Idle vehicle maintenance measures

The idle rate and idle time of cars in common people’s homes are getting higher and longer. First, people’s income levels have increased, but car prices have fallen, so the number of vehicles has increased, and the situation of multiple cars in a family has become more and more common; second, the road environment has not been able to develop simultaneously with the increase in vehicles , The traffic congestion situation is becoming more and more severe. At the same time, the limitation of parking spaces and the soaring gas price are also damaging people’s enthusiasm for driving out. Third, the bus system in big cities has become huge and complete over the years, plus government subsidies. , Bus travel is not only convenient, but also inexpensive. In view of the above three reasons, although there are more and more private cars, more of them have become short-term means of transportation for people to travel on holidays. People may be more inclined to take public transportation during most working hours. As a result, from as short as a week to as long as several months, many cars have become regular customers in the garage. Of course, we agree with public transportation, which is a green and environmentally friendly way of travel, but we also have some worries about vehicles that have been placed in garages for a long time. Because if the parking is improperly maintained and parked in the garage, it may hurt the car more than driving on the road all the year round! So, you have kept a car for thousands of days, and you have used it for a while, have you learned how to park correctly?

1. Pick a safe nest for your car

The terrain should be flat

Careful car owners will consider many factors when parking, such as preventing the car from being scratched and preventing it from being exposed to the sun, but ignores an important point, that is, the ground conditions. In order for the car to park in a safe or shady place, some car owners often choose road teeth or sites with serious bumps on the road surface. As everyone knows, this may hurt the car. Although a qualified car body has high rigidity, it will actually be constantly deformed due to the impact of the road surface. Once the body is deformed, the vehicle will not be obedient. Its handling and stability have a serious impact. If the vehicle is parked on some uneven ground for a long time, the four-wheel drop will be too large, which will cause distortion to the frame over time, and even affect the normal opening and closing of the door. Compared with most injuries, the deformation of the body frame is the most irreversible symptom of vehicle aging.

Therefore, if the vehicle is parked for a long time, please choose a suitable parking place to ensure that the four wheels of the vehicle are on the same plane. The situation of single-wheeled roadside climbing should be avoided as far as possible.

Beware of falling objects

In the scorching summer, if there is no underground parking lot, many car lovers will work hard to find a shade or eaves for their car. Indeed, parking your car under a big tree or under the eaves can protect your car from exposure to the sun, but not everyone knows the hidden risks.

Trees are great to enjoy the shade. This applies not only to people and cars, but also to birds. Flocks of birds on the big tree metabolize to their heart’s content, excrement falls from the sky, and vehicles parked under the tree are inevitably caught. Don’t underestimate bird droppings. Even after cleaning, the acidic ingredients it contains can easily leave permanent stains on the car paint. Another memorial parked under the tree is resin. Not only is it more acidic, it is difficult to remove even without special cleaning fluid, and the damage to the paint is obvious.

Another parking restricted area is the eaves, and the danger comes from man-made. The dirty water from the mop upstairs, the food dregs that fell unintentionally, and even the beer bottles that were thrown away maliciously… The uncivilized understanding of society will be carried out in the process of cleaning and touch-up in your disappointment. Relatively speaking, the car is not so afraid of the sun. If there is no parking space that can be shaded, just park in the sun.

2. Make adequate preparations before stopping

The fuel tank has as little oil as possible

There are two indicators in the quality index of gasoline, the actual gum quality and the induction period, which represent the stability of gasoline. If gasoline is stored for too long, it will be severely oxidized and form gum. Glue can make the valve sticky and not close tightly. At high temperatures, it decomposes into carbon deposits and deposits on the cylinder wall, piston crown, and cylinder head, which can cause poor engine operation, cause knocking and increase wear. However, don’t worry too much, this is the consequence of severe deterioration of gasoline. In fact, storage in the fuel tank for ten and a half days will not cause much change, and it will definitely be within the license index, and it will not cause any impact on the engine. However, if it is parked for several months, the oil should be drained, or the oil should be kept as little as possible. In addition, in order to slow down the deterioration of oil products, the vehicle should be parked in a dark, cool place and avoid direct sunlight.

Inflate the tires as much as possible

Parking for a long time without moving will cause local pressure on the tires, which may cause the tires to become unusable over time. The best way to avoid this situation is of course to periodically adjust the position of the tires during the parking phase to disperse the continuous pressure on the local tires. If there is no such condition, then it is also a way to inflate the tire as much as possible before parking. The higher the tire pressure, the smaller the compression of the tire wall. After long-term parking, the local deformation of the tire will naturally be Smaller. This is also one of the reasons why the tire pressure of the new commodity car is always so high. However, it should be noted that the tire pressure cannot exceed the upper limit of the manufacturer’s limit value when inflating the tire.

The battery is disconnected to prevent running electricity

After parking for a long time, it is difficult for a normal vehicle to ignite. I believe many netizens have encountered this situation. The battery is automatically charged when driving, and the battery will be consumed when the vehicle is idle. However, the model, use time and type of the battery of each car are different, and the consumption situation is also different, so you should according to your own battery situation. Do check.

When the vehicle is not in use, check the battery every two weeks. For example, check the height of the electrolyte. Generally speaking, the electrolyte level of the battery must be 10-15mm higher than the plate. If it is insufficient, add distilled water in time. The owner can ask a friend or family member to help take care of the vehicle, and let the vehicle start for 5-10 minutes to charge the battery every other week or two. At the same time, it can also check whether the vehicle has other problems.

If you can’t find someone to help take care of the vehicle, you can also unplug the negative terminal of the battery and power off the battery, so that there will be no power consumption. Just remember to connect the electrode when restarting.

Reasonable protection against trauma

Before parking for a long time, if the parking position is not so ideal, we should also protect the vehicle appropriately. For example, in order to reduce the erosion of vehicle interiors by ultraviolet rays in the sun, we should cover the inner side of the front and rear windshields of the vehicle with blackout curtains and pull up the sunroof on the inner side of the sunroof. In addition, if the parking location is likely to be rubbed by other passing vehicles, please mark the conspicuous location, such as placing reflective buckets around the vehicle to remind other drivers.

Some drivers are eager to wear a car and like to wear a car jacket for vehicles parked outdoors. This is actually not recommended, because in a windy outdoor environment, the car jacket can easily be blown away, and the car jacket and the body will rub against the body for a long time. It is easy to cause damage to the body. Therefore, the expert’s suggestion is to wax the vehicle once before parking for a long time outdoors. The active ingredients in the wax can reduce the damage caused by the ultraviolet rays in the sun, and the painted surface after waxing is also more resistant to rain. The erosion of acidic substances.

3. Regular maintenance during parking

Regular ignition

In order to keep the vehicle anti-theft and other facilities working, not every car owner is willing to disconnect the vehicle battery before parking the vehicle for a long time, but during the long-term parking period, the continuous discharge of the battery can easily cause the battery to lose electricity. Once the vehicle is started, the battery will be damaged in serious cases-every over-discharge will cause irreversible damage to the battery. Therefore, during the parking period, you can not move the car, but it is best to start the car every few days and let the car run at idle speed for more than ten minutes, which not only allows the engine to be fully lubricated by the oil, but also serves as a battery Charge some to prevent the battery from over-discharging.

maintenance rubber

Rubber products on automobiles, such as tires and sealing strips on the sides of doors and windows, are easily affected by changes in sunlight and humidity and exhibit premature aging symptoms, resulting in deterioration of performance and shortened service life.

The aging of rubber products is mainly due to the fact that rubber is an unsaturated polymer hydrocarbon, which is easy to absorb oxygen in the air and oxidize. At the same time, vulcanized rubber has certain air permeability, and oxygen can easily enter the interior to cause oxidation. In order to avoid the premature aging of rubber materials, we should properly maintain tires and other sealing rubber materials during parking. In fact, it is very simple. The tire protective waxes sold everywhere can protect and moisturize rubber materials.

Appropriate displacement

If possible, long-term parked vehicles should be able to travel a certain distance regularly. Even if it is only a slow driving in the parking lot for more than ten minutes, the battery on the car can be charged, the engine and transmission can be fully preheated and lubricated, and local deformation of the tires caused by long-term parking can be avoided. Therefore, even if you are out of town, you can ask a friend to do it for you and let your car go out regularly.

eliminate moisture

For cars that have been parked for a long time, keep the metal surface clean. The garage where vehicles are parked should always be ventilated to keep the relative humidity of the air below 70%. The dust, dirt and moisture on the car should be removed in time. The rusty parts and the surface of the machine parts should be coated with oil, grease or wrapped up with greased paper. The pores on each assembly mechanism should be sealed to prevent air, moisture and dust from entering the interior.

The humidity of the cabin must also be controlled as much as possible, otherwise it will easily cause mildew of the interior parts after long-term parking. We can use a special desiccant to control the humidity in the cabin, of course, there are also some soil methods: put some old newspapers in the car, they have the function of absorbing the moisture in the cabin.

4. There are four steps to prepare before activation

fully charged

If the battery still loses power after being parked for a long time, it is not recommended to ignite the cart even if it is a manual transmission vehicle. After all, the engine and transmission of the vehicle are seriously lacking in lubrication after long-term parking. At this time, if you use a cart to ignite It is bound to cause obvious wear and tear on the engine and transmission. So, if the battery has no ability to start the engine, then remove the battery and charge it, or start it with the battery of another vehicle.

Improve fuel

As mentioned earlier, fuel also has a shelf life. If it is parked for too long, the deteriorated fuel will contaminate the oil circuit and the engine. Therefore, we recommend to minimize the amount of fuel in the fuel tank before stopping. After the vehicle is used again, neutralizing the old oil that has been accumulated for many days with a large amount of fresh fuel will not have a significant impact on the vehicle. Of course, you can choose to use some reliable fuel additives. These additives can not only improve the performance of spoiled fuel, but also have a certain cleaning effect on the vehicle’s engine and oil circuit. This is perfect for vehicles that have been parked for a long time.

Change the oil

Like gasoline, the engine oil of a vehicle that has been parked for a long time is also prone to deterioration. Therefore, after the vehicle is reactivated, the oil should be changed in time for the vehicle. Of course, the oil filter should also be replaced at the same time. Long-time parking, the oil remaining in the oil filter will age or even dry up, which will seriously affect the filtering effect of the oil filter. Therefore, the oil should be replaced at the same time. Replace the oil filter.

clean car

While paying attention to the condition of the car, we must not neglect our own health. A vehicle that has been parked for a long time, especially a vehicle that has been parked for a long time in the south, is bound to be damp and humid. After a long period of “fermentation”, the toxins and molds in it will have a great impact on the human respiratory tract! Therefore, in the first time after the vehicle is activated, what we need to do is to ventilate the vehicle, open the windows and doors, and let all the accumulation in the compartment radiate. If possible, expose it to the sun for a period of time, and use ultraviolet rays to completely eliminate those. Mold. Air-conditioning pipes should not be ignored either. Long-term parking, the humid air has long filled the air-conditioning pipes with mold, so you will smell a disgusting sour smell when you turn on the air conditioner. At this point, you need to turn on the air-conditioning heater to ventilate the air-conditioning pipes with the maximum air volume, but if the odor persists, you may have to go to a professional auto beauty shop to steam the air-conditioning pipes.

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