Break-in before Fast Charge?

[rdechellis]

After too many dealer phone calls to count, we secured an out of state MME 4X Premium. We are debating whether to have her shipped home or fly out and drive her back. The trip is about 500 miles and we have it mapped to make four DC Fast Charge stops (with back-up chargers in range if needed).

Is there any concern for battery health/longevity with four of the car's first five charges being on a DC Fast Charger? Or is there a recommended "break-in period" before fast charging? Apologies if this is showing my EV ignorance, but I want to ensure we will not violate any warranty fine print by fast charging right out of the gate.

Thanks for the help!

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[AllenXS]

Drive it. Enjoy the coffee breaks at chargers.
Finally did my first fast charge road trip .
Bit slow but gave us time to rest and enjoy the sun (it's Canada - had almost forgotten what it was)

 

[SnBGC]

Your car's first charge was DCFC so that ship has sailed.
No break in required.
Since this is your first EV.......expect lower range while driving at higher freeway speeds.
EVs are opposite from ICE vehicles in that EVs get more miles per kWh when in town and less when on the highway.

Use your percentage meter to help you with range anxiety. A very simple method to start with at first is to identify your next charging point and determine the distance from your current location. Then set your trip or watch the standard odometer to see how you are doing at certain milestones. You can also use the mile marker signs on the side of the road, which I find more useful when in between cities and towns.

Check your progress against your percentage of charge. If you start with 100%, then check it when you are 1/4 the way there and see if you have at least 75% remaining. At half distance, you need at least 50% of charge remaining etc etc.

Slow down if you are cutting it close.

When you reach your first charging point.....you are probably going to charge up to about 80% and then head out. So, keep that in mind for your next legs of the trip.

Good luck and enjoy! ?

 

[SnBGC]

Oh.......almost forgot.
If your percentage meter doesn't appear on your driver's screen then you can see it while in Engage mode with Lane Keeping Assist turned on. You select Engage mode by touching the little Mach-E in the upper left of the screen and then selecting Engage.
You select LKA mode with a button on the left side of your steering wheel.

There are a bunch of other ways to see the percentage of charge.....I just can't think of them right now.

Hope this helps.

 

[SnBGC]

After too many dealer phone calls to count, we secured an out of state MME 4X Premium. We are debating whether to have her shipped home or fly out and drive her back. The trip is about 500 miles and we have it mapped to make four DC Fast Charge stops (with back-up chargers in range if needed).

Thanks for the help!

Sounds perfect. 125 miles per leg (assuming evenly spaced). You should be golden. ?

Sometimes the DCFC session won't start because the lock pin doesn't engage. If that happens to you then lift up slightly on the connector until you hear/feel it lock. Then you can carefully let it rest.

 

[rdechellis]

Thank you @SnBGC ! All makes sense and is very helpful. Will spend some time digging through the threads of everyone's fast charging difficulties to hopefully pick up some tips and tricks before we head out.

 

[Ponypower50]

Ship it, save on stone chips from the highway.

 

[v8318cid]

Sweet, another SC MMe fan! I cannot contribute much to your original question that hasn't already been said, but do look forward to additional attention once you get it home. Not many of these on the roads in SC (probably true many places outside of EV-friendly states like CA).

 

[ChasingCoral]

Don't worry about it. After a couple of top offs at home I drove MD --> FL.

The internal navigation will figure out all of your charging stops. Just put in your destination and let it do the work.

I recommend you set up accounts with the big charging companies in your area: Electrify America, ChargePoint, EVgo and try to get everything set up to use the free Plug & Charge.

Since you are in SC, I recommend getting the EA Pass + membership (costs $4/month). Use that for DCFC when in SC. EA charges by the minute in SC and it is much cheaper than states where the charge is by the kWh. Use the free P&C in states that charge by the kWh.

 

[mixduptransistor]

Don't worry about it. After a couple of top offs at home I drove MD --> FL.

The internal navigation will figure out all of your charging stops. Just put in your destination and let it do the work.

I recommend you set up accounts with the big charging companies in your area: Electrify America, ChargePoint, EVgo and try to get everything set up to use the free Plug & Charge.

Since you are in SC, I recommend getting the EA Pass + membership (costs $4/month). Use that for DCFC when in SC. EA charges by the minute in SC and it is much cheaper than states where the charge is by the kWh. Use the free P&C in states that charge by the kWh.

I would add a caveat: only do that if you actually will be fast charging often. If you are charging at home most of the time, it's probably not worth signing up for an EA paid membership until you are going on a road trip. If you can charge at home you won't even really think about chargers around town

 

[ChasingCoral]

True but the $4 mays off with even an average of only 1 charging session/month.

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