Is it harmful to leave your EV plugged in all the time?

person charging bolt wearing a mask

Maintaining EV Battery Health

The battery is typically the most important (and most expensive) element of an electric car. It makes sense that drivers would want to go to great lengths to preserve it; after all, it’s important to do all one can to take the utmost care of what’s essentially the beating heart of one’s electric baby.

Those who have left rechargeable items such as phones and iPods plugged in overnight in the past may have noticed troubling battery degradation. Can the same thing happen with an electric vehicle? Is it safe to leave one’s EV plugged in all the time?


Learn more intriguing automotive tidbits on our blog!


It is almost always completely safe to leave one’s EV plugged in. Electric vehicles have systems in place to prevent the battery from being overcharged. Thus, leaving it plugged in is totally cool.

A line of vehicles charge at an EVgo station

Preserve Your EV’s Battery by Keeping It Plugged In When Not in Use

In fact, sources say that it’s actually better to keep one’s EV plugged in while not in use. Not only is doing so a great strategy to keep one’s EV fully juiced, but for most EVs, leaving the vehicle plugged in is one of the best ways to preserve the battery.

Prepare for the electric automotive world to be rocked by the upcoming 2022 GMC Hummer EV.

How do EV’s prevent their batteries from being overcharged?

Once the systems in a typical EV detect that the battery is nearing a full charge, they should automatically slow down the charging process. The vehicle will use a technique called “trickle charging” to intelligently maintain a full charge in the battery without overdoing it. Onboard systems then dynamically monitor and allocate the charge as it’s needed.

You can expect a lot more EVs to be released in the next few years.

Final Call – Check Your Owner’s Manual

To be absolutely certain, however, we recommend checking the specific guidelines in your EV’s owner’s manual. Different vehicles are built in different ways, and thus, may warrant different treatment.

Posted in FAQs, Tips and Tricks