I believe spring will arrive, and that sometime in the next couple of weeks the snow will melt and I may actually be able to get my '02 MCS out of the garage. I parked it in neutral with the e-brake on Nov. 30th. I started it briefly around Christmas after adding the prescribed amount of Sta-bil in the gas tank. Then I put its indoor "zippered" cover on, locked the doors, and CHEQQRS has been sleeping since.

My question is for those of you who have experience with waking up a sleeping car - what are the things I should do and/or watch for when I go to start it up and drive it? I've never stored a car before and I am hoping to get it up and running without issue. I'd appreciate input- thanks!

 

Hopefully you also put a battery tender on it; if not you'll want to get one and charge the battery up.

Check tire pressures; leaving the car on jack stands with ~10 PSI less than normal is a good idea but not critical. Do expect to have some vibration as the flat spots on the tires warm up and round out. Should only take a few miles.

Check and top off fluids; an oil change before hibernation is a good idea.

Even with Stabil the gas will degrade a bit; consider siphoning out a most of the gas and mix it/run it through your other vehicle's gas tanks. Then top off the Mini with fresh fuel ASAP when it rolls out of the garage.

Wipe down all the surfaces with the appropriate cleaning / conditioning / waxing product - plastic, leather, paint, glass, chrome, etc.

Check to make sure no critters have resided in your air intake or other places under the hood or underbody. Look at visable belts and hoses, and tire sidewalls for cracking or damage.

Check for leaks and sounds on start up; warm it up with the hood up and look and listen a minute. Turn the wheels from side to side and run the AC briefly.

Check lights, dash and other electronics for proper operation.

Drive with moderation until you've checked the operation of things while moving - brakes, suspension, etc. If everything feels right after a good warm up then proceed to drive it like you stole it for the rest of the season!

Happy Motoring!

 

I don't have to winter cars but have always been told to disconnect the fuse for the fuel and turn the motor over for about 10 seconds to get oil circulated before letting it fire.

This relatively slow turning will not harm surfaces and will get oil to all of the right places.

 

I usually check the exhaust and intake for rodents. Even if you've "never had one around" you just never know when one will crawl in an intake or exhaust.
Check the fluids and tire pressures.
When you go to start it, turn the key to turn the fuel pump on and let it cycle. I do that twice, then fire it up.
I also figured since the batteries in these cars are so weak I stored mine without the boot cover so I can reach back and pull the seat down and get at the battery. With that silly electronic button to open the boot it's a pain to get at the battery if it does end up going flat.
I've been overwintering cars for quite a few years and have never had an issue. Just a couple precautionary measures such as Stabil and you'll be fine.

edit... I just saw you're in Madison... the snow isn't ever going to melt down there! Every time I turn on the news I hear something about "oh the snow missed the Twin Cities and hammered Madison". Thanks for taking one for the team!

 

Thank you for your responses, everything listed is most helpful! I would have forgotten to look for mice, and they are abundant around here. Also, priming the fuel pump would have never entered my mind. I'm really getting antsy to go motoring. The Flamin' PT is a nice ride, but, not really that much fun to drive. Since we've been piling the driveway snow from the other two garage bays in front of the MINI bay it may still be a little bit of a wait. That and the entry into that last bay is grass, really wet soggy ugly snow drenched grass, yuck!