Gone for two months . . .

[Printer]

I take delivery tomorrow of my 2025 white GT and can’t wait, but . . . My wife and I have to leave in three weeks for unexpected family business. We will be gone for almost 2 months and wanted to know If anyone has experience with leaving your car for this amount of time. It will be in an enclosed garage but it will be cold in there. I will ask the delivery tech tomorrow but I have a feeling experience might be the best teacher - thoughts anyone?

 

[Tâm]

I take delivery tomorrow of my 2025 white GT and can’t wait, but . . . My wife and I have to leave in three weeks for unexpected family business. We will be gone for almost 2 months and wanted to know If anyone has experience with leaving your car for this amount of time. It will be in an enclosed garage but it will be cold in there. I will ask the delivery tech tomorrow but I have a feeling experience might be the best teacher - thoughts anyone?

As long as you plug in, even with 120V, you should be fine.

 

[fadooly]

Make sure all tires are at maximum pressure

 

[kort6776]

bring the SOC below 80% and then plug the car in, you should have no issues

 

[Printer]

Thanks all for the advice - what luck right? A brand new GT and I don't get to drive it for two months. Something to look forward to!

 

[Buffalo Bob]

For the sake of argument, what if the OP does not have access to a power supply? If he/she charges the car to an 80% SOC, turns off the car's wi-fi connections, the HVAC and the radio, and resists the urge to wake the car from afar, how long could he/she reasonably expect the car to be OK? Given a GT's larger battery, my guess is that 2 months would not be anywhere near pushing the envelope, but that is only a guess. Anyone with real world experience storing without a power supply? (I may be facing that scenario, as I have not bothered to install any power source in my high-rise parking.)

 

[Adnillien]

When I am put of town for two weeks, I lose about 1% SOC per week. But my car is not left in the cold so I don't know how it will work for the OP. For the OP, I would get the SOC down to 60% and plug in with a 60% limit set for charging.

 

[Buffalo Bob]

When I am put of town for two weeks, I lose about 1% SOC per week. But my car is not left in the cold so I don't know how it will work for the OP. For the OP, I would get the SOC down to 60% and plug in with a 60% limit set for charging.

Are you plugged in, and estimating that 1% loss based on power used maintaining 60%, or are you unplugged and actually losing 1% on the SOC reading per week? Surely, the car's SOC is not dropping despite being plugged in.

 

[Adnillien]

Are you plugged in, and estimating that 1% loss based on power used maintaining 60%, or are you unplugged and actually losing 1% on the SOC reading per week? Surely, the car's SOC is not dropping despite being plugged in.

I leave it unplugged when I have been gone for up to 3 weeks.

 

[Buffalo Bob]

I leave it unplugged when I have been gone for up to 3 weeks.

Thanks, @Adnillien! So, if my math is correct, you are using about 1.12 kWh per week. Assuming you were to start at an 80% SOC, and use 20% SOC as a low-end buffer, that would give you almost 14 months. (67.2 kWh / 1.12 kWh = 60 weeks = 14 months) Assuming one can lose efficiency by a factor of three (a total guess) due to either high or low storage temperatures, you would still have about 4-5 months, not counting the 20% SOC 'cushion'. (Less, if you have a model with a smaller battery pack.) Sound reasonable?

 

[DeaneG]

I left my GT unplugged for three weeks, not plugged in. It dropped from 67% to 62%.

 

[Buffalo Bob]

I left my GT unplugged for three weeks, not plugged in. It dropped from 67% to 62%.

An interesting difference from @Adnillien . Did you wake your car to check on it often? I find that takes quite a toll.

 

[Adnillien]

Thanks, @Adnillien! So, if my math is correct, you are using about 1.12 kWh per week. Assuming you were to start at an 80% SOC, and use 20% SOC as a low-end buffer, that would give you almost 14 months. (67.2 kWh / 1.12 kWh = 60 weeks = 14 months) Assuming one can lose efficiency by a factor of three (a total guess) due to either high or low storage temperatures, you would still have about 4-5 months, not counting the 20% SOC 'cushion'. (Less, if you have a model with a smaller battery pack.) Sound reasonable?

Yes but my car is always left in a warm garage 85 to 95 degrees. This may not be accurate in a cold climate.

 

[Buffalo Bob]

Yes but my car is always left in a warm garage 85 to 95 degrees. This may not be accurate in a cold climate.

Right. I factored the time down by two thirds to account for either really high or low temperatures (Within reason... not Death Valley or Antarctica) which I acknowledge is a total guess.

 

[DeaneG]

An interesting difference from @Adnillien . Did you wake your car to check on it often? I find that takes quite a toll.

I opened the app just a few times during that interval. My garage was likely around 60F. Either way, the SOC loss during sleep isn't bad.

 

[PoZulu]

I think you need to leave the car on line so that you do not miss more than 3 OTA's. If the AA OTA happens I would expect a flurry of OTAs as bugs get worked out.

 

[Buffalo Bob]

Thanks, all. I may take the plunge, and leave the Lucid in AZ for the summer. (Our parking garage is two levels down, and does not get that hot.) I'm hoping to buy the boss a gently-used LC 500 convertible as a 50th anniversary present, and it would be fun to take it to and around the PNW. (I will be subjecting myself to four months of serious EV withdrawal, but then again... she has put up with me year-round for half a century. Seems like an equitable trade.)

 

[Buffalo Bob]

I think you need to leave the car on line so that you do not miss more than 3 OTA's. If the AA OTA happens I would expect a flurry of OTAs as bugs get worked out.

I would leave it on-line via the SIM card, and check it once in a while. Then, do an update or two, if necessary. I'm just saying not to wake the car daily, just to see how it's doing.

 

[DeaneG]

An interesting difference from @Adnillien . Did you wake your car to check on it often? I find that takes quite a toll.

I just remembered, my car installed an OTA update during those three weeks. That probably accounts for the difference.

 

[Cosmo Cruz]

Think again about buying an ICE car. They are obsolete. Their value will plummet suddenly. A convertible ... I'd make exception for a convertible. .

The end is closer than you think.