Lessons learned from renting a Mach-e without a home charger

[tusc]

This past weekend I decided to rent a Mach-e as I have a 2025 on order and haven't spent much time driving one. I wanted to see how the effects of cold weather impact the battery. Another reason is that I ordered the A2Z adapter and wanted to try it out. What better place than Chicago in the winter? I went to the O'hare rental center to pick up an AWD extended range 2023 Mach-e with 100% SOC. Reading the rental agreement, you're supposed to return the vehicle with at least 70% SOC to avoid any fees. This concerned me as I don't have a home charger yet. I have an Autel charger on order to be installed in a few weeks so I would be relying on DCFC during the rental period.

My first test was to plug in an OBD2 adapter (a VGate Link FS Bluetooth) so I could track battery temperatures. I picked that model because it can be left in with minimal power use and provides secure access. I spent some time with Carscan, flipping through the screens to become familiar with the various readings being reported.

The following morning we planned to visit the inlaws an hour away so I stopped by my local Tesla SC to top off the vehicle and to test out the A2Z adapter. Upon arrival at the SC, I looked to see if the leftmost side stall was occupied and sure enough, it was. Ideally, it's the best place to park at a V3 SC. I found another stall between two empty spots and took my time to carefully park the vehicle fairly close to the stall as v3 cables are pretty short. The A2Z adapter worked well without issue and it was easy to take out of the charge port and the Tesla cable. The SC is only 10 minutes from my house so preconditioning didn't have enough time. I never saw a charge rate above 50 kW.

Later that day I went to a ChargePoint location at an Amazon warehouse in West Chicago ( https://www.plugshare.com/location/407792 ). I read you could charge for free if you had a ChargePoint account. From the picture below you can tell I'm new to Chargepoint chargers as I wasn't aware the arm could swing out. The free charging was true, but I was again disappointed at the charge rate. I later discovered preconditioning only works when using the built-in nav or with Android Auto. I used the public charge feature on the screen to plan the route which doesn't precondition the battery. I have an iPhone so I didn't bother with Apple Maps.

I have since learned a lot from Mach-Lee's cold weather post. I was ready to return the vehicle the next morning and precondition upon leaving the house. I remembered I had to return with at least 70% SOC so I wanted to account for the extra time to charge. Fortunately, there's a new V4 SC just minutes from the O'Hare rental center with over 52 stalls! (https://www.plugshare.com/location/652667) It's not listed in the built-in navigator so I picked an Eletrify America DCFC nearby. As soon as I hit start route I could hear the coolant pump. Finally! My drive was about 45 minutes so there was plenty of time to warm up the battery. I kept the cabin heat off for most of the trip and relied on the seat and steering wheel heater. Temperatures that morning were in the high teens so it wasn't the most comfortable but I wanted to allocate as much heat to the battery. As you can see from the Carscan screen below, I left the house with the battery in the high 30s. When I finally arrived at the SuperCharger, the temperature was in the 70s. This helped as I hit close to 130kW peak charging rate. I charged to just over 80% and was surprised at how quickly the charging rate dropped to the 30s. Carscan is very useful for tracking this information.

The car was a joy to drive for the few days I had it and it helped me understand all the idiosyncracies of preconditioning and how cold weather affects EVs. I look forward to the 2025 model with the heat pump and how it’ll help cabin comfort and preconditioning.

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[ChasingCoral]

Good job. You are really doing your homework!

 

[GreaseMonkey]

This past weekend I decided to rent a Mach-e as I have a 2025 on order and haven't spent much time driving one. I wanted to see how the effects of cold weather impact the battery. Another reason is that I ordered the A2Z adapter and wanted to try it out. What better place than Chicago in the winter? I went to the O'hare rental center to pick up an AWD extended range 2023 Mach-e with 100% SOC. Reading the rental agreement, I'm supposed to return the vehicle with at least 70% SOC to avoid any fees. This concerned me as I don't have a home charger yet. I have an Autel charger on order to be installed in a few weeks so I would be relying on DCFC during the rental period.

My first test was to plug in an OBD2 adapter (a VGate Link FS Bluetooth) so I could track battery temperatures. I picked that model because it can be left in with minimal power use and provides secure access. I spent some time with Carscan, flipping through the screens to become familiar with the various readings being reported.

The following morning we planned to visit the inlaws an hour away so I stopped by my local Tesla SC to top off the vehicle and to test out the A2Z adapter. Upon arrival at the SC, I looked to see if the leftmost side stall was occupied and sure enough, it was. Ideally, it's the best place to park at a V3 SC. I found another stall between two empty spots and took my time to carefully park the vehicle fairly close to the stall as v3 cables are pretty short. The A2Z adapter worked well without issue and it was easy to take out of the charge port and the Tesla cable. The SC is only 10 minutes from my house so preconditioning didn't have enough time. I never saw a charge rate above 50 kW.

Later that day I went to a ChargePoint location at the West Chicago Amazon distribution hub ( https://www.plugshare.com/location/407792 ). I read you could charge for free if you had a ChargePoint account. From the picture below you can tell I'm new to Chargepoint chargers as I wasn't aware the arm could swing out. The free charging was true, but I was again disappointed at the charge rate. I later discovered preconditioning only works when using the built-in nav or with Android Auto. I used the public charge feature on the screen to plan the route which doesn't precondition the battery. I have an iPhone so I didn't bother with Apple Maps.

I have since learned a lot from Mach-Lee's cold weather post. I was ready to return the vehicle the next morning and precondition upon leaving the house. I remembered I had to return with at least 70% SOC so I wanted to account for the extra time to charge. Fortunately, there's a new V4 SC just minutes from the O'Hare rental center with over 52 stalls! (https://www.plugshare.com/location/652667) It's not listed in the built-in navigator so I picked an Eletrify America DCFC nearby. As soon as I hit start route I could hear the coolant pump. Finally! My drive was about 45 minutes so there was plenty of time to warm up the battery. I kept the cabin heat off for most of the trip and relied on the seat and steering wheel heater. Temperatures that morning were in the high teens so it wasn't the most comfortable but wanted to allocate as much heat to the battery. As you can see from the Carscan screen below, I left the house with the battery in the high 30s. When I finally arrived at the SuperCharger, the temperature was in the 70s. This helped as I hit close to 130kW peak charging rate. I charged to just over 80% and was surprised at how quickly the charging rate dropped to the 30s. Carscan is very useful for tracking this information.

The car was a joy to drive for the few days I had it and it helped me understand all the idiosyncracies of preconditioning and how cold weather affects EVs. I look forward to the 2025 model with the heat pump and how it’ll help cabin comfort and preconditioning.

About how many kWh did it take to warm up the hvb from 30 to 70 deg?

 

[GreaseMonkey]

About how many kWh did it take to warm up the hvb from 30 to 70 deg?

Never mind. You said it took 45 min and the heater is 5 kW so 4 kWh

 

[Snakebitten]

Wow.

I was far less prepared for Day 1 of EV ownership than you are going to be.

Nicely done!

 

[Donna216]

Smart.

 

[Nikos]

This past weekend I decided to rent a Mach-e as I have a 2025 on order and haven't spent much time driving one. I wanted to see how the effects of cold weather impact the battery. Another reason is that I ordered the A2Z adapter and wanted to try it out. What better place than Chicago in the winter? I went to the O'hare rental center to pick up an AWD extended range 2023 Mach-e with 100% SOC. Reading the rental agreement, you're supposed to return the vehicle with at least 70% SOC to avoid any fees. This concerned me as I don't have a home charger yet. I have an Autel charger on order to be installed in a few weeks so I would be relying on DCFC during the rental period.

My first test was to plug in an OBD2 adapter (a VGate Link FS Bluetooth) so I could track battery temperatures. I picked that model because it can be left in with minimal power use and provides secure access. I spent some time with Carscan, flipping through the screens to become familiar with the various readings being reported.

The following morning we planned to visit the inlaws an hour away so I stopped by my local Tesla SC to top off the vehicle and to test out the A2Z adapter. Upon arrival at the SC, I looked to see if the leftmost side stall was occupied and sure enough, it was. Ideally, it's the best place to park at a V3 SC. I found another stall between two empty spots and took my time to carefully park the vehicle fairly close to the stall as v3 cables are pretty short. The A2Z adapter worked well without issue and it was easy to take out of the charge port and the Tesla cable. The SC is only 10 minutes from my house so preconditioning didn't have enough time. I never saw a charge rate above 50 kW.

Later that day I went to a ChargePoint location at an Amazon warehouse in West Chicago ( https://www.plugshare.com/location/407792 ). I read you could charge for free if you had a ChargePoint account. From the picture below you can tell I'm new to Chargepoint chargers as I wasn't aware the arm could swing out. The free charging was true, but I was again disappointed at the charge rate. I later discovered preconditioning only works when using the built-in nav or with Android Auto. I used the public charge feature on the screen to plan the route which doesn't precondition the battery. I have an iPhone so I didn't bother with Apple Maps.

I have since learned a lot from Mach-Lee's cold weather post. I was ready to return the vehicle the next morning and precondition upon leaving the house. I remembered I had to return with at least 70% SOC so I wanted to account for the extra time to charge. Fortunately, there's a new V4 SC just minutes from the O'Hare rental center with over 52 stalls! (https://www.plugshare.com/location/652667) It's not listed in the built-in navigator so I picked an Eletrify America DCFC nearby. As soon as I hit start route I could hear the coolant pump. Finally! My drive was about 45 minutes so there was plenty of time to warm up the battery. I kept the cabin heat off for most of the trip and relied on the seat and steering wheel heater. Temperatures that morning were in the high teens so it wasn't the most comfortable but I wanted to allocate as much heat to the battery. As you can see from the Carscan screen below, I left the house with the battery in the high 30s. When I finally arrived at the SuperCharger, the temperature was in the 70s. This helped as I hit close to 130kW peak charging rate. I charged to just over 80% and was surprised at how quickly the charging rate dropped to the 30s. Carscan is very useful for tracking this information.

The car was a joy to drive for the few days I had it and it helped me understand all the idiosyncracies of preconditioning and how cold weather affects EVs. I look forward to the 2025 model with the heat pump and how it’ll help cabin comfort and preconditioning.

Excellent choice for the OBDII adaptor. It is my traveling tool for my Mach E and my Lightning. You rented a Mach E to learn more about the EV experience.
Unlike others who rented EVs, knowing very little or at best nothing, to return them with the belief to never go near them again in their lives.
Enjoy your 2025 Mach E.

 

[condition5]

Wow.

I was far less prepared for Day 1 of EV ownership than you are going to be.

Nicely done!

Ha. I thought I had "done my research:.
Been drinking from the firehose since I went from EV shopper to EV driver

 

[Tampamike]

@tusc The charge curve has a cliff at 80% while DCFCing. I should know what, exactly, by now, but IIRC it’s 34%. Happens every time. it’s built-in. It drops a little further at 90%. So, it takes about as long to go from 10-80 as it does from 80-100. Electrify America has even Instituted higher fees for charging above 80% at busier stations. In general, unless you absolutely need the range to get home or to the next charger, it’s best to unplug at 80%. Otherwise, you’re actually wasting time and it frees up the charge station quicker for anybody waiting. You might see other brands charging to 100% and it’s usually because they have some sort of free charging credits from the carmaker. Hope that helps and I din’t tell you something that you already knew.

 

[tusc]

@tusc The charge curve has a cliff at 80% while DCFCing. I should know what, exactly, by now, but IIRC it’s 34%. Happens every time. it’s built-in. It drops a little further at 90%. So, it takes about as long to go from 10-80 as it does from 80-100. Electrify America has even Instituted higher fees for charging above 80% at busier stations. In general, unless you absolutely need the range to get home or to the next charger, it’s best to unplug at 80%. Otherwise, you’re actually wasting time and it frees up the charge station quicker for anybody waiting. You might see other brands charging to 100% and it’s usually because they have some sort of free charging credits from the carmaker. Hope that helps and I din’t tell you something that you already knew.

Thanks @Tampamike , I knew the rate would drop but wasn't aware it was this drastic. This explains why everyone says to only charge to 80% at DCFCs during road trips, as you are just wasting time beyond that.

Funny you mention 100%. There are level 3 chargers near downtown Chicago that are occupied with ride share drivers with their Bolts charging up to 100% while taking naps. Kind of frustrating. It might explain why there is not a single Tesla SC near the city that is open to non-Tesla vehicles. I assume they don't want the congestion.

*edit*: There are various threads on Reddit about the Bolt issue:

 

[tusc]

FYI,

if you're interested in a Magsafe compatible mount for the Mach-e, this model works well and keeps the phone at the ideal height. It installs in the air vent and includes a metal ring for cases that are not magsafe ready. There's a wireless model available as well.

It does block the power on/off button but you won't have your phone mounted when you first get in and out of the vehicle.

https://www.amazon.com/iOttie-Compatible-Wireless-Charging-Including/dp/B09F7M5NTK

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