Battery not charging fully?

[Calledlisag]

My apologies if this is in the wrong location...I just got my Ruby (premium, AWD, SR) back after repairs from an accident. Prior to this, when charging her to 85% I would get to about 178 miles. Now after charging to same %, the miles only go to 128. Any thoughts on what to do? TYIA

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[KevinS]

My apologies if this is in the wrong location...I just got my Ruby (premium, AWD, SR) back after repairs from an accident. Prior to this, when charging her to 85% I would get to about 178 miles. Now after charging to same %, the miles only go to 128. Any thoughts on what to do? TYIA

GOM (Guess-O-Meter) probably got reset and will now adapt to your driving style. Cold temps probably haven't helped either. Keep an eye on your mi/KWh for an accurate assessment of your car's range.

 

[RickMachE]

My apologies if this is in the wrong location...I just got my Ruby (premium, AWD, SR) back after repairs from an accident. Prior to this, when charging her to 85% I would get to about 178 miles. Now after charging to same %, the miles only go to 128. Any thoughts on what to do? TYIA

Leave NJ ( ? ).

In warm weather the car has more range than in cold weather. Several threads discuss this in depth.

Precondition battery with departure time before driving will help, and range will increase in Spring.

 

[timbop]

This comes up all the time. The cold weather affects efficiency, and the range estimator (guess-o-meter) generally overcompensates for the cold. Your range will be less than the EPA estimate in the winter, and likely higher than the estimate in warm weather. This thread talks about how to more accurately compute your actual range, but the causes of the issue in the first place:

1. Because the car doesn't know how far, how fast, in what conditions, etc it cannot be exact unless you actually put in a route right then - and even that is an approximation based on modeling. Thus the GOM is intentionally conservative as a "worst case" scenario to prevent people from getting stranded because the GOM said they can go farther than they actually can. It tends to be more conservative for this very reason; Ford has been underpromising and overdelivering on the Mach E. While that confounds newbies, doing a little research results in recognizing the issue and not being alarmed by it. By contrast Tesla overestimates their range on their GOM in all conditions; see plenty of actual "real world" driving tests by insideevs, alexonautos, edmunds, etc.
2. ICE engines are only 30% to 40% efficient, with the majority of energy being lost as heat. In winter that is an advantage because the heat that would otherwise be wasted is used to heat the cabin. BEV's are by contrast 95% efficient with minimal energy lost as heat. In the winter the car has to use extra energy to heat the cabin. That is why they tell you to use the seat and steering wheel heaters instead of heating the cabin if you can, because there is a lot less to heat up. The chemistry of Li-ion batteries is to blame as well: the liquid electrolyte loses viscosity (and thus potency) as temps drop well below freezing. At 30 to 40 degrees F it is minimal, but once you get down to around zero or below it becomes an issue. The 2 factors (no waste heat and chemistry) combine for some loss (10% to 20%) in range once it gets down to freezing or below. Therefore in really cold (-30 degree) temps like in Alaska the car's actual range does drop by 40% to 50%. In more reasonable climates (20 degree temps) effective range drops by 20% to 30%.
3. You CAN compensate somewhat by configuring departure times and leaving the car plugged in; this will warm the battery and the cabin using grid power. You can also remote start the car for an impromptu journey, but that doesn't necessarily warm as much as a scheduled departure.
4. EVERY BEV experiences this issue right now; it is not unique to Ford. That is one of the reasons they are all investing so heavily in solid state batteries: "dry" batteries do not experience the issue with the electrolyte in cold weather.

 

[Calledlisag]

Leave NJ ( ? ).

In warm weather the car has more range than in cold weather. Several threads discuss this in depth.

Precondition battery with departure time before driving will help, and range will increase in Spring.

lol I can't wait to leave NJ but probably have 1 more winter here. I do precondition - the weather got much colder since I took her in for repairs, so that does seem to make sense. Thanks very much ?

 

[Red Baron]

lol I can't wait to leave NJ but probably have 1 more winter here. I do precondition - the weather got much colder since I took her in for repairs, so that does seem to make sense. Thanks very much ?

Move to Heaven - Las Vegas. 67F yesterday and no state income tax. Property tax less than 1% of home value. We are real esate agents and lots of people from East Coast and California moving here. Gets a tad warm in the summer.

 

[Murse-In-Airy]

Oh good. I thought we were going to make it through a day without this post.

 

[KevinS]

Move to Heaven - Las Vegas. 67F yesterday and no state income tax. Property tax less than 1% of home value. We are real esate agents and lots of people from East Coast and California moving here. Gets a tad warm in the summer.

Just be sure to bring your own water. ?

 

[Red Baron]

Just be sure to bring your own water. ?

Actually, while our population has doubled over the last few decades, our total water usage has gone *down*. We recycle over 99% of our water, eliminated some/new golf courses and have replaced much of our grass with artifical turf.

 

[kevC]

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