Are there long-term benefits for preconditioning?

[the golden eel]

Hi all.
New member here, I've had my MME for just over a month.

I'm curious about the reasons for battery preconditioning. Is there a long-term benefit like battery longevity? Or is the benefit just for short-term... better range on your current charge, warm cabin, etc?

My daily driving takes my charge level from 90% down to 75%. Or if it's a really big day maybe down to 50%. So I don't need to eek out every last mile.

Looking at my charger app for the month to date, it costs on average $1/day to precondition 5 days a week. I'm guessing as it gets colder the precondition time will get longer.

If there is a long-term benefit then great, I'll keep doing what I'm doing. But if there is no long-term benefit then maybe I'll just remote start the MME 10 minutes before I leave.

Any thoughts?

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[RickMachE]

There is no reason to set a departure time (i.e. precondition the battery) if you don't need the range. You can stop wasting money.

 

[generaltso]

Preconditioning makes sense if you're going on a trip and need all the range you can get. But if range isn't an issue, just use remote start if you want the cabin to be preheated for your own comfort.

 

[Shayne]

Hi all.
New member here, I've had my MME for just over a month.

I'm curious about the reasons for battery preconditioning. Is there a long-term benefit like battery longevity? Or is the benefit just for short-term... better range on your current charge, warm cabin, etc?

My daily driving takes my charge level from 90% down to 75%. Or if it's a really big day maybe down to 50%. So I don't need to eek out every last mile.

Looking at my charger app for the month to date, it costs on average $1/day to precondition 5 days a week. I'm guessing as it gets colder the precondition time will get longer.

If there is a long-term benefit then great, I'll keep doing what I'm doing. But if there is no long-term benefit then maybe I'll just remote start the MME 10 minutes before I leave.

Any thoughts?

Of course their is an advantage/reason. It should warm the batteries and electronics gradually and not shock them. Can not think of anything that does not like to be warmed up before used. Especially when it gets real cold.

Ford obviously thinks it is caring for your car. It is number 3 on their TLC list. I will go with Ford on this one.

 

[the golden eel]

Thanks for the replies. I posed the same question to my dealer and heard back from them just a bit ago...

"I did check, and I am told that it will not help the battery long-term, only create a longer range each day, which does not seem to the concern as you do not drive that far."

 

[generaltso]

Thanks for the replies. I posed the same question to my dealer and heard back from them just a bit ago...

"I did check, and I am told that it will not help the battery long-term, only create a longer range each day, which does not seem to the concern as you do not drive that far."

In this case, I agree with what your dealer said. But, in general, never put any faith in anything a dealer tells you.

 

[the golden eel]

Shayne - Thanks for the reply, but that TLC list from Ford does not address what I was asking.

Right above number 1... "we wanted to give you a few tips to maximize your range as winter sets in."

I was asking about any long-term battery benefits to preconditioning - or long-term detriments if you don't precondition.

The article you shared is talking about daily benefits of preconditioning - which is all well and good if you need to extend your daily range.

 

[the golden eel]

In this case, I agree with what your dealer said. But, in general, never put any faith in anything a dealer tells you.

Ha. Fair enough. But then who is the final authority on a question such as mine? And how do I contact them to ask?

 

[Ride_the_lightning]

I have the same question. However, I just like having the car preheated so I don’t have to remember to remote start it. Our Audi lets us choose whether we want full “preconditioning” or just scheduled climate control. I wish we could do the same with the MME. I waste energy every day warming the battery when I really just want the interior warm for my kids.

 

[Murse-In-Airy]

I’m going to pile in here. My commute to work uses 5% battery (or about 4.5 kWh) in the summer and maybe 6-7% (6.3 kWh) in the winter. So maybe 2kWH more in the winter. If I remote start 5 minutes before walking out, then maybe another 2kWh is used to preheat my seat, steering wheel, and cabin overall. Warming my battery and cabin by preconditioning will cut my commute to 6% and cut the need to remote start. BUT it will use WAY more than 4 kWh. My 9 mile commute doesn’t need the extra range of a warm battery so for me it’s actually a money loser to precondition.

 

[generaltso]

Ha. Fair enough. But then who is the final authority on a question such as mine? And how do I contact them to ask?

Unfortunately, we don't have a direct line to the engineers at Ford that would be the authority on these types of questions. But we do have a great hive mind of enthusiasts here that know quite a bit, which is probably about as good as we're going to get.

 

[MyLittlePony2022]

I simply precondition so my car is warm when I get in. It is in a garage but it is still cold. I want to get into a warm car.

 

[Mach-Lee]

I would expect preconditioning to extend battery life in cold climates. Using regen when the battery is cold (below 32ºF) can damage the battery (lithium will be plated on the anode, permanently damaging it). Ford does not limit regen in cold temps nearly enough, so that is likely going to cause some battery damage if preconditioning isn't used.

If you live where it's really cold (Canada or Alaska) and don't use departure times, you should probably turn off 1PD and use Whisper in the winter to minimize regen and minimize lithium plating.

 

[Shayne]

Shayne - Thanks for the reply, but that TLC list from Ford does not address what I was asking.

Right above number 1... "we wanted to give you a few tips to maximize your range as winter sets in."

I was asking about any long-term battery benefits to preconditioning - or long-term detriments if you don't precondition.

The article you shared is talking about daily benefits of preconditioning - which is all well and good if you need to extend your daily range.

Yes that is how they hook them by tell them they will save $5 a week. They will never hook some if it will cost them $5 a week. You plug your ICE block heater in to save gas also does not mean it does not save wear and tear. You do as you need I know the reason are not just the range. Power it up in -30C slap it in drive and drive it. See how it feels and drives.

 

[Blue highway]

I would expect preconditioning to extend battery life in cold climates. Using regen when the battery is cold (below 32ºF) can damage the battery (lithium will be plated on the anode, permanently damaging it). Ford does not limit regen in cold temps nearly enough, so that is likely going to cause some battery damage if preconditioning isn't used.

If you live where it's really cold (Canada or Alaska) and don't use departure times, you should probably turn off 1PD and use Whisper in the winter to disable regen and minimize lithium plating.

I don't think whisper disables regen... as soon as you press on the brake pedal it regens before using any mechanical braking.

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