Is there a cold weather charge reduction?

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Effie02

New member
Joined
Dec 16, 2021
Messages
3
It looks like my recently purchased 2017 model with 33k is topping out at a lower charge now that it's in the low 30's at night. Is this normal?
 
When you say "topping out at a lower charge" - you mean that 100% is estimating fewer miles of range or that it is not charging all the way to 100%?

Not sure how battery conditioning while charging factors into range, but I do know that it will run a heater if the battery is below a certain temp while charging on 240V. If it's not charging on 240V, the battery will be cold and the car would likely de-rate the mileage a bit.

That range estimate also factors in your recent power use and the current draw from your AC and heating. So if you were running the heat before you parked it and it's on when you get in, it's going to knock a chunk off the range based on the car forecasting several kW of draw while you're driving.

Charge on 240V, leave your climate on Auto and remote start to warm it up before you get in and use the heated seats in place of the blower/heater when you can - and just keep in mind that the estimate always varies based on previous data so it may not immediately reflect the actual mileage you can expect.
 
Thanks, that was all very informative & helpful. Thanks for helping me better understand how to live with my new acquisition .
 
There's a reason it is called the guess-o-meter. It has nothing to do with your battery capacity and everything to do with your driving habits, climate control usage, etc.

Also as we get in to winter you will lose a kWh or two battery capacity simply because the battery is cold. This capacity comes back next spring when it gets warm again. A good cold weather tip is to crack one of the passenger side windows 1/4" or so to keep window fogging at a minimum. Most of the the time I preheat off grid power before I go and crack a window and only use the seat heaters to keep warm.

With moderate heat usage you can expect a 40% range hit with winter weather.
 
Thanks for the tips. I upgraded from a 2013 model to a 2017 model and it charged to 103 mi of range but 2 weeks later when the temperature dropped it charged to 97 mi range. I bought the 2017 model just so I could run heat when needed & still get the range I need. It's looking like I'll have to be more conservative about my heat usage after all. Thanks for the helpful feedback.
 
If everything is working the battery temp should not go below 50F. When it's plugged into L2 it will cycle coolant though a 3 element heater that can go up to 900W along with any heat generated by the onboard charger.

The same is available while driving, so if it's really cold that heater can be running whether you want it to or not. That said, the motor does heat up during use and the car is smart enough to route that to the battery rather than running the heaters, so it shouldn't be too bad.

But for sure, plug it into L2 so the battery does not get too cold. Remote start to heat things up while it's still connected. If you go all out, you can pull enough to still drain the battery while it's plugged in. Warm up the seats, all that.

Once you're actually driving, set it to auto climate. I try to adjust it to whatever temp turns off the heat and doesn't cycle the AC on - and keep inching it down so long as I'm still comfortable. Doing that and substituting the heated seat for the heater as much as possible should give you as much as you can hope to get.

As Scottt asked, how much range are you trying to manage?
 
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