andynstacy

My father owns a 2013 ES300h and has put *very* few miles (under 2000) on the car. From time to time he will go to the garage and run the car for 15-20 mins. My question is, how detrimental is it to the Nickel Metal battery pack to have such little use? How much of a charge does the NMH pack receive from the alternator(while the engine is idling in the garage) vs the charge it receives from both the alternator/regenerative brakes while driving?

TIA,
Andy

chromedome

NiMH packs can hold a charge for months without it dropping much. The ES pack also charges from 40-60% so it won't wear out the cells too quickly. I'd be more worried about the engine because the oil could be breaking down or have moisture in it. You could use an app like Torque Pro to monitor battery health using custom OBD sequences or just bring the car in to a dealer.

zes

What you need to do is to borrow your father's car once a week or so and use it for a day. This will keep everything running well and you will earn some brownie points as well.

Maikerusan

Hope he at least takes the car out of the garage and is not actually letting it idle in there for 20 minutes.