Lincoln MKZ hybrid / Sitting for 6+ weeks

Joined
Jun 22, 2017
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Western usa
Had a 2017 MKZ hybrid shipped from IL. to Colorado via Carmax. Paid shipping fee. Test drove it 10 days ago & all went well. My concern is that the car sat for a period of time in IL. at the dealership (poss. over a month) & now do to the virus outbreak it will sit for another 5-6 weeks, poss. longer before we can drive it. What issues does this raise? Can this drain / damage the high voltage battery pack.? Any feedback would be appreciated P.S. We haven't purchased the car yet so if we decide against it we would just be out the shipping fee. Thanks 🙠
 
No reason it will cause any issue at all. Maybe the ICE starting battery will be dead and need a boost or replacement, but that's it. Cars sit in dealer lots longer than that before they're sold. No reason to panic.
 
Originally Posted by Ammofirst
My concern is that the car sat for a period of time in IL. at the dealership (poss. over a month) & now do to the virus outbreak it will sit for another 5-6 weeks, poss. longer before we can drive it. 

Is this an enforced car quarantine or your personal decision?
 
Over the years my van sat longer than that. I never had any issues starting it. They can sit a lot longer than that w/o issue.
 
Originally Posted by IMSA_Racing_Fan
Originally Posted by Ammofirst
My concern is that the car sat for a period of time in IL. at the dealership (poss. over a month) & now do to the virus outbreak it will sit for another 5-6 weeks, poss. longer before we can drive it. 

Is this an enforced car quarantine or your personal decision?


If you aren't being forced to stay indoors by law....I would take the car for a nice long drive weekly...alone ...or with your spouse.

I like the MKZ (and it's cousin, the Fusion) Hybrid. There have been many Ford Hybrids that have done 400K in NYC taxi service but that is the ideal type of usage for these vehicles. For the average guy doing 10 or 12K a year...I'm not sure the gasoline savings would offset the eventual cost of battery replacement...but I could be wrong.
 
Originally Posted by Ammofirst
it will sit for another 5-6 weeks, poss. longer before we can drive it. What issues does this raise? Can this drain / damage the high voltage battery pack.? 


If it was a gas only engine I'd say don't worry about it. If it was an older hybrid with NMh batteries you would have run the engine every 30 days so the battery back doesn't go too low and sustain permanent damage. Li-Ion are much better but still could be irreversibly damaged if their voltage drops below a certain level due to inactivity, although that is longer than a month or two. My '13 Kia Hybrid sat 3 months last year when I didn't need it and it was fine afterwards. Maybe read the owners manual or ask customer service what the storage recommendations are.
 
If your Lincoln is like my 2017 MKC which I'm sure it is.
After so many hours of sitting without being started, the car will go into Sleep Mode to protect the battery from draining down due to inactivity. So you'll be fine
 
You might want to see if there is a way to disable the keyless entry system; on the 2004 prius (gen 2) i have there is a way to disable it under the steering wheel.

Letting the car sit for weeks with the keyless entry system enabled kills the 12V battery.

Not sure if this is the case on your model.
 
The high-voltage battery should be ok for a few weeks. The 12-volt might be a problem, unless it's disconnected or on a maintainer charger. (That's assuming the Ford hybrid system is similar to Toyota in relevant respects.)
 
Originally Posted by tcp71
No reason it will cause any issue at all. Maybe the ICE starting battery will be dead and need a boost or replacement, but that's it. Cars sit in dealer lots longer than that before they're sold. No reason to panic.


Does the 12v battery start the car ? I was under the impression the HVB battery pack was used for that ?
 
Originally Posted by IMSA_Racing_Fan
Originally Posted by Ammofirst
My concern is that the car sat for a period of time in IL. at the dealership (poss. over a month) & now do to the virus outbreak it will sit for another 5-6 weeks, poss. longer before we can drive it. 

Is this an enforced car quarantine or your personal decision?



Yes I've been instructed the dealership will remain closed until further notice ...
 
Then the $64,000 question is : What series of events would / could cause permanent damage to the High voltage battery pack ? Just curious
 
Originally Posted by JimPghPA
Wit the price of fuel dropping and maybe staying down for as long as 18 months do you really want a hybrid?


Yes I still want it.
 
Should get best prices on a Hybrid now. My son is driving our Fusion Hybrid … and his pay is suspended right now so the MPG helps.
 
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