Hey guys,

Sorry for the silly question - I plan to store the car in a garage away from home with an indoor cover on. Will I still be able to safely remote start it with the onstar app every once in a while? I can put the cover on so that the exhaust is not covered, but what about heat in the hood area? Would it be safe?

 

Personally I wouldn't do it because it is inside a garage with little to no ventilation going on.

The heating and cooling under the cover could cause condensation between the car and the cover which isn't good either.

Running for short periods of time without getting the engine fully up to temp and ran is harder on it than just letting it sit over the winter. When I was still living in the midwest I would wash the car, wax it, change the fluids, and park it. If it was going to sit for a long time, put it on stands and put the battery on trickle charge.

 

Go through proper winter prep procedures and don't start it. That will do more harm than good.

 

Agree with the others. Do proper winter prep, remove battery or put it on trickle charge and just let it sit. When I used to put my car away for the winter I used to drive it till the tank was almost empty, add gasoline preservative to the tank and then fill it. Then drive home which let the preservative run through the complete fuel system. With the C5 and newer cars their dual tank systems may not be conducive to doing that since the preservative would go into the left tank but the fuel would be pulled from the right side tank first.

Back in the C4 days when GM used to have the Corvette Action Center at the Bowling Green plant I asked them the best way to store my 86 and was told the best way to store it was to drive it. They told me no car is designed to be sit still for long periods of time and they respond much better if being driven at least once per month all year long. He said to put at least 30 miles on the car in one drive once per month. That lets everything get good and hot, lubricates seals which helps preserve them, gets the moisture out of the exhaust system and lubricates the diff gears properly. Just letting the engine idle for 15 minutes doesn't get it hot enough to boil off contaminants in the oil, lets lots of moisture build up in the exhaust system and doesn't do anything for the drivetrain.

Bill

 

I believe that you can start it remotely but must put your foot on the brake to shut the car off.

 

Never run an engine with the car covered. It restricts air flow through the intake. Bad...bad...bad.

Also does not allow air flow around the engine even when the fan engages.

Don't do it.