Electric car batteries are designed to last for a long time. And after using it for a certain period of time it gets start to drain when it is not in use. So it’s important to know why this happens. Want to know do electric car batteries drain when not in use?
Yes, electric car batteries do drain when not in use. It’s a fact that many of you are already aware of and have experienced firsthand. Whether it’s your smartphone or the laptop computer you’re using at home, Sometimes we don’t realize how much power each device is consuming until it’s too late and then we have to figure out what caused it and how to fix things so we can avoid future damage.
The same goes for electric vehicles as well. If EV owners don’t keep an eye on their charging system, they could find themselves with a dead battery after just a few days’ worth of unplugging their car overnight. So yes, electric vehicle batteries do drain when not in use because they’re lithium-ion batteries a type of rechargeable battery technology found in many electronics today including smartphones and laptops.
But one should not forget that the lithium-ion battery used in electric cars is different from that of the other gadgets. It is way bulkier, and also the power is obviously more than other gadgets.
Don’t worry. The draining of the electric car batteries when not used is minimal and it doesn’t affect much. However, depending on the brand of the car you use, the type of battery, and the settings that you might don’t know but turned have turned on, or any software update can drain your electric car battery when you are not driving.
Well, factually it will be wrong to say that, electric car batteries drain when not in use. Because the batteries won’t discharge when there is no use.
There must be something in your electric car that is using battery power, and thus draining of the electric car battery is occurring. This can include the battery management settings, the facilities in the car such as AC, headlights, GPS, and any software update that might be happening in the background.
So the better phrase to entitle the case is “electric car batteries drain when not driving” rather than “not in use”.
Here we discuss in detail that does electric car batteries drain when not in use? and when parked. We have also talked about the vampire drain in tesla, and how you can minimize the electric car battery drain when not in use. You can’t miss this ultimate detailed article on the electric vehicle battery drain when not in use.
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How much Electric Car Battery Drain when not in Use? | How to Know that an Electric Car Battery Drains fast than Normal?
Normally electric car battery draining is very minute and negligible, but when it happens more than that then it is the thing that needs attention.
Normally electric car batteries drain less than 1% of power per day, which can be absolutely neglected if you regularly charge your electric car.
Usage of the electric vehicle battery definitely consumes the battery and this causes the discharging of the battery. But when not in use, electric cars use a small percentage of the electric car battery to continue running.
As per the data we found, the tesla with various activated features, drains around 1 percent of the battery when parked, while other electric cars drain around half to one and a half percent of the total battery charged. According to OSVehicle, When an electric vehicle is parked, the battery loses charge. It is subject to a 2% to 4% charge loss per month.
But in case of abnormal battery drain, such as the Vampire drain in Tesla, it is around 2-3% a day, which can drain more than 50% of the charge in 15 days.
If the vehicle is draining power at a much faster rate than this, when not in use, then you might investigate that further. The abnormal draining of the electric car battery when not in use can get noticed and solved.
Do Electric Car Batteries drain when Parked?
Electric car batteries drain when parked. Electric car batteries are responsible for the functions of cars. There is the Battery Management System inside the electric cars.
This system maintains the battery at its optimum level by avoiding overcharging, sending alerts when the battery charge is low, properly cooling the battery, maintaining the temperature, etc. The battery management system is continuously running in the background.
Even if you don’t use the car, there is something that is using the battery of your electric car. So when parked, the electric car batteries can drain. But to which extent the batteries drain in an electric car depends on the make of the car, the electric car battery, the parking condition, the vehicle condition, etc.
As per the data we found, the tesla drains around 1 percent of the battery when parked, while other electric cars drain around half to one and a half percent of the total battery charged. So there is no need to worry about battery drain while the vehicle is parked if you have enough charging in your electric vehicle.
According to OSVehicle, When an electric car is parked, the battery loses charge. It is subject to a 2% to 4% charge loss per month. But in case of abnormal battery drain, such as the Vampire drain in Tesla, it is around 2-3% a day, which can drain more than 50% of the charge in 15 days.
It is recommended that your vehicle have 80% of the battery capacity charged at the time of the parking. Gerry recommends maintaining the charging levels between 50-80% on a normal basis. If the battery percentage is 80 percent while charged, then you will definitely not end up with your vehicle being left with just some miles of range.
Well, that’s a bit dramatized that electric vehicles will be completely discharged and nothing will work, etc. In fact, the batteries used in electric cars are more efficient than the normal 12-volt car batteries.
How to avoid Electric Car Battery Drain when Parked?
The electric car batteries will not drain when parked if you follow these simple things. Obviously, there is some amount of the drain that is always there, whether you use an electric car or not.
But we can take the necessary precautions that can absolutely reduce the power drain to the most extent. And by this, you can preserve the electric car battery when parked.
- Park in the shade
Electric cars use lithium-ion batteries in order to function. The lithium-ion batteries are sensitive to temperature. Also, the internals of a normal electric car is not suitable to handle extreme temperatures and hot sunlight.
The Temperature makes the battery management system and the internal system take more effort to maintain the internal of the car cool. This uses more battery power.
While if the electric car is parked in the shade (this might include a garage, or any other place where there is no hot sunlight is contacting the car) the chances of the battery draining are reduced to a level.
- Keep charging levels between 50-80%
The charging routine of the electric vehicle is a factor that affects the electric car battery drain in the long term. Keeping electric cars charged at between 50 to 80 percent of the battery capacity normally is a good way to reduce the chances of the battery draining when parked, on a long-term basis.
If one knows that the car will not be in use on a long-term basis, then consider charging the electric car to a level of 80 percent. Otherwise, the regular charging of an electric vehicle maintains its battery life and reduces the chances of the battery draining while parked.
- Turn Off the unwanted Settings, updates
Electric vehicles become easy to handle when you can do a lot of stuff in the app itself. The software that integrates with electric vehicles uses battery power to function well. Whether it is your GPS, air conditioners, etc. all that uses the battery. But when the electric vehicle is not driving, everything is off.
Turning off these settings can be easy if you know about the battery power-saving mode in an electric car. The battery saving mode disables all the battery using functions and features in one click.
Are you sure? There might be some settings that are running in the background. Maybe some updates of the software happen at night when you are not using the electric car. Such as the parking logic mentions that you can turn off the sentry mode for tesla.
Check your electric vehicle settings again, if you have automatic updates turned on etc. This is something that can preserve your electric car battery when parked.
How Long Can A Electric Car be left Without Being Driven?
The electric vehicle can sit without driving for several weeks and months. Even without charging, depending on what settings you have turned on, the electric cars can be left without charging for weeks to months.
If you are using a tesla there might be a vampire drain problem associated with it. This can cause almost 50 percent of the drain in the 14-day trip. But with proper settings, it can be minimized a lot.
For example, in its vampire drain blog, tesla reports that its tesla model Y, lost 6 miles of range in a 16-day trip with proper settings, without charging in an airport garage. Make sure that you turn off the unwanted settings that might use the battery power while parked when you leave the electric car.
While normally electric vehicles can remain charged to sufficient battery capacity for months, without charge, provided that you leave it with a full charge. The recommended battery capacity should be 50-80 percent when parking. So that the battery drain becomes less significant.
Overall electric cars can be left not charged for several weeks and months with proper settings.
What is Vampire drain?
A vampire drain is basically a battery drain when the vehicle is not in use. It is a slow drain that keeps happening passively in the vehicle. There are several cases of the vampire drain happening in tesla cars.
The vampire drain causes a significant amount of the drain in the battery even if not used for a period of time, A tesla model 3 was discussed in the tesla motors forum.
The vehicle was draining almost 30 percent of the battery charge when not used for a month. The temperatures and environment were ordinary. This is one example of the vampire drain. There are several such cases reported.
The vampire drain is caused by onboard systems such as battery temperature management, vehicle monitoring, and theft protection, the hotly debated question is about vampire drain from external apps, according to recurrentauto.
Tesla has discussed the “Vampire Drain” on its info page, which tells how to minimize the vampire drain in Tesla.
What are the reasons for the Vampire drain in Tesla?
There are several reasons why the vampire drain happens in an electric car. Here are the reasons that cause so called vampire drain in electric cars.
- Sentry Mode in Tesla
“Sentry Mode alone can consume over 500kwh per year, which can cost $200/£200 or more depending on how much you pay for electricity.” Says tesla.
Being an anti-theft feature, it works even if your tesla is parked. This absolutely uses the battery power. And this can cause a fast drain in the battery. This is the short-term drain, and users will not see the impact as many users plug in their cars at night.
The sentry mode is the main reason for the vampire drain in tesla models.
- Wrong settings turned on
Here tesla gives the example of going on a business trip and parking the vehicle at the airport for a couple of days without charge.
This can drain around 2-3 percent per day, 14 day trip can mean 50 percent of the battery drain. This is absolutely significant amount. But what are these wrong settings?
The first one is the sentry mode. The other onboard settings such as battery temperature management, vehicle monitoring, and theft protection.
3. Third-party apps
“Tesla talks to the car via an API and many 3rd party developers have reverse-engineered this and used it for alternative purposes.” tesla says. The third-party app can also cause the battery to drain.
- Tesla App
Tesla app wakes the car. The frequent use of the tesla app can cause the vampire drain, as per tesla info.
“Owners sometimes like to check in on the car every few hours when on holiday especially if they are worried about the battery drain and this will just accelerate the vampire drain.” Says tesla.
How to Minimize the Tesla Vampire drain?
Once you know the reasons for the vampire drain, it becomes easy to minimize it. Here are the ways you can minimize the tesla drain.
- Turn off the sentry mode
If you are leaving the car for a long time and concerned about the vampire drain then turning off the sentry mode is a choice to make. The sentry mode consumes much high power (500kwh per year) and can drain the battery fast.
- Do the right settings
It depends on you what you need and what not. Whatever settings you think are unnecessary to be turned on and not affect the basic functioning of the vehicle when turned off, you should prefer to turn them off. Turn off the automatic updates, sentry mode, and other battery consuming features when you are not using the car.
- Use the tesla app less frequently to check the vehicle
“Owners sometimes like to check in on the car every few hours when on holiday especially if they are worried about the battery drain and this will just accelerate the vampire drain.” Says tesla. So if you are really concerned about your tesla vampire drain then minimizing the practice of checking vehicles frequently, can be an option.
- Turn on the power-saving mode
Last but not least. Power saving mode is a setting that minimizes electric car battery usage. The names of these settings can be different, but most electric vehicles have that.
This feature turns off the unwanted settings that we discussed earlier, and thus minimizes the usage of the battery power. In this way, you can save your electrical car battery from the drain, with very fewer effort. So find power or battery saving mode in your electric car and turn it on to prevent the battery drain.
So basically all the things that can lead to vampire drain, you should avoid them or minimize the use of those settings in order to minimize your tesla vampire drain. By the way, it is not a worrying thing if you regularly charge your tesla.
Why do Electric Car Batteries drain when not in Use?
As you have known that electric car batteries drain when not in use. But why? There might be some reasons that you might have figured out. How about getting to know all possible reasons for the electric car battery drain, even when not in use? Here are the things that cause the battery drain of electric car batteries when they are not in use.
- Battery Management System (BMS)
You might wonder if the savior is the culprit. This phrase is a bit dramatized, but let’s dig into it. There is a battery management system present in electric cars. The main work of this system is to keep the battery safe, and reliable and increase the senility without entering into a damaging state.
The battery management system, which prevents the battery to drain, requires battery power to function. A BMS circuit is designed in such a way that it does not drain the battery and consumes less power as possible. BMS keeps running in the background even if your electric car is not in use.
“When an EV is left uncharged for weeks or months the BMS and other circuitry tend to drain the battery by themselves and eventually require to be cranked or charged before next use.” says circuit digest.
- High Ambient Temperatures
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Lithium batteries don’t like high temperatures. The higher ambient temperature reduces the overall electric vehicle performance.
In case you are unaware, there is a complete system in electric vehicles which manages the heat of the vehicle. And that uses the batteries. Electric vehicle decline in battery performance in hot temperatures, as per a study.
- The settings and the software updates
The virtual controls of the electric car look like this. There might be some settings that are running in the background. Maybe some updates of the software happen at night when you are not using the electric car.
parking logic mentions that you can turn off the sentry mode for tesla to save the battery drain of the electric car.
Check your electric vehicle settings again, if you have automatic updates turned on etc. Many times these updates are the reason behind your electric car battery drain.
Software updates can cause the battery to drain quickly because they’re designed to update your car’s operating system automatically, and this tends to take more power from the battery than before.
It’s important that you keep an eye on things like this so that you know when it’s necessary for you or your vehicle owner’s manual says something different about how often certain settings need updating or being turned off altogether.
If any of such settings have been turned on on your device, then you might turn off the settings if it won’t affect the car’s functions.
- Heating and Cooling system
As we know that electric vehicles lose their range in the winter season. In cold the heating and cooling system inside the Electric vehicles needs to be working in order to maintain the warmth for the battery. The chemical reactions taking place in batteries are affected by the temperature.
“After the motors of the drivetrain, heating and cooling the battery pack (and the cabin) of an electric car are the biggest drains on its power reserves.” Reports Wired.
The battery cooling and heating system use battery power only. There is no other source of power than the battery in electric cars. So can’t be denied that the heating and cooling system maintains the battery life by consuming the battery power itself. The heating and cooling system of electric vehicles is also a reason for the battery drain.
- An aged battery can’t pull it off
The aging of the battery is another factor, The electric car batteries degrade with time. It is found in several studies and applicable to all-electric vehicles.
Whether it is early Nissan leaf models or the tesla models s & X, all the batteries eventually lose their capacity over time. Electric car batteries can last about 10 years for sure, and more than that.
But most of the users will prefer to exchange their electric car batteries before the warranty period. But if your electric vehicle is old enough, then one of the reasons for the battery drain can be the aging of the battery.
In order to know if your electric car battery is still viable or it is time to replace it, you should know what is the average lifespan of electric car batteries.
The automakers give a warranty to the electric cars, in that period one can replace the electric vehicle battery. The automakers promise that the batteries can last for 5 years, and 8 years. But they can last even more than that.
Here is the table of the electric car warranty periods in which they guarantee the replacement of the electric car batteries.
| Company name | Warranty Period | Miles |
| Nissan | 8 years (30,40 or 62 kWh) 5 years (24kWh) | 100000 Miles 60000 Miles |
| Tesla | 8 years | 100000 Miles: Model 3 Rear-Wheel Drive |
| Tesla | 8 years | 120000: Model 3 long range Model 3 Performance Model Y long range Model Y Performance 150000: Model S, Model X |
A battery can be working fine for at least 10 years if used properly. But it is wise to replace the battery in the warranty period. The battery drain increases as the batteries get old.
The reduced capacity of the battery will cause the battery to drain fast than usual, even when the electric vehicle is not in use. So the old electric car battery can be said as one of the reasons for the electric car battery drain when not in use.
- Other reasons
Other reasons include the carelessness of the owner. Not literally but there might be some things that can happen accidentally. This can include Leaving headlights and other lights in the car turned on while not driving.
Also, the charging routine also affects the draining rate of the battery. It is recommended that the car should be plugged in regularly and the battery capacity should be charged between 50 to 80% of electric vehicles. If the electric vehicles are on less charging, then the negligible amount of the drain of the battery for all the above reasons can become significant.
So these were the reasons, why electric car batteries drain when not in use. Let’s see what are the other reasons which cause electric car batteries to drain normally.
There are a number of reasons why the battery will drain | What are other sources of electric vehicle battery usage?
There are a number of reasons why the battery will drain; software updates and settings are two reasons. Here let’s see what else can cause the electric vehicle battery to drain, when driving and when not driving. We have already seen the reasons for electric vehicle battery drain when not in use, here is what can cause the battery drain generally.
Normally the use of the functions of electric vehicles will cause the use of the battery and can cause the draining of the electric battery normally. The more you will use these functions, the more will be the battery discharge. So these are some things that use that battery power and cause the battery to drain.
- Turning on Bluetooth while driving
- Turning on GPS navigation mode when driving long distances
- Using the radio or other entertainment systems in your car
- Leaving lights on when you’re not driving
- Turning on headlights and other lights while driving
- Using cruise control while driving
- Using your car’s defroster system when it’s cold outside
- Leaving your car idling for longer than a minute
- Using a navigation system while driving
If you are using any of these features then definitely it will use the battery and make your electric vehicle battery drain.
The amount of power used will also depend on the brand of electric vehicle you drive.
The brand is also another factor that plays a role in the electric vehicle battery. But there is nothing to worry about. Every electric vehicle comes with the promised range and battery capacity.
Here we try to compare the different electric vehicle batteries, The battery capacity, the battery build and performance, and the functions of the car everything affects the battery usage rate, isn’t it?
Some cars come with an energy-efficient battery system, while other brands or models from brands may be more focused on providing more luxury features. But overall all the electric vehicles from brands are made with consideration of the electric vehicle range.
The customers will get the range that is promised. The use of the battery will also depend on how the customer uses the car. Power usage depends on external factors, the user, the internal system of the electric vehicle, and the battery.
It is important to learn about your electric vehicle’s battery settings so that you know how to get the most out of your car’s charge.
The first step to getting the most out of your electric car battery is to learn about its settings. In order to find this information, you’ll need to consult with your manufacturer and then use their website or app for guidance.
Once you’ve found out what settings are available for your specific model of car, it’s time to change them so that they work in harmony with each other. To do this, simply head into the menu system (or press some buttons) and select “Battery Settings.” From here on out everything should be easy peasy!
Also, the charging percentage should be monitored. Your vehicle has 80% of the battery capacity charged at the time of the parking, as per the experts. The charging levels are shown on the screens in the electric vehicles. There are alarms when the battery levels are less. It is better to turn them on so that your vehicle never goes uncharged. There is another setting that one needs to know when it comes to battery drain. The power saver or battery saver feature lets you set the settings to minimize the power usage and you can control the power usage in an electric car.
Turning off the automatic updates can be helpful if you are concerned about the automatic power drain when you are not using your electric car. When updates happen in the background, the car doesn’t undergo sleep and it is still awake when you are not using it. So update your car features when you want, instead of automatic updates.
Remember to turn off the settings you don’t think are needed anymore, and turn on the settings that are needed. This will definitely reduce the battery power usage and thus will decrease the rate of the battery drain when not in use.
Conclusion
Conclusion#1: Use of Electric Car Battery Power when it is not in the use
Overall we can conclude that electric cars drain the battery power even when not in use. The battery management systems, the heating, and cooling systems, the software updates, settings, everything uses the power in order to function an electric car even when it is not driving.
Conclusion#2: Vampire Drain Associated with Tesla
The vampire drain associated with tesla raised concern among all-electric car owners that their electric car battery also drains when not in use. The answer is yes. The drain can be half to one percent which is significant.
But if you are leaving an electric car without charging for several weeks then you should do some stuff and turn off that battery using settings, in order to maintain your EV charged when you return.
Conclusion#3: Saving Electric Car Battery from the Drain
The Battery saver mode feature turns off the unwanted settings that we discussed earlier, and thus minimizes the usage of the battery power. In this way, you can save your electrical car battery from the drain, with very fewer effort.
We hope this article has given you a better understanding of why electric car batteries drain when not in use and what can be done to keep them charged. If you have any questions about the topic, please feel free to contact us!
FAQs
How much battery power drains when the electric vehicle is not in use?
As per the data we found, the tesla drains around 1 percent of the battery when parked, while other electric cars drain around half to one and a half percent of the total battery charged. So there is no need to worry about battery drain while the vehicle is parked if you have enough charging in your electric car.
How long electric cars can idle?
Electric cars don’t idle. Idling means running a vehicle engine when it is not moving. Electric vehicles don’t idle. Electric vehicles use energy only when they are moving or using some feature. So rest assured that your electric car battery won’t die.
What is tesla’s sentry mode?
Tesla Sentry Mode is an anti-theft feature. It detects any movements and possible threats when the tesla car is unattended. If a minor threat or movement is detected, then tesla will start the recording through the external cameras.
And if a severe threat is detected, then the car sends an alert on the touchscreen, also in the tesla app. And increase the brightness of the central display, along with loud music playing through its audio system. But this uses the battery power even if you leave your car. That might be a worrying factor if you are concerned about the vampire drain.
What is the ideal amount of charge for the battery when parked?
When parked ideally your electric car battery should be charged between 50-80 percent. 80 percent of the battery charged is considered good when parked.
This is because, there might be some drain in the battery, due to the internal onboard systems, the temperature, or other reasons. If your battery is already charged in the optimum conditions then the drain becomes less significant and you don’t end up with an electric vehicle with a dead battery.
Does plugging in an electric vehicle overnight drains the battery?
Plugging in an electric vehicle overnight drains the battery power if it is not charging anymore. Plugging in your electric vehicle overnight is absolutely safe. There might be some battery drain when the charger has stopped charging and is left unplugged. But that is a few percent, and negligible. It is better to disconnect an electric vehicle from the charger once it is fully charged.
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