I'm going up north for 6 months in April and leaving my 2010 RX350 at my home in Florida. How often do I need to have someone come by and start the car to prevent the battery from dying out? Or is it simple enough to just get a charge when I come back?

 

Have you looked into a trickle charger?

 

Battery Tender. Plug it in and forget it. It will be fully charged when you return home.

 

^^^^ +1 for Battery Tender.

I've been using them for many years. Reliable and you can save them connected.

 

Do you have to plug these into an electrical outlet when you're away? I'm not sure my condo board will approve that, or even that I could find a plug within reach of the car.

 

If parked in the open in public this is what I did.

We left an old "airport car" in the public parking area at Venice FL general airport. We would occasionally fly into that airport to visit family. It sat for months at a time.

We used a device that VW used to keep car batteries topped off as they were transported by boat across the sea. It worked very well.

Here's a link to one on eBay. Get one that plugs into the OBD2 port rather than the cigarette lighter since the cigarette lighter may not be connected when the car is off. The OBD2 port has power when the car is off.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VW-Volkswage...xWQ6d1&vxp=mtr

You just attach the panel via the suction cups on the inside of the front window. For WINTER park the car so it's pointed to the south for the best sun exposure. . 2nd best in Florida if it's pointed to the west or east to catch morning or afternoon sun.

Plug it into the OBD2 diagnostic port under the driver side dash. I also used a sun shade on the inside of the front window to keep the car cooler. The solar panel was between the windshield and the sun shade.

 

That sounds really good, now I just have to find the OBD2 port.

 

On my 2015 RX450h it is under the dash just go the left of the brake pedal shaft. Yours should be in the same general vicinity.

 

Great, thanks for your help .

 

I agree with the battery tender! With that being said, if you don't have access to electricity for the tender, the next best thing is to make sure battery is fully charged and then unhook the negative cable on battery and that should be all you need to do until you return.

novaman

 

I just realized that I had a document from the Toyota Techinfo site called Long Term Vehicle Storage Guidelines. Don't think I'm allowed to post it here so if anyone is interested, I can email it to them.

 

Yes I am interested, can you send in private message?

 

I don't see an option to attach files

 

Okay I will PM you my email address.

 

Here is a link to that document
http://www.toyotapart.com/LONG_TERM_...SB-0079-09.pdf