Low mi/kwh?

[jeremykraft]

Hey all - after my Premium AWD Extended Range Mach-E was totaled, I picked up a slightly used FE. Great car all around, perfect condition. However, when comparing it to the Premium I had previously (drove it for about 4 months), I'm typically getting lower miles/kWh. I used to routinely get above 3.0 mi/kWh but now have a hard time cracking 2.5 mi/kWh. I checked the tires but is this all just seasonality (April - July vs. Sept - Nov)? Are there other things I should check?

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[timbop]

Hey all - after my Premium AWD Extended Range Mach-E was totaled, I picked up a slightly used FE. Great car all around, perfect condition. However, when comparing it to the Premium I had previously (drove it for about 4 months), I'm typically getting lower miles/kWh. I used to routinely get above 3.0 mi/kWh but now have a hard time cracking 2.5 mi/kWh. I checked the tires but is this all just seasonality (April - July vs. Sept - Nov)? Are there other things I should check?

Are you using premium or regular electrons? ?

OK, seriously: are you using a different drive mode, is 1PD enabled, are you driving the same routes at the same speed as before? Are you using the heater now as it is getting cooler? How have the temps changed in your area? Are you preconditioning without the car plugged in? Have you double checked the math on the tripometer (sometimes it is wrong)?

 

[ShadowCVL]

is it cold in seattle? the cooler it gets the less range you will have. 2.5 would be okay if it was 50F or less really.

 

[jeremykraft]

Are you using premium or regular electrons? ?

OK, seriously: are you using a different drive mode, is 1PD enabled, are you driving the same routes at the same speed as before? Are you using the heater now as it is getting cooler? How have the temps changed in your area? Are you preconditioning without the car plugged in? Have you double checked the math on the tripometer (sometimes it is wrong)?

Same drive mode (mostly Whisper), 1PD driving enabled. Routes are slightly different (more in-town driving, fewer long summer road trips) and it is slightly cooler so the heater is probably getting more use but it's a small change (Seattle is pretty temperate).

And yeah, the tripometer seems very inaccurate sometimes. Is that used to calculate the mi/kWh? But it's often showing a higher number which would increase the mi/kWh.

 

[jeremykraft]

is it cold in seattle? the cooler it gets the less range you will have. 2.5 would be okay if it was 50F or less really.

Ah, this is good to know. It's about 50 degrees most days this time of year, if not colder.

 

[ZuleMME]

Watch the where my power went screen; see how much is going to climate and environmental. That's your heater loss. You can turn off the climate and deal with the cold but the car may still heat the battery and you can't do anything but watch the mi/kwh go down as a result.

When people say you'll loose 33% - 40% of your range in the cold no one believes it; then when it happens everyone posts there own thread asking if it's normal. Yep. It'll get worse the more you use the heater and the more the car needs to use the heater for the battery.

 

[Maquis]

Turning off E-Heat and relying on the seat and steering wheel heaters will make a difference.
At 50 F ambient, I'd think that the seat heat would be comfortable enough for most people.

 

[ShadowCVL]

Turning off E-Heat and relying on the seat and steering wheel heaters will make a difference.
At 50 F ambient, I'd think that the seat heat would be comfortable enough for most people.

Especially in this car, my GMC and Jeep heated seats are great, but these will give you a second degree burn.

 

[Maquis]

Especially in this car, my GMC and Jeep heated seats are great, but these will give you a second degree burn.

Yep - I keep mine set on 'low'!

 

[jeremykraft]

Turning off E-Heat and relying on the seat and steering wheel heaters will make a difference.
At 50 F ambient, I'd think that the seat heat would be comfortable enough for most people.

Well, I feel a little silly. I tried this yesterday on my drive home from work. Turned off "E-Heat" and used the seat heater and steering wheel heater. Efficiency hovered around 4.0 mi/kWh driving through the city. Turned on E-Heat and it dropped back to 2.7 mi/kWh. I knew heating would make a difference, just didn't expect that big of one. Regardless, still enough range to get out to the ski hills and back this winter.

 

[ShadowCVL]

Well, I feel a little silly. I tried this yesterday on my drive home from work. Turned off "E-Heat" and used the seat heater and steering wheel heater. Efficiency hovered around 4.0 mi/kWh driving through the city. Turned on E-Heat and it dropped back to 2.7 mi/kWh. I knew heating would make a difference, just didn't expect that big of one. Regardless, still enough range to get out to the ski hills and back this winter.

Yeah, if you live in a zone with a lot of heat pumps in houses you will note that the "backup" or aux heat ALWAYS draws a ton more electricity. Resistive heat uses a ton of power for what is a limited amount of heat. its 100% efficient, but Heat Pumps are way more efficient.

 

[Rabidsquirrel22]

Well, I feel a little silly. I tried this yesterday on my drive home from work. Turned off "E-Heat" and used the seat heater and steering wheel heater. Efficiency hovered around 4.0 mi/kWh driving through the city. Turned on E-Heat and it dropped back to 2.7 mi/kWh. I knew heating would make a difference, just didn't expect that big of one. Regardless, still enough range to get out to the ski hills and back this winter.

Whenever you turn E-Heat off, I would recommend turning off the fan too. It just blows cold air without the heat on and causes you to lose that residual warm air from preconditioning faster.

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