ten8bike

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I have a question about “turn off the heater while charging.”

If the car is parked in the garage, and you aren’t in it, will the heater run?

Or is this more about DC charging if you’re sitting in the car?

I wish they would be more specific with instructions.
I have a level two charger in my garage. I accidently left the steering wheel heater on while charging overnight, a few weeks ago. The steering wheel was very warm in the morning, the car didn't finish its charge, and I used a lot of electricity that overnight.
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generaltso

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I have a level two charger in my garage. I accidently left the steering wheel heater on while charging overnight, a few weeks ago. The steering wheel was very warm in the morning, the car didn't finish its charge, and I used a lot of electricity that overnight.
How did you do that? Did you leave it in accessory mode with the timeout disabled? Is that even possible?
 

breeves002

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#5 is dumb. They act like it's a big deal. If the battery is super cold you won't get peak power DCFC so it wants to divert power to the battery to heat it instead of the cabin...but in reality once the cabin is warm it doesn't take a ton of power to maintain it.

Leave the heater on if you want when DCFC just know it'll take a few minutes longer to finish charging... It isn't going to be some crazy difference like they insinuate. At least in my opinion.
 

kltye

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I'm always curious - do people just not dress warmly in the winter? I mean, what if you're stranded for whatever reason on the side of the road? My Cmax Energi (aka a Fusion Energi in a different body) had better EV range in the winter than summer, since I didn't need to run the A/C ?
 

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Attention Ford Marketing Dept: New idea for a “Winter Driving Package” - snow tires, branded “Ford” snow brush, Grabber Blue down-filled parka with Mach-E branding to address #4 above :)
Oooh good idea, I sell that promo stuff, tag me in Ford!
 


Mach Daddy

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Latest notice on FordPass:
Precondition your Mustang Mach-E

MachE_ArtOption_Charging2.jpg


Winter’s just around the corner. We wanted to give you a few tips to maximize your range as the cold sets in. Your Mustang Mach-E was tested in extremely cold conditions. However, all-electric vehicles have less energy in cold temperatures compared to warm due to battery cell chemistry. While you might not experience extreme cold, even temperatures below 40°F can cause the electrolyte fluid to be sluggish, limiting how much power is available to discharge and how fast the vehicle can charge.

To help maximize range in winter, follow these pro tips:

1. Park in a garage wherever possible
2. Keep your vehicle plugged in when possible
3. Precondition your vehicle by scheduling departure times to warm the cabin and the battery while plugged-in (using the FordPass™ App or the SYNC® 4A touchscreen)
4. Use the heated seats and steering wheel as primary heat to reduce energy consumed by HVAC
5. When charging, turn off the heater — especially when using Direct Current Fast Charging (DCFC)
6. If snow covered, brush all the snow off your vehicle before driving to eliminate extra weight and drag
7. Keep driving speeds moderate as high speeds use more energy
8. Make sure your tires are at the proper pressure

Driving habits will be learned by your car over time.

By manually resetting EV driving history, your vehicle will erase all driving behaviors and revert to summer conditions to recalculate projected range, which will be significantly higher than actual range available in cold weather. Intelligent Range will begin to adjust to reflect winter conditions and owner actions, so initial remaining range may drop more quickly than actual miles driven as the newly learned driving conditions are factored in. To reset driver history: click on the vehicle icon in the top left corner of the center touchscreen > Select Settings > Select Vehicle > Select EV Driving History Reset.
If driving alone or with just a front passenger, using the heated seats is a no brainer. Hottest heated seats I have ever owned. However, the rear seats are not heated so have to turn on the e-heat.
 

mkhuffman

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I don't think the "turn the heater off while DC charging) has anything to do with range, but it has everything to do with the length of time you'll be sitting at the charger charging, because the heater will be hitting the battery while you're charging and take that much longer.
This morning it was around 45 degrees at the EA 350 kW charger I stopped at coming home from NC. I set the departure time to have the car warm at the same time the 80% charge was projected to be finished. The charge was expected to finish at 8:50 but actually finished at 8:55. I assume it took five more minutes because the heater, seats and steering wheel were all running to warm the car - and they were on when we got back in the car. Which is awesome. I can wait five minutes for that.
 

RickMachE

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At a rate of 1.5kw per minute, and 5 minutes, that's 3.3kw. At $0.43/kw (base EA rate), that cost you $1.42. At the EA+ rate of $0.31, it cost you 1.02.

I think the real issue with running the heater is the entire charge, i.e. 40 minutes. If you did a departure for 8:50, then it should have started about 1/2 of the way through the charge, so it would have potentially added 10 minutes if it was on the entire time, i.e. double the cost above.
 

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Attention Ford Marketing Dept: New idea for a “Winter Driving Package” - snow tires, branded “Ford” snow brush, Grabber Blue down-filled parka with Mach-E branding to address #4 above :)
They'll deliver it by Winter 2023! It'll be great!
 

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Considering how much more efficient heated seats are compared with heating the cabin, and considering that Ford is recommending its use… that makes it all the more perplexing that the Mach-E doesn't have heated back seats.

(There's no way to say that without ambiguity: no I'm not talking about the seat heater heating your back. I'm talking about the seats in the back of the car. And if I had said "heated rear seats"…)
 

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I'm wondering if, after level one charging completes, there is any benefit at all when preconditioning the vehicle while still plugged-in?
 

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At a rate of 1.5kw per minute, and 5 minutes, that's 3.3kw. At $0.43/kw (base EA rate), that cost you $1.42. At the EA+ rate of $0.31, it cost you 1.02.

I think the real issue with running the heater is the entire charge, i.e. 40 minutes. If you did a departure for 8:50, then it should have started about 1/2 of the way through the charge, so it would have potentially added 10 minutes if it was on the entire time, i.e. double the cost above.
The math is correct, I think. I am willing to pay $3.00 to stay warm if I am staying in the car. Or $1.42 to have the car warm when I return. In my case, I am still using the free Ford charging credits, so there was no cost for a warm cabin except opportunity cost.
 

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Darren had said Ford was aiming for the charge limit and charging speed updates before winter. Winter is still technically a month away but we're getting lots of snow in the Cascades these days.
I can’t tell if you’re kidding around or not. Nobody is taking any @Ford Motor Company promises re OTA update ETAs seriously at this point, right?
 

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1. Park in a garage wherever possible
2. Keep your vehicle plugged in when possible
3. Precondition your vehicle by scheduling departure times to warm the cabin and the battery while plugged-in (using the FordPass™ App or the SYNC® 4A touchscreen)
4. Use the heated seats and steering wheel as primary heat to reduce energy consumed by HVAC
5. When charging, turn off the heater — especially when using Direct Current Fast Charging (DCFC)
6. If snow covered, brush all the snow off your vehicle before driving to eliminate extra weight and drag
7. Keep driving speeds moderate as high speeds use more energy
8. Make sure your tires are at the proper pressure
Looks like they have employed Captain Obvious.
 
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ChasingCoral

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