OK to charge when battery has 40-50 percent left back to 80% ?

[Ghost]

Is it ok to charge when battery has 40-50 percent left back to 80 percent, or best to allow to deplete further before recharge?

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[The Electric Duo]

No issue charging from whatever percentage back to 80. I plug in every day.

 

[ProximusAl]

I’ve had my Mach-E for almost a year now and it’s always charged to 95% after every outing. Even if that outing only used 5%. No problems for me.

 

[Sam2084]

It’s best practice to keep the battery between 20 and 80% SoC. The closer you are to 50% the better. Plugging in every night and charging to 80% is generally the best practice, far better than letting you car go below 20%. The batteries are meant to be used though so don’t sweat it too much.

 

[Jack]

I thought Ford said to charge 2022 Mach E to 90%. Is 80 5 still the limit?

 

[VegStang]

I'd argue that with ford's reserve on the pack that 90% is good, but a conservative 80% might be even better long term. If I was charging every night then I'd probably stop at 80, but in my circumstance with free work charging I tend to do 90% at the end of the week, less the rest of the time, staying above 20% would seem to be more important.

 

[RickMachE]

Charging to 90% is fine.

Additionally, setting the maximum charge
level to 90% for everyday usage reduces
strain on the battery.

 

[Jack]

I checked the owner's manual and Ford still recommends charging to 80%. I have been charging to 90% when required. I have not let the charge drop to 20% as I wanted to always have more miles available. Sorry, my bad for not checking the manual.

 

[RickMachE]

I checked the owner's manual and Ford still recommends charging to 80%. I have been charging to 90% when required. I have not let the charge drop to 20% as I wanted to always have more miles available. Sorry, my bad for not checking the manual.

My 2022 manual says 90%, which I just posted. As noted in another thread, they said 80%, then changed it to under 100%, then to 90%.

 

[Jack]

RickMachE, thank you for the update. I can’t find that info. Jack

 

[2FlyMache]

remember that the mache has a 99 kw battery pack that only allows 88 to be used (92 for 2022), so 90% is really closer to 80 of the full battery pack

 

[gordonf238]

I plug mine in every night, as a matter of habit. No sense micro-managing a thing like a car. It's meant to be driven. I charge mine to 90% every single night, whether it has 20% left or 89% left. Ford designed this car to be driven and charged on a daily basis. It's not a delicate little flower that has to be massaged and micro-managed. Don't worry, you'll be fine. Charge it to 90% daily, and if going on a longer trip, 100%.

 

[SnBGC]

Is it ok to charge when battery has 40-50 percent left back to 80 percent, or best to allow to deplete further before recharge?

Assuming L1 or L2....
Okay to charge whenever you wish. No worries.

 

[npgeorgeuw]

Sure. You can even charge it to 100% and if you want, use it until it's at 0% (though don't run out because getting towed sucks).

Just drive it and charge it when you want. If you don't need (and know for 1000% certain) that you won't need the full battery capacity then by all means, charge it to 65% or 55% daily and keep it in the sweet spot.--I do this daily and it's almost always in between 45-55% by the end of the day. I do plug in everyday and then can just flip a toggle in the app and to 100% we go for the next day should the need arise.

Whatever you do just don't undercharge it or skip a charge session and end up regretting it and having to take your ICE vehicle because you were trying to "save" the battery or better yet, face range anxiety or cut it too close to the next DCFC station because you only set it to charge to 90%. Better yet, please don't choose to plug it in because you were trying to keep the SOC of the battery low and then have to go out in the middle of the night with a family of black bears next to your car in a downpour and plug it in.--I can tell you how I know this and why I now plug in most days...

I'm going to say this bit of controversial tidbit, before your battery fails due to charging/discharging it 100/0 you are going (probably) to face some other electronic failure on your car or battery failure most likely UNRELATED to using it fully. I have had three BEV/PHEVs since 2012(ish) and have put over 150,000 miles on them and have yet to have a battery failure or even noticeable degradation. Although I baby my wife's Mach-E and my free Bolt EUV, I did not baby it's predecessors in any way or form.

 

[RickMachE]

RickMachE, thank you for the update. I can’t find that info. Jack

2022 manual, version 1, page 157.

As noted, the 2021 manual, version 1, noted 90% also. That was for vehicles built up to 6/6/21. Then, in their infinite wisdom, the manual was changed, i.e. version 2, to read "less than 100%".

In short, because there is unused battery at the low and high ends of our batteries, as long as it's below 100% it's likely fine. I suspect if 10 years from now two batteries were analyzed, one that charged to 100%, and one that charged to 90%, it would be non-detectable impact.

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