but only take a second or two to re-disperse.

Starting and running for short times, not worth it, also if in a garage fumes from exhaust could take out your house sitter.

 

Thank you for all the great advice. I think I will just top it off with some Sta-Bil 360 in the tank, leave it be, and see how things are when I get back. This car has been my daily driver for 11 years now, and this is the first time it is being left to sit. I can't imagine two months causing problems. I might be more concerned if it spent a lot of time sitting, but it gets a lot of action. It may be 11 years old, but I drive it like it's new...if that makes sense. On a side note, I left this car at someone's house over the weekend one time, and I guess they had to move it. Unfortunately, their driveway is steep, and they did something to the clutch. I'm not sure what happened, but that clutch was never the same. It seemed to have some give to it if that makes sense. That clutch has been changed out, so that being said, I feel more comfortable leaving it sit than having someone start it potentially doing something strange. I trust the house sitter. She's a family member, but I also know accidents happen...better safe than sorry.


(We've taken many road trips in our '06 MCS over the years, so this is our first time to take our '16 Countryman out on a trip. We're teachers, so since we have the summers off, and we look forward to this each year. I just wish the Dragon was during the summer, so we could go to that as well. Anyway, it should be fun, but I have to admit I feel somewhat sad to leave the MCS behind. Yeah, I know, I'm strange.)

 

My job takes me out of the country for a couple of months at a time. I have done nothing special to my cars, over the years, before leaving them parked for extended periods outside. They have always run great when I return.

Just park it.

 

Like these guys said: leave it be. A full tank of gas prevents water condensation from forming inside the tank. Water is heavier than gasoline and will sink and collect around the fuel pump. So you do want to avoid that.

But idling the engine is not useful and increases wear. Consider: most wear happens when an engine is first started because oil isn't yet distributed to all the surfaces; until the oil is fully warm it pumps more slowly and can't distribute as well. So if you start an engine from cold, run it for ten minutes without driving anywhere, the oil spends most of that time well below its ideal operating temperature. It can't do it's job effectively.

For 8 weeks I wouldn't worry about the tires unless past experience has taught you that your particular tires tend to flat spot easily. The MINI is a lightweight car and has wide tires for its size taking that weight. Just not an issue for most tires.

If you happen to have a good quality trickle charger (I'm fond of Battery Tender brand) then hook it up, but assuming the battery is young and healthy already it won't much matter. If the battery is several years old I'd be more conservative.

Enjoy your travels!