Mustang Mach-E DC Fast Charge Test by Tom Moloughney

buzznwood

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The Mach E is Ford's first entry to the full BEV market: it can't be the best BEV at everything, but it can be really good at a lot of things - especially for the money. Over time there will be better Ford BEVs (that will be more expensive), and there will be cheaper Ford BEV's that aren't as good.
While the numbers are not the same, they should have got plenty of data from the electric focus and the plug in c-max. While this is the first ground up ford BEV, so is the taycan for Porsche ;) sure different price brackets, but the mustangification of the mach-e was supposed to be removing the compliance vehicle shackles yet the charge curve still seems to have those shackles.

Ford can improve it over time and no doubt will, and sure we don't want fires or battery packs needing replacing after a short amount of time as that makes for bad press, but having a reputation of slow charging even if not true won't help in the long term either.

Making much needed changes not only gets more people to see the mach-e as a viable option :) but also makes current owners feel like the vehicle has a long future ahead of continuous improvement and will not need replacing with the latest and greatest every few years. :)
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Good video, appreciate their work. At this point, the charging curve does not bother me at all. Would I like more, of course but we have used EA several times now on trips and it has not been burdensome with timing. By the time we get some food, hit the bathroom, it really does not hurt you.

They really need to start putting out some information about Pass+ and linking though. Right now we are (mostly) all in our "free" KWH. Once those run out, this is going to be a mess and P&C will probably become impractical for most people. You see in the comments in the video the discussion about cost. Without Pass+ being linked, it becomes a non-starter for many. I hope Ford addresses this very soon before we start seeing the negative publicity on it.
 

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I did my first charge in Columbus, OH at EVgo. Naturally, FordPass and my CC did not activate the charger, so I had to call. When I told them I had the MME, she said there were lots of problems with charging the car. So she turned on the charger and I did not get billed for the charge (assume Ford bought it). Anyway, here is the log, which is underwhelming to me:
Ford Mustang Mach-E Mustang Mach-E DC Fast Charge Test by Tom Moloughney 1619617721085
 

theo1000

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Keep in mind Ford also says folks can routinely charge their cars to 100%. The other folks all push hard to limit their charge to 80% for a good reason.

I suspect this babying of the battery is part of the calculation that allows Ford to say go ahead and charge to 100%, we will protect the battery.

Even at 80% you get more than 200 miles on normal highway driving. So personally I find the trade of good for me.
 
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generaltso

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Keep in mind Ford also says folks can routinely charge their cars to 100%.
Ford actually recommends in the owner's manual to stick to 90% for routine charging. I personally think that's not necessary, and Ford likely put it there just as an extra CYA so they have something to point to if degradation does become an issue.
 


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The actual wording is a delicate dance. I don't see a 90% cutoff in the best practices.

"In everyday use it is acceptable to use the full state of charge window, however there are a few best practices we recommend in order to maintain the health and life of your battery."
 
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generaltso

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The actual wording is a delicate dance. I don't see a 90% cutoff in the best practices.

"In everyday use it is acceptable to use the full state of charge window, however there are a few best practices we recommend in order to maintain the health and life of your battery."
Right. 100% every day is acceptable. But they recommend 90% for best longevity of the battery. That said, I have no concerns going to 100%. I wish they hadn't put the 90% line in the manual. It would have avoided a lot of confusion.

Ford Mustang Mach-E Mustang Mach-E DC Fast Charge Test by Tom Moloughney 1619619719107
 

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The oddest thing is the online manual has different wording.

With Charge Scheduling you can improve the high voltage battery's longevity by delaying the start of charging and setting a maximum charging limit. It is recommended to set your preferred charging times to be at least 2-3 hours after your typical plug in time. This allows the battery to cool before charging begins. Additionally, setting the maximum charge level to be less than 100% for everyday usage reduces strain on the battery.
 
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generaltso

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The oddest thing is the online manual has different wording.

With Charge Scheduling you can improve the high voltage battery's longevity by delaying the start of charging and setting a maximum charging limit. It is recommended to set your preferred charging times to be at least 2-3 hours after your typical plug in time. This allows the battery to cool before charging begins. Additionally, setting the maximum charge level to be less than 100% for everyday usage reduces strain on the battery.
Interesting. Seems they're still trying to make up their minds.
 

GoGoGadgetMachE

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Interesting. Seems they're still trying to make up their minds.
Tbf so are we on here. At least the 854 or so posts over 18 months on this would suggest that anyway.
 
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generaltso

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Tbf so are we on here. At least the 854 or so posts over 18 months on this would suggest that anyway.
For what it's worth, I've already made up my mind. I go to 100% when the charging is free at work. When I charge at home, I'll put in just enough to get by until I'll be at work again so I can do another charge to 100% for free.
 

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Keep in mind Ford also says folks can routinely charge their cars to 100%. The other folks all push hard to limit their charge to 80% for a good reason.

I suspect this babying of the battery is part of the calculation that allows Ford to say go ahead and charge to 100%, we will protect the battery.

Even at 80% you get more than 200 miles on normal highway driving. So personally I find the trade of good for me.
Charging to 100% at home should really not be an issue IMO, I think this is really where ford needs a major rethink and where it seems ford is till stuck with having the compliance car mindset with people just pottering around doing local stuff and charging at home.

Most people really don't give a crap about rapid fast charging when doing local stuff as unless you live in the outback where 300 miles is the distance to the end of your drive so a BEV is never going to be an option or have limited home charging opportunities, most will be more than happy with a solid 150 to 200 miles when they get up each morning.

Over the coming years for any BEV to be viable at the higher price points of the mach-e it needs to be beyond just being plausible at doing the long stuff. For while 80% charge is currently fine for some mach-e trims on the highway for GT's it is pushing it and probably why I am still sitting on the fence over going GTPE vs GT vs Premium and will leave it till the last minute to order as 80% of 235miles is a very poor number in 2021 considering the size of the battery pack :(. Sure I will have the ICE as back up but at some point I would want to just use the BEV after all it normally supposed to work the other around that I would take the more expensive car on the long trips lol.

If you factor in that the Ford warranty on the battery is 10000 miles and they expected it to maintain 70% charge before they have to replace it, which with this ultra conservative charging curve is not really confidence inspiring as if your unlucky and get worst case degradation of 30% then some trims are really only going to end up being usable only for EV charging station masochists.

In a few months time the 800v Hyundai / Kia twins will be filling youtube with charging videos it is all to easy to ignore comparisons against 100k taycan's but if they end up a similar price point to the mach-e its not going to look great.

While there is nothing ford can do about 400v vs 800v they can at least maximize the potential of what is there so existing and future mach-e owners see it as a viable long term option in the unfortunately rapidly changing BEV landscape.

It is all to easy to ignore a Tesla charging faster when they are sitting parked away at tesla chargers but harder when your still stuck at an EA station and multiple competitors have all rolled in after and left sooner.

It is still early days so Ford just need to make improvements so even if most people don't plan on make long trips at least when then do if there has been enough noise made over the issue so by the time they do they get the benefits :), the quicker ford improve things the faster the noise dies down :).
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