If The Vehicle Is Laid Up For Long Periods; Restarting The Vehicle - Maserati Quattroporte Automatic Owner's Manual

M139_UM_ing.book Page 255 Friday, September 5, 2008 8:19 AM
If the vehicle is laid up for
long periods
If the vehicle is going to be laid up for
several months, follow the below
precautions:
– Wash and dry the vehicle thoroughly.
– Store the vehicle in a covered, dry
and, if possible, ventilated area.
– Select P (PARK), then turn the key to
position STOP.
– Disconnect the battery.
– Check the battery charge condition.
This check should be carried out
monthly while the vehicle is idle.
Recharge the battery if the load-free
voltage is below 12.5 V.
– Check that the handbrake is not
engaged.
– Clean and protect the painted parts
applying protective wax.
– Clean and protect polished metal
parts with special products available
on the market.
– Talc the windscreen wiper blades and
raise them from the windscreen.
– Cover the vehicle with a long cloth in
transpirating fabric (available from
the Maserati Service Network). Do
not use thick plastic sheets, which do
not allow the humidity on the
vehicle surface to evaporate.
– Inflate the tyres up to a pressure
which must be 1 bar higher than the
normally prescribed one, and check
it at regular intervals.
The tyre pressure must be
brought back to the
prescribed value before
reusing the vehicle.
– Do not empty the engine cooling
system.

Restarting the vehicle

Before restarting the vehicle after a
long period of inactivity, we
recommend that you carry out the
following operations:
Check the tyres for pressure
and for any damages, cuts or
cracks. If this is the case, have
them replaced.
– Do not dry-rub the external surface
of the vehicle.
– Visually inspect if there are any fluid
leaks (oil, brake and clutch fluid,
engine coolant etc.).
– Have the engine oil and filter
replaced.
– Check the fluid levels in the brake
system, as well as the engine coolant
level.
– Check the air filter and have them
replaced if necessary.
– Check the conditions of the engine
belts.
– Reconnect the battery after having
checked its charge condition and
carry out the initialisation
procedures where required. You can
consult the chapter "Reconnecting
the battery" in this section for
further information on this subject.
– With the gearshift in neutral (N), let
the engine idle for several minutes.
This procedure must be
performed outdoors. Exhaust
gases contain carbon
monoxide which is strongly toxic and
potentially lethal.

If the vehicle is laid up for long periods

8
255