[PeeJay]

We took delivery of our EQA on the 30th November 2021 in Melbourne Australia. As recommended, we restrict battery usage to 20-80% capacity. We have solar and a smart charger which allows us to restrict charging to only using solar up to a max 7.5Kw/hr. We can change it to rapid charge off the grid if required - but have used this only sparingly. In the 7 months we’ve had the car, we’ve done 5,500 km and charged only at home. However, increasingly I’m seeing recommendations not to keep it topped up the way we do, but rather let it get closer to 20% before recharging. Are we damaging the battery in so doing? Advice?

 

[FDR]

We took delivery of our EQA on the 30th November 2021 in Melbourne Australia. As recommended, we restrict battery usage to 20-80% capacity. We have solar and a smart charger which allows us to restrict charging to only using solar up to a max 7.5Kw/hr. We can change it to rapid charge off the grid if required - but have used this only sparingly. In the 7 months we’ve had the car, we’ve done 5,500 km and charged only at home. However, increasingly I’m seeing recommendations not to keep it topped up the way we do, but rather let it get closer to 20% before recharging. Are we damaging the battery in so doing? Advice?

I wouldn’t think what you are doing would be harmful to the battery. According to the Mercedes Eco Coach app (which previous posts have indicated isn’t available in Australia) Mercedes says parking at a high state of charge is more harmful than any driving or charging behaviour.

In the owners manual for the EQA there’s a recommendation to leave the car once every 6 months, overnight, with a state of charge of less than 20%

 

[PeeJay]

Thanks for your prompt response. I guess we, like so many others, are in unchartered waters and it's all a bit of a learning experience. That aside, we love the car. There's just the two of us, so any compromises with the boot space and back seat floor height aren't a problem and are more than made up by the build quality and other features. My car, a BMW X3.0d, rarely gets used and it's a great car as well, but we look for excuses to drive the electric one.