Consequences? Charged, but unplugged 3 months in garage.

[Francisco]

Greetings everyone:
I am planning on parking my 2014 Volt with 24,000 miles during the Winter.. It will be parked in a heated garage during the winter. What if any damage can occur? Thanks in advance.
Respectfully
Francisco

 

[Timothy Fay]

No real damage should occur, however I would take it for a drive every now and then. The 12 volt AGM battery in the trunk will die and you should keep the engine lubricated at least once every two months.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Inside EVs mobile app

 

[Pushmi-Pullyu]

Short answer: According to the owner's manual, if you will be storing the car for more than a month: Run the battery pack down to approximately 50% charge, then park and disconnect the starter battery. (Do not store long-term with the main battery pack at or near 100% state of charge!)

Longer answer: See discussion at the GM-Volt forum here.

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[The Gadgeteer]

I read something along the same lines for the Clarity plug hybrid about a partiall charge during storage over a month.
Does anyone know the reason why?

 

[Pushmi-Pullyu]

I read something along the same lines for the Clarity plug hybrid about a partiall charge during storage over a month.
Does anyone know the reason why?

It's a basic property of li-ion batteries. Storing them at either full charge or near zero charge puts strain on them which shortens their life. Storing them long-term at between 50-60% of their full state of charge is best. Caveat: What the car's instrument panel displays as 50% or 60% may not be exactly that, because what the car displays is usable capacity, not full capacity.

 

[JustAnotherPoorDriver]

Caveat: What the car's instrument panel displays as 50% or 60% may not be exactly that, because what the car displays is usable capacity, not full capacity.

There's a buffer both at the top of capacity (to mitigate degradation over time) and the bottom (to prevent total discharge). The 50% on the panel is probably close enough.

 

[Pushmi-Pullyu]

I read something along the same lines for the Clarity plug hybrid about a partiall charge during storage over a month.
Does anyone know the reason why?

It's a basic characteristic of li-ion batteries. Storing li-ion batteries long term at near 100% or near 0% charge puts unnecessary strain on them, causing unnecessarily shortened lifespan. Li-ion batteries "like" to be kept at around 50-60% charge when stored long-term.

From advice I've seen (both official and unofficial) about different plug-in EVs, it seems that this is something you should worry about only if you're leaving the car sitting for a month or more. For shorter periods, don't worry about it.

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[larrenz]

Just leave it unplugged and half charged. No need to use a trickle charger.