Is It True That You’re Damaging Your Electric Car Battery If You Let It Get Below 20%? | Should You Keep Your Electric Car Battery Below 20%?

EV owners are always concerned about electric car batteries due to range anxiety. Electric car batteries can be damaged for several reasons. But does EV get damaged by keeping an electric car battery below 20% for the long term?

Not really. Charging an electric car battery below 20 percent does not damage an electric car battery. But keeping your electric car battery between 20 to 80 percent is recommended.

The experts say that it is better to keep the battery levels above 20 percent and up to 80 percent. And some experts tell us not to bring it below 20 percent. While some EV users tell that it is not a threat to keep your battery below 20%. So much confusion right?

Is it true that you’re damaging your electric car battery if you let it get below 20%? | Should you keep your electric car battery below 20%?
Not really. Charging an electric car battery below 20 percent does not damage an electric car battery. But keeping your electric car battery between 20 to 80 percent is recommended.
Electric car batteries don’t get damaged when you let them go below 20%. Your electric car battery is safe even if often remains below 20%.
The charging below 20 is considered low charging, the more you go below more it is considered as the critical zone. Often reaching critical charging levels can decrease the lifespan of the battery in long term, as per experts. But batteries are made for it. — *Should you keep your electric car battery below 20%?*

Here let’s get into the different layers of the various opinions, facts, and research to find out if an electric car battery gets damaged when it goes below 20%. Is it safe to have your electric car battery below 20%? Here we go.

Does an electric car battery get damaged when it gets below 20%?

Batteries don’t get damaged when they get below 20%. You are not damaging your electric car battery if you let it get below 20%. Getting your electric car battery below 20% is fine.

Electric car batteries don’t get damaged when you let them go below 20%. Your electric car battery is safe even if often remains below 20%.

You can get it charged again from a nearby charging station when it gets that low. But if you can charge your battery from time to time, your battery won’t get discharged that low. So try to plug in your electric car often.

Now you know that you are not damaging your electric car battery if you let it go below 20% Does that mean you should always keep your electric car battery below 20%? Is it good practice?

Is it Good Practice to Discharge Your Electric Car Battery below 20%?

Most of the experts and automakers say, No. You should not let your electric car battery be below 20%. Keeping your electric car battery above 20% is a good practice.

See electric car batteries have a finite life. Once they complete a certain amount of the cycles, they won’t be that useful. Keeping electric car batteries below 20% can affect the life expectancy of the battery in long term.

It can shorten your electric car battery life to some extent if you often keep it below 20%. So it is suggested that always keep it at 40 to 50% and plug it often.

Tesla recommends charging an electric car up to 90 percent. But the most satisfactory range is 20 to 80 percent. You can charge your electric car battery to 100 percent if you are planning a long trip.

Keeping an electric car battery anywhere between 20 to 80 percent is a good practice. This helps electric car batteries to stay alive longer.

Do you Need to Worry About Getting Your Electric Car Battery below 20%?

You don’t need to worry much when you keep your electric car battery below 20%. There are situations in which you find your electric car battery below 20%. That’s fine.

You can charge your EV again. If you have your electric car battery below 20% often, then it can lead to some problems.

An EV user reports that he often runs his electric car below 20 percent, still, his electric car battery has retained 90 percent of the battery capacity after 8 years.

You can get 5+ years even if you often keep your electric car battery below 20%. But it is recommended that you keep it between 20 to 80 percent. This is a safe level.

The charging below 20 is considered low charging, the more you go below more it is considered as the critical zone. Often reaching critical charging levels can decrease the lifespan of the battery in long term, as per experts. But batteries are made for it.

Tesla recommends charging an electric car up to 90 percent. The most satisfactory range is 20 to 80 percent.

At Tesla Motors Club itself, Electric car owners are discussing that there is no restriction on when to charge and when to not. You should often plug in Your electric car and use it when you want.

What happens if My Electric Car Battery goes below 20 Percent?

Your electric car will warn you when you are low on battery. It will start giving you different signals depending on which EV you own. Your EV knows more about electric car batteries than you do.

The electric vehicle will decide when it is low charging and when it is not. Whenever your electric vehicle is below 20% of the charging if you have set that as the lower limit of charging in settings, then it will give you an alert.

If not then also it will give you a blinking light or a flashing message on the screen as the battery reaches the lower limits.

Once the battery shows completely flat in the system, still it will go some miles ahead in order to let you go to the safe side of the road. The system shows zero percent but it still reserves some power for the emergency situation, So you might have extra miles to travel to the nearest charging station.

If your electric car battery anyhow reaches absolute zero percent, then your electric car will stop functioning. Your electric car motors will stop working. The wheels won’t move.

But as your 12-volt lead acid battery other than the main electric car battery is still alive, basic functions such as the gauges, digital display, lights, and interior power will remain active.

If your 12-volt electric car battery also dies then these functions will also stop. The movement of the car will stop when your main battery pack drains.

Conclusion:

Here we conclude that Batteries don’t get damaged when they get below 20%. You are not damaging your electric car battery if you let it get below 20%.

Getting your electric car battery below 20% is fine. Electric car batteries don’t get damaged when you let them go below 20%. So you don’t need to worry much when you keep your electric car battery below 20%.

You can get 5+ years even if you often keep your electric car battery below 20%. But it is recommended that you keep it between 20 to 80 percent. This is a safe level.

But keeping the electric car battery between 20 to 80 percent is a good practice. The charging below 20 is considered low charging, the more you go below more it is considered as the critical zone. Often reaching critical charging levels can decrease the lifespan of the battery in long term, as per experts. But batteries are made for it.

We also discussed what happens when an electric car battery gets below 20%. Hope this piece of the article helped you and answered your question.

What do you think, what are the day-to-day hacks by which we can increase the lifespan of the electric car battery? Comment down your thoughts.

FAQs

Should I wait to charge my electric car battery to go below 20 percent to charge?

You should charge your electric car battery when you can. There is no need to wait for an electric car’s battery to go below 20 percent. You can charge your electric car battery when parked, overnight, or anytime. You don’t need to wait for your electric car battery to drain to 20 percent to charge it. You can also charge it when it is say around 40%. There is no limit on when to charge an electric car battery.

Should I charge my EV to 80% or 90 %?

You should charge your electric car battery to 80% or even 90% depending on recommended charging levels recommended by your automakers. Tesla recommends charging an electric car battery to 90 percent.
While if you are planning a long trip with tesla, then you can charge it to 100 percent. While Nissan leaf batteries are recommended to charge at 80 percent normally.

Does frequent charging damage the EV battery?

Frequent charging does not damage the EV battery. You should often plug in your EV when parked in order to maintain the charging levels. Charging an electric car overnight is a good idea to maintain your EV.

While frequent use of the fast chargers shortens the lifespan of the electric car battery over the long term. So avoid using the fast charger always, instead plug your electric car battery overnight at home low voltage electric car.

Do electric car battery drain when parked?

Electric cars drain a little percentage of their battery capacity when parked. But it is less than a percent often. So you don’t need to worry about it. To avoid or reduce the electric car battery drain when parked you should park it in shade. You can also turn off the sentry mode if you are using a tesla.

Should I charge my electric car every night?

You should charge an electric car overnight. Charging electric car every night is not mandatory, but there is no harm in doing so. If you need to use your electric car tomorrow, then you ca prefer to charge your EV overnight. Charging an electric car when you are not using is good for your EV. And the night is a good time to charge your EV.

Is it true that you’re damaging your electric car battery if you let it get below 20%?-An ultimate guide 2024