heida11

I am a senior and have parked my ml350 with 3.5L engine in the garage since March 11, 2020. I am having everything I need delivered.
The tank is half full with EXXON premium.
How long can I do this before the gas goes bad?

Thanks

MBSang

I guess you will be fine for 2-3 month, but I would fill the tank with fresh gas. That will increase the life of the existing gas, and less chance to have moisture in your gas tank.
If you really cannot drive your car for a long time, I would put gas stabilizer like 'Sta-Bil'

BUT, I would more worry about the flat spot building in your tires. Just drive around 20 min or so once a week to prevent this issue.

pjw1967

Start it up at least every few days or so. I am a senior as well with a '14 GL450 and a '14 ML350 which my wife drives. Her car hadn't been driven in over 2 weeks. I started it Tuesday and it ran rough and the CEL came on. I backed it out of the garage and shut it off. I waited about a minute and started it again. Ran fine and CEL was gone. Who's to say what happened to it on Tuesday. Could have been condensation build up getting sucked in triggering the rough running and CEL. I started it this morning and all well.

heida11

Thanks everyone. Will head your advise.

geniushanbiao

If you have a garage and can manage to store the car inside the garage, you can store it as long as you can basically. The biggest problem with storing for long time are the following to me.
1. Battery drainage will happen after you stored it for too long (say 1-2 months). If you can hook up a trickle charger to maintain the charge it would be all fine.
2. Brake discs get rusted. This is especially a problem if there's a rain and you store the vehicle outside.
3. buildup on injector nozzle. This can be easily prevented by a good additive. Use Chevron Techron and fill up the tank. That's the only one approved by MB.

drwolf

I would agree with this. Take it out every few days. Stay Ssfe!

we47b1me

a very long time.

C280 Sport

Wife and I are both working from home for over a month now. We have driven less then 100 miles. Everything we need is so close plus not going out much. I would say let the car run or drive it once in a while. That alone helps and also makes sure the battery does not go flat. Worst thing is to just let it sit.

heida11

Thanks to all!

pjw1967

Update: HRH and a friend drove to Houston to Kenny and Ziggy's for rye bread and apple pie. ML350 performed without a hitch. (Whew.....)

peter2772000

We live in Montreal but have a 2nd home in SW Florida where we keep our 2012 X6. We drove it down from Montreal in 2015.
What I've learned and been told is the following;

- Always keep the tank topped up to avoid condensation in the tank and use rec gas which contains no ethanol
- Flat-spotting of the tires is a reality. Temporary or permanent seems to be dependent on tire brand and length of time left parked
- Jacking the vehicle in the air releases tension on the suspension but isn't good for it, long term
- Starting the engine every few days does nothing good. Most wear on an engine is at start-up
- A trickle-charger will keep your battery happy and increase longevity

Our ramps: https://www.raceramps.com/car-storag.../flatstoppers/
Trickle-charger: https://www.batteryminders.com/2012a...acid-batteries I have both the 2012 and the 2012-G for AGM batteries

Here in Canada, I have a 7kw generator with a 5 gallon capacity. I keep another two 5-gallon containers and three 2-gallon containers, all filled with super and Stabil. I rotate the gas out every spring, using the gas in our vehicles and filling the containers with fresh gas and Stabil. I've been thru the ice storm of '97 - '98, promised myself I'd never get caught unprepared ever again....

geniushanbiao

You can set the jack to support the control arms instead of jacking spots so the suspension will be on normal height but the tension on the tires are relased.

peter2772000

Yeah, I was initially doing that using jackstands. But we go down maybe 5-6 times a year. That crap gets old after awhile. With the ramps, it's simple and quick.
Comes at a price though, at over $180 USD.

chassis

Gas doesn't go bad over a period of a handful of years, contrary to urban legend.

geniushanbiao

Gasoline does go bad indeed. Read these.
https://www.hyperlube.com/blog/blog/...soline-go-bad/
https://www.livescience.com/58117-do...ne-go-bad.html
https://repairpal.com/blog/can-gasoline-go-bad

It's usually less of a concern if you don't store it more than half a year, or 1-2 years with stabilizer so most of time it's not a problem at all, but gasoline does go bad.

Audi Junkie

E85 will store longer and is a superior fuel.

C280 Sport

I keep 3 cars in SWFL. I agree 100% on that full tank of gas as it is a must! For me I have a friend start them up and drive them once in a while. Never had issues. Letting the engine just run is bad. It’s fine if you are going to drive it around and bring it up to operating temperature m. I usually leave some cash in the glove box if he needs to fill them up

Zuffen

I drove my Range Rover today for the first time in well over 6 months.

Hadn't been started in that time.

Connected the battery and away it went.

The fuel is our (Australian) premium but nothing special.

The car ran perfectly.

peter2772000

In the beginning, we had left the Beemer simply parked in the garage from March 'till September. No disconnected battery, no trickle charger, no jackstands or FlatStoppers. She started up, but barely. As well, the first 2-3 miles were bumpy and wobbly due to the flat-spotting, but luckily the tires didn't retain the flat spots.

As far as E-85 being superior, not so sure. That crap supposedly absorbs moisture with a passion. We don't have it here in Quebec, and though we'll use it when travelling from SW to SE Florida, I would never leave that stuff in my tank long-term. I've been told that it chews up fuel lines etc. I'll just pay 40 cents more per gallon to use 91 octane rec gas and buy peace of mind

Zuffen

We've had (what we call) E10 or a 10% mix of Ethanol for over 25 years in Australia.

I ran my W163 ML320 on it for 14 years and and never had a problem with water in the fuel or hose deterioration.

Older vehicles not designed for Ethanol do have a problem with rubber hoses and seals.

peter2772000

Good point, but our ethanol blend is between 50-83%.
Having said that, millions of people are driving their cars with E-85 every day with no issues. But our X6 sits there not moving for around 250 days a year. I'm happy to pay a bit more for rec gas knowing there's no ethanol in the tank, possibly chewing up fuel lines etc. If I'm wrong, it's cost me maybe $70 extra over the year for the 40 cents more per gallon for rec gas.

I can live with that....

Zuffen

If you run E85 you need a Flex Fuel vehicle or the AFR's will be so lean it will eat engines?

If you are referring to 85% Ethanol you require around 30% more fuel to be injected to maintain AFR's in an acceptable (to your engine) range.

I'm a little lost.

We have E85, over here that is 85% Ethanol but this is used in hot engine to extract the last HP form them.

peter2772000

You're absolutely right, I stand corrected.

I now realize that when I saw "Ethanol", I assumed it was all E-85. I just researched the ethanol thing and now know that there are ethanol and ethanol-free pumps everywhere. Standard is E-10, with some places selling E-15. I also learned that the ethanol rating is on each individual pump. E0, E10, E15 and even E85.
On the off-chance that I pump the wrong fuel into the X6, I'll still be fueling with rec gas. But I am anxious to fill up my 4Runner at my favorite Shell pump here in Montreal so that I can see if it's got ethanol.

Thanks for the correction!

Audi Junkie

Store some alcohol and some gasoline long term in clear jars, then get back to me.

Which do people believe burns cleaner, alcohol or gasoline from refined crude oil?

Hint: One of the them needs a ton of additives to run clean, the other needs none.

Audi Junkie

Who said it's not a superior fuel?