GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Bought a second vehicle (Silverado). Love my Vibe but will probably not be driving it much if any at all. If I drive the Vibe once a week for about 30 highway miles; will that be enough? I will of course change fluids based on time rather than miles. Any suggestions or hints would be great.

A battery maintaner. You can probably get one from Harbor Freight for cheap while the car is not in use. Some fuel stabilizer. I think driving it at least once a week you should be ok.

My family owns a 2000 VW Passat that gets less sees less than 2000 miles a year for the last three years.

If you're going to run the car every week, there is no need for a battery maintainer. If the battery is in good shape there will be ho problem leaving it for 1-3 months.
You can really extend the oil changes. Our car only gets an oil change every spring.
Fuel will be fine in the tank for more than 6 months at a time, but I wouldn't trust the 10% ethanol stuff more than one year. The trick here is don't park it with a full tank.

SeattleJeremy wrote: The trick here is don't park it with a full tank.

Hmmmm ... I was always told to do just this if storing a vehicle for a long time to prevent condensation (moisture ... H20) from forming in the tank & contaminating the gas. Maybe I'm wrong or misinformed. My 1992 F-150 sees less than 1000 per year and both tanks are usually topped off & I alternate them so the gas doesn't become stagnant. The most ONE of the tanks sat unused was probably 18 months. Also, getting back to the Vibe, my 2009 Vibe sat in the garage two winters ago and the battery DID drain down to the point whee it would not start. I believe it was going on three months of inactivity. If it is not to be driven in regular intervals, I go out & start it up & let it run for a while & move it. I'm always driving a commercial truck/van thus my personal vehicles see very little driving.

tpollauf wrote:

SeattleJeremy wrote: The trick here is don't park it with a full tank.

Hmmmm ... I was always told to do just this if storing a vehicle for a long time to prevent condensation (moisture ... H20) from forming in the tank & contaminating the gas. Maybe I'm wrong or misinformed. My 1992 F-150 sees less than 1000 per year and both tanks are usually topped off & I alternate them so the gas doesn't become stagnant. The most ONE of the tanks sat unused was probably 18 months. Also, getting back to the Vibe, my 2009 Vibe sat in the garage two winters ago and the battery DID drain down to the point whee it would not start. I believe it was going on three months of inactivity. If it is not to be driven in regular intervals, I go out & start it up & let it run for a while & move it. I'm always driving a commercial truck/van thus my personal vehicles see very little driving.

I should have elaborated, the evap systems in modern cars, such as the Vibe, are very good. The law mandates the fuel system be closed, and as long as the evap system and fuel tank cap are in proper working order then there is no need to worry about water getting in to the system.
However, as fuel ages it's octane level is lowered, even with fuel stabilizers. Fuel can't be made to last forever. If planning to store a vehicle for more than 1 year, it's best to drain the tank (or use until "Empty", then add new gas when you're going to be running it again.

Story time.
A while back a prominent member of ClubWRX had his WRX parked for 2 years with a full tank with fuel stabilizer. It ran like crap after getting it out of storage, and because he had a full tank there was nothing he could do, but drain the tank in to every gas can he had, then add new gas. Then it ran like a champ.

The battery tender is up to the individual owner. After many months of sitting the battery in our Passat had a cell go bad, it was a old battery, totally normal. I'd rather replace a battery than have a "hot" power cable leading to the engine bay of my car for months at a time.

Anyway these are all really long term storage solutions. If still driving the car once a week, continually using the fuel, and getting regular, if less frequent, oil changes, then vybr8d should set.