Distance Gauge Accuracy on New Energi

[RonTheNerd]

Well, the article in the NY Times the other day was too much to pass up so i did a little research and discovered the baterry model was having trouble selling.  At the discounts and lease rates they offered, it was too much to pass up so we turned in the diesel jetta which we hated, and now have a new love-hate relationship to start with the new energi.  Just shy of 100 miles on the clock so far, my wife had a disconcerting issue with the meter to tell her if she was going to make it home after an 18 mile jaunt on a full charge this morning.  Seems the range gauge after only a few minutes went from 70 miles to only 43.  Yet when I calmed her down later and did the math I proved that the car did indeed do a 30 mile round trip and the gauge still reads 46 miles to go. 

 

So my question here is regarding 2 things:

1.  Does the battery on it's initial charges do quirky things as it gets accustomed to deep cycling?

2.  Does the gauge on the dash have an element of interpretation that should be applied when reading it based on starting with a full charge or does it get more accurate as the battery breaks in if there is such a thing?

 

Lastly: I can't tell if the battery is affected by opportunity charging.  I've sold electric forklifts for years and conventional lead acid batteries lose capacity if you only lighty use them and constantly top them up.  Hopefully this Lithium ion is not subject to the same malady, I know that some batteries like NiMH are not affected by this. 

 

Day 1 and we're cautiously optimistic about the long-term prospects for the car.

 

 

[murphy]

I don't understand your wife's concern.  The Energi has a gasoline engine to back up the electric drive.  To my knowledge there are no Energis on the street yet.  The production line is in its start up state.  LiIon batteries can be recharged at any time.  The remaining range depends on how the car is driven.  Jack rabbit starts from stop lights will use up the available energy much more quickly.

 

This forum is for the Ford Fusion Energi.

What car are you describing?

[Energized]

Sounds more like an Electric Focus being described

 

For the EV Focus the range gauge will adjust based on predicted energy draw, based on recent driving style/demand and will also adjust based on current demand, including use of the heater/air conditioning.

 

There are some forums dedicated to just the EV Focus that would have more in depth answers.

[shaggy314]

@murphy... I've seen a few CMax Energis', so there are a couple.

 

Remember the computer is trying to predict the future. It know how much gas/battery charge it has, how far it has gone, and what you are doing right now. It then tries to predict on that information how far until empty. Now if you turn on the A/C or get on the freeway, it comes up short, but will immediately change its numbers to be more accurate based on the right now. If you coast and use regenerative breaking, it will go up.

 

100 miles? Geesh, give it some time. You need to learn how to drive it and it needs to learn how to predict your driving. Ford says it takes 2 weeks for it to start learning your patterns so it knows better how to use the electric driving range (EV Now/Later/default). I'd say give it a month and at least 1000 for you guys to learn how to play the mileage game. It doesn't take much to learn how you are effecting your MPG. Ford, iirc, tells you to ignore it for the first 2000 miles anyway, that is barely 2 months for the average driver. Use the various options (Empower/Inform/Etc) on your left hand gauge to practice with and like biorhythms, relax, it will happen.

 

And yes, you are describing the Ford Focus Electric or FFE.