Methods and systems are provided for controlling spark plug fouling in newly manufactured vehicles. In one example, an engine is operated with a first, more aggressive spark discharge schedule when in a pre-delivery state and transitioned to a second, less aggressive spark discharge schedule when in a post-delivery state. In each spark discharge schedule, a spark plug ignition coil is repeatedly discharged when the engine is off, such as when the engine is spinning down to rest on a shutdown event or before the engine is fueled on an engine restart event.