Would an EV that has been sat around for months concern you?
Discussion
My local dealer has a number of low mileage one year old Enyaqs in stock at what seems a decent price…we could do a straight swap for a 3 year old Civic. We noticed that there was a bit of paper marked “confidential” in one of the cars and being nosey we had a quick read. It seemed to be a report suggesting the cars did a lot of mileage in the first couple of months, then have sat around for the rest of the year. We think it said 97% battery capacity remaining. Would that be of concern to knowledgable EV folk? Thanks
Hi
Wouldn’t worry me tbh
The battery has an 8 year guarantee.
An ex-Skoda employee car?, I bought one last year. Mine was the last of the outgoing Enyaq 80, but had loads of options & 33% off new price when 9 months old / 5k miles
The dealer will have the cars digital certificate, here is an excerpt from mine.
Can see that the car was used a fair bit, then sat around until I got it:-
Wouldn’t worry me tbh
The battery has an 8 year guarantee.
An ex-Skoda employee car?, I bought one last year. Mine was the last of the outgoing Enyaq 80, but had loads of options & 33% off new price when 9 months old / 5k miles
The dealer will have the cars digital certificate, here is an excerpt from mine.
Can see that the car was used a fair bit, then sat around until I got it:-
Check what the owners manual says about storing it for a long time without use.
I say that because for my iX, the manual suggests leaving it between 30-50% charge if you aren t using it for a long time.
Btw my car's battery is at 97% capacity but that's after almost 3 years of daily usage.
I say that because for my iX, the manual suggests leaving it between 30-50% charge if you aren t using it for a long time.
Btw my car's battery is at 97% capacity but that's after almost 3 years of daily usage.
Edited by raspy on Sunday 6th July 18:57
It really depends what level of charge they stored it with. Worst cases would be 100% or <10%. Ideally it should be stored around 50%, but anywhere between 30-80% would be fine really.
It’s fairly typical for EV batteries to lose a little of their capacity over the first year or two and then stabilise and lose very little over the next few years ie battery degradation is non-linear and tends to slow down.
It’s fairly typical for EV batteries to lose a little of their capacity over the first year or two and then stabilise and lose very little over the next few years ie battery degradation is non-linear and tends to slow down.
Probably ex VW group employee cars which are being drip fed into the market. Quite a common thing to do if more are being defleeted than they can sell as approved used.
Sometimes if they end up with way more than they can force on dealers they will do a deal with a supermarket or punt them all through an auction to dispose of them.
Sometimes if they end up with way more than they can force on dealers they will do a deal with a supermarket or punt them all through an auction to dispose of them.
The high mileage in a couple of months, then unused, doesn’t fit with the usual VW Group employee car - they generally have them for 6mths+ (been longer over COVID) and don’t usually do many miles.
I know of one fleet Skoda supplies where the type of use described would fit. And a neighbour works for a company that gets cars off another manufacturer, puts around 9K miles on them (which for him can be 3-4mths) then they go back.
I know of one fleet Skoda supplies where the type of use described would fit. And a neighbour works for a company that gets cars off another manufacturer, puts around 9K miles on them (which for him can be 3-4mths) then they go back.
NDA said:
I've been away for a while on holiday - left my EV with 78% charge and came back to 74% after a month unplugged. Cool story etc, but I assumed it would be a lot lower - based on no facts! 
That's 1% a week then.So a 100% charged EV would be looking at two years. But I guess it depends on the kWh of the battery, it's internal resistance, and the temperature at which it was stored.
Sheepshanks said:
The 12V battery might be an issue - many EVs seem to struggle with those. Easily replaced though.
Yes. The 12V battery is probably the one that unlocks the thing and will be down to 10V after 2 months, unless the EV battery helps keep it afloat...?Do EVs have 12V charging studs like ICE vehicles do? Could you leave a Ctek on it?
Cobnapint said:
Yes. The 12V battery is probably the one that unlocks the thing and will be down to 10V after 2 months, unless the EV battery helps keep it afloat...?
Do EVs have 12V charging studs like ICE vehicles do? Could you leave a Ctek on it?
They are supposed to top themselves up from the traction battery but the process doesn’t seem to be 100% reliable, and some stop charging when the traction battery gets low ( but not as low as you’d think - 35% on some).Do EVs have 12V charging studs like ICE vehicles do? Could you leave a Ctek on it?
They just seem to use a small version of a normal car battery. Which is a bit odd as they’re mainly designed to power the starter motor. I guess they’re cheaper than a more specialised battery.
Obviously they’re a bit more geeky than average but it seems common for SpeakEV forum members to recharge the 12V battery and carry a booster pack.
I've read quite a few stories of EV drivers being stranded by the 12V battery.
I wouldn't be buying an EV without confirming that I could charge the thing up independently when I wanted to.
It all seems a bit hit and miss, and a little bit mysterious.
Asking a showroom salesman/woman wouldn't be enough, they'd have to show me where the 12V battery was and whether you could charge it or not. And going by the quality of some showroom staff out there, I fully expect to end up finding out from the service department in the end.
I wouldn't be buying an EV without confirming that I could charge the thing up independently when I wanted to.
It all seems a bit hit and miss, and a little bit mysterious.
Asking a showroom salesman/woman wouldn't be enough, they'd have to show me where the 12V battery was and whether you could charge it or not. And going by the quality of some showroom staff out there, I fully expect to end up finding out from the service department in the end.
Cobnapint said:
I've read quite a few stories of EV drivers being stranded by the 12V battery.
I wouldn't be buying an EV without confirming that I could charge the thing up independently when I wanted to.
It all seems a bit hit and miss, and a little bit mysterious.
Asking a showroom salesman/woman wouldn't be enough, they'd have to show me where the 12V battery was and whether you could charge it or not. And going by the quality of some showroom staff out there, I fully expect to end up finding out from the service department in the end.
You can charge the 12v battery just as you would in a IC car. Just connect a battery charger direct to the battery. I wouldn't be buying an EV without confirming that I could charge the thing up independently when I wanted to.
It all seems a bit hit and miss, and a little bit mysterious.
Asking a showroom salesman/woman wouldn't be enough, they'd have to show me where the 12V battery was and whether you could charge it or not. And going by the quality of some showroom staff out there, I fully expect to end up finding out from the service department in the end.
There is nothing special about the 12v battery.
Or if its not comletely flat, turn the ignition on and it will charge off the HV battery.
Cobnapint said:
I've read quite a few stories of EV drivers being stranded by the 12V battery.
I wouldn't be buying an EV without confirming that I could charge the thing up independently when I wanted to.
It all seems a bit hit and miss, and a little bit mysterious.
Asking a showroom salesman/woman wouldn't be enough, they'd have to show me where the 12V battery was and whether you could charge it or not. And going by the quality of some showroom staff out there, I fully expect to end up finding out from the service department in the end.
It’s the same vulnerability as with any other 12V car battery. Porsche had a lot of issues with battery failures back when I owned a 997. Mine stranded me twice in 3 years with a dead battery. Google Porsche 911 Moll battery issues. It was embarrassing. They even transported it to the dealership because they wouldn’t allow the AA to fit a replacement under warranty. I wouldn't be buying an EV without confirming that I could charge the thing up independently when I wanted to.
It all seems a bit hit and miss, and a little bit mysterious.
Asking a showroom salesman/woman wouldn't be enough, they'd have to show me where the 12V battery was and whether you could charge it or not. And going by the quality of some showroom staff out there, I fully expect to end up finding out from the service department in the end.
I think it’s worse because the battery is tiny - in ours (Hyundai) there are dire warnings about not doing things like listening to the radio with the ignition in accessory mode. There are other modes to use which bring in the traction battery.
I got a Hyundai EV for a family member as Hyundai have been making them for years and seem to have EVs pretty well sorted. It’s a 25 model year car and on booking it in for its first service there’s a software update to to - relating to the 12V battery charging.
I got a Hyundai EV for a family member as Hyundai have been making them for years and seem to have EVs pretty well sorted. It’s a 25 model year car and on booking it in for its first service there’s a software update to to - relating to the 12V battery charging.
uktrailmonster said:
It s the same vulnerability as with any other 12V car battery. Porsche had a lot of issues with battery failures back when I owned a 997. Mine stranded me twice in 3 years with a dead battery. Google Porsche 911 Moll battery issues. It was embarrassing. They even transported it to the dealership because they wouldn t allow the AA to fit a replacement under warranty.
It might well be the same vulnerability, but can you get at it to mitigate that vulnerability?It certainly won't be accessible if it's sitting in the front because most EVs have a frunk with loads of plastic trim covering the rest of it.
If it's in the boot you might be ok, but I don't recall seeing any jumpstart studs that can be used for clipping a charger on.
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