Q about car that has been sitting - not Porsche

[Stormy_Monday]

I am helping the missus clean up the estate of her sister. The next thing for me is the car. 2008 Toyota RAV4. The registration expired about a year ago. So it has been sitting at least a year. Dead battery. Sitting in a condo garage area.
Question is: Do I start this to drive it to a shop without changing all the fluids first? I have never had to resurrect a car before. The goal, once it is up and presentable, is to sell it cheap to a friend of a granddaughter.

grazie.

[blueline]

I am helping the missus clean up the estate of her sister. The next thing for me is the car. 2008 Toyota RAV4. The registration expired about a year ago. So it has been sitting at least a year. Dead battery. Sitting in a condo garage area.
Question is: Do I start this to drive it to a shop without changing all the fluids first? I have never had to resurrect a car before. The goal, once it is up and presentable, is to sell it cheap to a friend of a granddaughter.

grazie.

Sitting only a year and it's a Toyota - nothing should be badly amiss assuming it was running ok when last driven. Old gas might be a question but if no more than a year it should be ok. (If near empty I'd definitely add 10 or so gallons if at all possible before trying to start it.) Check fluids.

I guess questions could be how many miles, where/how stored, did it run well before sitting but, assuming no red flags and the gas issue is taken care of, I'd fire it up, let it warm up decently and if no warning lights, drive it to the shop for fluids and a good going over.

Oh yeah, be absolutely sure the brakes are good before going anywhere!! Brake fluid at proper level too.

PS - if you do the above and the RAV4 decides to expire, this post will self-destruct. It will be as if my post never existed.

[Tom]

I'm with Tim on this one. Not sure what the true over/under is on a modern Toyota, but after 12 months, I think you start it up and go from there. My wife was in the exact same position a few years ago, except it was a 15-year-old BMW 3 series. We tried charging the battery to no avail, and had to replace it to get the car running. One of the tires had a slow leak and flat-spotted pretty badly, and the brakes sounded horrible for the first few miles. We took it to carmax once it was running and took what they offered -- seemed like a better option than paying for (or doing) all the neglected maintenance as I doubt we'd make that money back.

[944m3]

Once the kids got older we stopped using our 2005 Honda Odyssey on a regular basis, it could go weeks without use. Had about 160k on it. Pretty sure it sat for close to a year when I decided to go to the Montreal Grand Prix, about a 10-11 hour roadtrip for me. Without a second thought, took the minivan. Took me all the way and back without a hitch.

Thinking about it now, that was pretty dumb of me lol

[RDMcG]

Is the gas tank empty or full ? Sometimes the gas will separate and you can get water on the engine . Toyotas are generally bulletproof me mechanically however on my experience

[Stormy_Monday]

I don't know how much fuel is in the car, The battery is dead so nothing comes up. And the condo garage doesn't have any outlets I can find to put a charger on it. And one tire is about half flat, the other have an interesting shade of brown on them. And the tire pumps I have need 12V or 120vac. Yesterday I noticed mildew inside. I do like the idea of just finding someone to buy it and remove it. This poor car never deserved this.

no good deed goes unpunished.....

[996C438]

Your location says " space coast " so I assume Florida . Humidity is an issue for a sitting vehicle as you found out with mold in the interior . I would pour an entire bottle of Seafoam fuel conditioner in the tank and top it off with 5-10 gallons of fuel . Install a new battery and check all fluids . While under the hood pull all plastic covers looking for rodent nests or signs of chewing .

If all looks good try to fire it up . Hopefully it starts and will idle . Let it run for 10-15 minutes and keep an eye on gauges and the engine looking for leaks . I would buy two stay dry buckets and put inside the vehicle , that will start pulling excess moisture out of the interior . A full service of ALL fluids is recommended especially a good brake flush as brake fluid is hydroscopic . You say the tires are brown , any chance hurricane flood water was a concern ? What does the carpet look and feel like ? You are looking for flood water intrusion . Good luck