[CanukI5]

So my employer has asked me to relocate to the UK for 1 year. My M3 and the Ioniq 5 will be parked in the garage. I will put the M3 on a trickle charger and was planning on leaving the Ioniq 5 hooked up to the factory Level 1 charger and set the max charge level at 70% or 80%. The main battery should keep the 12V battery charged.

Should that work, theoretically, or should I have a separate trickle charger for the 12V?

A few friends have offered to drive the cars, once in a while, but I expect this would be once a month, at most. Has anyone had any similar experience, and are there any forum recommendations?

Thanks for sharing!

 

[ngolf]

So my employer has asked me to relocate to the UK for 1 year. My M3 and the Ioniq 5 will be parked in the garage. I will put the M3 on a trickle charger and was planning on leaving the Ioniq 5 hooked up to the factory Level 1 charger and set the max charge level at 70% or 80%. The main battery should keep the 12V battery charged.

Should that work, theoretically, or should I have a separate trickle charger for the 12V?

A few friends have offered to drive the cars, once in a while, but I expect this would be once a month, at most. Has anyone had any similar experience, and are there any forum recommendations?

Thanks for sharing!

Moving the vehicles once a month is a good idea to prevent tires from being deformed due to weight of ev. The 12 volt battery would be a concern also from sitting for such a long time and trickle charger is ideal for that.

 

[CanukI5]

Moving the vehicles once a month is a good idea to prevent tires from being deformed due to weight of ev. The 12 volt battery would be a concern also from sitting for such a long time and trickle charger is ideal for that.

It's on the factory tires, which are literal garbage, and I will replace when I come back. My concern is having the main battery at constant 70% or 80% and not going through any discharge cycles. I could try to connect remotely to the car via BluLink and control the charge cycles, as one option. And also keep the 12V on a trickle charger.

The car would be like a hospital patient, on life support

 

[TRT]

• Heavy car = best jacked up & put on blocks to avoid tyre & suspension problems on return.
• 12V battery on charger would probably be sensible.
• If leaving main battery unplugged = from what others have said main battery will lose around 2-3%/month if left alone (r about 25-35%/year), so charging to 70% sounds about right if not plugged in. But would need to make sure no one bought a key near car or activated blue link during storage.
• If leaving main battery permanently on charger: best to set max charge at 50% which is the sweet spot for minimal impact on Li batteries.

 

[Neil F]

Waaaaay too much information circulating on best SOC for rest. Obviously it is worth researching.

 

[garsh]

Heavy car = best jacked up & put on blocks to avoid tyre & suspension problems on return.

Agreed. Buy some jack stands if you're leaving the car stationary for that long of a time.

There's no need to "circulate oil" like there is for a combustion vehicle, so moving the car periodically is only really needed to keep the tires from developing flat spots.

It's on the factory tires, which are literal garbage, and I will replace when I come back

Ok, but you'll probably still need to drive the vehicle a few times before they're replaced. A jack and a set of jack stands aren't that expensive.

 

[dundeeyank]

Not sure you can remotely charge the car from the app over the course of a year. In my experience, the app lost contact after a week or so of inactivity over a Christmas vacation. So using the app to discover the charged state and starting a charge would not be possible. One potential to look at and ask about is pulling the Master Circuit breaker in the Frunk that safeties the main battery (used by firefighters to disable the High voltage system in case of emergencies.). See this in the "IONIQ5 Electric Emergency Response Guide" found in your manual packet in the car. You might also ask your service department to send your needs upstream in the Hyundai tech system to get a potential "expert" reading on your situation.

 

[SalisburySam]

…the app lost contact after a week or so of inactivity…

I’ve experienced this twice so far. The remedy is to physically start the car presenting a bit of difficulty for someone a continent away. So back to those steps presented by others:

• Put 12v on a battery tender/maintainer.
• Plug in to maintain about 50% traction battery capacity
• Inflate tires to max on sidewall to help with flat-spotting, or as others suggest, put vehicle on jacks.

Some other suggestions, depending on your comfort levels for doing so:

• Sell the car, get a new one upon return. Your one-year stint could transition to a multi-year overseas trek.
• Put the car on Turo or similar rental site. You’ll need someone to prep the car between rentals.
• Give the car, at least for your absence, to a family member or friend with the expectations you’ll want it back.
• Do nothing or almost nothing and don’t worry about it. Disconnect the 12v and replace after returning. Same with tires if flat-spotting doesn’t go away after a few days of driving. Traction battery will be OK.

 

[MA&FL snowbird]

I’ve experienced this twice so far. The remedy is to physically start the car presenting a bit of difficulty for someone a continent away. So back to those steps presented by others:

• 
  
  I recently had this experience and called Support. She said it’s caused by the car going into Deep Sleep. Here’s what she offered >>>
  To prevent Deep Sleep:
  If leaving for more than 4-5 days -
  Turn Climate OFF when leaving.
  Every other day:
  Use app to Remote Start,
  wait 60 seconds,
  Remote Stop.
  Repeat ever other day to prevent going into deep sleep.
  Now I’m wondering if repeating that process for too long will affect the 12v battery.
  
  I didn’t get to test her suggestion but I’m thinking a simple test might tell us something:
  After following the process for more than a week,
  see if the app will a allow Status check.

 

[zamafir]

So my employer has asked me to relocate to the UK for 1 year. My M3 and the Ioniq 5 will be parked in the garage. I will put the M3 on a trickle charger and was planning on leaving the Ioniq 5 hooked up to the factory Level 1 charger and set the max charge level at 70% or 80%. The main battery should keep the 12V battery charged.

Should that work, theoretically, or should I have a separate trickle charger for the 12V?

A few friends have offered to drive the cars, once in a while, but I expect this would be once a month, at most. Has anyone had any similar experience, and are there any forum recommendations?

Thanks for sharing!

I'd suggest 60% on the Level 1, set it to top it off once or twice a week, other than that you should be fine, looking at the battery monitor it looks like the car charges the 12v when it's charged.

 

[CanukI5]

Thank you all for the great feedback. I will definitely lower the resting SoC to 50 - 60%, as noted by many of you. I can connect weekly to Bluelink and perform a remote start ... nothing to lose there.

Regarding the suspension, I have heard the converse, that leaving the suspension in full droop can have adverse affects as well. Most likely my friend can stop by every couple of weeks (also an EV owner) and drive the car around. Cars can sit on dealer lots for a long time, and the suspension is still fine.

I may order plastic ramps from Amazon or use some hard insulation blocks, and drive the car over those, so they can cushion the tire better. Would prefer to do that for my M3

I did consider getting rid of the EV, but we got it at a good interest rate. If we have to finance a new one on my return, then rates and availability are an unknown. Not sure where prices are headed with the rebates offered by Tesla.

 

[stomish]

Thank you all for the great feedback. I will definitely lower the resting SoC to 50 - 60%, as noted by many of you. I can connect weekly to Bluelink and perform a remote start ... nothing to lose there.

Regarding the suspension, I have heard the converse, that leaving the suspension in full droop can have adverse affects as well. Most likely my friend can stop by every couple of weeks (also an EV owner) and drive the car around. Cars can sit on dealer lots for a long time, and the suspension is still fine.

I may order plastic ramps from Amazon or use some hard insulation blocks, and drive the car over those, so they can cushion the tire better. Would prefer to do that for my M3

I did consider getting rid of the EV, but we got it at a good interest rate. If we have to finance a new one on my return, then rates and availability are an unknown. Not sure where prices are headed with the rebates offered by Tesla.

You may want something like this:

Amazon.com: Homeon Wheels Tire Saver Ramps Anti-Slip Pads Design, Car Tire Wheel Ramps for Flat Spot and Flat Tire Prevention, Tire Savers for Storage, Carrying Bag, Easy to Store 4 Pack (WH-300) Black : Everything Else

Amazon.com: Homeon Wheels Tire Saver Ramps Anti-Slip Pads Design, Car Tire Wheel Ramps for Flat Spot and Flat Tire Prevention, Tire Savers for Storage, Carrying Bag, Easy to Store 4 Pack (WH-300) Black : Everything Else

www.amazon.com

Amazon.com: Maxsa 37353 Park Right Tire Saver Ramps for Flat Spot Flat Tire Prevention and Vehicle Storage for Vehicles up to 10 Tons, Black, Set of 4 : Automotive

Buy Maxsa 37353 Park Right Tire Saver Ramps for Flat Spot Flat Tire Prevention and Vehicle Storage for Vehicles up to 10 Tons, Black, Set of 4: Tire Repair Tools - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

 

[Cornwallmad]

Dont forget to leave your parking brake off or you my find seized brakes on your return.

 

[garsh]

You may want something like this:

Oh, nice! I didn't know that these were a thing.

 

[Wrenching Fool]

Don’t jack up the car and leave it that way. Not only would you be putting the weight of the vehicle onto points of the chassis not designed for it, you’re also deforming the suspension bushings by twisting them into a position they aren’t meant to be in.

Your car is meant to sit on its wheels/tires with the suspension at ride height. It’s not meant to sit on jackstands. Flat spots on the tires will work themselves out once you start driving the car again. Torn suspension bushings because you left the car on jack stands for a year will not fix themselves.

Regarding the battery, around the 50% mark is generally considered to be the best for long term storage of lithium batteries. Definitely leave the car plugged in to some sort of charger. Don’t worry about the 12V battery because the car will keep it topped up while plugged into a charger.

The car will lose connection with Bluelink after about a week or so no matter what you do. It has to be physically started with the key, or it will go into deep sleep after a week or so. You can only remote start the car a few times before it has to be started with the key, so that won’t work either.

 

[CanukI5]

Thanks for the details. I am pretty much going to follow this to a T.

Don’t jack up the car and leave it that way. Not only would you be putting the weight of the vehicle onto points of the chassis not designed for it, you’re also deforming the suspension bushings by twisting them into a position they aren’t meant to be in.

Your car is meant to sit on its wheels/tires with the suspension at ride height. It’s not meant to sit on jackstands. Flat spots on the tires will work themselves out once you start driving the car again. Torn suspension bushings because you left the car on jack stands for a year will not fix themselves.

Regarding the battery, around the 50% mark is generally considered to be the best for long term storage of lithium batteries. Definitely leave the car plugged in to some sort of charger. Don’t worry about the 12V battery because the car will keep it topped up while plugged into a charger.

The car will lose connection with Bluelink after about a week or so no matter what you do. It has to be physically started with the key, or it will go into deep sleep after a week or so. You can only remote start the car a few times before it has to be started with the key, so that won’t work either.