Vacation charging

[PhilRogers]

Hi everyone,

I'm leaving for a week and my Model 3 will be in the garage. Do I leave the car plugged in while I'm gone or charge it fully before I leave and then leave it unplugged?

I have read the manual.

Thanks very much!

 

[BR666T]

Leave plugged in at 65%

(Waiting to be corrected ...)

 

[1.21GW]

Leave it plugged in and set at any “Daily” charging level you desire.

Leaving for a week it truly won’t matter what you do. I have left my car for more than a month and it was fine.

 

[Knightshade]

Manual says leave it plugged in whenever possible.

50% is the theoretical "ideal" level to set it at (and then bump it up the night before you return if you'll need more the next day when you're back)- but you're talking a virtually immeasurable difference doing that vs 60 or 70% or anything not over 90 for just a week.

 

[ellett]

You can charge it to whatever level you usually charge to, leaving it plugged in, and it won't charge further unless you have an automatic daily charge set up. You can use your app from wherever you are to check the charge level every week and initiate a charge if you wish.

For a week or two, you won't see a significant drop in charge unless you park outdoors in Death Valley and the car needs to cool the batteries.

 

[PhilRogers]

Ok thanks to everyone. I usually keep it set at 80%. If it's fully charged at 80% and I leave it plugged in while I'm gone, that's OK?

 

[user212_nr]

Ok thanks to everyone. I usually keep it set at 80%. If it's fully charged at 80% and I leave it plugged in while I'm gone, that's OK?

You want to leave the car plugged in always if charging is available. 80% is a good number.

I left it for 1 week with no charging and it only lost 5%. Its better to keep plugged in just in case.

 

[TX_M3P+]

Manual says leave it plugged in whenever possible.

50% is the theoretical "ideal" level to set it at (and then bump it up the night before you return if you'll need more the next day when you're back)- but you're talking a virtually immeasurable difference doing that vs 60 or 70% or anything not over 90 for just a week.

If OP were to charge to 90% the night before leaving, then change it to only charge up to 50%, would the battery drain all the way to 50% in a weeks time? I only notice a 2-5% drain overnight when I don't plug in. But even 7 days of 5% loss per day is only 35% total loss, so the car would still be above 50%, no?

 

[user212_nr]

If OP were to charge to 90% the night before leaving, then change it to only charge up to 50%

You cannot charge up to 50% if you just charged to 90. You would not charge the car to 90% overnight before leaving.

would the battery drain all the way to 50% in a weeks time? I only notice a 2-5% drain overnight when I don't plug in. But even 7 days of 5% loss per day is only 35% total loss, so the car would still be above 50%, no?

No it would not. It looses 3-5% per week unattended.

 

[jbadger]

My longest period without charging my Model 3 is around 60 days due to shelter in place. IMO don't stress about one week

 

[TX_M3P+]

You would not charge the car to 90% overnight before leaving.

Why not? If the manual says to charge as often as possible, why not before you leave for a long trip?

 

[user212_nr]

Why not? If the manual says to charge as often as possible, why not before you leave for a long trip?

The OP is leaving on a trip without his car.

The battery does a little better when stored in a lower charge state, but as some have mentioned, one week isn't really that long to matter.

 

[dmurphy]

Set it to 90% and forget it. Day in, day out.

 

[Knightshade]

Why not? If the manual says to charge as often as possible, why not before you leave for a long trip?

Manual says leave plugged in as often as possible, not "charge to 90% as often as possible"

Plug it in with the limit at 50%, no matter what % it's at when you plug it in, and forget about it till the night before you get back (at which point reset limit to whatever % you will need the next day)

 

[smartypnz]

I'm voting for an average of all the suggestions so far...... where are we... 76% ?

I say set less than 100 but more than 30. OP says a week, but things happen - could wind up longer. PLUG IT IN!!!