'Precondition Now' Button

[hybrid2bev]

I had a precondition take 80 minutes, and the garage was in the 20s as I recall. NEVER, ever, would it take 15 minutes.

So, just to be clear. You set a departure time for tomorrow morning, leave at 7AM. You watch the charger / charger app / FordPass and no current is pulled until 6:45?

The warming of the battery can take time, yes.

But I've had my summer departure times only take about 15 minutes of shore power to get ready. The car is in the garage so it skips the "Preparing for Drive" battery conditioning and goes directly to "Cabin Preconditioning in Progress". Especially if I have the departure time set to "Cool" (icebox setting).

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[Deleted member 16048]

I think this is a good idea, but using when traveling to a DC Fast charger wouldn't be ideal since it wouldn't be good to use your phone while driving. (illegal in most states.)

From what rumblings I've heard, there is work being done to change ford pass to have not just a remote start, but more HVAC controls for EVs and they are investigating more ways to pre-condition the battery. (With in vehicle options.)

*These rumblings are from product owners at Ford and definitely subject to change.

 

[Mach-Lee]

Would the button also work as DC fast charge preconditioning?

Somewhat, but DC charge preconditioning is an even higher temp setpoint and would take even longer. Ideally you’d precondition for departure, then hit a button in SYNC to heat it up to the next level for DCFC.

 

[hack-e]

Seems like there ought to be a way to set a one-time departure time rather than a regularly scheduled departure time, for random trips. At least I don't think I saw a way to do that.

And I wish the repeated scheduled departure times were tied to a location (e.g. home or work) so that if the car is at a different location (e.g. airport), it wouldn't pre-condition the car.

 

[Fremont Kid]

Seems like there ought to be a way to set a one-time departure time rather than a regularly scheduled departure time, for random trips. At least I don't think I saw a way to do that.

And I wish the repeated scheduled departure times were tied to a location (e.g. home or work) so that if the car is at a different location (e.g. airport), it wouldn't pre-condition the car.

Just need to remove the one-time departure time. We did this when charging at a hotel overnight. Set the departure time so that hotel electricity prepped the battery and cabin. Then later deleted the departure time.

 

[RickMachE]

Just need to remove the one-time departure time. We did this when charging at a hotel overnight. Set the departure time so that hotel electricity prepped the battery and cabin. Then later deleted the departure time.

That's a PITA, especially with issues with FordPass syncing with the vehicle.

 

[Fremont Kid]

That's a PITA, especially with issues with FordPass syncing with the vehicle.

Oh, we've experienced synch issues also. I understand the incredulity. We were actually pleasantly surprised it worked that morning.

 

[RickMachE]

I have it as part of my trip prep. Set a departure time. At the first stop of the vehicle, while charging, delete it in the vehicle. I usually forget...

 

[dmorn22]

Somewhat, but DC charge preconditioning is an even higher temp setpoint and would take even longer. Ideally you’d precondition for departure, then hit a button in SYNC to heat it up to the next level for DCFC.

Does the Mach-E already have the hardware to precondition to the higher temps? If so how is it activated now?

 

[Cm12]

When I had a SR, I BARELY had enough range to get to a spot on the coast and back if it was even mildly cold. There is essentially no charging available. Preconditioning would have probably saved me 1-2 kWh which would, if nothing else, decrease the pucker factor.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

I think this is a good idea, but using when traveling to a DC Fast charger wouldn't be ideal since it wouldn't be good to use your phone while driving. (illegal in most states.)

From what rumblings I've heard, there is work being done to change ford pass to have not just a remote start, but more HVAC controls for EVs and they are investigating more ways to pre-condition the battery. (With in vehicle options.)

*These rumblings are from product owners at Ford and definitely subject to change.

Preconditioning on the way to a DCFC already exists. When you tell Ford Sync to navigate to the DCFC, it will begin preconditioning when you are 30 km (~18-19 miles) from the charger. It doesn't do this early enough when it's cold out, but the functionality exists. It just needs Ford to make some improvements to the algorithm. I would make it 80 km (50 miles) unless the remaining charge won't get you to the charger.

 

[astronut325]

That's a PITA, especially with issues with FordPass syncing with the vehicle.

This. I don't want to rely on departure settings. It is absolutely crap. It's a total crapshoot to get anything synced to the vehicle. Having a direct precondition now button that instantly triggers it would be extremely welcome.

 

[Deleted member 16048]

Preconditioning on the way to a DCFC already exists. When you tell Ford Sync to navigate to the DCFC, it will begin preconditioning when you are 30 km (~18-19 miles) from the charger. It doesn't do this early enough when it's cold out, but the functionality exists. It just needs Ford to make some improvements to the algorithm. I would make it 80 km (50 miles) unless the remaining charge won't get you to the charger.

Correct, however I didn't say it didn't exist. I said they are looking to add more ways to precondition in vehicle. We shouldn't need to use the app to enable preconditioning, especially when driving.

Now, as I stated in my other post, I do like the idea. It would be useful for times outside departure times, but also I feel that an end user shouldn't need to hit that, plus a remote start. Generally I don't think most people will actually pull their phone out an hour before leaving to pre-condition, then again 10-15 minutes before they leave to remote start. There should be a better option so that a user can do naturally with as little learning curve as possible, but also provide the option for those more advanced. That way both groups gain the benefits.

 

[Mach-Lee]

Now, as I stated in my other post, I do like the idea. It would be useful for times outside departure times, but also I feel that an end user shouldn't need to hit that, plus a remote start. Generally I don't think most people will actually pull their phone out an hour before leaving to pre-condition, then again 10-15 minutes before they leave to remote start. There should be a better option so that a user can do naturally with as little learning curve as possible, but also provide the option for those more advanced. That way both groups gain the benefits.

You wouldn’t have to use remote start after, it will heat the cabin if you wait the full time and keep it warm for a while after it’s ready. You’d only use remote start if you wanted to leave before it was done and it would switch to cabin heat for a few minutes. So really just one simple button press to use unless you wanted to be more advanced with it.

A “one-time” departure time is another good idea that was suggested here. Because the departure times in the car and the cloud don’t sync reliably (still…), we need another option that doesn’t involve problematic data syncing so it just works.

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