Mercedes GLC EV has a "precondition battery" button!

[music_cities]

I was reading an article about the new Mercedes GLC EV. It has a precondition battery function button! Why can't we have a precondition battery button?

It has a 400V architecture, 94 kWh battery, range >500km, rear axle steering, frunk, and airmatic suspension.

The article also mentions that the EQ sub-brand was "ill-fated".

Driving.ca article

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[AZBill]

Just about everyone except Ford has the manual battery pre-condition button. Both my GM EVs have it as well as my Rivian that I got rid of. Of course they also have the Tesla chargers in the nav as well.

 

[JustinR937]

And that GLC has 2 gears. Seems like the Germans didn't learn anything from over engineering their vehicles *cough* WW2 tanks *cough*

 

[Maquis]

And that GLC has 2 gears. Seems like the Germans didn't learn anything from over engineering their vehicles *cough* WW2 tanks *cough*

They have 2 gears so they don’t over rev the motor at 200 km/hr. If you limit top speed to 140 or so, a second gear isn’t needed.

 

[Maui]

Seems simple gear boxes were to get out the door. To improve efficiency at higher speeds, I suspect higher end vehicles will move to this multi gear model.

 

[RickMachE]

They also have an "empty wallet" button, for when you need service. A tradition of Mercedes.

 

[Tampamike]

They have 2 gears so they don’t over rev the motor at 200 km/hr. If you limit top speed to 140 or so, a second gear isn’t needed.

200 km/hr is only 124 mph…

 

[Maquis]

200 km/hr is only 124 mph…

124 is still above our Mach-E max….but I should have said 250.

 

[Teslaeata]

Mercedes GLC EV has a "precondition battery" button!

And……..

 

[SoriceConsulting]

Brian from @Ford Motor Company said in a long ago post that they were aware that a one-time departure with preconditioning was desired by lots of us. Haven’t seen much from Brian anymore and I can’t understand why @Ford Motor Company cant implement what seems to be a simple feature?

And don’t get me started on the other “most users want this” things like 12v status, open trunk/frunk on main screen, etc,,,

 

[HuntingPudel]

Brian from @Ford Motor Company said in a long ago post that they were aware that a one-time departure with preconditioning was desired by lots of us. Haven’t seen much from Brian anymore and I can’t understand why @Ford Motor Company cant implement what seems to be a simple feature?

And don’t get me started on the other “most users want this” things like 12v status, open trunk/frunk on main screen, etc,,,

To be fair, I am not so sure that it's going to be that simple of a feature unless Ford is willing to put up with a boat load of complaints from people who activate the feature 5, 10, or 15 minutes from the charger and then get lower than expected charging because they don't understand how the thermal mass of the battery can't be changed in that time. Ford is going to need to do on the fly calculations or at least implement tables for current battery temperature vs. Outside Air Temperature, vehicle speed, relative humidity, etc. then inform the driver that pack will be at optimum charging temperature in N minutes.

 

[sergiomo]

To be fair, I am not so sure that it's going to be that simple of a feature unless Ford is willing to put up with a boat load of complaints from people who activate the feature 5, 10, or 15 minutes from the charger and then get lower than expected charging because they don't understand how the thermal mass of the battery can't be changed in that time. Ford is going to need to do on the fly calculations or at least implement tables for current battery temperature vs. Outside Air Temperature, vehicle speed, relative humidity, etc. then inform the driver that pack will be at optimum charging temperature in N minutes.

They'll never do it but they could add a progress bar to the charging app with current and target temperatures.

 

[luckie]

To be fair, I am not so sure that it's going to be that simple of a feature unless Ford is willing to put up with a boat load of complaints from people who activate the feature 5, 10, or 15 minutes from the charger and then get lower than expected charging because they don't understand how the thermal mass of the battery can't be changed in that time. Ford is going to need to do on the fly calculations or at least implement tables for current battery temperature vs. Outside Air Temperature, vehicle speed, relative humidity, etc. then inform the driver that pack will be at optimum charging temperature in N minutes.

AND possibly the complaints from newbie drivers who press the button an hour before and blame that for running out of charge before reaching the station.

 

[E90alex]

AND possibly the complaints from newbie drivers who press the button an hour before and blame that for running out of charge before reaching the station.

Or people that think they need to precondition it for home charging. Or “just because” to warm up the battery like they would warm up a gas car in the driveway.

 

[AZBill]

They'll never do it but they could add a progress bar to the charging app with current and target temperatures.

GM provides a message letting the user know when the battery is ready. They also always start the precondition 45 minutes out, so the user knows when to manually start it. When I had a Rivian, it always started 1 hour from the charging stop. Ford actually starts the conditioning too late to guarantee it gets to the right temperasure.

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