Coming out of hibernation

[Matti Pulkkinen]

My car has been sitting still for about 6 months now, and it’s been buried under the snow for a good chunk of that time, because I’ve had some personal reasons why I haven’t been able to drive it.
It’s a 1998 Seat Toledo 1L with the 1.6 MPI engine, and about 3200000 kilometers, or 200000 miles on it.
Now for the question, if it so happens that I’ll be able to drive again after the snows melt, what can I expect from my car? The battery was already dying before the winter, so I know I’ll have to replace that, but what else can I do to lessen the chances of the car falling apart if I go to start it? Or is it even possible at this point?

Topic

[Jared Thomson]

I would disconnect the ignition system so it wont fire and turn it over for a bit (a minute or so, not constantly). You could take the sparkplugs out too so it puts less strain on the starter. Basically what you are doing is circulating the oil through the motor so that everything is lubricated when you start your car. Use this as a time to check the spark plugs, wires, air filter, and fluids. I would check the tire pressure too. Other than that, you should be good to go!

[Matti Pulkkinen]

Great, thanks for the info!
Now I just have to figure out how to do all that without breaking something :whistle:

[Steve]

Gasoline doesn’t do well either sitting for a long period of time but I don’t think 6 months is long enough to cause any major concern. After getting it up and running I would just top off the tank. You could add a bottle of gas additive in the full tank just to be safe. Some might say change the oil but personally I wouldn’t unless it needs it anyway but of course it wouldn’t hurt if you have the money.

[Author]

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