Range Remaining Lower at Full Charge

[curraheeeasyc]

The last two times I've charged to full, all the bars are full, but the range remaining only shows 52, when 62 would be normal. I haven't changed anything about my route or driving style, so I don't think that's what's causing it. The only thing that I can think is different is weather; I'm in New Orleans, so I normally drive in very hot weather, and lately it's been 30s-40s. I know that's not very cold, but it is different. I haven't been running the heater, but have been using the seat warmer.

Any thoughts? Is it battery health or just something random that I don't need to worry about? I don't have any battery diagnostic tools or apps, but I would think the full bars means that it's not battery health...

Thanks for any insight!

 

[JoeS]

It's winter - I wouldn't worry about it. Seat heater has a negligible contribution to range decrease.

What year is your i-MiEV?

You say that RR=62 is normal... do you fully fully charge the car often in that NOLA heat? THAT I would worry about from the perspective of battery longevity...

If you're concerned, invest in a bluetooth OBDLink LX or MX and one of the apps discussed on this forum so that you can actually measure your traction battery's capacity in ampere-hours.

 

[curraheeeasyc]

It's a 2012; I've had it for a year, approx 30K miles on it, previously it was in Illinois I believe. Typically it shows 62, but 58 or 64 happen sometimes too.

Just before this it was showing 62 at full charge. Recently it only charged a couple of bars when I charged it overnight, and the charger had a fault indicated, so I just unplugged and replugged it, and it charged fully, but that is when it only showed 52 miles RR, even with all the bars showing...wonder if that has something to do with it?

I usually charge it every 3 days or so, which means it's at 25-35% battery, occasionally I take it to 1 or 2 bars. My round trip commute is only about 15 miles, occasionally more if I have errands during the day.

 

[kiev]

i think it is related to colder weather also and i see this on my car too.

In the summer with hot temperatures i can consistently see RR in the 70's and 80's; and if driven carefully it will reach those values. In the winter with cold temps the RR is below 62, and i don't try to push it.

The RR can be suprisingly accurate considering all the variables involved, it makes a good guide. If it shows 52 in the morning with a full charge, then don't go trying to set any 80-mile record runs.

Make sure the HVAC controller is not on Auto mode.

 

[Don]

I usually charge it every 3 days or so, which means it's at 25-35% battery, occasionally I take it to 1 or 2 bars. My round trip commute is only about 15 miles, occasionally more if I have errands during the day.

The difference could also be that occasional deviation from your usual round trip commute of 15 miles - Depending on where you went, how fast and so forth could cause your next recharge to be . . . . different

I occasionally jump on the freeway for about 3 miles to go across the bay and when I do, my next recharge is guaranteed to give me a lower than 'normal' RR. Even though it is lower, if the next charge doesn't involve any freeway at all, the car will go farther than the RR would suggest it will

If you get the lower RR numbers for 3 or 4 recharges in a row, then you've got something worth investigating, but just a single recharge with an unusual number doesn't mean too much, IMO

Don

 

[curraheeeasyc]

Update: after the full charge that only showed 52 miles RR, I drove it until one bar left (which showed 5 miles RR). I charged to full, RR now shows 59 miles, which is fine considering I drove to diminish it including running the heater, so I consider that back to normal. Oddly though the charger says it only put 10.5 kWh into it to get it full, which should be more like 13-14 right? I’m not worried anymore, more curious than anything. Thanks for all of y’all’s insights so far!

 

[JoeS]

Update: after the full charge that only showed 52 miles RR, I drove it until one bar left (which showed 5 miles RR). I charged to full, RR now shows 59 miles, which is fine considering I drove to diminish it including running the heater, so I consider that back to normal. Oddly though the charger says it only put 10.5 kWh into it to get it full, which should be more like 13-14 right? I’m not worried anymore, more curious than anything. Thanks for all of y’all’s insights so far!

currah, glad to hear you're no longer concerned. Two points:

1. I seem to recall a discussion which said that the Range Remaining algorithm does not consider past HVAC energy consumption in its predictions, and only responds to the HVAC switch (~20% for Heat, ~10% for Cooling, also fan speed dependent).

2. 10.5kWh (measured) put back into the car sounds about right if you consider expected battery degradation, even with the OBC losses.

 

[curraheeeasyc]

Great points, I hadn’t considered the degradation!