Days between startups

[gfh77665]

How long should a typical vehicle be able to sit without starting up before the battery runs down?

No need to discuss battery tenders, etc. Just curious how long should a battery be able to sit between cranks.

 

[dogememe]

I'd say beyond two weeks you might encounter issues.

Now this is VERY generalized and a plugged in Tesla might be able to sit forever while a gas car with a ten year old 12V battery might be two days.

 

[melk]

I’ve had several cars over the years sit for a month or two or three? and startup no problem.

 

[BobsArmory]

Good question, I think every vehicle will be very different. If you really want to put one into long term storage I would suggest putting it into "transport mode" Manufactures have transport mode enabled often when shipping overseas. Turns almost everthing off to save the battery but you will lose things like seat memory and radio presets etc.

For mose GM cars you have to:

• Start the engine and make sure the truck is completely in Park (P).
• Press and hold the brake pedal firmly.
• Turn on your hazard flashers (emergency blinkers).
• Press and hold the Start/Stop ignition button for at least 15 seconds.
• Watch the Driver Information Center (DIC) screen behind the steering wheel. A "Transport Mode On" message will appear, and the red battery light will begin to flash.
• Release the ignition button and brake pedal. Turn off your hazard lights.

 

[demarpaint]

+1 Or longer.

 

[Legs4Arms]

How long should a typical vehicle be able to sit without starting up before the battery runs down?

No need to discuss battery tenders, etc. Just curious how long should a battery be able to sit between cranks.

As mentioned totally depends on the vehicle.

I like older stuff and all of them can sit for 2 months and still fire up no problem. They're also stored indoors in an environment that never drops below 16C so that may play a role in it.

If you have starting problems earlier than that it's time to start pulling fuses and looking for a parasitic drain.

 

[Astro14]

My Volvo R model sat for nearly 11 weeks in Denver.

Fired right up.

 

[k1xv]

It depends in part on the onboard electronics that stay alive even when the car is "shut off". For my 2022 Corvette, I don't trust it for more than 10 days or so. For my diesel BMW X5 SUV, I recently was out of the country for a full month and it started fine on my return. But it has an enormous AGM battery.

 

[Patman]

Car dealerships would know this information since they have cars that sit on the lot for lengthy periods of time. I bet they have to boost some of them to get them going though. I remember when I bought my 95 Trans Am brand new that dealer had two identical versions of it on the lot (even the same color combination) The first one that they tried to start had a dead battery so that’s why I bought the other one instead

 

[SC Maintenance]

I would suggest its more about the battery than the car. Lead acid batteries self discharge pretty quickly. My Nissans pull only 10mA at full rest but still the batteries discharge fairly far in a couple weeks. Will the car still start - sure - I could likely start on 100A, if thats what you want to do.

If starting is your concern and not battery health then the next question is how many amps do you really need to start your car? Most modern cars in warm weather will start on an almost dead battery.

Lots of variables. If its consistently sitting more than a week I would say you need a tender or plan on having shorter battery life.

 

[Wheel366]

I went to get a loaner at Subaru a few months ago when it was pretty cold. They one they gave me had a dead battery. Had to swap me out with a different loaner.

 

[bdc101]

It depends in part on the onboard electronics that stay alive even when the car is "shut off". For my 2022 Corvette, I don't trust it for more than 10 days or so. For my diesel BMW X5 SUV, I recently was out of the country for a full month and it started fine on my return. But it has an enormous AGM battery.

Wow man playing with fire! Speaking as a fellow BMW owner... risking a dead battery is high on my list of things to avoid! (The last time I let this happen, the immobilizer in my 2003 X5 got de-synchronized from the engine computer, locking me out and requiring a tow!)

 

[xspeedy]

Older cars that were truly off when parked and locked could go several weeks. Modern cars with all these always on systems, I wouldn’t trust for more than one or two weeks.

 

[k1xv]

Wow man playing with fire! Speaking as a fellow BMW owner... risking a dead battery is high on my list of things to avoid! (The last time I let this happen, the immobilizer in my 2003 X5 got de-synchronized from the engine computer, locking me out and requiring a tow!)

I was iaway n EUROPE and where the car was parked, no electricity was available for a battery maintainer.

 

[walterjay]

I had an older Ford pickup that went about 3 months sitting and it fired right up. Probably would not happen with the newer electronics on cars.

 

[The_Jeff]

My 1985 Dodge w250 plow truck sat through the summer, every summer, seven months and would start right up. No computer, no clock, no radio-- off was off.

95 Miata will kill its battery dead-dead if left installed for winter storage though.

I've had a bunch of beater pickups since I bought my house that only see a five mile loop to the dump once a week during the dead of winter. The worst one was an 08 Silverado, it needed trickle charging. The rest did fine.

 

[f355spider]

Too many variables. Depends on the car, and how recent manufacture it is, as well as how fresh the battery is.
Most newer cars with a good condition battery can sit for a couple months. But not frequently...that will degrade the battery if done repeatedly.

 

[gfh77665]

Thank you all.