Is it worth following charging guidelines?

[Jferrari427]

I’m curious to everyone’s thoughts on charging guidelines.

Do you follow the never charge above 90% and never let it drop below 10% rule?

I’m just curious if it truly matters in terms of battery health or is this topic overblown.

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[jpiazza67]

I typically charge to 90% and charge when it’s between 10-20%. If you regularly run the battery from 100-0, I believe the research I’ve read is that it will degrade the battery useful range by anywhere from 10-30% more than it would naturally degrade over time following the guidelines. Going below is 10% regularly is wicked rough on the battery.

 

[AtomicInternet]

I don't think the MME has been around long enough to have any actual results from these preferences in terms of battery health. Maybe after another 5 years you'll have some clear evidence as to if/how much better the 10/80 rule is vs full charge when it comes to long term life.

I think the 80% charge is time preference, and certainly a courtesy at public chargers. You'll get the stink eye if you go above 80% at a busy charging station.

Check out this article, it has a lot more good points: Why giving 80% is the best result for your electric car | Electrifying

 

[AKgrampy]

I’m curious to everyone’s thoughts on charging guidelines.

Do you follow the never charge above 90% and never let it drop below 10% rule?

I’m just curious if it truly matters in terms of battery health or is this topic overblown.

It really matters but perhaps not that significantly. Why stress your battery though? New style battery will be fine going to 100%.

 

[iam-s-Hon]

I don't think the MME has been around long enough to have any actual results from these preferences in terms of battery health. Maybe after another 5 years you'll have some clear evidence as to if/how much better the 10/80 rule is vs full charge when it comes to long term life.

I think the 80% charge is time preference, and certainly a courtesy at public chargers. You'll get the stink eye if you go above 80% at a busy charging station.

Check out this article, it has a lot more good points: Why giving 80% is the best result for your electric car | Electrifying

Then, why would you go *against recommendations since car is so new unless you're a savant and know more than Ford engineers?

Generally, recommendations are to avoid DCFC as a routine. Use as needed but use L2 for normal daily charging (less heat stress on batteries, and less expensive rates). And they aren't about *never charging to 100... just do it when about to drive b/c the research show the battery tech doesn't like to sit idle at 100. For example I charge up overnight to 90 and keep there just in case, tho I may not drive for 1-3 days.

In all seriousness, there's a lot of discussion about this since the forum started. Not hard to search and find it.

 

[generaltso]

I’m curious to everyone’s thoughts on charging guidelines.

Do you follow the never charge above 90% and never let it drop below 10% rule?

I’m just curious if it truly matters in terms of battery health or is this topic overblown.

Ford has not used the word “never” in any of their charging guidance.

 

[VegasWeezy]

I’m curious to everyone’s thoughts on charging guidelines.

Do you follow the never charge above 90% and never let it drop below 10% rule?

I’m just curious if it truly matters in terms of battery health or is this topic overblown.

I think it does matter, but as others have said it's a little too early to tell and it may not significantly harm your battery.

However, I have yet to allow the battery to fall below 10%. I typically plug it in when the battery falls under 20% and I charge it up to 90%. The only times I have gone to 100% or above 90% is when I'm doing a long road trip.

Oddly enough though, when I took my MME in for a recent recall, it was at about 28% and when I got it back from the dealer they had charged it to 96%.

 

[Jferrari427]

I think it does matter, but as others have said it's a little too early to tell and it may not significantly harm your battery.

However, I have yet to allow the battery to fall below 10%. I typically plug it in when the battery falls under 20% and I charge it up to 90%. The only times I have gone to 100% or above 90% is when I'm doing a long road trip.

Oddly enough though, when I took my MME in for a recent recall, it was at about 28% and when I got it back from the dealer they had charged it to 96%.

My dealer charged it to 100% …so does Ford have it figured out?

 

[Jferrari427]

Ford has not used the word “never” in any of their charging guidance.

Semantics.

 

[Jferrari427]

Then, why would you go *against recommendations since car is so new unless you're a savant and know more than Ford engineers?

Generally, recommendations are to avoid DCFC as a routine. Use as needed but use L2 for normal daily charging (less heat stress on batteries, and less expensive rates). And they aren't about *never charging to 100... just do it when about to drive b/c the research show the battery tech doesn't like to sit idle at 100. For example I charge up overnight to 90 and keep there just in case, tho I may not drive for 1-3 days.

In all seriousness, there's a lot of discussion about this since the forum started. Not hard to search and find it.

Does Ford have it figured out? My Ford dealer charges it to 100%.

 

[iam-s-Hon]

Does Ford have it figured out? My Ford dealer charges it to 100%.

Not all Ford dealers/sales reps are as knowledgeable as the engineers who wrote the guides or some members of the forum.

Not all service techs read the procedures and hook up the car to a battery source to perform some updates, as directed to do so.

There are tales of this here.

 

[RickMachE]

Does Ford have it figured out? My Ford dealer charges it to 100%.

When? For delivery?

 

[phidauex]

Batteries do degrade faster above 90% SOC, this is settled science, and has nothing to do with the MachE as a model, since it uses batteries used in many other applications.

The thing to remember is that there are 8760 hours in a year, and you want to limit the total number of hours you are above 90% SOC. Don't worry about charging to 100% when you need it, since that is just a tiny fraction of the year. If you left the battery at 100% all year you bet you'd see higher degradation. But if your dealer charges it to 100% before you pick up (probably because they are tired of people complaining about range), then say it sits at 100% for 8 hours, that is 0.1% of the year - no worries.

The simple guidance from Ford and others works, and is based on good science - charge to 80% for your daily trips, and charge to 100% when you need the range the next day. Don't overthink it.

 

[Jferrari427]

When? For delivery?

Yep for delivery 100% SOC.

 

[generaltso]

Semantics.

The difference between "never" and "not every day" is more than semantics.

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