Brand New Mach E Owner

[Glasgowgirl]

HI everyone,

I am happy, but also nervous, about my new 2024 Mach E premium. I feel like a need degree in engineering and/or electronics, but what would you suggest should be the top ten things I should know as a newbie?

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[Shepherd]

I felt the same way 8 months ago when I was a new owner. Congrats and I hope you enjoy your new ride!

The manual is a slog but it has most of the answers to common questions. Download it to whatever you’re comfortable reading.

Read this forum knowing it’s a subset of owners who are techies and like to talk about problems and solutions. Not everyone will have these problems.

I found driving it in non busy neighborhoods and roads I know was helpful to learn how it feels and functions. It’s relearning how to drive.

Sorry I don't have 10 ?

 

[McSquashy]

HI everyone,

I am happy, but also nervous, about my new 2024 Mach E premium. I feel like a need degree in engineering and/or electronics, but what would you suggest should be the top ten things I should know as a newbie?

Congrats on your purchase!

First and foremost, try not to let the fancy tech distract you when driving. With such a large screen and everything to look at, especially while your learning about the car and it's settings, it's scary easy to become distracted.

Second, I'd say braking, especially while using 1 Pedal drive, takes some getting used to. The brakes in the MME are aggressive. If you need more braking than what you get from regenerative braking while using 1PD, it's easy to stop quick, too quick, when you're not expecting it.

Third, just be aware that the software in the car can be a little buggy. Most of the time it's just an annoying glitch like the ambient lighting auto setting automatically turning itself off or some other random setting being reset, especially after an OTA update.

Forth, don't rely on PAAK (Phone As A Key) not to leave you stranded. I learned this the hard way. PAAK is awesome and convenient when it works, but work 100% of the time, it does not. Do yourself a favor and carry a key fob as a backup.

Fifth, give yourself plenty of time with each of the drive settings - Whisper, Engage & Unbridled. Unbridled gives you the heaviest steering feel and most sensitive throttle response, Whisper gives you a more calm drive and Engage is in the middle. If you have to drive in slippery conditions, it's recommended to use Whisper mode.

I'll have to think more about the next 5 and get back with you.

 

[Glasgowgirl]

Amazing, thanks for the tips!

 

[Tim_C]

Hello and congrats on the Mach-E.

Assuming this is your first EV, I think the most important thing to having a good driving experience is charging. Knowing some details of the types of charging, having a reliable day-to-day charging plan, and how to road-trip with charging.

The attached video is a good, fairly quick, summary. For road trips, I plan with ABRP and PlugShare.

 

[Glasgowgirl]

Thanks so much; this was helpful!

 

[Glasgowgirl]

I felt the same way 8 months ago when I was a new owner. Congrats and I hope you enjoy your new ride!

The manual is a slog but it has most of the answers to common questions. Download it to whatever you’re comfortable reading.

Read this forum knowing it’s a subset of owners who are techies and like to talk about problems and solutions. Not everyone will have these problems.

I found driving it in non busy neighborhoods and roads I know was helpful to learn how it feels and functions. It’s relearning how to drive.

Sorry I don't have 10 ?

 

[Glasgowgirl]

Thanks so much; I appreciate the advice!

 

[Glasgowgirl]

I felt the same way 8 months ago when I was a new owner. Congrats and I hope you enjoy your new ride!

The manual is a slog but it has most of the answers to common questions. Download it to whatever you’re comfortable reading.

Read this forum knowing it’s a subset of owners who are techies and like to talk about problems and solutions. Not everyone will have these problems.

I found driving it in non busy neighborhoods and roads I know was helpful to learn how it feels and functions. It’s relearning how to drive.

Sorry I don't have 10 ?

 

[Glasgowgirl]

Thank you!

 

[Ford Motor Company]

HI everyone,

I am happy, but also nervous, about my new 2024 Mach E premium. I feel like a need degree in engineering and/or electronics, but what would you suggest should be the top ten things I should know as a newbie?

Congratulations on your new Mach-E! We hope you LOVE it.

 

[Zardoz]

Dang. I typed a lot. If you don't road-trip a lot of these bullets are irrelevant.

• If you can charge at home, plug it in every night. This allows for smaller charges (which is good), the battery can be heated/cooled with house power, you can pre-heat/cool the cabin without using battery charge, precondition the battery temp for trips (preferred departure times), and probably more.
• If Ford says charge to 90% regularly do that if that amount of range works for you. If Ford says charge to 100% regularly, just do that. For trips or on trips charging to 100% is fine.
• You have to map every location you want to limit the charge percentage. If you charge at home and work you will have to limit each of them individually.
• When DCFC charging slows at 80%. Stop charging near 80% if you can make it to your next stop. You can't limit the percentage of charge when DCFC, you have to unplug it.
• Cold temperatures affect battery range. It will come back when the weather warms. Range can be reduced by 30%. Or more if it is super cold. Range will start to drop around... 40F? and could drop by 40% in the cold parts of Canada.
• Measure max range as using 80% to 90% of your battery. You won't always charge to 100% and no one wants to roll into a charger with 0%. Example: Car rated for 300 miles of range = 270 miles at 90% usage of battery
• Efficiency drops as speed increases due to drag, meaning less range. Once you start driving faster than 60-65 mph your range will drop. Drive 80 mph and it drops quite a lot more.
• The range displayed on the dash is called the Guess-O-Meter (GOM). It can be wildly inaccurate; depends on how you drive the car and temperature. If you want a better estimate use the Ford Navigation in the car or ABRP (more later on that).
• Someone mentioned software bugs... If the center screen is acting odd try a reboot. On the right side of the steering wheel hold the volume down and forward buttons until the center screen goes dark, then release.

For road-trips or charging away from home:

• Plugshare app -free version is fine (find chargers, both free and pay, lets you know if they are broken)
• A Better Route Planner app (ABRP) -free version is fine (like google maps for trips, but maps charging stops)
• Use "Public Charging" in the Ford Pass app to start chargers. Reduces the need for specific charging apps, you will still need them occasionally.
• Plug and Charge is great. Works with Tesla Super Chargers and Electrify America chargers.
• If taking a road trip becoming a premium member of Electrify America ($7/mo, 20% discount on charging, cancel anytime) or Tesla Membership ($12.99/mo, ?? discount) can save some money.
  • If/When you do this you have to turn off Plug & Charge in the Ford Pass app (Energy -> Access & Permissions -> Plug & Charge) and use the Electrify America or Tesla app to start charges. If you don't do this step you won't get the discount.

 

[4wheeldog]

I have had mine for 2 weeks and 800 miles. I am 72 years old and for the first week absorbing the tech made me feel like I was drinking from a firehose. Getting my Autel charger to act like a dumb charger solved most of my issues.
Hang in there. My knowledge became clearer mostly because I had to teach the new tech to my wife as soon as I had learned it myself.

 

[Tampamike]

When you press the go pedal hard, …. It goes hard. That’s good and fun.

Charging at home - do whatever makes you feel comfortable. You won’t break it. Take some time and do some reading and then you will figure out your routine.

Road trip charging - you need to plan and plan on stopping at 80% because the car drastically slows the charge rate down at that point.

Cold temps, headwinds and speed all eat up battery charge and range.

Have fun with it - it’s a new toy!

 

[Glasgowgirl]

Dang. I typed a lot. If you don't road-trip a lot of these bullets are irrelevant.

• If you can charge at home, plug it in every night. This allows for smaller charges (which is good), the battery can be heated/cooled with house power, you can pre-heat/cool the cabin without using battery charge, precondition the battery temp for trips (preferred departure times), and probably more.
• If Ford says charge to 90% regularly do that if that amount of range works for you. If Ford says charge to 100% regularly, just do that. For trips or on trips charging to 100% is fine.
• You have to map every location you want to limit the charge percentage. If you charge at home and work you will have to limit each of them individually.
• When DCFC charging slows at 80%. Stop charging near 80% if you can make it to your next stop. You can't limit the percentage of charge when DCFC, you have to unplug it.
• Cold temperatures affect battery range. It will come back when the weather warms. Range can be reduced by 30%. Or more if it is super cold. Range will start to drop around... 40F? and could drop by 40% in the cold parts of Canada.
• Measure max range as using 80% to 90% of your battery. You won't always charge to 100% and no one wants to roll into a charger with 0%. Example: Car rated for 300 miles of range = 270 miles at 90% usage of battery
• Efficiency drops as speed increases due to drag, meaning less range. Once you start driving faster than 60-65 mph your range will drop. Drive 80 mph and it drops quite a lot more.
• The range displayed on the dash is called the Guess-O-Meter (GOM). It can be wildly inaccurate; depends on how you drive the car and temperature. If you want a better estimate use the Ford Navigation in the car or ABRP (more later on that).
• Someone mentioned software bugs... If the center screen is acting odd try a reboot. On the right side of the steering wheel hold the volume down and forward buttons until the center screen goes dark, then release.

For road-trips or charging away from home:

• Plugshare app -free version is fine (find chargers, both free and pay, lets you know if they are broken)
• A Better Route Planner app (ABRP) -free version is fine (like google maps for trips, but maps charging stops)
• Use "Public Charging" in the Ford Pass app to start chargers. Reduces the need for specific charging apps, you will still need them occasionally.
• Plug and Charge is great. Works with Tesla Super Chargers and Electrify America chargers.
• If taking a road trip becoming a premium member of Electrify America ($7/mo, 20% discount on charging, cancel anytime) or Tesla Membership ($12.99/mo, ?? discount) can save some money.
  • If/When you do this you have to turn off Plug & Charge in the Ford Pass app (Energy -> Access & Permissions -> Plug & Charge) and use the Electrify America or Tesla app to start charges. If you don't do this step you won't get the discount.

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