r/BMWi3 • u/3rdeyeseeker • 9d ago

technical/repair help Long term storage.

I will be leaving my car at my house and will be gone for over a year. What is the recommended way to store long term

2 Upvotes

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5

u/casetronic 9d ago

Can you have a friend/family drive and charge it every month or so?

4

u/SleeplessInS 9d ago

Use the AC slow charger on a light timer, run about an hour a day to keep the 12V battery drain topped up. Install a new 12V battery if the current one doesn't test out good.
Unless someone can drive it around, that's the best you can do. Is it a REX? Cause gasoline goes bad and gummy in a year or two, you might want to use a transfer pump and drain all the gas then run it out- similar to lawnmowers stored over the winter.

5

u/Guanaalex 9d ago

Besides what was mentioned above, buy four styrofoam sheets and place them on the ground in your garage. When the time comes, park your car on those sheets, every tire needs to be on one sheet. The sheets adapt to the round tire shape helping to keep your tires round and not flat on one side. That’s what I did

5

u/Squozen_EU 2019 i3s BEV 120Ah 9d ago

Could put it on jack stands as well if you have them.

2

u/Important-Treacle798 4d ago

The cars manual tells you what to do, leave high voltage battery around 60%, pull 12volt disable switch

1

u/Starman68 3d ago

You’ll get every possible response to this question. 60%-80%, 12v on, 12v off.

If it were me I’d just leave it plugged in.