Auto Tips

Car Care and Maintenance During Stay at Home Period

28 April, 2020

The Indonesian government has issued an appeal for people to cut their activities outside. Many companies are advised to diverting their work at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, vehicles that usually accompany your daily activities are also unused at home.

Since the first COVID-19 case was announced by the government, it has been about one month that most people are staying at home, and your car is being idle. To keep the condition great, you have to regularly check some of its parts. That way, it will still be in its best condition when you use it later.

Which parts of the car should be considered when storing it at home for a long time?

Tires

Staying too long in the same position makes a vehicle’s load rests at one exact point. Similarly, when a car sits too long in one place, all the car’s load rests at the same part of tires.

Eventually, the cross-section of the car tires become nonstandard. Therefore, you can check the air pressure on the tire. Each vehicle has different tire pressure. The four different models of Wuling Cars, namely Confero, Formo, Cortez, and Almaz, all have different tire pressures.

Confero and Formo models are equipped with 195/60R15 tires and have pressures between 32-35 Psi for the front and rear tires during a no-load condition. Meanwhile, when has fully loaded, the rear tire pressure can be filled with up to 36-39 Psi, but the front tire pressure should stay at 32-35 Psi.

Differently, The Wuling Cortez has a tire size of 205/55R16. The front and rear tires of Cortez can be filled, with the pressure of 33-36 Psi in a no-load condition. However, if it is fully loaded, the pressure of front tires should not change, while the rear tires filled with 33-36 Psi.

The Almaz, which has a bigger tire size, actually has similar tire pressure to Confero and Formo. For both the front and rear tires, they can be filled, with 32-35 Psi pressure in the no-load condition. If the car is in full load condition, the front tire should stay at 32-35 Psi while the rear tires should be at 36-39 Psi.

Fortunately, Wuling cars have already equipped with a Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) feature. This feature allows drivers to check tire pressure from their MID screen, hence they do not need to bother checking it using a compressor.

When a car has been idle for a full week, it is better to drive it for at least 10 minutes to keep up the tire contours. It does not have to be far, though you can drive it nearby your neighborhood.

Brake

When a car has not used for a long time, especially using the parking brake,  rust can develop on the surface of the rotor brake.

The use of parking brakes for too long can cause brake pads and rotors to stick tightly. If the car is not used for a whole month, the parking brake should not be activated. However, keep in mind that this should only have done when the car has parked on a flat surface. To keep the brakes in good condition, you should run the car for at least once a week.

Battery

The battery is the life of a car. If it’s not used for a long time, the battery can experience discharge or reduction of its power. Indeed, this will be problematic when you are about to run the car later on as it lacks power already.

It is better to disconnect the battery cable to reduce the process of discharging the battery. Remember to also physically check the battery condition. If too much acid has attached to the battery connector, clean it immediately, or otherwise, it can interfere with the connection between the battery and the electrical system of your car.

Fluid

The car you leave idle for a long time during this lockdown period may have some sediment in the engine oil, transmission oil, and coolant. Moreover, car fuels can also evaporate due to not being used for too long. Therefore, it has strongly advised to warm up the car engine for about 1-3 minutes for at least three times a week.

Pests

Remember to also routinely check the exterior parts of your car. It is possible that some pests, like rats, will occupy your car if it is left for too long.

Prepare a pest exterminator and spray it around your car to reduce the risk caused by the pest. Take a moment to check the physical condition of the car by conducting one round check vehicle each day, so that you can be aware of any problems caused by pests.

In addition to checking, you also need to pay attention to the condition of your car by conducting some maintenance at home, which includes:

1. Drive the car regularly. During this lockdown period, you can drive your car nearby your housing at least once a week
2. Warm up the car engine to minimize any fluid sedimentation. Do it for at least three times a week
3. Conduct routine visual check for your car, so that any problems can be detected as soon as possible
4. You can contact various Wuling dealers nearby for routine service at home. An official Wuling dealer mechanical staff will come to check your car. Don’t worry, as they follow the standard operating ways that support the government program to avoid the spread of COVID-19 virus. Also, there is a Booking Home Service program that can be done easily via My Wuling+ application.