Trying to Understand Battery Range Issues

[jaydubau]

I'm trying to understand why the maximum displayed range for my fully charged battery is now 15, when a month ago it was 20 miles.

 

I bought a new 2017 Platinum Energi a month ago. I use it to commute 40 miles one way to work. All but 5 miles is on the highway doing between 60~80 mph. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. When I first started to use the car, the battery would show 20 miles after an overnight charge when I got in for my morning commute. Now, a month later, it only shows ~15 miles after the same overnight charge as I get in it for my commute. The overnight temps have changed a bit during this time, but not much.

 

Does it only show 15 now since it assumes I'll be doing my commute and the highway speed cuts the batter range to 15 mile?

 

Otherwise I'm at a loss as to why it won't go back up to 20 miles.

 

Also, the company lets us charge for free while we're a work. The use ChargePoint's 240 VAC chargers. Same thing happens for my afternoon commute.

 

I did do a search on this topic and read through most of the postings. But now, I'm even more confused.

 

Thanks, in advance.

 

John

[murphy]

Are you driving in electric only mode at 80 mph?  That is one cause.  Temperatures below 70° F is another.  Use EV Later when you are driving at high speed.  Use EV Now for local driving.  The back pressure (drag) from the air the car has to move out of the way is tremendous at 80 mph.  Drag increases with the square of the speed.

[Davidoo]

I do think the mileage from a full charge is dropping because the car does anticipate how you are going to drive it based on your recent history.  I got my 17 Titanium Energi in December.  The first time I charged it and started to drive it said I had 23 miles range.  I drive 7.5 miles each way on flat city streets each day to work.  After a few days of this, I would see the range jump up to 31 miles on some days because the car assumed I was going to drive that way going forward, I assume.  If I drive on the freeway, of course the miles go way down.  If I have to come home for lunch and use the freeway because I am in a hurry.....sure enough, the next charge will have the range drop to as low as 22 to 23.  I live in Phoenix, so most of the winter I don't use A/C, but temps are perfect for the battery in the 70s and 80s.  I'm assuming when the 115 degree heat hits my range will drop significantly.  

[Gkinla]

What murphy and Davidoo say. 

 

Since I started to aggressively manage my HVB, my EV range has never been better. I see 25 mi EV range often now. EV Later for FWY,  EV Now for city, and using Low for slow and go city, and slow and go FWY traffic. Even when the HVB is depleted, using Low when in slow and go traffic, seems to help in the Hybrid/Auto mode. Unlike the FFH, the engine doesn't rev when putting the trans in Low, it just makes the Regen Braking more aggressive.

 

[jaydubau]

Thanks for the information, guys. 

 

So, my commute is maybe 5 miles on city streets and 35 miles on the highway, each way. There are 3 or 4 major grades on the highway, this being the San Francisco region and all. I've been using the Auto (EV) setting on the city streets and flat sections of the highway until the battery discharges. I've been using the gas engine setting to drive up the grades. Does that make the most sense? I thought that the engine would be more efficient going up highway grades.

 

Also, when I'm on the flat sections of the highway, I typically drive 70~80mph. Is the EV or engine more efficient running at those speeds. I've tried various scenarios, but nothing has proved very conclusive.

 

Thanks, again, for your help.

[Gkinla]

Thanks for the information, guys. 

 

So, my commute is maybe 5 miles on city streets and 35 miles on the highway, each way. There are 3 or 4 major grades on the highway, this being the San Francisco region and all. I've been using the Auto (EV) setting on the city streets and flat sections of the highway until the battery discharges. I've been using the gas engine setting to drive up the grades. Does that make the most sense? I thought that the engine would be more efficient going up highway grades.

 

Also, when I'm on the flat sections of the highway, I typically drive 70~80mph. Is the EV or engine more efficient running at those speeds. I've tried various scenarios, but nothing has proved very conclusive.

 

Thanks, again, for your help.

Even when on flat surface. The engine or ICE, Internal Combustion Engine, is more efficient when traveling at those speeds. The drag at 80mph is tremendous and will drain the battery in no time. Thats why EV miles after charging is so low, the computer will assume that's what the speed will be next and it assumes the EV range accordianately.

 

Use EVNow on the city streets, and when it's stop and go, or slow and go, I'll use LOW, EVLater on FWY at 60mph or higher or even EVN when the traffic slows to a crawl. Uphill EVL, downhill EVN. I live in the Los Angeles, it's pretty flat, but going North on the Sepuldeda Pass, I'll use EVL going up the pass and EVN going down to the valley. Sometimes I gain 2 EV miles going down, going North or South using this method. YMMV, pun intended.

[jaydubau]

Even when on flat surface. The engine or ICE, Internal Combustion Engine, is more efficient when traveling at those speeds. The drag at 80mph is tremendous and will drain the battery in no time. Thats why EV miles after charging is so low, the computer will assume that's what the speed will be next and it assumes the EV range accordianately.

 

Use EVNow on the city streets, and when it's stop and go, or slow and go, I'll use LOW, EVLater on FWY at 60mph or higher or even EVN when the traffic slows to a crawl. Uphill EVL, downhill EVN. I live in the Los Angeles, it's pretty flat, but going North on the Sepuldeda Pass, I'll use EVL going up the pass and EVN going down to the valley. Sometimes I gain 2 EV miles going down, going North or South using this method. YMMV, pun intended.

 

"... I'll use LOW, EVLater on FWY at 60mph or higher ..."

 

So, how fast can you go in LOW?

 

Also, is the consensus that I should drive the highway section (60~80mph) of my commute all in EV later? If so, my HVB won't be depleted when I get to work. They offer free recharging at work, which I want to take advantage of. So I like to arrive at work with a depleted HVB.

 

I sounds like I may be stuck with ~15 mi EV range due to my computer profile, at least until the ambient temperature rises due to spring/summer.

[murphy]

Low is not a gear change.  It puts regenerative braking on the accelerator pedal.

[jaydubau]

Low is not a gear change.  It puts regenerative braking on the accelerator pedal.

 

Oh. Thanks for clearing that up.

 

I can understand why you would want to use it (i.e. recharge the batteries more quickly), but why would you not want to use it?

 

Thanks

[murphy]

Oh. Thanks for clearing that up.

 

I can understand why you would want to use it (i.e. recharge the batteries more quickly), but why would you not want to use it?

 

Thanks

I have no idea.  Mine is in L whenever I am in EV Now mode and usually in the other modes.  It allows control down to about 5 mph using just the accelerator pedal.  The brakes are required to come to a full stop since there is no regen at that low of a speed in a 2013.  I understand the 2017 has an ACC follow mode which I think means the car now has electrically boosted brakes and it may work all of the way to a dead stop.  Correct me if I am wrong.

[Gkinla]

I have no idea.  Mine is in L whenever I am in EV Now mode and usually in the other modes.  It allows control down to about 5 mph using just the accelerator pedal.  The brakes are required to come to a full stop since there is no regen at that low of a speed in a 2013.  I understand the 2017 has an ACC follow mode which I think means the car now has electrically boosted brakes and it may work all of the way to a dead stop.  Correct me if I am wrong.

What I've read and understand, you are correct regarding the 2017 in ACC mode. I drive my 2016 FFE the same way you drive your 2013 FFE.

[fern88]

Hi All,

 

I'm looking at possibly buying a Used 2015 Fusion Energi Titanium with Park Assist and Moonroom with 38k miles.  They have it listed at 23k but I would like to see if they sell it for 19k or so.  I test drove it today for a second time.  I told them to have it charged so i can measure the battery usage.  I drove it for 4.6 miles with about 5 minutes of extra traffic on the freeway and the weather was about 65 degrees and windy in the mornign.  The car started with a range of 20 miles.  When I finished, it said there was 10 miles left.  I attached a photo of the trip Summary.  To me it seems like the battery is depleting really fast but asking owners to see if this seems to be a concern.

 

https://goo.gl/photos/GztjrgtMAd8u8H3x5

 

Thanks!

[murphy]

You didn't have the car in EV Now.  If you did the miles and EV miles would be identical.  You mentioned "freeway", high speed driving puts a dent in the battery in a big hurry.  The best use of EV is 45 mph or less.  The HVB needs to be at least at 70 degrees F to get optimum performance.  Did you have the heat on?  That is a 5 kW resistance heater that also puts a load on the battery.  The "20 miles" is a computed estimate based on how the car has been previously driven.  If you were driving into the wind you mentioned and at high speed that that is also a significant load on the battery.  "Drag" increases with the square of the speed.

 

I have a 2013.  In the summer I can easily make my regular 21 mile round trip in EV only mode.  In the winter I am lucky to get 10 miles before the HVB is depleted.

 

On the freeway put the car in EV Later so the ICE does the work.  Use EV Now for around town and for traffic jams.  My car is over 4 years old and I have never used Auto mode on purpose.

 

If you can, do the test again driving on local roads, no faster than 45 mph, and without heat or air conditioning and with the car in EV Now mode.  If you get a pop up telling you to push OK to use the engine, do NOT press OK, switch to a different screen to get rid of the request.

[fern88]

Great, thanks for the tip. I will try to drive it again today.

[muzicman61]

Great, thanks for the tip. I will try to drive it again today.

I realize this is a month old post and with no disrespect that doesn't sound like a good deal. Last week I bought a factory exec 2017 Titanium Emergi fully loaded with 7500 miles. Every option you can imagine. The sicker was $41K and I got it for $23K and got an extended 6 year 120,000 mile warranty for $1400.

Edited June 23, 2017 at 02:49 PM by muzicman61