How to Maintain an Electric Vehicle Battery? EV Battery Maintenance Guides

With the increasing popularity of electric vehicles, more and more families are choosing them as their primary mode of transportation. However, many car owners may not be fully aware of how to properly maintain and use the battery — a component that accounts for a significant portion of an EV’s total cost. Today, let’s talk about how to take care of the battery in new energy vehicles-EV Battery Maintenance Guides.

First, it’s important to understand a basic principle: electric vehicles also require regular maintenance. Routine maintenance helps keep the vehicle in optimal condition and allows for early detection of issues, minimizing potential safety risks. Additionally, paying attention to battery care in daily use and learning a few key tips about battery usage can significantly extend its lifespan. After all, replacing an EV battery can be quite expensive.

If the vehicle is parked for a long time, keep the battery charge above 50% and use the car at least once a month.

When parking an electric vehicle for an extended period, keep in mind that the battery naturally loses about one percent of its charge per day due to self-discharge—a common characteristic of all batteries. To maintain battery health, manufacturers provide specific recommendations: NIO advises keeping the charge above 50%, while XPeng suggests maintaining it between 30% and 50%.

If a pure EV remains unused for a long time and the battery charge drops too low, you should recharge it periodically to preserve capacity. Letting the charge drain to zero can cause irreversible damage, so always recharge the battery fully before using the vehicle again.

For optimal EV battery maintenance when parking for a week or longer:

• Keep the charge above 50% (or within 30%-50% for XPeng models).

• Drive the vehicle at least once a month to maintain battery health.

Following these guidelines helps prevent capacity loss and extends battery life.

Don’t use up all the electricity.

During daily use, try not to let the charge drop to zero percent, as this can permanently reduce driving range and may cause damage to internal components. It’s also important to develop good charging habits by keeping the battery charge mostly between 80 and 20 percent. This practice can help extend the battery’s lifespan. Over-discharging lithium batteries causes serious and irreversible damage. In general, it’s best to recharge whenever the battery falls below 50 percent if possible. Charging when the battery drops below 20 percent can still harm the battery to some extent.

It is not advisable to store the battery for a long time in extreme temperatures.

In fact, exposure to extreme high or low temperatures accelerates battery degradation and can cause a drop in charge capacity. Additionally, prolonged exposure to high temperatures increases the risk of battery self-ignition.

The battery does not need to be fully charged all the time. Charging up to 90% is actually best for the battery.

Some car companies manual mentions that charging up to 90% is optimal and helps extend battery life. Tesla’s manual states that keeping the charge between 50% and 90% can improve battery lifespan. Therefore, if you’re not taking long trips, it’s not necessary to fully charge the battery every time — even charging up to 50% is beneficial for the battery.

Try to use AC slow charging whenever possible.

Try to use AC slow charging as much as possible during daily use to reduce the number of fast charging. Avoid frequently using high-power DC fast charging to charge the vehicle, which will affect the battery life. “Everyone understands the truth, but you still have to use fast charging when it is time. After all, time is the most precious. If you are not in a hurry, try to use slow charging.

Don’t forget to do regular maintenance

Regarding the maintenance schedule for new energy vehicles, compared to gasoline cars that typically require maintenance every six months, new energy vehicles have a longer maintenance interval. Generally, maintenance is needed about once a year or every 10,000 kilometers. Although maintenance for pure electric vehicles is not as critical as it is for fuel-powered cars, regular check-ups are still quite necessary.

For example, the coolant inside the battery pack needs to be refilled or replaced periodically. The Battery Management System is also updated during inspections at authorized service centers as OEMs release new versions. While it’s unclear whether these updates can extend battery life, they definitely help ensure safe vehicle operation.

Summary: As a means of transportation, we can only do our best to provide the battery with good usage habits and a suitable environment. Naturally, batteries will degrade over time, but the electric vehicle battery maintenance tips shared today can help extend battery life if used properly. After all, replacing a battery can be quite expensive.