Google Maps really this much better than built-in Nav?

[ChrisO]

Just a flag. I don't have connected navigation right now if that matters - the Public Charging app in the car only shows L2 chargers, making it totally useless.

Since my Connected Services is valid for the life of my lease, I don't know if it makes a difference or not. I have never seen anyone definitively state that you can get pre-conditioning without the connected navigation service.

And on the flag, already in this thread two people have commented exactly opposite, that the flag means that you will get pre-conditioning (or it doesn't mean that).

And since the only sure way to know is to see if it will do the pre-condition using a OBD scanner, and only if it is very cold or very hot, there is no way that I can even test.

In my case, I get the charge station icon, but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't matter because I have never DC charged in those conditions, and even though I got a OBD scanner recently, I have never ever even brought it on a trip.

And I will say that I have done DC charging where I didn't set any navigation at all. My first time I did it for testing DC charging, and maybe some other times. At no time have I ever seen what seems like a delay before charging. It starts right up, and it charges at the max rate for that session, and then goes down over time, which is exactly what would be expected for the charge curve.

For us where we live in a warm climate, and don't travel to at times/places where there might be snow, there really doesn't seem to be any reason to even worry about it.

But Ford really should put in a message saying that it is doing it, and a button to do it manually.

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[music_cities]

I finally took my Mach-E on a road trip. I was driving support for a bike ride that crossed Iowa through mostly rural areas. So many people on this forum have praised ABRP so I started there. After inputting each overnight town, ABRP literally told me that the trip couldn't be done. Ford Nav is a waste of time. Besides being out of date for road closures, new businesses, etc., it doesn't allow any flexibility. The support route was dictated by event organizers so that we wouldn't follow or cross the path of the 30,000 bicycle riders so I needed flexibility. Google Maps allowed me to click and drag the route to the roads I needed to take. Too bad this feature is only available on my computer and not on the touchscreen in the car. It was great, though, for making my plan ahead of time.

You can add "guidepoints" in ABRP by long clicking on the map. You can add many of them. It's almost as good as dragging the route in Google Maps. (You can add extra points to your route in Ford Connected Navigation too, but it's harder, there's a limit to the number of points, and you need to be sitting in your car to do it ever since they removed the FordPass Power My Trip trip planning function.)

Last week I had ABRP on the apps tell me that several trips "couldn't be done". I went to the ABRP website (vs the phone/iPad app) and it worked. I think they might have had a bug.

 

[mdwinther35]

Since my Connected Services is valid for the life of my lease, I don't know if it makes a difference or not. I have never seen anyone definitively state that you can get pre-conditioning without the connected navigation service.

And on the flag, already in this thread two people have commented exactly opposite, that the flag means that you will get pre-conditioning (or it doesn't mean that).

And since the only sure way to know is to see if it will do the pre-condition using a OBD scanner, and only if it is very cold or very hot, there is no way that I can even test.

In my case, I get the flag, but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't matter because I have never DC charged in those conditions, and even though I got a OBD scanner recently, I have never ever even brought it on a trip.

And I will say that I have done DC charging where I didn't set any navigation at all. My first time I did it for testing DC charging, and maybe some other times. At no time have I ever seen what seems like a delay before charging. It starts right up, and it charges at the max rate for that session, and then goes down over time, which is exactly what would be expected for the charge curve.

For us where we live in a warm climate, and don't travel to at times/places where there might be snow, there really doesn't seem to be any reason to even worry about it.

But Ford really should put in a message saying that it is doing it, and a button to do it manually.

FWIW, this article (from Ford) talks about requirements for preconditioning and does state that AA supports it.

 

[ChrisO]

FWIW, this article (from Ford) talks about requirements for preconditioning and does state that AA supports it.

Thank you for clarifying that.

Like I said, we don't need it, but this really seems like one of those things that should at least have a manual button. This is getting in the category of charging people a subscription for the heated seats.

 

[AZBill]

FWIW, this article (from Ford) talks about requirements for preconditioning and does state that AA supports it.

This article also confirms that Ford does cool the battery in hot weather.

 

[DYohn]

Here's a preconditioning question that I should probably be able to answer by now but can't: how far ahead of a planned stop to charge should the stop be input to the Nav to assure proper preconditioning? Five miles? 20? Three hours? What's the guideline?

 

[Blitzen]

Here's a preconditioning question that I should probably be able to answer by now but can't: how far ahead of a planned stop to charge should the stop be input to the Nav to assure proper preconditioning? Five miles? 20? Three hours? What's the guideline?

It depends on conditions but I find 20 minutes is good unless it’s way below freezing. In the valley of the sun, you probably won’t ever notice much difference but in the land North of Canada, it saves a lot of time on a winter trip. It’s nice for the car to be ready to go after a quick bathroom and snack stop.

 

[AZBill]

Here's a preconditioning question that I should probably be able to answer by now but can't: how far ahead of a planned stop to charge should the stop be input to the Nav to assure proper preconditioning? Five miles? 20? Three hours? What's the guideline?

My other 2 EVs, which have indication of pre-conditioning, start at 45minutes (GM) and 1 hour (Rivian) away from the charger. The battery is a large mass and takes a while to heat or cool it. Someone on the forums reported that Ford starts 30 miles from the charger, which seems late for driving at highway speeds.

 

[Billyk24]

My other 2 EVs, which have indication of pre-conditioning, start at 45minutes (GM) and 1 hour (Rivian) away from the charger. The battery is a large mass and takes a while to heat or cool it. Someone on the forums reported that Ford starts 30 miles from the charger, which seems late for driving at highway speeds.

From my 2021 Mach E Premium I have seen during the cold months pre conditioning start at around 16 miles away from a dcfc. This is on a two lane highway. I have never seen pre conditioning occur when the battery pack is 73/74f or warmer. This includes when the battery pack was in the low 90s. Rivian has different software and does not have the pouch battery cell design the Mach E Premium has. A simple ORB2 reader and Car Scanner Pro App setup can display battery temperature and pre conditioning. This forum is awaiting photos and information from Mach E owners living in the Warm Southern states detailing any pre conditioning effects during warm summer weather.

 

[AZBill]

From my 2021 Mach E Premium I have seen during the cold months pre conditioning start at around 16 miles away from a dcfc. This is on a two lane highway. I have never seen pre conditioning occur when the battery pack is 73/74f or warmer. This includes when the battery pack was in the low 90s. Rivian has different software and does not have the pouch battery cell design the Mach E Premium has. A simple ORB2 reader and Car Scanner Pro App setup can display battery temperature and pre conditioning. This forum is awaiting photos and information from Mach E owners living in the Warm Southern states detailing any pre conditioning effects during warm summer weather.

The allowable temps for NMC chemistry batteries fast charging is 68F to 104F. You will not see much preconditioning when operating at those temperatures. It has nothing to do with pouch versus cylindrical packaging. Packaging can affect how efficient the heating and cooling are, but not how the chemistry is affected by temperatures.

GM vehicles also use pouch packaging, my Hummer has that. It also has much better thermal management than Rivian or Ford.

 

[Billyk24]

The allowable temps for NMC chemistry batteries fast charging is 68F to 104F. You will not see much preconditioning when operating at those temperatures. It has nothing to do with pouch versus cylindrical packaging. Packaging can affect how efficient the heating and cooling are, but not how the chemistry is affected by temperatures.

GM vehicles also use pouch packaging, my Hummer has that. It also has much better thermal management than Rivian or Ford.

Doesn't answer question on pre conditioning above 73 74f. At this time we have zero evidence Ford does it.

 

[clarkston]

Seems like a problem that can be solved by software @Ford Motor Company. Adding a pre-condition button that kicks off a timer allows the MME to not depend on mapping services being fully up-to-date or dependent on the user’s phone OS. And this car has been out for how long???

 

[ChrisO]

Seems like a problem that can be solved by software @Ford Motor Company. Adding a pre-condition button that kicks off a timer allows the MME to not depend on mapping services being fully up-to-date or dependent on the user’s phone OS. And this car has been out for how long???

It certainly can be fixed with a firmware update, but it doesn’t seem to be something Ford is interested in doing.

Note I don’t even think it needs a timer, the user just has to know to turn it on x minutes before getting to the charger.

 

[DYohn]

What is the downside of a manual precondition capability? Can overuse damage the battery in some way?

 

[ChrisO]

What is the downside of a manual precondition capability? Can overuse damage the battery in some way?

Since all it is doing is heating/cooling the battery to get it into the right range, the only real downside to do it is the same as if you run your AC or Heater when it isn't needed, you just use energy that could have gone to more miles.

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