Is parking in the sun at work without ability to plug in a problem?

[StillWaitingForMachE]

As the title says, there is no charging infrastructure at my workplace, and my car is usually not parked in any form of shade. I live in Northern Indiana, so not exactly desert, but it can be high 90s at times during the summer. Luckily I'm parking on gravel near a drainage ditch, so it's probably not as hot as it could be, but it will still probably get a bit toasty at times.

Is this something to worry about when I (someday soon I hope...) get my Mach E? There's not really anything I can do to change the situation.

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[ShadowCVL]

No? But remote starting to let the fan blow for a minute as well as cool off the interior would help

 

[StillWaitingForMachE]

No? But remote starting to let the fan blow for a minute as well as cool off the interior would help

I had read things about how the car getting too hot it can degrade the battery or cause other problems and I don't want to ruin the nicest car I've ever purchased, but also I don't want to avoid driving it to work just because I don't have a canopy to park under or employer-provided charging.

 

[ShadowCVL]

Will it degrade the battery faster? Yeah sure, but that depends on way more factors. The battery sitting in the heat with minimal draw will not degrade it very much. Someone did the math around here and I feel like it was 1% per year based on temperature alone.

 

[RickMachE]

It's fine. Just enjoy your car

 

[StillWaitingForMachE]

It's fine. Just enjoy your car

Oh I will. If it ever arrives. It's been an ordeal lol. One to tell the grandkids about one day for sure

 

[RickMachE]

Ordeal? 50.4 weeks...

 

[StillWaitingForMachE]

Ordeal? 50.4 weeks...

Oof that's pretty bad. I still stand by my wait being an ordeal though. Especially when Ford keeps getting my hopes up that it will finally be delivered any day now, only to dash them shortly after.

 

[dtbaker61]

As the title says, there is no charging infrastructure at my workplace, and my car is usually not parked in any form of shade. I live in Northern Indiana, so not exactly desert, but it can be high 90s at times during the summer. Luckily I'm parking on gravel near a drainage ditch, so it's probably not as hot as it could be, but it will still probably get a bit toasty at times.

Is this something to worry about when I (someday soon I hope...) get my Mach E? There's not really anything I can do to change the situation.

should not be a problem.... but you might want to put a sunshade on the windshield to prevent the sun from baking your center console computer. The back sticks up, and is black; It can hit 140+F degrees if the sun it hitting it, which has been a problem for the display chips.

I'd suggest 'remote start' 10 minutes before you leave in the afternoon to cool the cabin and battery.

 

[macchiaz-o]

I'm in your situation, Matt, except I do live in a desert.

Massive parking lot. No trees, etc. Phoenix, the valley ON the sun. It's fine.

I do wish Ford actively managed the electronics/battery temps while parked in that situation. Unfortunately, they do not. But I won't be micromanaging it myself, either. And it's been fine.

I suggest getting a window shield for the front windshield.

 

[ChasingCoral]

In Indiana? Don't worry about it.

 

[frontrunner]

it's only a problem if you're leaving your pet in the car

 

[4sallypat]

In Indiana? Don't worry about it.

Yah, don't worry about it.

I live in a much hotter desert southwestern US where 100+ is common and my wife's PHEV has not suffered a bit parked under the hot sun during the day on black asphalt.

We don't get winters here so no range loss when winter months arrive which makes driving an EV such a breeze.

My Lightning is also parked outside 90% of the time and I have free charging at work which helps reduce my home electricity bill.

Now waiting for my wife's 2022 MME to get started....

Ford has probably tested these EVs under more strenuous conditions...

 

[ctenidae]

While Ford has certainly missed a few things in design and engineering, I really hope "Is the car OK being parked outside?" got checked off during development.

 

[JohnnyForensic]

You’re okay. If it asks you to plug in because of high temperatures, it’s doing so in order to not deplete your battery a very little bit to run the cooling fans. Unless your HVB is really, really low, the HVB will keep the 12v charged, and the 12v is what drives the fans. Under…15% (if I remember correctly), the HVB won’t charge the 12v, but as long as you’re not parking on the electron equivalent of fumes, you’re fine. I can’t imagine on a hot day even that it would use more than 1%.

Heck, to download an update when I didn’t have time to drive it, I left it fully on and running with the AC going for over an hour, and it didn’t even tick down from the percentage where I started.

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