So I'm being thrown in multiple different directions by multiple different Google sessions.

Half of the results when I search for my question say "yeah absolutely disconnect it", and half say "NO THERE'S ALL KINDS OF ECU STUFF THAT WILL LITERALLY MAKE YOUR CAR UNDRIVEABLE!" Not sure which to believe.

Anyways, long story short I'm about to go on a ~month-long trip, and want to know whether I should disconnect the battery or not.

Battery minder/tender/recharger (can't quite pin down the difference when I google it) is NOT an option, as I live in a gated apartment community and, while I know neighbors who have safely left their cars parked in the lot for a month plus (hence why I don't fear for mine, security-wise), I can't plug in to outlets that aren't there.

So, give it to me straight -- will my new-old car become an unusable one-ton paperweight after a month laid up with the battery yanked, or is it safe and/or recommended to do so?

 

No it will not become a paper weight if you disconnect the battery. That said, it will set what is called readiness codes that will prevent you from having an emissions inspection until to you have driven it a few hundred miles under various conditions. the codes will go away eventually without you doing anything but driving. The do not set the service engine soon light so you will never even realize that they are there.

The other thing that will happen is your radio will quit working until you enter the proper code which you should have received when you got the car. If you do to have the code, call Honda Corp Customer Service and prove that the vehicle is yours. Honda will give you the radio code over the phone.

One other possibility is to get a solar maintainer, park your car in the sun with the maintainer in the window and the maintainer will keep the battery alive. These are frequently used by car manufacturers and car lots to prevent dead batteries. Check ebay for one. VW use to put them in their new cars. Dealers would remove them when the car was sold. The removed ones were very cheap on ebay. I once put one in my brother's Honda Accord while it was in a nursing recovery place for 4 months. His car started and ran just fine when he got out.

 

I left mine in my garage for 6 weeks after surgery. All I did was left it in gear and with the handbrake off. When I went to start it it kicked into life at the first turn of the key, as if it had only been left overnight.
However, if the vehicle is fitted with an alarm (mine isn't, only the immobiliser), you may want to lock it without setting the alarm, as the alarm is a low but steady drain on the system.

 

get a solar tender instead. wire it to your battery and place it on your dash board of course in view of the sun

or

get one of those usb portable battery packs that can also double as a booster. you can use the battery pack to charge your devices during your trip, just make sure its fully charged on your way back home to jump start the car with.

 

Yeah, I looked these up. Fortunately the dealer put the car through emissions testing right before buying it and it's good to go for a few years, but I'm going to make sure (if my battery ever dies for any reason, not just this trip) to conduct the sequence I keep finding using Google once I'm back behind the wheel.

Found a card in my glovebox that looks like the example card the code-retrieval site shows, kind of smudged beyond recognition on the serial number (just for kicks, tried to look up my code on that site, my two guesses on what the first digit were led to failed attempts), but the Code Number block is legible. Is Code Number the security code for my system? Or (if it comes down to it) am I going to have to call Honda directly and beg for help? Seems kind of redundant to require the serial number of your system, which is on the card, which also has the unlock code anyway.

Truth be told, 6 weeks is probably a more accurate amount of time, but this is good news.

Just gotta remember/make sure to kill the alarm.

Thanks.

Was already researching/planning to do just this. It looks like I can spend around 40 bucks and have an instant jump starter in my pocket, so probably a worthwhile investment.

I am parking the car in the 'long-term storage floor' of my apartment's garage. Again, anecdotal/personally-witnessed evidence suggests security isn't an issue, but the floor is NOT open to the elements. Great idea, but not feasible unfortunately. Keeps my car out of the California sun, though, at least.

Thanks for all the advice, I think I'm going to just go ahead and leave the battery connected, car alarm off, and just acquire one of those neat pocket-jumper gizmos.

 

I've left it both connected and disconnected for several long trips, sometimes up to four months. I think after the 4 month mark, my battery was dead. Parasitic drain, I suppose. The idea with batteries is that if they slowly discharge, and they will on their own, especially if they aren't treated well, then they get unhealthy really fast. So if it discharges more than 50% you're really limiting it's lifespan. That's why the solar trickle chargers are so popular. We call them maintainers in Canada. I just get into the habit of disconnecting it now if I'm gone for more than 3 weeks. Never had an issue when reconnecting. Also, it's worth noting the Fit battery is kind of weak to begin with.

 

You can also retrieve over the internet using the honda site by providing a VIN if I recall.

For 30 days, battery would probably be ok with alarm off, more than that, I would disconnect or use the solar charger idea.