(answered)Concern on charging to 100% every charge.

[zsolie]

Hello everyone,

I am currently looking at either a Mach E or a Tesla Model 3 I am very familiar with Teslas software however am naive when it comes to Fords.

My biggest concern when it comes to the Mach E is that there seems to be a large gap when it comes to battery preservation. I drive a Volt currently that has close to a 17 kwh battery however only 10 of that is usable to prevent charging to 100% or depleting down past 20%. Tesla has the ability to charge to 80%-100% wherever you want to avoid needing to charge 100% all the time.

When I test drove the Mach E, reached out to Ford and looked online there is no way to control how charged the car is. I.e., if you plug it in, it will charge to 100% every time. Staying at 100% is going to degrade the battery faster than if there were a way to control this aspect. I don't see anyone talking about this, am I missing something?

Thanks for the input and if this has been asked before I apologize and will happily go check out that thread.

Zach

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[eltonlin]

You can adjust the desired charge level through the FordPass app.

 

[SteelMach]

It's incredibly unintuitive with Ford compared to Tesla. With a Tesla, you just tap the battery icon on the center screen, and drag a slider.

With Ford, it's buried in menus, and even then it must be configured independently for each location you charge at.

And even then, half the time it doesn't listen anyway.

But Ford has the same capability.

 

[back_at_it_19]

Isn’t this MME battery already maxed at only using 88kwh of a full 98.8 battery. (For ER.) do we really need to also limit charge to less than 100%?

 

[RyZt]

You don't have to configure in the app, you can also configure in the car.

It's part of charging schedule configuration. For each location (GPS based) you've plugged in before, you can assign a name, choose the battery percentage you want to reach, and the hours (on weekdays and weekends) you want to charge.

With Ford, it's buried in menus, and even then it must be configured independently for each location you charge at.

And even then, half the time it doesn't listen anyway.

Once configured, my car respects the configuration reliably.

For new locations, it automatically charges to 100% at any time.

I like this. I'd only charge on a L2 away from home if I'm on a trip (hotel, etc), I want the car to charge as much as possible and as soon as possible.

A single percentage option would be easier to configure for the first time. But I'd have to remember to change it when I go on a trip.

Isn’t this MME battery already maxed at only using 88kwh of a full 98.8 battery. (For ER.) do we really need to also limit charge to less than 100%?

I limit mine to 80% because I don't need 100% most of the time. Is there a benefit to mostly use the middle percentages of the battery? Yes. Is that a lot? Maybe not. But what's the downside? None most of the time.

 

[DBC]

When I test drove the Mach E, reached out to Ford and looked online there is no way to control how charged the car is. I.e., if you plug it in, it will charge to 100% every time.

It's easy to do Zach. You just set the max SOC when you charge. I did it once and haven't changed it. Unsure why anyone told you differently. ?

It's incredibly unintuitive with Ford compared to Tesla. With a Tesla, you just tap the battery icon on the center screen, and drag a slider.

So sorry to hear of your personal problems using the interface. ? I found it very intuitive and it works all the time. No issues in those respects at all. I also don't see why anyone would think having the charging SOC -- which you don't use very often -- front and center and burying the glove compartment release down in the menus.

Obviously YMMV.

 

[SteelMach]

You don't have to configure in the app, you can also configure in the car.

It's part of charging schedule configuration. For each location (GPS based) you've plugged in before, you can assign a name, choose the battery percentage you want to reach, and the hours (on weekdays and weekends) you want to charge.



Once configured, my car respects the configuration reliably.

For new locations, it automatically charges to 100% at any time.

I like this. I'd only charge on a L2 away from home if I'm on a trip (hotel, etc), I want the car to charge as much as possible and as soon as possible.

A single percentage option would be easier to configure for the first time. But I'd have to remember to change it when I go on a trip.



I limit mine to 80% because I don't need 100% most of the time. Is there a benefit to mostly use the middle percentages of the battery? Yes. Is that a lot? Maybe not. But what's the downside? None most of the time.

Where can you do it in the car? I have been through all the menus and I have not found it.

Mine has a 50/50 track record of respecting my 80% charge limit at home.

Even when it does charge to my 80% limit, it notifies me that it has reached "100% Charge" which is such an unfortunate choice of wording to mean "charge complete."

 

[SteelMach]

So sorry to hear of your personal problems using the interface. ? I found it very intuitive. No issues in that respect at all. I also don't see why anyone would think having the charging SOC -- which you don't use very often -- front and center and burying the glove compartment release down in the menus.

Obviously YMMV.

Honestly I didn't even look if my Mach-E *has* a glovebox. Can't think of what I'd need or use it for. Just a fancy Cabin Air Filter service door, IMO.

 

[RyZt]

Where can you do it in the car? I have been through all the menus and I have not found it.

Under "Charging Locations" (the "F")

 

[zsolie]

Like I said, I could not find it while driving or after this conversations you can see why my belief would be the opposite. I am pleased to find there is a management system!

Thanks for your input!

Zach

 

[SteelMach]

Under "Charging Locations" (the "F")

Oh, so again it's tagged to locations. I was tapping the battery itself, and at B, at C, at D... getting angrier and angrier. I didn't want a "Charging Location" setting, I wanted a "always" battery setting.

 

[breeves002]

Others have answered this question but I wanted to add my two cents.

Like others have said, yes it is limited to 88kWh of capacity already but it is better for the battery if you limit the charge even more.

There has been studies done on batteries that I can't seem to find now but basically the studies show battery longevity is longer the lower the state of charge you keep. The study compared charging from 0-50% versus 50-100%. They saw much greater life out of the one charged 0-50%.

I set mine to stop at 80% as well and will charge higher if I need to go a long distance. Which will probably be almost never.

 

[RyZt]

Mine has a 50/50 track record of respecting my 80% charge limit at home

I agree.

Even when it does charge to my 80% limit, it notifies me that it has reached "100% Charge" which is such an unfortunate choice of wording to mean "charge complete."

Do you have trouble with the built-in navigation? I'm asking because bad GPS module would definitely mess up the location-based charge settings.

Do you park in a huge parking structure or underground parking lot with multiple entrances? That might also complicate where the car think it is. In the app and in the car, you should see a list of locations that you've charged at in the past. If Mach E treated your location as two or more distinct locations, maybe set the charge schedule for each. That would be an annoying (but effective) workaround.

 

[zvez]

You can adjust the desired charge level through the FordPass app.

you can also adjust charge percent and charge times on the sync 4 screen in the vehicle itself

 

[RyZt]

Oh, so again it's tagged to locations. I was tapping the battery itself, and at B, at C, at D... getting angrier and angrier. I didn't want a "Charging Location" setting, I wanted a "always" battery setting.

I explained in my earlier comment why I like location-based setting, and why I think it will work the best for many. Now, I acknowledge that this may not be the best for every situation.

Regardless, this is how Ford engineers have chosen to design the battery scheduling set up. If you want to use the system effectively, your only choice is to get along with that design.

You could petition Ford to change it. But still, you have to understand the benefit of the current design, and propose a change that doesn't undermine the benefits of the existing system.

Even when it does charge to my 80% limit, it notifies me that it has reached "100% Charge" which is such an unfortunate choice of wording to mean "charge complete."

I fully agree.

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