7 days - no electric - 80 - 90 degree heat. OK?

[Cheryl B]

I'm going to a camping music festival in August. For 7 days my car will not be driven and will be parked in direct sun with temps in 80s and maybe 90s. There is no electricity available to charge. I'll be driving ~150 miles to get there so will be running on gas by then. Will this be safe for the battery? Will I compromise it's life? Should I rent another car for the week and leave the Volt plugged in at home? - thank you

[rmay635703]

If I were you I would engage mount mode from home then when you are within EV distance of your destination go back to normal.

That said your car will maintain the battery regardless, if you are scared get back with a few miles on the clock

Cheers

[bobchr]

Absolutely not, these batteries and their thermal management system have been tested for 5 years through all types of conditions before you even thought about buying one. Because of this the specs are conservative. The volt should be treated just like any other car.

[saghost]

The Volt is smart. Damage from heat mostly occurs at high SoCs - and if left unplugged with more than 50% charge (some sources say 75% instead,) it will run the TMS as needed to keep the battery comfortable, or until it discharges to that threshold. There should be no difficulties with your trip.

[AySz88]

That said your car will maintain the battery regardless, if you are scared get back with a few miles on the clock

As saghost mentions, this won't leave enough charge for TMS to start using it (and if you're storing it without much charge, it's not really necessary to thermally manage it anyway).

[bonaire]

The mountain mode idea is great. Think off it as "long term parking mode". Engage it 10 miles or so from the destination and move up the state of charge somewhat before parking.

Dealerships store their Volts on the lot for weeks if not months, at times, without charging. So, all is good. I do think also that they ship the Volts from the factory at a lower state of charge - maybe 50%? Anyone know?

[Jedi2155]

Even if you have 0 miles range remaining, there is probably about 15%-20% buffer to prevent any self-discharge from damaging the pack. I would not worry about a week of not plugging it in.

[TheProgrammerGuy]

Just ask yourself this: "If this were not a Volt, would I ask such a silly question?" If there were any special requirements, they would have made it very plain when you bought the car.

[mikeg3]

Don't worry, a Volt with no visible charge left is in an ideal position to be parked in hot weather.