Going on Vacation, what SOC% to leave car at?

[djjazzy]

I'll won't be driving or charging the car for 8 days, what is the best SOC% to leave the Leaf at?
Also, is it recommended to disconnect the negative from the 12 V battery?

 

[Randy]

I have left my car unplugged and unused for as long as 6 weeks on 3 separate occasions and when I get back it is ready to go at approximately the same SOC as when I left.

Others recommend a 12v battery tender or disconnecting the 12v battery, but I haven't had a problem leaving the car as-is with nothing special on the 12v battery.

You definitely don't want to leave the car plugged in since that seems to inhibit the 12v charging from the main traction battery...

I have left mine at a 50-60% state of charge, unplugged, and it has been fine.....

 

[TomT]

For just 8 days, just leave it unplugged and anywhere between roughly 30% and 70% SOC and you will be fine.

I'll won't be driving or charging the car for 8 days, what is the best SOC% to leave the Leaf at?
Also, is it recommended to disconnect the negative from the 12 V battery?

 

[apvbguy]

I left mine at about 20% for 6 weeks, it was fine, I charged it up and it was like I didn't miss a beat

 

[TonyAndTina]

how about for a longer period? We are planning a 3 week vacation in December/January. Leave it at 80% SOC? I can have my brother-in-law to drive it around every weekend. But he is so lazy and unreliable so that I might as well just let it sit.

 

[TomT]

I've been gone for more than four weeks on a number of occasions, left it unplugged and charged to about 50%, and it was just fine when I got home.

how about for a longer period? We are planning a 3 week vacation in December/January. Leave it at 80% SOC? I can have my brother-in-law to drive it around every weekend. But he is so lazy and unreliable so that I might as well just let it sit.

 

[wxdude]

For storage, Lithium (All types of rechargeable lithium batteries, not just li ion.) batteries should be stored at 40-50% SoC. It has nothing to do with how it will perform once you get back home, it is to increase the lifespan of the battery.

 

[CMYK4Life]

I agree with all of the above statements.

-Unplugged
-40-70%

 

[sfbayleafs]

Leaving it unplugged is about the health of the 12V battery, which would get completely drained in a matter of days otherwise. Leaving the traction battery approximately half full is about good practices,which presumably should help promote its long life.

http://sfbayleafs.org/ev-resources/leaf-tips-tricks/how-to-store-your-leaf-when-going-on-vacation/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[keydiver]

I don't know what went wrong, but I just left my 2012 SL unplugged for 18 days with 50% SOC, and the 12 volt battery was stone dead when I got home. :? Next time I'm going to be sure to connect my trickle charger. I just hope the battery wasn't permanently damaged by such a deep discharge. It seems to be fine after charging the battery and driving it for the past week.

 

[RegGuheert]

I don't know what went wrong, but I just left my 2012 SL unplugged for 18 days with 50% SOC, and the 12 volt battery was stone dead when I got home. :?

Unfortunately, the LEAF does not maintain a high state of charge on the 12V battery. I suspect that your battery was so low that it did not survive the first five days. For others, the charge likely was high enough to survive those first five days. Best to charge to full with a maintainer and then either disconnect (or leave it on the maintainer if you trust it to not overcharge).

 

[GerryAZ]

I don't know what went wrong, but I just left my 2012 SL unplugged for 18 days with 50% SOC, and the 12 volt battery was stone dead when I got home. :? Next time I'm going to be sure to connect my trickle charger. I just hope the battery wasn't permanently damaged by such a deep discharge. It seems to be fine after charging the battery and driving it for the past week.

Did you leave an ELM Bluetooth module plugged in to the OBDII port while you were gone? I have parked my Leaf for extended periods numerous times without issue at about 60% SOC until I forgot to unplug the ELM device before my last trip. I returned last week after only 6 days to a completely dead Leaf. Battery voltage was about 3 volts so I jumped it from my office car. Traction battery SOC was about 60% and the 12-volt battery charged normally on the way home. After running a few errands that evening and L2 charging overnight, the 12-volt battery was fully charged the next morning. The original 12-volt battery seems to be fine now, but I probably shortened its life by completely discharging it.

Gerry

 

[TimLee]

The original 12-volt battery seems to be fine now, but I probably shortened its life by completely discharging it.

Gerry

Make sure your Nissan service department does a capacity test of the 12V battery prior to 3 years, 36,000 miles. Running it to dead cannot have been good for it.
The 12V battery is covered for full replacement up to 3 years, 36,000 miles.
My service department checked my 12V when I had the second annual main pack "test" done, and the 12V capacity was very bad. They replaced it under warranty at no cost to me.
My 12V battery was likely impacted by having the LEAF in On instead of Ready while listening to the radio for lengthy periods. Although the DC to DC will activate periodically in On mode and charge the 12V battery, it lets the 12V voltage drop too low before doing this.
Any extended use of the 12V system needs to be with the LEAF in Ready mode.
Although a lot of people have not killed the 12V with 3 or 4 weeks of non use of the LEAF, others have had problems with doing this.
Anything more than a week, I would recommend disconnecting the 12V or having it on a good quality battery maintainer.