How to store an electric car
There will undoubtedly be occasions when you don’t need to drive. Your electric vehicle needs to be properly stored during these times.
No matter the engine type, all cars are made to be driven, not to be stored. As a result, if a car will stay idle for an extended period of time, the owner must take safeguards.
You can store your EV safely by following these recommendations:
Charge the high-voltage battery consistently.
According to Cars.com, the battery pack that powers your car should always be charged between 10% and 80%. Maintaining a charge outside or within of this range might damage or degrade the capacity of the lithium ion battery.
There are a few ways to make sure your car stays inside this range, and the one you decide on could depend on the manufacturer’s recommendations.
Some people, like Tesla, advise keeping the car plugged in. This will enable the HVAC system to function as needed. Set a charge restriction if you’re going to leave it plugged in so the battery doesn’t get fully charged.
Nissan and other manufactures advise keeping it unplugged when storing. When left disconnected, Nissan’s automobiles go into a “deep slumber” state, according a report.
If you decide to keep your automobile unplugged while it is in storage, make sure it is fully charged first. Then, Driving Electric advised, store the cables properly, coiled loosely and undamaged, and in a dry environment.
Remove the 12-volt battery’s plug or trickle-charge it
The majority of electric cars use two batteries. The 12-volt battery powers gadgets all throughout the automobile, but the high-voltage battery mentioned above is the one that powers your car.
The 12-volt battery is continually being used by some systems. Disconnect it from the vehicle or connect it to a trickle charger that plugs into a standard 120-volt outlet to prevent wear on it.
According to Bob Taenaka, senior technical leader of Battery and Cell System Development at Ford, disconnecting the car is the better choice if you plan to store it for more than 30 days. Disconnect the negative terminal (generally black) before the positive one when unplugging the battery (typically red). Keep the cords away from any metal surfaces when storing them.
Activate energy-saving features.
Except for when you manually turn them off, several features will automatically activate and consume battery power. Although each automobile is different, a few examples include predictive battery reconditioning, pre-warming or cooling, and automatic map updates. For information on which features will deplete your battery and how to turn them off, consult your owner’s manual.
Tyre rotation
Your EV’s tyres will eventually flatten under the weight of your car if they aren’t rotated, just like any other vehicle. Store it on lifts to take the weight off the tyres to avoid this problem. Alternately, make it a point to drive your car frequently so they can rest on different parts of the tyre.
