How long can I "leaf" it at the airport parking lot?

[DeaneG]

I wonder how long a fully-charged Leaf can be left in an airport parking lot before it runs down significantly. On most ordinary cars, this is about a month.

[AndyH]

I wonder how long a fully-charged Leaf can be left in an airport parking lot before it runs down significantly. On most ordinary cars, this is about a month.

Lithium only loses 3-5% charge per month (lead-acid is about 20%/month) so it'll sit a good long time.

[garygid]

Assuming the traction battery is disconnected when the car is "off", then the 12v battery would need to power any electronics that continues to draw power.

Just 10 ma drain would be 0.24 amp hours per day, or one amp-hour every 4 days. So, a 20 amp-hour battery might last 80 days, less considering self-discharge.

But, we do not know how much the off-current will be.

[darelldd]

I guess it all depends on the the definition of "it." Which "it" are you asking about being "run down?" The traction pack? The Aux battery? The Aux battery will act very much like the starter battery in a gas car. A full traction pack wouldn't be anything to worry about - meang that the Aux will give up way before the traction pack.

(one neat thing about the EV1 was that it had a "jump" button under the dash. If your Aux battery died, you could manually jump it from the traction pack by just holding a button. Neat!)

[planet4ever]

(one neat thing about the EV1 was that it had a "jump" button under the dash. If your Aux battery died, you could manually jump it from the traction pack by just holding a button. Neat!)

Wow! That would be fantastic. The aux battery in the Prius we have is tiny, like a motorcycle battery. When it went dead the car was totally dead, even if the big battery was charged. And don't get me started on what you had to go through to hook up an external charger.

I have been rather afraid that the Leaf might also have a tiny aux battery, and in fact that might be why Nissan thought it important to have the little solar panel that recharges it on the SL model. Of course if the car is sitting for weeks in the middle of a multi-level parking garage at the airport I doubt if the solar panel would do much good.

[LTLFTcomposite]

I can't imagine leaving a car parked at the AP more than about 10 days. Here the parking is 10 bucks a day so much more than that it becomes cost effective to take a limo or make some other arrangements. Besides I worry about it sitting out so much in a not-so-safe area.

Everyone's situation is different though.

[redLEAF]

On this same subject, the latest cars have a lot of electronics that will drain down the main 12V lead-acid battery when a car sits and some (my current '09 VW Routan) state in the owners manual that you 'may want to' either disconnect the battery (for real long term storage) or pull a particular fuse; 20A mini-fuse in the Totally Integrated Power Module (TIPM), if you expect to have it sit for more than 21 days! I was surprised to see this but at least they give a heads up versus coming back to a dead car after a long trip -- I'm sure this would really apply to extreme heat or cold conditions. Our trips are more typically 10 days or less but nice to know ... we'll see what Nissan recommends but would still probably only apply to the 12V lead-acid not the main battery pack --

[JasonT]

Assuming the traction battery is disconnected when the car is "off", then the 12v battery would need to power any electronics that continues to draw power.

Just 10 ma drain would be 0.24 amp hours per day, or one amp-hour every 4 days. So, a 20 amp-hour battery might last 80 days, less considering self-discharge.

But, we do not know how much the off-current will be.

And then, of course, the SL package would change the calculation on this as well - leave the car in the sun, and you get that trickle charge for the 12v battery.

[efusco]

The Prius traction battery (NiMH) can sit, allegedly, 6 months, safely, unused without losing all it's charge. I think that would be the same or even longer for the Leaf traction battery. I'm leaving the country for 9 months and have had to find someone to drive my Prius while I'm away. I think a good question would be how best to store the Leaf for prolonged time periods...charger on a timer of some sort?

I agree that prolonged parking at an airport is expensive and usually puts your car at higher risk for dings, dirt and vandalism. Take a cab or have someone drop you off/pick you up if more than 10 days or so.