Going away for 6 weeks- how should I leave MY

[Cmf2455]

I will not be using MY fir 6 weeks. How should I leave it? Plugged or unplugged?? Thanks

 

[TaylorN17]

If you read the manual for your car, Tesla advises to keep the car plugged in if possible. Even if its just a NEMA 5-15 (120v) that should be enough to keep the car charged to whatever level you set and the onboard electronics happy.

 

[Quorky]

def plugged in... whats the harm? it will feed itself as needed

 

[brkaus]

Plugged in. Turn the battery charge target to 50%.

 

[Barrygold]

Plugged in. Look how many times it fed itself in 15 hrs. This is plugged into 48amp / 240v

 

[Zoomit]

Plugged in. Look how many times it fed itself in 15 hrs. This is plugged into 48amp / 240v View attachment 609726

I have never seen this type of behavior in the two years I've own and monitored my Model 3.

Do you have Sentry Mode enabled? Or was it particularly cold?

 

[jf64k]

From the Owner's Manual (emphasis from Tesla):

About the Battery

Model Y has one of the most sophisticated battery systems in the world. The most important way to preserve the Battery is to LEAVE YOUR VEHICLE PLUGGED IN when you are not using it. This is particularly important if you are not planning to drive Model Y for several weeks. When plugged in, Model Y wakes up when needed to automatically maintain a charge level that maximizes the lifetime of the Battery.

 

[hakunamattata]

Plugged in. Look how many times it fed itself in 15 hrs. This is plugged into 48amp / 240v View attachment 609726

Just curious which app are you using for this information?

 

[Ldub22]

I have encountered this question for years with my Model S and X.

Don't overthink it. Definitely keep it plugged in.

The idea of keeping it at 50% is understandable, but practically unnecessary. 80% is fine, and I have not seen any unusual loss of range over 70,000 miles. Inevitably, as life continues to move on, you will forget to change it in the app and be short on charge (my Model S has less leeway on this, so adjust for your situation). But most batteries like to keep the electrons moving around a little bit.

Plus, you will love it when you are on vacation or somewhere else and your phone pops up a software update! It's like your car telling you "I have a surprise for you when you get home!"

 

[Barrygold]

I have never seen this type of behavior in the two years I've own and monitored my Model 3.

Do you have Sentry Mode enabled? Or was it particularly cold?

teslafi doesn’t recognize the slight charges either. Maybe you have another program that does?

High 50’s. It does this every night. No sentry mode enabled. It will keep the exact charging limit I have set. My buddy’s model 3 won’t keep the charge at 90% overnight when plugged in, it drops to 87% etc.

here’s a 23hr charge. It was a little warmer last night 58* ambient.

 

[Barrygold]

Just curious which app are you using for this information?

It’s the native ChargePoint app that is used with their chargers.

 

[jerry33]

For six weeks, it really doesn't matter. Six months, put it at 50%, otherwise 90% is just fine. The important point is to leave it plugged in.

 

[brkaus]

I agree. But, why not. It’s easy. If I forgot and left at 90 I wouldn’t worry about that either.

 

[jerry33]

I agree. But, why not. It’s easy. If I forgot and left at 90 I wouldn’t worry about that either.

Correct. The small amount of differences in battery degradation between 80%, 70%, and 90% for a short time isn't worth bothering about. Besides, there are other factors that affect degradation that aren't related to the state of charge which can easily override the set level. As long as you don't leave it at above 90% or below 20% for a long time, there's going to be little difference in the battery life. My early 2013 S 85 had about 8% degradation after 130K miles/7 years. (Mostly charged to 90% except for trips when charged to 100%.)

 

[Zoomit]

As long as you don't leave it at above 90% or below 20% for a long time, there's going to be little difference in the battery life.

20% SOC is not a meaningful low SOC limit. The pack storage guidance Tesla provides in the EPA applications is: “To maintain service life, the battery pack should be stored at a state of charge (SOC) of 15% to 50%.”

Here is data that shows a significant difference in Li-ion battery capacity retention when stored at 15% verses 90%.

Ref: https://res.mdpi.com/d_attachment/applsci/applsci-08-01825/article_deploy/applsci-08-01825-v2.pdf

 

[RichAZ/CapeCod]

I've mentioned this before. I own two EVs, a Chevy Bolt and a new MY. I had to leave the Bolt on Cape Cod from Nov 2019 through August of this year. I set the charge level at 45%, plugged in. Car showed no issues whatever upon our return to the Cape. As another poster stated, put your Tesla at a 50% level, plug it in and don't worry about it!!

Rich

This is where the car was stored. The 240v outlet is the gray box. Car was covered for the winter.
Drove it back to AZ (2,742 miles) this past October with the wife. No issues with the car whatever.

 

[kishkaru]

I'm not the OP. But say I live in an apartment complex with no way to plug in, and I need to leave for 6 weeks. Is it fine if I leave it unplugged outside?
I don't have any friends or relatives nearby with a garage/driveway.

How long will the Model Y last if I leave it at 100%, with all the features turned off? (cabin overheat, sentry, etc).

My guess is that the 12V battery might be dead after 6 weeks, unless the Model Y recharges it as needed even if unplugged.

 

[jerry33]

I'm not the OP. But say I live in an apartment complex with no way to plug in, and I need to leave for 6 weeks. Is it fine if I leave it unplugged outside?
I don't have any friends or relatives nearby with a garage/driveway.

How long will the Model Y last if I leave it at 100%, with all the features turned off? (cabin overheat, sentry, etc).

My guess is that the 12V battery might be dead after 6 weeks, unless the Model Y recharges it as needed even if unplugged.

The Tesla wakes up occasionally and charges the 12V battery. But start at 90%, not 100%. And don't use the App to check on it, that wakes up the Tesla. The Tesla is programmed to go into a deeper sleep the longer it's left unattended. Note that many airport parking lots have places where you can plug in 120V is enough (the ride to the airport parking lots have them too), so look into that.

 

[jerry33]

20% SOC is not a meaningful low SOC limit. The pack storage guidance Tesla provides in the EPA applications is: “To maintain service life, the battery pack should be stored at a state of charge (SOC) of 15% to 50%.”

Here is data that shows a significant difference in Li-ion battery capacity retention when stored at 15% verses 90%.

Ref: https://res.mdpi.com/d_attachment/applsci/applsci-08-01825/article_deploy/applsci-08-01825-v2.pdf

1. Storage is not regular use, and this chart looks as if it's for storing the battery that is not in the car.
2. Six weeks isn't enough to make a material difference in the overall life. Six months, set to 50% for sure.

 

[kishkaru]

The Tesla wakes up occasionally and charges the 12V battery. But start at 90%, not 100%. And don't use the App to check on it, that wakes up the Tesla. The Tesla is programmed to go into a deeper sleep the longer it's left unattended. Note that many airport parking lots have places where you can plug in 120V is enough (the ride to the airport parking lots have them too), so look into that.

Thanks, good to know. I'll start with 90% and leave it as-is without checking.
RE: airport parking, the issue is the cost. All airports around here starts at $30/day, so that adds up to over $1200+ over 6 weeks.