Advice on storing the car outside for a long time

With good batteries, good connections, no worries. But how many of us know this for sure? Leave it for a few days and see whether the batteries are being discharged. That could give you an idea if it can sit for 10 days without ill effects. My guess would be that it should be OK.

If you have a phantom draw from something like security, you might have a dead aux battery when you get back. Best to plug it in, to maintain the hybrid battery, and a battery-maintainer on the aux battery.

 

If you have SKS, turn it off.

 

10 days really isn't THAT long.
IF the 12 V battery is fully charged and healthy, it should be fine.
Do you have a tender-type small battery charger ?

 

10 days should not be a problem. I would not be concerned about it.

 

My Corolla battery went flat in a week every time. New battery, same thing. I'm sure there was a drain somewhere.

 

Take transit or a cab to the airport?

 

if the battery has never been flat, you should be fine.

 

Orrrrr, get a friend to go out with you and drive your car home. With the insane parking charges here, that's our usual MO.

 

He will be leaving from O'Hare. I haven't flown out of there for some time but parking is not cheap there. Also, there is the hassle. After you park your car you then have to board a bus. Ride the bus to a train. Ride the train to the terminal. A royal hassle deluxe. When you get off the bus there is an elevator that you take up to board the train. More than likely the elevator will be out of order. You then will have to lug your bags up the long stairway. What a hellhole. I'll drive my Avalon on my trips or I don't go. $63.00 taxi fare from Geneva to O'Hare. That's the way I would go if I just had to do it. Or like Mendel suggests, get a friend to drive you if you can. That would be the cheaper way.

 

To save our daughter and family on parking charges, we stored their car, then drove it back to YVR parking, dropping it off at around 11 pm. They drove it out at 2 am. They were charged over $60 for that: see, they'd been parked there for two days.

 

When you fly out of O'Hare you do not want to leave your car there. Just find another way. Been there, done that. Probably the same goes for most airports. A hassle plus expensive.

 

The CTA goes right to O'Hare.
While it is a BIG place, I think it is kept in better shape now that it used to be.
I would not advise anybody to drive a car there and pay the outrageous parking fees.

 

I live in a Chicago suburb. When I used to fly in and out of O'Hare I always found it better to leave my car at home and take a Limo to and from O'Hare. It will drop you off right at your terminal. When arriving back from my trip I was always tired. The Limo was right there to pick me up. No hassle. No parking fees for my car plus the enormous hassle of getting from the parking lot to the terminal. Also the risk of getting my car dinged in the lot while I was gone.

 

There are no really great options when you are going to O'Hare. A pain in the rear.

 

I think the longer you've lived the more this ever-encroaching pay parking crap rankles....

Even further off-topic, but as long as we're talking about the "parking situation", my next favourite pet peeve is the now ubiquitous pay parking at hospitals. We've had some VERY negative, personal experiences, I mean parking hassles are the LAST thing you need in such a trying, stressful time.

And I've heard/read things in the media, for a example: a doctor was telling a patient of his cancer diagnosis, and the poor guy is looking at his watch, his effing meter is about to run out.

 

Hospital parking is a great subject. I live 2 miles from a big hospital that just keeps expanding. Not that long ago they built a big tower parking facility attached to the hospital. Due to their recently expansion project they tore the tower down and built another tower about 1 block away. When you go to this hospital you had better be in top physical condition if you are going to park there because you are going to do a lot of walking. I have been hospitalized there 2 times in recent years. My wife rode a cab back and forth. Just a complete zoo.

 

Here's a good one. I think this is where the doctor relates about the terminally ill patient worrying about his parking expiring:

Hospital Parking Pain - Marketplace - CBC News

 

Hospital parking is a great subject. I live 2 miles from a big hospital that just keeps expanding. Not that long ago they built a big tower parking facility attached to the hospital. Due to their recently expansion project they tore the tower down and built another tower about 1 block away. When you go to this hospital you had better be in top physical condition if you are going to park there because you are going to do a lot of walking.

Great video Mendel. Just horrendous. I won't complain too much anymore. It's worse there. Very bad for the patients. Thanks for posting it.