Did You Drive Your Mach-E Through The Winter?

[DaMeatMan]

In my neck of the woods the onset of Spring seems to have brought out a lot more BEVs than I seem to remember seeing over the Winter - can't swing a dead cat without hitting a Tesla these days, and a good number of MMEs. So it made me think lots have been hibernating.

So for those of you who live in actual winter conditions - you know who you are - did you brave the winter? And in general how was it?

My MME 4X is my primary vehicle, and I did drive it all winter. I'm riding on Michelin CrossClimate2 235/55R19 tires in both summer and winter, and they have really improved handling in all weather conditions versus the stock tires. I was actually really suprised at how well they handled in the winter, but my MME was predictably controllable and felt extremely capable at all times throughout the winter. Range was down by about 40% which is about par for the course and totally expected.

The only gripe I have is with the way the vehicle seems to very passively maintain battery pack temps. I have been using an OBDII device to monitor stats of the vehicle, and I noticed that the car never tries to warm the pack. I noticed I could be driving around for close to an hour in sub zero temps, and the high voltage battery temp still remains below 0c, which to me seems pretty ridiculous. There is allot of heat generated in the motor assembly that could otherwise be circulated through the pack if those cooling loops are connected. The PTC heater that is used to heat the cabin also never seems to be used to heat the pack unless you are plugged in. The results of this are that when you arrive to a public charger the vehicle starts of charging at about 25KW, and SLOWLY ramps up as the PTC heater is then used to heat the battery (but ONLY if you turn off cabin heating), which again is a pretty sorry ass way to manage pack heating, particularly when cabin and pack coolant loops are connected. So you essentially need to freeze inside in order to get the pack warm enough to charge faster than 30KW, or you use cabin heating and pay extra to sit there charging slowly. My understanding is that this type of charging behavior and battery thermal management might have been improved with the software update available through dealer, but as this is not yet available over the air after 1 year of vehicle ownership, it's still a pretty poor cold weather experience. Since I live in a condo with no access to charging at home, this was a pretty big annoyance for me, and I really wish Ford would get their act together with software, and stop being so slow and conservative with updates.

Beyond the cold weather charging experience, the vehicle was otherwise a great winter vehicle, particularly in terms of it's handling.

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[kkriskal]

NW Ohio had it's share of snow and cold this year. The Mach is my daily, so yeppers, it's was hauling my butt around. Handled great, even on my upgraded 20's with pirelli all season tires. Range dropped to about 160 on full charge, but that was expected. No complaints what so ever ?

I am assuming you have the AWD Standard range battery?

 

[Murse-In-Airy]

I am assuming you have the AWD Standard range battery?

Per the badging on the side it’s an AWD ex

 

[AlpaChino]

Per the badging on the side it’s an AWD ex

But I can still have the 5.0 badge on the side of mine right? ?

Also, what's everyone's recommendation for self-defense weaponry? There's a Mustang cars and coffee coming up in my area.

 

[JamieGeek]

2nd winter for my RWD CA Rt1. No issues its a great car, even in the snow.

 

[MellowJohnny]

Thanks for all the

But I can still have the 5.0 badge on the side of mine right? ?

Also, what's everyone's recommendation for self-defense weaponry? There's a Mustang cars and coffee coming up in my area.

Taser of course... ;-)

 

[Murse-In-Airy]

But I can still have the 5.0 badge on the side of mine right? ?

Also, what's everyone's recommendation for self-defense weaponry? There's a Mustang cars and coffee coming up in my area.

I’ve got the 0.0 GT for mine. You can have whatever you’d like.

 

[Kitten]

I live in the land of endless winter. Well, 6 months of winter anyway. I received my MME GT in January and yes I drove it through the winter. Fortunately, it's just my tool around town car and I don't have to worry too much about range in < 32F temps. Did fine in the snow. I kept in a heated garage and preconditioned before departure. Love getting into a toasty warm car in the winter.

 

[VaderMachE]

I am assuming you have the AWD Standard range battery?

AWD with big battery. It was ridiculous cold and I use everything.

 

[Muse]

I got the MME in mid-Feb, and managed to drive it through a couple of northeast snowstorms with the stock all-season tires. Handles ice and slush very well, even on my mountainous work commute with all the inclines. I was cruising on the left lane passing everyone up and down the snowy hills.

One-pedal driving (with auto-hold switched off) has been a godsend, esp on slippery roads. I have a very steep driveway that my sedan with winter tires skids on, but MME had no problem. Also, Whisper mode is highly recommended for poor road conditions.

The cabin heats up pretty well even in 10-20F. The steering wheel could stand to be a little warmer, but the heated seats are really hot. Just have to charge more often during winter because of reduced battery efficiency.

 

[MachTri]

Drove my AWD Select Standard Range all winter as my daily driver and some long trips to SC before the firmware update to allow 80%+ fast charging. Temps between 20F-40F average (guess) No garage, 220V Home charge. Occasional L2 work charging. Fast charge on long trips. One broken ChargePoint L3 charger "adventure". Drives great in the snow! Love remote start all nice and toasty when I get in. Loved it.

 

[dtbaker61]

In my neck of the woods the onset of Spring seems to have brought out a lot more BEVs than I seem to remember seeing over the Winter - can't swing a dead cat without hitting a Tesla these days, and a good number of MMEs. So it made me think lots have been hibernating.

So for those of you who live in actual winter conditions - you know who you are - did you brave the winter? And in general how was it?

I drove thru the Winter.... no problems with heat/defroster. I put Vredestein wintrac pros on my stock wheels, and swap them on after snowstorms... handful of pretty tricky days driving up to my local ski areas. no problems with traction or handling.

no problems EXCEPT a massive amount of slush in wheel wells splashing in the gaps and packing the front belly pan and rear diaper with snow and ice. many gallons melted out in garage, and a fair amount of road sand is still piled up in there.

 

[Mathington]

In my neck of the woods the onset of Spring seems to have brought out a lot more BEVs than I seem to remember seeing over the Winter - can't swing a dead cat without hitting a Tesla these days, and a good number of MMEs. So it made me think lots have been hibernating.

So for those of you who live in actual winter conditions - you know who you are - did you brave the winter? And in general how was it?

I drove my SR AWD Mach-E in quite cold conditions (-15 Celsius) this winter with 19" Michelin X-Ice Snow tires and it performed like a champ! I did see a 30% drop in range, but aside from that it was fantastic in the winter.

 

[Muse]

no problems EXCEPT a massive amount of slush in wheel wells splashing in the gaps and packing the front belly pan and rear diaper with snow and ice. many gallons melted out in garage, and a fair amount of road sand is still piled up in there.

Omg, you're right! The melt-off is atrocious. My garage still needs to be hosed down.

 

[MellowJohnny]

I drove my SR AWD Mach-E in quite cold conditions (-15 Celsius) this winter with 19" Michelin X-Ice Snow tires and it performed like a champ! I did see a 30% drop in range, but aside from that it was fantastic in the winter.

Thanks Matthew - happy to hear the X-Ice is available to fit the MME - I've had them on virtually all my SUVs over the last 15-ish years and really like them. I ordered an AWD and will have winters on.

Thanks for all the replies so far!

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