[ESB]

I'm going to be driving from Seattle to DC in May and then parking/storing the car while I travel out of the country. In total the car will be parked and unused for 7-8 weeks.

I don't think it'll be possible for me to connect it to a trickle charger. I'm still trying to figure out where to store it - but I'm imagining underground parking for a hotel or something like that.

Here in Seattle I have a parking spot outdoors and when I'm out of town for as little as 2 weeks, when I get back the car starts moaning about low battery. So I'm a little worried that having it sit for 2 months will drain the battery and it won't be able to start.

Should I disconnect the battery? Does doing so require registering it again after connecting it? Do I need any tools?

Any other condiderations? I've read the threads of prep people go through for winter storage of 5-6 months but this won't be that extended.

After the 7-8 weeks it'll be driven back to Seattle.

Thanks for any tips!! Super excited for my road trip.

[Philly_sweden]

Buy or put a start booster in the car, not the trunk 😅

[///MPhatic]

My research shows that if you're parking the car in Summer for more than 2 weeks it should be hooked up to a Ctek. In the Winter you can shorten that time to 1 week. I would not be surprised if you have an issue when you go to use it again if you don't do that. I guess at a minimum you could unhook the battery, but you're not going to be able to shut the trunk because the trunk pop is electric. The battery does not need to be registered after it's disconnected and reconnected, so that's the one bit of good news.

Park it at a friend's house and hook it up properly to a Ctek.

FWIW, anytime my car is going to be parked more than a few days I hook it up to the Ctek, but I also know how much the Varta battery costs...

[allinon72]

I feel like there’s an issue with your charging system if you’re having low battery issues at 2 weeks of standby. I routinely leave my car sitting for 10-12 weeks at a time in the winter, no trickle charger, and it starts just fine and I’ve never got a low battery warning once. Granted that’s in a climate controlled garage but still, you should be getting more standby time than 2 weeks.

[E90convert]

I would disconnect the battery. I work from home and hardly drive my M2 in the winter (garage kept). I've had low battery warnings from just a few weeks of no driving. I keep it on a trickle charger if it's more than a week of no travel. Throw some LiquiMoly Hybrid additive in the tank too. I run that during the winter.

[ESB]

Thanks for the responses and ideas!

If disconnecting the battery means needing to leave the trunk open then I think that rules out that option since I won’t be parked in a completely private location.

Since I’ve spent all of my adult life in Seattle I don’t have much of a network in DC to ask someone to allow me to store my car in their home’s garage. The only friend I can think of in the area with a house does not have an indoor garage anyways. And my parents live in the city and rely on street parking. That’s why I feel like my only real option is to store the car in a monthly paid parking garage 🤷‍♂️

Very worst case I’ll just need a jump start when I get back, right?

[ESB]

Originally Posted by allinon72

I feel like there’s an issue with your charging system if you’re having low battery issues at 2 weeks of standby. I routinely leave my car sitting for 10-12 weeks at a time in the winter, no trickle charger, and it starts just fine and I’ve never got a low battery warning once. Granted that’s in a climate controlled garage but still, you should be getting more standby time than 2 weeks.

I’m going to see my local dealer tomorrow so I’ll make sure to ask about this. Maybe they can test the battery.

I agree it seems odd. I never got battery warnings on my old 135i that I had for 7 years.

[OGM2]

Just buy a portable jumper if you don’t already have one and bring it with you so if it doesn’t start you have a backup plan that doesn’t involve you having to seek help. I keep one in the car all the time just in case.

[ESB]

Originally Posted by OGM2

Just buy a portable jumper if you don’t already have one and bring it with you so if it doesn’t start you have a backup plan that doesn’t involve you having to seek help. I keep one in the car all the time just in case.

Oh okay cool. I didn't know that existed. Makes it super easy!

[Philly_sweden]

Originally Posted by ESB

Oh okay cool. I didn't know that existed. Makes it super easy!

Yeah same as I wrote. Super Easy and they don’t cost much either

[ESB]

Originally Posted by Philly_sweden

Yeah same as I wrote. Super Easy and they don’t cost much either

oh sorry somehow missed your comment...thanks!

[Philly_sweden]

Originally Posted by ESB

oh sorry somehow missed your comment...thanks!

Also full tank of gas and more air in the tires.

[Apexeater]

For what you will pay to store in DC could you just leave it in Seattle and fly to DC? Better chance of known people and better storage.

[ESB]

Originally Posted by Apexeater

For what you will pay to store in DC could you just leave it in Seattle and fly to DC? Better chance of known people and better storage.

Haha yeah totally but actually I WANT to do the drive!! Always been a “one day” sort of road trip and happy that circumstances are aligning to let me do it this spring/summer!

[Maynard]

Try calling local (near/in DC) speed shops to see if any offer storage - ours here do, and likely this will be off-season and they'll have some room (and care about cars, have access to charger-power, etc.). Another option is reach out to the local DC BMW CCA people for suggestions/options (you are a member?- if not time to join). Lots of people in DC jetting off overseas for a few months, should be options to store nice cars if you look. I'd rather Uber to the airport than leave my baby there like that.

If you do store at airport, you need to learn how to open your car door without comfort access, since it won't have power; I would also attach jumper wires to the battery and run them into the passenger compartment - with no power, you can't open the trunk, and you can't fold the seats down to crawl back there. Also nice to air up tires to about 40#, and add Stabil (or whatever other storage juice you prefer) to a full tank of gas.

[///MPhatic]

Originally Posted by allinon72

I routinely leave my car sitting for 10-12 weeks at a time in the winter, no trickle charger, and it starts just fine and I’ve never got a low battery warning once. Granted that’s in a climate controlled garage but still, you should be getting more standby time than 2 weeks.

Most people don't have a climate controlled garage, and temperature makes a huge difference.

Also, just because you don't see a low battery warning light doesn't mean that you're not harming your battery.

I suspect you're one of those guys that just doesn't care. It's your 4th car and you'll deal with the bad battery when it presents itself and not give it a moment's thought.

[m2ss]

Then there's this...