A Guide to Hybrid and Electric Storage and Care Car
Photo by Ronan Furuta on Unsplash
At AAAA Auto Storage we are starting to see more and more customer’s who are storing hybrid and electrical vehicles. These customers also have a (completely justified) concern when it comes to proper care and storage of their prized hybrid car or truck.
When you store a hybrid vehicle for 3-6 months or longer, failure to maintain those big sophisticated batteries can result in a permanent loss of charge and an expensive trip to the dealer upon your return.
So for our first blog post, I thought I’d briefly talk through what we do and what you should know when storing your hybrid/ electric car or truck:
For Hybrid Vehicles make sure that whoever is storing your vehicle is starting and running it to the manufactures specified interval. The Toyota Prius, for example, requires that you start it and run it for 30 minutes each week.
For Electric Vehicles charging requires a little more equipment since they do not have an internal source of power. Hybrid vehicles do not need an external source because the engine gives the battery power or powers the wheels directly.
For an electric car like the Nissan Leaf you are going to need a kit like the one shown above. The Leaf for example requires you to use this system once every three months to keep the battery in good charging condition. You can read more about this kit here.
Ultimately your best bet is to call the dealer, consult your owner’s manual, and do your research.
Proper care of your hybrid or electric vehicle while it is in storage will ensure that you protect your investment for many years of trouble free driving pleasure!