LR4 parked most of the time lately, any harm?

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

manoftaste

Full Access Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2006
Posts
618
Reaction score
194
So, until LR/TATA/McGovern show some sign of gettin their act back together, I decided to preserve my '16, and for about ten months or so, have only been driving it mostly for recreational reasons, and not as a daily driver anymore.

I purchased a cheap old compact hybrid last year for my daily driving needs of back and forth from work (short city miles) and errands/grocery runs, etc.

End result is that for the last several months the truck has mostly been sitting around except occasional weekend trips once or maybe twice a month due to me being busy with work, etc. And sometimes it has been two to three weeks before I fired up the motor again.

I have been making sure though to keep the tires inflated close to max for the long periods of inactivity to avoid flat spotting.

Noticed that the start/stop function had stopped working a few weeks back, but when I did a couple of hundred miles weekend trip to Big Bear a couple of weeks ago, the start/stop feature came alive again, but now its dead again. Pretty sure is due to the battery not getting enough recharge time due to the truck sitting around that much.

Sometimes I get quite busy with work etc before turning back to doing any fun stuff and the truck could be left untouched for weeks, except for me putting or getting the needed personal stuff form in and out of the truck.

Whats the longest period of time an LR4 could be left parked before having to worry about harming anything at all? Thx.
 
Last edited:

ktm525

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2017
Posts
2,597
Reaction score
1,263
Location
alberta
Proper trickle charger that will kick off to float once battery fully charger. A battery tender.
 

Quijote

Full Access Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2013
Posts
1,256
Reaction score
321
Location
Metro Boston
I'd agree that flat-spotting and battery are the things that come to mind. I've had my LR4 sit for about 3 weeks last summer while we were away. It fired right up with no issues (and that was with the 5 yo factory battery that I replaced shortly afterwards). A couple of weeks is not that long.
 

manoftaste

Full Access Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2006
Posts
618
Reaction score
194
Thanks.

Any recos for equipment/tender for keeping the battery alive and maintained? Does LR make one (with cheap quality plastic but still for a million dollar cuz its got four LR oval logos on each side of the box)?

Also, curious, aside from the Battery and flat spotting, whats the longest duration you could leave the truck parked for before you have to start worrying about other stuff? And what is that other stuff that you have to worry about? Brake lines or engine components, etc.?
 

BrandonM7

Full Access Member
Joined
Oct 30, 2016
Posts
141
Reaction score
93
Location
GA, USA
I wouldn't set the parking brake if it's going to sit for a long time. The brake shoes can rust to the rotor hat and it's rather brutal trying to get them unstuck.
 

NASdiesel

Full Access Member
Joined
Dec 21, 2011
Posts
648
Reaction score
60
I park mine for the winter and drive my winter-rat LR3. No issues. Just drive it once a week or so and if leaving it longer, jack stands and trickle charger.
 

catman

Full Access Member
Joined
May 4, 2015
Posts
699
Reaction score
194
Location
The Relay Shack, Parts Unknown USA
We have had various summer convertibles for years and they sit all winter from November until April. I keep a trickle charger on them and fire them up perhaps 2-3 times during that span to keep the fluids moving and remove the flat spots (I have not bothered with stands or maxing out the PSI in the tires). Never really had any issues. I have seen plenty of LR's that sat over a year at dealers and had under 100 miles on them - and they are not going to trickle charge them, so I don't think you are going to have any issues the way you described.
 

gsxr

Full Access Member
Joined
May 8, 2017
Posts
719
Reaction score
315
Location
Idaho
...sometimes it has been two to three weeks before I fired up the motor again.
If it's only 2-3 weeks, you're probably fine, assuming you are not dealing with excessively hot or cold temperatures.


...I have been making sure though to keep the tires inflated close to max for the long periods of inactivity to avoid flat spotting.
This does help, but even if the tires feel lumpy after being parked for months, this usually goes away after you drive long enough to get the tires warmed up.


...Whats the longest period of time an LR4 could be left parked before having to worry about harming anything at all? Thx.
My $0.02... if it will be parked longer than 3-4 weeks, put a trickle charger / maintainer on it. Preferably one that desulfates. I like the PulseTech Xtreme Charge, or the higher-end C-TEK units. Both are in the $75-$100 range.


Side note - you probably know this, but if it will be parked for long periods, starting the engine and letting it idle is not a good idea. If it won't be driven long enough to get everything up to normal operating temps, it's better to just leave it off. If storing for more than ~6 months, add Sta-Bil or similar fuel stabilizer to the tank and drive a bit to mix it throughout the fuel system. I have some other vehicles that get parked for 1-2 years at a time between starts, and with fuel stabilizer & battery maintainer, so far I've not had any problems. (For that kind of long-term storage, keep the fuel tank near empty, so you don't end up with 20 gallons of stale gas.)

:eek:
 

roverca

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2016
Posts
57
Reaction score
7
Location
San diego
Left my LR3 for a couple months and the suspension was all bottomed out when I cam e back to it. I could not get the car to lift back up and had all kinds of suspension idiot lights on the dash. Took into the shop and he put it on the lift and let the compressor run. It came back to life. The mechanic told me I needed a new compressor cause it sounded weak (it sounds like it always has to me) and a leaking front left strut. That was a year ago (didn't replace those parts cause I wasn't buying into what he said and didn't have that kind of money anyhow) and I only recently replaced the front axl valve block and now is the first time since it was two years old that the front end doesn't lower over night (it stays level and at height over night so still don't buy the left strut recommendation). I do have Johnson rods that I will look to take off soon so maybe they cause the problem...
 

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
36,223
Posts
217,601
Members
30,474
Latest member
sawcut
Top