Phantom Drain (Vampire Drain)
Phantom drain is the slow loss of battery charge when an electric car is parked and not driven.
What is Phantom Drain (Vampire Drain)?
Connected services, sentry or alarm modes and battery heating increase it. The 12 V battery can also be recharged from the main battery. Loss is usually small but grows in very cold or hot weather. Software updates have reduced standby consumption on many EVs.
How it works
Control units, telematics and thermal management keep drawing small amounts of energy.
Why it matters for your car
Turn off camera monitoring modes when parking for a long time. Leave the car with enough charge if parking for weeks.
Other terms
- 800-Volt Architecture
- AdBlue (DEF)
- Bar (Pressure Unit)
- Brake Fade
- Brake Judder (Brake Vibration)
- Brake Line
- Cabin Temperature Sensor
- E-Fuels (Synthetic Fuels)
- Engine Braking
- Flat-Plane Crankshaft
- Flooded Engine
- Goodwill Repair
- Manufacturer Plate (Type Plate)
- Memory Seats
- NOx Storage Catalyst (Lean NOx Trap)
- PWM Signal (Pulse-width Modulation)
- Rear Window (Rear Screen)
- Secondary Air Injection
- Wiper Blade
- Youngtimer (Modern Classic)