2013 S 85 - What is the effect of sitting for 5 years

[SteveRR]

Found a 2013 Model S, but it hasn’t been used much for five years as the owner has been out of the country. What would the effect of sitting mostly unused be on the battery? He said someone drove it occasionally. Dealer recently serviced it and said it was OK.

 

[BrianS85]

It probably depends on how it was stored. If it was left plugged in with max charge set to something like 80% then it’s likely in really good shape. What model (performance?) and battery size is it? Ask the owner what the range is at 100% charge and post the number here.

 

[111GTS]

I am in a similar situation wherein my 2015 Tesla Model S 85D has been sitting in my garage plugged in most of its life. I bought the car new but use it only as a vacation car. When not in use its plugged it at 50% battery capacity. Battery to date is as good as new and gives me 270 miles on a full charge.

 

[sorka]

It probably depends on how it was stored. If it was left plugged in with max charge set to something like 80% then it’s likely in really good shape. What model (performance?) and battery size is it? Ask the owner what the range is at 100% charge and post the number here.

80% displayed SO, is actually about 86% of real capacity as the displayed SOC doesn't include the 4KW buffer. 86% would cause degradation pretty quickly if it sat there continuously. I won't store my car for more than a few hours at anything higher than 70%. Ideally it would be close to 50% being stored long term. Other than that, nothing else much would go wrong except the flat spots on the tires and the 12 volt battery needing to be replaced. Ideally, they would have pulled the main HV plug if they were going to let it sit for months then the 12 volt battery would be fine if fully charged.

 

[BrianS85]

That’s good to know. I think the longest Ive let mine sit at 80% is about a week. I’ll probably turn it down next time I have to do that.

 

[BIG ACH]

How long has it been sitting? If it helps at all - In 2017 I took my father's 2013 Model S 85 after he passed, the car had only been driven on average 2,000 miles a year (had 8,000 miles total since purchase 4 years prior). Ran fine... but I did have to replace the 12v battery.

I took it on a 500 mile trip on my first day with it lol and have since added another 30,000 miles. :-D No major problems!