I’m considering buying an EV to replace my aging diesel. I live in a very cold country where temperatures regularly dip below -30C in the winter.
I understand that EVs lose range in cold temperatures and that they need heating to use and charge without damage.
My question is this: if I plan on not using my car for several weeks, can I leave it unplugged and/or tell it to stop managing the batteries’ temperature to save energy and not damage the batteries?
I’m okay with spending half a day preheating it when I plan on using it again regularly, but I don’t want it to draw current all the time for nothing when I’m away on long missions.
For some reason, I can’t seem to find out if it’s safe to keep a fully unpowered EV in the cold for a long time…
https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/model3/en_us/GUID-7FE78D73-0A17-47C4-B21B-54F641FFAEF4.html
“For better long-term performance, avoid exposing Model 3 to ambient temperatures above 140° F (60° C) or below -22° F (-30° C) for more than 24 hours at a time.”