Effects Of Significantly-reduced Driving

[RX in NC]

My wife typically puts 35,000 miles or more on her vehicles on an annual basis and that was certainly the case for her 2004 RX330 until we acquired our 2005 Jaguar S-Type just before Christmas. It was originally intended to split the driving done by my wife right down the middle between the S-Type and the RX330. But she much prefers to drive the Jaguar almost full-time and now her RX330 is only used when she needs to haul our dogs to classes or shows, an average of perhaps once a week encompassing a 40 or 50-mile round-trip. At that rate, the miles put on her RX330 will drop to less than 3,000 per year. While that can significantly lengthen the lifespan of this dog-hauler for us, I know that today's vehicles need to be driven regularly since the onboard security systems constantly draw battery power which needs to be replenished via regular driving. Other than the security system and the clock, what else draws current 100% of the time and could short-term the battery in this vehicle?

If she's not going to drive her RX330 enough to keep all systems fully operational, that means that I'll have to make up the difference (something that I really don't want to do since I'm way too tall to ever get comfortable in it). If she continues to drive it an average of once a week and I double that by also taking it out about once a week, I hope that will be enough to keep the vehicle charged up and lubed up and in good enough working order to keep it around for quite awhile longer....

[pauljcl]

My wife typically puts 35,000 miles or more on her vehicles on an annual basis and that was certainly the case for her 2004 RX330 until we acquired our 2005 Jaguar S-Type just before Christmas. It was originally intended to split the driving done by my wife right down the middle between the S-Type and the RX330. But she much prefers to drive the Jaguar almost full-time and now her RX330 is only used when she needs to haul our dogs to classes or shows, an average of perhaps once a week encompassing a 40 or 50-mile round-trip. At that rate, the miles put on her RX330 will drop to less than 3,000 per year. While that can significantly lengthen the lifespan of this dog-hauler for us, I know that today's vehicles need to be driven regularly since the onboard security systems constantly draw battery power which needs to be replenished via regular driving. Other than the security system and the clock, what else draws current 100% of the time and could short-term the battery in this vehicle?

If she's not going to drive her RX330 enough to keep all systems fully operational, that means that I'll have to make up the difference (something that I really don't want to do since I'm way too tall to ever get comfortable in it). If she continues to drive it an average of once a week and I double that by also taking it out about once a week, I hope that will be enough to keep the vehicle charged up and lubed up and in good enough working order to keep it around for quite awhile longer....

We drive some 4-5000 miles/yr on each car, but it is spread +/- evenly throughout the year. Last year, I left the RX300 in Michigan for two months+ and the battery was dead as a doornail upon our return, couldn't be charged correctly. When we go back this time, knowing that it will have been four+ months since we left, I bought and used a Black and Decker trickle charger to try to keep the battery in good charge. This charger is very low power (you choose 1 or 2 W) and will not overcharge the battery because of internal circuitry that interrupts the charge when the battery is full. [The trickle charger is said to prevent the battery from drying out, which it would do if a regular charger were connected for the period.] Sears has a similar model that appears to perform identically. They should be sufficient to keep all systems 'go' and the battery charged over time (we hope!). -- We will return to MI shortly after mid-May. Do you want me to post an update on the state of charge of the battery when we get there?

[RX in NC]

Sure. Even though a trickle charger isn't really the answer in our situation, I'm interested in learning how it worked for you....

In our case, the answer is simply to drive the car more than once a week. If she won't do it, I'll have to. I can always use it for errands though I'd much prefer to be in my Ram....

[pauljcl]

Sure. Even though a trickle charger isn't really the answer in our situation, I'm interested in learning how it worked for you....

In our case, the answer is simply to drive the car more than once a week. If she won't do it, I'll have to. I can always use it for errands though I'd much prefer to be in my Ram....

OK I will drop a note on this forum when we get to MI.

Once a week is more than enough... several miles journey, though, for the oil and tires as well as the battery of course.

[blk_on_blk]

I second what Pauljcl notes as once a week being enough, and also emphasize his point of making it at least a several-mile journey, not only for the oil, tires, and battery, but also for the exhaust system... short little trips don't give it enough time to heat up to dissipate condensation... and repeated short, quick trips can cause excessive moisture to form in the exhaust leaving it prone to corrosion.

[RX in NC]

Agreed. I had already planned to take my wife's RX out on the highway at least once a week if she does not. Fortunately, when she does drive it, it is usually at least 30 or 40 miles and it always involves at least 20 miles of highway driving....

[SW03ES]

I would imagine you would be fine...