RS5inOttawa

Hey all,

I have a question about winter storage; searched the posts and couldn't find anything, so sorry if it's already been brought up.

I've got a 2018 RS5 that I'm putting away for the winter. Yes...putting in storage. I'm up in Ottawa, Canada and if you know what our winters are like...you'd understand. I don't want to damage anything so asleep she goes! I've got an old 2015 Ford Fusion that I'll be driving in the winter. Salt damage/stone damage, deep/hard snow piles. flying ice...don't care.
Anyways, my question is: I'll be storing it in an unheated storage facility. I know I need to put some fuel stabilizer in it, gonna disconnect the positive battery cable, bought a new cover for it.....anything else? It gets pretty cold here in the dead of winter easily -35 degrees celcius.

Any suggestions are welcome and appreciated!

Thanks
Geoff

mump

I store my Lotus for the winter in my unheated garage. The only additional things I do is scatter some fabric softener sheets throughout the car to prevent rodents from going in and building nests. Also, I put a few more pounds of air in the tires and put the wheels in dollies to cup the tire, preventing flat spots.

FrenchToast

When disconnecting the battery, you should usually disconnect negative first. And unless it's an emergency, you should wait at least 10 minutes (preferably more) before doing so on a modern car. The computer modules usually need a few minutes to safely power down and the after-run pumps can run for the better part of an hour depending on temperatures. You may need to run various adaptations when you reconnect the battery.

Fabric softener sheets may deter rodents but they certainly don't prevent them. I've seen them defecate directly on them. The best thing is to monitor the facility and make sure they are not present. You can install traps surrounding the car, or drive the tires on blocks so it is harder for them to climb up on the wheels. You can spray peppermint oil on the blocks but I don't know if that is any better than softener sheets.

You can't fully prevent mice from entering the engine bay, but you can prevent them from entering the cabin. If you feel rodents may be a problem, I would locate the rear cabin vents and cover them with mesh screen. When mice come in they usually go through these vents - on most cars they are often under the brakelights behind the bumper cover.

Before turning off the car, turn on the HVAC recirculate feature. This will close the HVAC to the outside. The closed flap can help stop rodents from getting into the duct work. I don't know if the flap is before or after the cabin filter. You can inspect the filter in the spring to see if they traveled there. I have seen mice chew through the cabin filter and aforementioned rear cabin vents.

I think Canadian cars get a different coolant spec, but you should ensure it can handle the temperatures that the car will see.