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Parking Days Without Charging

7K views 19 replies 15 participants last post by  goaterguy 
Prospective Volt buyer. I drive frequently for multi-day trips (sometimes as much as a week or two), during which time I park my car and don't drive it. There wouldn't be charging available at the parking garage I leave the car at. The Chevy dealer told me that if I drove to the garage (arriving with my battery empty, driving on gas at that point), and left it for more than a day or two, it wouldn't start when I got back. This didn't sound right, so I checked the forums when I got home, figuring there would be angry owners who went on a road trip and left their depleted Volt at an airport (or outside Grandma's house) and couldn't start it when it was time to go home. Can't find any such discussions! Is this dealer just anti-EV? (he drives a truck) Or is this a legitimate concern?
Stupid dealer spreading FUD. Mine has been parked for three weeks straight unplugged and drive with no issues whatsoever. Except for a couple special circumstances, the big battery is locked off from everything while the car is off - it won't discharge while you're parked (unlike some other EVs - but even the ones that do have vampire drain last months, not days.)
 
If you're worried, just drive the whole way in mountain mode. It will reserve a larger portion of the battery for later use. When you are ready to leave, you should have about 1/3 battery to get you going.
Of course, if you leave something on and your 12V battery dies, you're stuck regardless. Make sure everything is turned off ;)
If you're worried, get one of those inverter/starter/air pump boxes and leave it in the car - the Volt doesn't need much 12V power to start, and the little battery in that should be more than enough.
 
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