50 mpg or bust.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by JustPassinThru

New Yaris is parked for the winter.

Just out of curiosity...What do you do re the battery? Do you start it periodically (but not drive it)? Connect it to a plug-in charger?... or (IIRC, do what CTScott does when he travels across the pond with his family) Disconnect one of the cables from a post on the battery?

[JustPassinThru]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

Just out of curiosity...What do you do re the battery? Do you start it periodically (but not drive it)? Connect it to a plug-in charger?... or (IIRC, do what CTScott does when he travels across the pond with his family) Disconnect one of the cables from a post on the battery?

I haven't bothered with it - although when I get the airbag-logic units (putting it off for several reasons) I'll have to cycle the electronics.

I have stored cars and motorcycles every winter for decades. As times have gone on, corrosion and battery run-down issues get less and less. Advancement in base technologies, no doubt - and these are newer items, not old junkers.

This car was stored last year in an unheated shed, and started right up in March. This year I had to leave it outdoors, periodically sweeping the snow off it. I don't expect problems but if I have them, I have jumper cables and dialectic grease.

As I've noticed it, a battery in the tray will ACCELERATE corrosion that is THERE; but in a new vehicle with everything clean and protected, corrosion won't start just from the battery being in there.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by JustPassinThru

I haven't bothered with it - although when I get the airbag-logic units (putting it off for several reasons) I'll have to cycle the electronics.

I have stored cars and motorcycles every winter for decades. As times have gone on, corrosion and battery run-down issues get less and less. Advancement in base technologies, no doubt - and these are newer items, not old junkers.

This car was stored last year in an unheated shed, and started right up in March. This year I had to leave it outdoors, periodically sweeping the snow off it. I don't expect problems but if I have them, I have jumper cables and dialectic grease.

As I've noticed it, a battery in the tray will ACCELERATE corrosion that is THERE; but in a new vehicle with everything clean and protected, corrosion won't start just from the battery being in there.

Last night I experienced for the first time what those of you in Wisconsin, I imagine, have experienced more frequently ()....freezing rain. I was at Barnes and Noble last night. A fellow customer mentioned that we'd be getting freezing rain in the middle of the night. I did a Gas Buddy search (wanted to get gas next...no traffic). The cheapest station was fairly close to a Wal-Mart that an employee at a closer Wal-Mart told me had an item I wanted that they don't have. I drove toward the Wal-Mart, and didn't notice anything unusual on I-45 or I-610. On Hwy 290 I noticed a few truckers had pulled their rigs onto the shoulder. A few miles after that I noticed a sign that indicated Hwy 290 was closed WAY ahead in Waller County (perhaps the aforementioned truckers were heading to Austin and heard that the road was closed). I stopped at Wal-Mart and got the item I needed. I then headed to the gas station (at a Kroger store), and got out of my Yaris under those bright lights. The radio antenna had frozen rain all over it, and the tip was drooping from the weight of the frozen rain. The nose, the sides, the roof, and especially the mirrors of my Yaris were covered in frozen rain. I got the gas I needed. I took FM 2920 back to I-45. I only needed to advance a few exits on I-45 (North) before exiting go get my mail. Right after I entered the freeway, and overhead message sign read "Icy Conditions Ahead, Driving Discouraged". I was glad I only had to go a couple of miles. I decided to park my Yaris in my driveway, rather than in the garage. I didn't want the ice on my Yaris to melt all over the floor of the warmer garage. As of this morning, all of the ice had melted (onto my driveway) except the ice on the mirrors. For the first time in the short 'installation life' I could tell that my new NAPA Legend battery was giving a very, very slight nod to the cold weather (first non-garaged night).