Storing car while traveling

[lampcord]

So I saw a post about this in another thread but I can't find it so sorry, I'm starting a new one.
I will be travelling for about 6 days over 4th of July and leaving my Tesla at home. A few questions:

1) Is 6 days a long enough time to bother lowering the maximum charge? Currently I am filling up to 80% every day.
2) I've read that 50-60% is the correct charge level while storing, is that correct?
3) If I should be lowering it, do I drop it a little every day until I leave or just set it to 50% now and let the charge drop to that level. If I do just set it now, I will be a couple of days before my charge drops below the max. Is that OK?
4) Upon return, should I gradually bring it back up to 80% (say 10% a day) or just go straight to 80%. (My charge rate is ~30 miles / per charging hour so I can easily catch up overnight before I go back to work, just not sure if I should).

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[1.21GW]

In general, just leave your car plugged in at 80%. Battery will be fine.

If you care about an unmeasurable benefit, you can slide your maximum charge limit to 50-60% just to ensure it’s not topping off to 80% everyday

 

[Big Earl]

6 days won’t matter. Leave it at 80% and don’t sweat it. Or turn it down to 60 or 70. Whatever floats your boat.

 

[lampcord]

OK, thanks to both of you! So you really only have to worry about this if the car is going to be dormant for a long period?

 

[Big Earl]

OK, thanks to both of you! So you really only have to worry about this if the car is going to be dormant for a long period?

Correct. A few days or weeks at 80% isn’t going to hurt anything. Just don’t leave it fully charged out in the sun.

 

[ewoodrick]

Probably don't even have to worry about plugging it in, but just plug in, don't change anything and have a good trip.

Most of all, the battery doesn't require TLC. Stop worrying about it

 

[darth_vad3r]

So I saw a post about this in another thread but I can't find it so sorry, I'm starting a new one.
I will be travelling for about 6 days over 4th of July and leaving my Tesla at home. A few questions:

1) Is 6 days a long enough time to bother lowering the maximum charge? Currently I am filling up to 80% every day.
2) I've read that 50-60% is the correct charge level while storing, is that correct?
3) If I should be lowering it, do I drop it a little every day until I leave or just set it to 50% now and let the charge drop to that level. If I do just set it now, I will be a couple of days before my charge drops below the max. Is that OK?
4) Upon return, should I gradually bring it back up to 80% (say 10% a day) or just go straight to 80%. (My charge rate is ~30 miles / per charging hour so I can easily catch up overnight before I go back to work, just not sure if I should).

Thanks in advance for any advice.

In your situation, here's what I would do, because (a) it's a smidge better than leaving it at 80%, and (b) it's interesting (to me), so why not ...

(a) Arrive home at whatever %, let's say 70%? Plug in, but set charge slider down to 50%. Don't "schedule" charge ... now your car will slowly drift down, and if for some reason it gets to below 50% it will start charging back up to 50%.

When you get back home, charge back up to your usual usage overnight.

(b) The interesting part is, record your miles and % when you leave, and see what it is when you get back. This will be a good measure of your car's 'vampire drain' over a long period of time (many days) so that you can use that as a gauge if you have to leave it somewhere NOT at home and plugged in in the future.

 

[DOC52]

Exactly what I did. Car has drained 8 percent over 2 weeks.

 

[Darmie]

We often hear concerns about the Tesla battery during long stays. Are there other concerns? Fluids, tires, cabin heating or cooling?

 

[miimura]

We often hear concerns about the Tesla battery during long stays. Are there other concerns? Fluids, tires, cabin heating or cooling?

If you're going to leave a car parked for some months, you should pump up the tires to the max allowable pressure shown on the sidewall. Make sure to drop it to the normal pressure shown on the sticker inside the driver's door sill before you drive it again. This applies to any car, not just Teslas.

 

[Big Earl]

We often hear concerns about the Tesla battery during long stays. Are there other concerns? Fluids, tires, cabin heating or cooling?

I would recommend parking in the shade if at all possible, but I try to do that anytime I park, even for short periods of time.

 

[darth_vad3r]

If you're going to leave a car parked for some months, you should pump up the tires to the max allowable pressure shown on the sidewall. Make sure to drop it to the normal pressure shown on the sticker inside the driver's door sill before you drive it again. This applies to any car, not just Teslas.

Goodyear recommends +25%, not max:

• Inflate tires to recommended operating pressure plus 25%. Ensure that the rim manufacturer’s inflation capacity is not exceeded

Tire Storage - Goodyear RV

That is an RV site reference though. If parking for months though I think you’d definitely want to be plugged in

 

[jerry33]

So I saw a post about this in another thread but I can't find it so sorry, I'm starting a new one.
I will be travelling for about 6 days over 4th of July and leaving my Tesla at home. A few questions:

1) Is 6 days a long enough time to bother lowering the maximum charge? Currently I am filling up to 80% every day.
2) I've read that 50-60% is the correct charge level while storing, is that correct?
3) If I should be lowering it, do I drop it a little every day until I leave or just set it to 50% now and let the charge drop to that level. If I do just set it now, I will be a couple of days before my charge drops below the max. Is that OK?
4) Upon return, should I gradually bring it back up to 80% (say 10% a day) or just go straight to 80%. (My charge rate is ~30 miles / per charging hour so I can easily catch up overnight before I go back to work, just not sure if I should).

Thanks in advance for any advice.

1) Not even remotely. Eight weeks or more consider it. Storing means long term, not a week or three. The remainder of the questions aren't relevant for short term.

2) 50% is correct.

3) Just set to 50% and let it drop. Keep it plugged in (it can be 120V if you like, but it really doesn't matter).

4) This is overthinking, just charge it to 90%. (maximum daily)

5) For long term storage, the best way is to put it up on blocks and lower the tire pressure to 8 or 10 psi. With air suspension it should be in jack mode. The increase inflation pressure works too, but is much harder on the tires.

 

[miimura]

Goodyear recommends +25%, not max:

• Inflate tires to recommended operating pressure plus 25%. Ensure that the rim manufacturer’s inflation capacity is not exceeded

Tire Storage - Goodyear RV

That is an RV site reference though. If parking for months though I think you’d definitely want to be plugged in

According to Tire Rack, the factory MXM4 18" tires have a max inflation pressure of 50psi. That's a lot less than +25% from the Tesla recommended 45psi. Obviously, caring for the battery is a primary concern and the tires are secondary.

 

[darth_vad3r]

According to Tire Rack, the factory MXM4 18" tires have a max inflation pressure of 50psi. That's a lot less than +25% from the Tesla recommended 45psi. Obviously, caring for the battery is a primary concern and the tires are secondary.

LOL, so basically Tesla default tire pressure is already +25% from what other cars recommend for these tires probably at around 36 psi

 

[harleyds]

Keep in mind, if you use Sentry Mode or Cabin OverHeat Protection, it will affect battery usage.

 

[darth_vad3r]

Keep in mind, if you use Sentry Mode or Cabin OverHeat Protection, it will affect battery usage.

Sentry Mode definitely *will*, but C.O.P. *may* affect battery usage. e.g. If it’s parked underground, or in the winter, or in the shade, you may avoid the temperature threshold for C.O.P. to kick in.

 

[harleyds]

Sentry Mode definitely *will*, but C.O.P. *may* affect battery usage. e.g. If it’s parked underground, or in the winter, or in the shade, you may avoid the temperature threshold for C.O.P. to kick in.

right, depending on the weather/ temp/shade. My issue was I left my P3D- in my garage unplugged and I'm in S Fl. The garage got hot so then the battery cooling system kicked on, which then heated up the garage more which then...... the circle of life ensued....

 

[lampcord]

right, depending on the weather/ temp/shade. My issue was I left my P3D- in my garage unplugged and I'm in S Fl. The garage got hot so then the battery cooling system kicked on, which then heated up the garage more which then...... the circle of life ensued....

Would you have had the same problem if you had left it plugged in?

 

[harleyds]

It would have still run through the cycle of using up battery on Sentry or COP, but it would keep recharging. After about 8 or 9 days, and I'm still out of town, I got a message saying that Sentry mode is being disabled as I hit 20% left on the battery. By the time I got home 3-4 days later, I was at 18%. Overall, if I was at 80% and didn't have Sentry mode active, I think I would have come back to the battery at 65-67%.

I try again on my next trip.