Don't trust the displayed range on indicator (GOM)! Best ways to calculate how far your Mach-E can really go

[kgautam28]

There have been lots of new threads popping up from first time BEV drivers who are all worried or worked up because their Guess-O-Meter is showing much less range than they think it should.

Very simple answer: don't rely on the GOM! It doesn't know where you plan to go or the conditions it needs to calculate the actual range it can go. It will always be highly conservative. Be glad Ford gives you a conservative GOM -- it'll help keep you out of trouble.

How far can your Mach E really go? There are two good ways to find out. Neither is the GOM.

1. Trust the navigation system
Get in the car, turn on navigation, and pick a spot 200 miles away. See if it will navigate you there without charging. How much range will it have when you get there? If it can't get there without charging try shorter distances like 175 miles and 150 miles.

Now try with someplace 225 miles away, then 250, then 275, then 300. Once you have found a place near the end of your range the navigation system will tell you the range the car predicts to be able to go when it knows the distance, likely speed, altitude changes, and weather conditions of your drive. The distance of that drive plus the remaining range (you can trust it best when remaining range is low) will tell you your range.

I've found the navigation system to be very accurate and estimating my real range.

2. How far do you really go?
You can do the same thing with your normal driving. Charge up and drive it for a while. Drive until you are low on charge upon arriving home or a charging destination. How far do you go before charging and how much range does the car think is left?

Both of these will tell you your car's real range under real-world conditions.

Don't trust the GOM for anything other than a low-ball estimate. Then be glad Ford chose to do it this way. I've hopped in my Leaf trusting the GOM would get me somewhere, only to learn the GOM was based on slow around town driving and my battery won't get me where I need to go on my planned 70 mph interstate drive. I'd rather start out with a conservative GOM than a wildly optimistic one!

Yup I just went 185 miles and only used 50% battery, but gom shows much less.

 

[GoosePond08]

Wait...was the solution to the GOM to re-create your own GOM?

lol

 

[timbop]

I understand the reasons for range estimate variance, but you can hardly fault those of us who are new to EV's for having a focus on it. The language of EV's outside this forum is RANGE. The comparisons between manufactures benchmark range, the optional equipment for the car you buy increases the range, the charger you use is marketed in range per hour, and the gauges on the cluster display total range.

Like it or not, people are going to rely on that range gauge.

Yes, it absolutely is understood. But several times a week a newbie posts a "problem" with their car and have to be talked down off the ledge. Having this as a sticky saves a step of it having to be explained over and over - we can just point them to this sticky thread

 

[Murse-In-Airy]

Most of us veterans know this already, but: Another common method worth mentioning, to calculate your range, is to drive for a while, and then take a peek at the mi/kWh on the "This Trip" screen.
Multiply the "mi/kWh" by the usable capacity of your battery, which is, for the extended range, 88 kWh, or for the standard range, 68 kWh. This will be your total range from 0-100% under that driving condition.

Example:
3.1 mi/kWh listed.
Extended range battery = 88 kWh.
3.1 x 88 = 272.8 miles total range.

This is the one I use and then deduct an extra 10% if I’m going to be driving in “unusual” conditions (ie. driving faster than my average or in colder weather).

 

[Jimmy2]

Interesting, my GOM gave me a 352 mile range this morning after charging last night to 100%.

 

[JohnnyForensic]

Interesting, my GOM gave me a 352 mile range this morning after charging last night to 100%.

On a 4X?!

I WANT MY MACH-E ALREADY!

 

[GoGoGadgetMachE]

Actually GOM is quite common on just about any EV forum.

Of course, however, if you already know the term then you already know about the inaccuracies of the display and thus don't need this topic.

it's been fixed now but yeah, I mean, "any EV forum" kind of proves my point.

 

[dtbaker61]

... snip ...
Don't trust the GOM for anything other than a low-ball estimate. Then be glad Ford chose to do it this way. I've hopped in my Leaf trusting the GOM would get me somewhere, only to learn the GOM was based on slow around town driving and my battery won't get me where I need to go on my planned 70 mph interstate drive. I'd rather start out with a conservative GOM than a wildly optimistic one!

The guess-o-meter is just that.... a guess. Based on average consumption since you last cleared it. If you have been just driving around town, stop-and-go at relatively low speeds, be aware that the GOM will not be conservative enough if you head out on a highway trip at higher speeds and without regen braking to extend the range.

To keep yourself out of trouble on range estimating, clear the GOM trip data before heading out on a long highway trip so it starts back with the 'default' values for calculating range.

for example.... I have driven just over 1000 mi, mostly 'around town' urban/suburban, with just a couple longer work trip to sites that were maybe 40 miles out of town. I have a SR pack (68 kWhr). I just charged up the other day to 99%, and the GOM said I had 258 mile range..... I would still not count on getting more than 200 if I were on a road trip, and I would plan to charge at 150 to be kind to the batteries.

 

[shadowsjc]

I wonder if the latest OTA update did anything to the GOM. I usually charge to 90% and the implied max range at 100% is around 270 miles.

Last night I received another OTA update. Today in anticipation of a long drive (125 miles each way), I charged it fully to 100%. The GOM is showing 300 miles! I'm happy but of course will be cautious and might recharge before the drive home just in case (extended range AWD)

 

[dtbaker61]

I wonder if the latest OTA update did anything to the GOM. I usually charge to 90% and the implied max range at 100% is around 270 miles.

Last night I received another OTA update. Today in anticipation of a long drive (125 miles each way), I charged it fully to 100%. The GOM is showing 300 miles! I'm happy but of course will be cautious and might recharge before the drive home just in case (extended range AWD)

how do you KNOW you had an OTA update?
what version of what changed? sync4, FP, some module?

 

[shadowsjc]

how do you KNOW you had an OTA update?
what version of what changed? sync4, FP, some module?

On the Ford pass app main screen there is a little section that says "update successful"

 

[dtbaker61]

On the Ford pass app main screen there is a little section that says "update successful"

the reason I asked is that I've noticed that alert/notification appear/disappear and re-appear without anything actually having been updated as far as I could find. Hard to tell since the 'update message' doesn't include any info on what product, module, or version number of anything.

 

[timbop]

On a 4X?!

I WANT MY MACH-E ALREADY!

I guess you missed the point that the GOM is worthless highly inaccurate

 

[JohnnyForensic]

I guess you missed the point that the GOM is worthless highly inaccurate

Nah. I get that. It’s just still fun to see!

 

[UW2]

Yup I just went 185 miles and only used 60% battery, but gom shows much less.

So how did they manage to fit that jar as your door? ;-)