Goodness Car maintenance It is essential to ensure its performance, durability and safety, even more so considering that current models include the latest technologies that, if well taken care of, can make a car last a decade without much effort. … On asphalt.
Therefore, checking the engine oil, coolant or brake fluid is very important and also necessary to carry out Check the brakes, electrical system or tiress, aspects that can be thought to be worn due to use. However, it goes much further than that, and we must also take into account the risks that vehicles may be exposed to even though they are not moving.
Juanjo Jimenez, a mechanic with extensive experience who usually uploads recommendations and informative videos to his profile, wanted to talk about this recently. TikTok (@jcautomotivetop). In the post in question, which has more than 97,000 views, Juanjo wanted to reveal whether it is “bad for your car to leave it parked for a while.”
“It will not leave standing water.”
“I will answer this question with a Mazda 323F that has been idle for eight years,” he says from his workshop in Murcia. “After a while, the gasoline in the tank disappeared,” Juanjo reveals “It loses its properties and begins to decompose.”This can be observed by the change in the color of the fuel, which remains brown.
The tank pump and the gauge that remains are also affected.Completely useless”, or the car’s body and paint because they were “fully exposed to heat and cold.” The mechanic from Murcia goes on to talk about the brake fluid and ironically says that it is like wine, yes, warning that it is “extremely corrosive”.
Moreover, Juanjo emphasizes that if the engine does not start, we must say goodbye to the battery within a maximum period of six months and that “no matter how good the engine coolant is, It will not cease to be stagnant water». “After eight years in this case, when we turn on the starter, we cannot rule out that the water pump will break or that the thermostat will remain closed,” says the expert.
On the other hand, Juanjo talks about the thermostat and shows the poor condition the cap might be in after eight years, with coolant leaking from the engine. He does not forget the timing belt, which he considers after eight years of standing in the same position.Convenient to change».
“If you make the decision to leave the car parked for a long time, start it at least once a month and let it reach operating temperature,” recommends Juanjo, who adds: “If you can cover it, that’s much better: it will protect the paint from bad weather, even if it’s in the garage.” Moreover, it urges, as much as possible, “Remove all liquids To your car (brake fluid, oil, coolant…) and remove the battery so that corrosion does not occur with these fluids.