The current situation due to the corona crisis means that there is much less driving. Cars are sometimes left unused for a long time and that can of course have consequences. The high-voltage battery loses charge for hybrid and electric cars, but according to various importers, this will not easily lead to problems.
You may notice that you don’t use the car very often at the moment and that naturally leads to questions about possible consequences for the drivetrain. For petrol cars (especially cars with E10 in the tank) it is advisable to drive a little longer every now and then and to take other precautions. Techzle discussed this in detail earlier. However, there are also many cars with a (partly) electric drive train. Batteries tend to lose charge, so Techzle asked a number of importers what the possible consequences would be if a hybrid or electric car were not used for a long time.
Self discharge
Both Audi and Hyundai state that the self-discharge of a high-voltage battery is quite marginal. Audi maintains about a one to two percent decrease in loaded capacity per month. Hyundai estimates with a lithium-ion battery about three percent decrease per month, but an official figure cannot really be given, according to Hyundai. In practice, this will therefore not easily cause problems. According to Audi, it is highly dependent on the state of charge of the battery. Hyundai underlines this. In the event of a long standstill of the vehicle, they advise Hyundai to charge the battery to a minimum of 40 percent. When the battery charge is 20 percent or less, they recommend charging the battery of an EV, or if it is a hybrid, start the engine until the battery reaches 40 percent charge.
Toyota, which of course supplied a large proportion of the hybrid cars in our country, has also been asked for advice. The importer recommends turning the ignition on every two months that a hybrid Toyota has been stationary, until the message ‘Ready’ appears in the dashboard. Turn off all lights and accessories and make sure the car is in park position. After this you leave the car on ‘Ready’ for 30 minutes. According to the importer, that is enough to keep the battery charged.
Motor and 12V battery
Just like cars with a combustion engine, other possible problems with long standstills must also be taken into account for hybrids and EVs. With a hybrid, it is advisable to drive a longer piece of the car every now and then because of the combustion engine. Then let the engine warm up properly, so that any condensation in the oil sump has the opportunity to evaporate and disappear via the crankcase ventilation. The brakes are also released with a ride, which sometimes get stuck in a long standstill.
You also have the 12V battery, also in various EVs. It drains considerably faster when stationary than the main battery. That is also why it is recommended to occasionally drive to recharge it. Otherwise, a trickle charger may still be a solution. If a 12V battery drains, it can sometimes lead to irreparable damage to the battery.