what do I do with the Leaf for a 2.5 week vacation?

[ontariomonkey]

Sorry, I searched but could not find the answer. What is the safest (for car and home) way to let the Leaf sit for a couple of weeks? Plugged in or not?

If it's ok to leave it unplugged, if it fully charged but not plugged in at the airport, will there still be charge left to get me home? Probably 6 bars needed to be safe.

Thanks! You guys always have the answers.

 

[garsh]

In the owner's manual (page EV-23), Nissan recommends long-life mode charging (80%) if it won't be used for a long period of time.

 

[Stanton]

Sounds like you're going to/from the airport (something I do every couple of months). Leave it UNPLUGGED and you should be fine to get home (assuming you've already figured out that 2x distance to the airport is not > 100% charge). I haven't experienced any significant capacity loss while away. Whatever you do, DON'T charge to 100% and leave it sit.

 

[redLEAF]

Well, I left mine charged at 80% before leaving for 8 days and only lost one bar after no use when I returned -- others have left for longer periods so they could speak to it as well --- temps were about 65 in my garage; if its colder you'll lose more. Once aspect if you do leave it plugged in is that you can remotely turn on the charger (tell the car to start charging itself) if when you check it, it shows too much lost capacity to get you home. There has been much talk about leaving the car unattended and plugged in public places so my own preference if leaving it an an airport would be go for 100% charge before I left and leave it unplugged -- if say you lost 2 bars and you still have at least 2 to 4 'in reserve' over your trip home requirement you would be fine.

 

[TNleaf]

In the owner's manual (page EV-23), Nissan recommends long-life mode charging (80%) if it won't be used for a long period of time.

Yes, this.

If vehicle will not be used for long period of time:
— NISSAN recommends charging with long life mode.
— Charge once every 3 months.

Bottom line is that you don't want to leave it in a fully charged or low charge for storage.

I personally drove mine to ~60% when I had a week vacation and I left it unplugged.

 

[phxsmiley]

I also came back from a 1 week vacation, and left the car charged at 7 bars, with the car unplugged I checked it a few times while I was away and the last time it dropped down to 6 bars. I recommend charging to 50%, but no higher then 80%, then leave the car unplugged. It should be fine.

 

[ontariomonkey]

Thanks everyone!

 

[mkjayakumar]

I didn't know that you could lose a full bar worth of charge in a week

 

[gbarry42]

You can lose a bar in 10 seconds. Turn the car back on after you turn it off, and often you will see one bar less. The state of charge didn't change, just the way they chose which bars to show (as in, it was "between them").

 

[GRA]

Well, I left mine charged at 80% before leaving for 8 days and only lost one bar after no use when I returned -- others have left for longer periods so they could speak to it as well --- temps were about 65 in my garage; if its colder you'll lose more. <snip rest>

I don't see how the bolded section can be correct. Every secondary battery I've ever worked with, lower temperature equals = slower chemical reaction = slower self-discharge. Is there something about Lithium secondary cells that overcomes this?

 

[youngr3]

I had a 6 week storage period last fall where I charge 10 minutes per week. I started at about 6 bars and it ended up at 7 bars over that period. That would represent a total of one hour of charging and equivalent to about two bars of energy. Thus I guessed it droped the equivalent of one bar over that time period. I am now nearing the end of a four month storage period. This time I started at slightly below 3 bars and again charged it 10 minutes each week. After three months it was up over 6 bars. This would be the equivalent of about 130 minutes of charging and the expectation of being up four bars (at the rate of about 2 bars per hour of charging or slightly more). As I was expecting it to be close to 7 bars at that time it seems the negative drain was equivalent to less than one bar over that time period. I then had the car disconnected from the charger by a friend. It will sit for about 6 weeks before I check it again. I am expecting it to be about 5-6 bars at that time.

 

[Christopher]

You can lose a bar in 10 seconds. Turn the car back on after you turn it off, and often you will see one bar less. The state of charge didn't change, just the way they chose which bars to show (as in, it was "between them").

My understanding is that it's difficult to get an accurate reading on the current state of charge while the system is active and drawing energy — there's lots of estimating — but they can get a better reading on the current state of charge at startup when they're not actively drawing charge. This is why you can get one reading when you come to a stop after a bit of driving and then a different reading (lower/higher) after a brief stop and turning it back on.

 

[LakeLeaf]

You could always leave the extra set of keys with me. I'd make sure it was fully charged and ready to drive home when you get. Of course, it may have a few more miles on it too. :mrgreen:

 

[stevedj98]

My wife and I are both retired, so we went to visit our daughter and her family in Arizona last Christmas. We weren't planning to stay that long, but ended up buying a condo, and then staying for almost three months. I went into panic mode when the news about the Tesla "bricking," if left unattended for a long period of time. So I called a "gearhead" friend of mine to go over to my house and check on the LEAF, and my ICE car as well. He reported that all was well with both cars. They were both garaged in abnormally warm Tennessee. The LEAF was only down two bars. I had him charge it with the 120 volt charger, because I was planning to be home in about two weeks. No problems. The LEAF ended up fully charged. Didn't know about the slow charge to 80% at the time. I also had him put "Stabil" in the ICE car. It's fine too. I just put gas in it the other day for the first time since mid-December.