Long term EV storage

[grichard]

I have a vacation house with a garage. Right now, I don't keep a vehicle there. Overall, I'm concerned about the hassle of a car needing service every time I travel down there, so I just rent cars instead.

I'm thinking about buying a used Leaf to park in the garage. It would be used for a few days every 6-8 weeks, probably. Anybody have experience leaving a Leaf or similar vehicle for extended periods? I feel like it might fare better than an ICE, but I'm not really sure.

(This isn't a specific question about battery degradation. I'm really thinking about overall maintenance (in)convenience.)

Thanks!

 

[Saghost]

It should be fine. You'll want to leave the traction pack at somewhere around half charged when you're away, and you'll want a battery tender/charger for the 12V battery.

Not sure if you'll have problems with the tires developing flat spots with that schedule - you could put it on jackstands, but that seems annoying.

I also hope the garage is reasonably creature free/creature proof. Certain rodents seem to have an affinity for the insulation on modem car wiring, which has gotten expensive for some people.

 

[ewoodrick]

The Leaf has some phantom drain, so over a few weeks the battery may go to zero. What you may want to do is to look at some intelligent chargers where you could add some amount periodically. Like most batteries, you don't want to keep it at 100% for long, nor 0% ever.
But as long as the Leaf can talk to the cellular system, you can use the app to check the status and since many of the intelligent chargers allow for remote access, you can adjust the flow, all remotely. It may take a little bit to figure out what the best charging schedule is, but it shouldn't be too hard. Dependent on the charge speed, maybe an hour or so a day at 110V may suffice.
This would also allow you to bring the car up to near full charge before you arrive.

 

[Saghost]

The Leaf has some phantom drain, so over a few weeks the battery may go to zero. What you may want to do is to look at some intelligent chargers where you could add some amount periodically. Like most batteries, you don't want to keep it at 100% for long, nor 0% ever.
But as long as the Leaf can talk to the cellular system, you can use the app to check the status and since many of the intelligent chargers allow for remote access, you can adjust the flow, all remotely. It may take a little bit to figure out what the best charging schedule is, but it shouldn't be too hard. Dependent on the charge speed, maybe an hour or so a day at 110V may suffice.
This would also allow you to bring the car up to near full charge before you arrive.

Are you sure?

I've never read of vampire drain from a Volt or Leaf, which I thought was because they don't use the HV pack for anything while parked and unplugged. (Though the Volt may use it to cool the pack on rare occasions at higher SoC.)