Leaving SSD in car

[Subbu68]

I had a Skoda Yeti from 2013 till recently. I was using WMA files on SD cards as the car had a SD card reader (in addition to 6 CD changer and BT) on the music system.

Got a Skoda Superb now and all it has is a USB-C and BT / Wifi. No more CDP. Can I leave a SSD with my music files in the car?

The ambient in summer is near 50 deg.C but mostly the car is parked in completely covered parking (read louvered building) at my office and basement parking at home. Winters are pretty cool to say.

 

[dafreaking]

You need to first check if the USB port supports the SSD.

Secondly I would advise a dock/holder of some sorts unless you have a longish cable. Basically, so that there is less stress on the port with something hanging of it.

 

[Subbu68]

You need to first check if the USB port supports the SSD.

Secondly I would advise a dock/holder of some sorts unless you have a longish cable. Basically, so that there is less stress on the port with something hanging of it.

It supports mass storage devices - no issues and all sorts of formats - MP3, WMA, FLAC, ADTA, OGG, RIFF etc. etc. Cable is not an issue.

My worry is only if SSD can live in the car if I have to park sometime outside in the open in the Gulf temperatures!

 

[sreejithsreedharan]

I’m not sure about SSDs, but I had a Zune 1st Gen, and it was completely damaged due to the high temperatures inside the car.

 

[Subbu68]

I’m not sure about SSDs, but I had a Zune 1st Gen, and it was completely damaged due to the high temperatures inside the car.

It is a complete music player with display and battery inside, right?

LCD's can get easily damaged in even elevated room temperatures. My radio Sangean ATS909 had it's display blackened after I left it in a steel cupboard in my apartment in Kerala during COVID times. Did not travel to India for nearly three years and it happened in that period. The polarizer gets damaged at high temperatures. Not difficult to replace the polarizer though.

 

[chander]

I have left pen drives for years in the car, hooked to the music system of my CRV in summers of Delhi - it just worked and those were the days of massive Pen Drives I think SSD should be fine - maybe keep it in a place that doesn't get sun directly. Lots of electronics in the car dashboard deal with that kind of heat, they work. I guess it should be fine, considering they are designed to be worked within PCs where internal temperature can get to 70 Deg C+ and they work for days on end tirelessly.

 

[Subbu68]

I have left pen drives for years in the car, hooked to the music system of my CRV in summers of Delhi - it just worked and those were the days of massive Pen Drives I think SSD should be fine - maybe keep it in a place that doesn't get sun directly. Lots of electronics in the car dashboard deal with that kind of heat, they work. I guess it should be fine, considering they are designed to be worked within PCs where internal temperature can get to 70 Deg C+ and they work for days on end tirelessly.

Yeah, I had SD cards in my old car for years and I used to take it to project sites in open desert. Nothing happened.

The car electronics must be made to withstand the heat of the region they are designed to sell. In the Gulf there is a separate GCC specifications for cars.

But SSDs with their enclosure can they?? If not have to use a USB C OTG cable and SD card reader and use my SD cards I had in my old car.

 

[surfatwork]

Most ssds can work fine at 50C. They sre rated for a bit higher (70C I think). They hit high temps even when working in an a/c environment.
So the caveat is to use them after the car has cooled down, so the ambient temp at which it "starts" working is not baking. You could keep it in the car and ensure it's plugged in after the csr had cooled down.

Using them continuously at high temp can wear out the memory faster.

 

[Subbu68]

Most ssds can work fine at 50C. They sre rated for a bit higher (70C I think). They hit high temps even when working in an a/c environment.
So the caveat is to use them after the car has cooled down, so the ambient temp at which it "starts" working is not baking. You could keep it in the car and ensure it's plugged in after the csr had cooled down.

Using them continuously at high temp can wear out the memory faster.

The center console is a cooled one. I will keep SSD inside it. And it has been my practice since 24 years I started driving here in the UAE, when starting a trip to open the windows, drive the car to exhaust the hot air and then switch the Aircon to cool the car. It cools the car faster.

In that practice I also had a silly accident in 2002, when a couple of wasps entered the car from rear windows, bit my finger causing the car to swerve and scrape the steel fencing of the median