Long term being away, plugged or unplugged?

[butterscotch]

Hi guys,

So…I will be out of the country for a good 6-10 months depending on the assignment situation. No one will have access to my garage to help charge or drive around when I’m away so I have few questions regarding my M3P

1: will the car will be drivable after I return without needing any sort of maintenance or oil change (like brake fluid) ?

2: should I keep the car plugged at home and occasionally remote charge it to 90% while sentry mode is off or just charge it to 95% and leave it unplugged and charge it back to 95% after I return (I expect the battery to be 0% when I return if this is the case).

 

[Empty tank]

Hi guys,

So…I will be out of the country for a good 6-10 months depending on the assignment situation. No one will have access to my garage to help charge or drive around when I’m away so I have few questions regarding my M3P

1: will the car will be drivable after I return without needing any sort of maintenance or oil change (like brake fluid) ?

2: should I keep the car plugged at home and occasionally remote charge it to 90% while sentry mode is off or just charge it to 95% and leave it unplugged and charge it back to 95% after I return (I expect the battery to be 0% when I return if this is the case).

Leave it plugged in, it will take care of itself..

 

[M3BlueGeorgia]

Set target charge level to 50% to 60% and plug it in to regular household 5-15 circuit.

 

[P3dStealth]

I leave it plugged in and set to 50%. Inflate your tires to the max else you will come home to flat spots. Just remember to air them back down before driving.

 

[jjrandorin]

Hi guys,

So…I will be out of the country for a good 6-10 months depending on the assignment situation. No one will have access to my garage to help charge or drive around when I’m away so I have few questions regarding my M3P

1: will the car will be drivable after I return without needing any sort of maintenance or oil change (like brake fluid) ?

2: should I keep the car plugged at home and occasionally remote charge it to 90% while sentry mode is off or just charge it to 95% and leave it unplugged and charge it back to 95% after I return (I expect the battery to be 0% when I return if this is the case).

Leave it plugged in, and set it to 50%. Do NOT leave it unplugged for 6-10 months, the manual for the model 3 specifically says NOT to do that.

Model 3 Owner's Manual | Tesla

Learn about your vehicle’s battery and battery best practices.

www.tesla.com

 

[Frank99]

Plug it in, set the charge level to 50 or 60%, and you'll be able to come home, jump in, and go for a ride.

If it were me, I'd consider a set of 4 Harbor Freight jack stands to get the tires off the ground. Not necessary, may not even make a difference, but it'd make me feel better knowing the springs and tires weren't under stress for a year.

If your car is a couple of years old, consider pro-actively replacing the 12V battery so it doesn't fail while you're gone. If it fails, charging may stop. That may not be a fatal problem; if the 12V system goes down due to a dead battery, essentially all vampire losses should disappear so there'll be nothing to drain the HV battery and it'll still be charged when you get home.

Otherwise, the only maintenance necessary before leaving or after returning is to set the proper air pressure in the tires.

 

[Jejunjm]

Agree with 50% and plugged. You will still suffer time aging in battery and subsequent range loss. Have you thought about selling it while gone?

 

[Deep Purple]

Agree with 50% and plugged. You will still suffer time aging in battery and subsequent range loss. Have you thought about selling it while gone?

I love my Teslas, but this is sound advice, IMHO. In today's economy it's a bad asset to leave at home.

 

[Jejunjm]

I love my Teslas, but this is sound advice, IMHO. In today's economy it's a bad asset to leave at home.

Better off buying inflation bonds and taking advantage of the Tesla and others used car market.

Buy a new car with better technology and newer batteries when you get back

 

[Candleflame]

set to 50%, leave plugged in.
with the current usa climate you should just sell it imho.

 

[Gasaraki]

Hi guys,

So…I will be out of the country for a good 6-10 months depending on the assignment situation. No one will have access to my garage to help charge or drive around when I’m away so I have few questions regarding my M3P

1: will the car will be drivable after I return without needing any sort of maintenance or oil change (like brake fluid) ?

2: should I keep the car plugged at home and occasionally remote charge it to 90% while sentry mode is off or just charge it to 95% and leave it unplugged and charge it back to 95% after I return (I expect the battery to be 0% when I return if this is the case).

No, no, no. Leave it plugged in at 50% for long term storage.

 

[Jeremy3292]

Plugged in and SOC set to 50%. Calendar aging is the biggest degradation on the batteries which comes from sitting for awhile at a high SOC (state of charge).

I also echo previous comments about selling it for a huge gain and then buying another next year with the new (projected) EV tax credit also...

 

[Do_Not_Shake]

Definitely leave it plugged in.

 

[Bouba]

Leave the hood up