Range decrease due to cold weather [merged thread]

[Kithmo]

Not for me . . Its not realistic to lose 60 miles of your top end . But Do what suits you

But you are still losing 60 miles off your top end but you just choose to ignore it, but if it makes you feel better, so be it.

 

[Rolfe]

On the basic SR version (in UK), i've seen it as low as 136miles, which is about right in practice. Not a major issue as such, but if you do a lot of travel away from home in winter then it can be problematic - Our annual holiday in Scotland, each January was going to be in the MG4 (500 miles each way), but it isn't really a valid option, so will have to dig out our old VW Tiguan like last year.

I think the lowest I've seen is 145 miles. On 23rd December I started on 100% and belted down the motorway to Penrith, which is about 95 miles. At that point I only had 28 miles range on the GOM so there was no way I was going on (Kirkby Lonsdale, the next reasonable charging site, was 38 miles ahead). That suggests that belting down the motorway with the heating on and the ACC set at 75 gives me little more than 120 miles to empty.

However after I charged at Penrith I only had about 30 miles of motorway before turning off on to the A65 for another 60 miles of much slower A road. When I left the motorway the GOM was showing just about the same range as the distance to Halifax, my destination. For a moment I thought maybe I should charge a little more at Kirkby Lonsdale anyway, but then reasoned that the GOM estimate, calculated at motorway speeds, was no longer relevant on the A road, and I'd be fine.

So it proved. The range steadily mounted relative to the remaining distance shown in Android Auto, and I got there with plenty in hand. After an overnight charge on a type 2 charger (free, because the charger didn't register the charge, that's the second time that's happened to me on that unit) the GOM was actually showing 157 miles. It must have based that mainly on the final 60 miles on the A65.

 

[K15DNS]

My Mg fully charged with 220 miles only managed 90 miles yesterday, had the car 6 months and its getting worst, steady driving demister on only when i couldnt see, WTF is wrong with it?
any ideas how to get my milage back up?

 

[lsb777]

My Mg fully charged with 220 miles only managed 90 miles yesterday, had the car 6 months and its getting worst, steady driving demister on only when i couldnt see, WTF is wrong with it?
any ideas how to get my milage back up?

Any idea of the efficency and average speed figures for your journey? I started with 100% (203 estimated) Saturday morning in Xpower. Approx 0c weather but no rain/snow. Drove 105 miles mainly motorways in ECO mode at 54mph avg and used 56% of battery with 2.9mls/kWh avg. HVAC was on 1 fan speed, ECO and 24c. Figures at end shows 82 miles left and 44% battery.

 

[K15DNS]

When I set off 220 miles range, did the 90 miles between motorway and A roads. speeds were mainly between 50-60-70 at the 90 mile point the journey got me to within 5 miles of home but only 2 miles of range, luckly landed at a pub with a charger, 3.4mls/kwh eco modes full regen on, no aircon other than a few minutes every now and the to clear screen, just can live with this range.
In the summer i was exceeding the estimated range driving the same but not having blowers on to clear screen. If I could give this back I would but salary sacrifice for the next 2.5 yrs

 

[K15DNS]

This was also before Christmas, its taken a while to get added to the site but I think I remeber things correctly

 

[AB71]

.

 

[lsb777]

When I set off 220 miles range, did the 90 miles between motorway and A roads. speeds were mainly between 50-60-70 at the 90 mile point the journey got me to within 5 miles of home but only 2 miles of range, luckly landed at a pub with a charger, 3.4mls/kwh eco modes full regen on, no aircon other than a few minutes every now and the to clear screen, just can live with this range.
In the summer i was exceeding the estimated range driving the same but not having blowers on to clear screen. If I could give this back I would but salary sacrifice for the next 2.5 yrs

Yeah those numbers (from the car, not you!) don't add up. The usable battery is 50.8 kWh on the SE SR, so with an efficiency of 3.4 it would indicate a 100% range of 172.72 approx. so it doesn't make sense why the range would drop so much in contradiction to the efficiency. If you ended the journey on 2.0mls/kWh then I could understand. Resetting the trip computers wouldn't really achieve anything. I'd see how it goes over the next couple of weeks and then the inevitable call to the local MG dealership to query this. All the best

 

[Rolfe]

I can't see an SE SR having a realistic GOM range of 220 miles in this weather anyway. Yes I sometimes see that in summer if I haven't been driving like a maniac, but I'm lucky to see 160 miles this weather. Often it's only 140-150 miles.

This is very weird behaviour, and even omitting the 10% to 100% slow charge surely shouldn't cause that.

Before Christmas I did 95 miles at fast motorway speeds (I had the ACC set at 75 mph) with the heater on quite high the entire time. I got to my selected charging station on about 20% with the GOM showing 28 miles. Admittedly it wasn't actually freezing, temperatures were around 6C I think, but even so it wasn't bad and it was what I was expecting. I can't remember where the GOM was when I started, but I think it was about 155 miles. I knew I wouldn't get that because I intended to drive fast with the heating on.

I charged to 85% and set off again, maybe another 30 miles of the fast motorway driving, followed by 60 miles of A road which was a fair bit slower but I still wasn't hanging about. Again I got to my destination at about 20% with the GOM reading (I think) 30 miles.

If this happened to @K15DNS before Christmas then I assume temperatures were similar. There's something very wrong there, not just the GOM but the actual range of the car I think. If the battery has been balanced regularly I think the dealer needs to deal with this.

 

[Martinonline]

K15DNS do you have battery heating set in the app or in the car?

 

[dsimpkins]

Factors that will affect your range:
1, Speed, you reach a point where aerodynamics will result in more drag, therefore more power required, reducing range. 70mph will use more battery than say 60mph. There is a sweet spot. About 60-65mph I've found.
2, Weather, temperature, strong headwinds, rain, resulting in more use of heater, etc.
3, Driving style, it's fun to drive and easy to hit that go pedal, but use the power meter bottom right of dash to drive the most efficiently. Try to keep it at 10% or under for maximum miles/kWh.
4, Traffic. Stuck in slow moving traffic with the heater on in winter will drop the range.
5, Terrain, lots of hills will use more power. A regular long journey I make uses different amounts of battery as one way is more downhill, and the other way is more uphill. About 5% difference over a 90 mile journey.
6, Car settings, ECO mode, brake regen, heater/aircon settings all will make a difference if you're trying to maximise your range. Some people turn heater on/off during a journey, but I've found keeping it on constantly but at lower settings to be more efficient.
7, Battery preheat. Unless you live in a very cold climate (not the UK), then switch it off. Should only need it for sub zero temperatures. It eats battery range, and you would only need it to preheat battery prior to a rapid charge if the journey to the rapid charger is less than 30 minutes. If you're using a rapid charger part way through the journey, the battery will have warmed up sufficiently from the drive.

As others have said, if you were getting 3.4miles/kWh, then you should have got much better range than 90 miles. At that efficiency, a 90 mile journey (the one I make regularly) would use about 32-36% battery in this weather. I do have the long range battery, but even so, you shouldn't be using close to 100% of the battery for that distance.

 

[Ian Key]

My Mg fully charged with 220 miles only managed 90 miles yesterday, had the car 6 months and its getting worst, steady driving demister on only when i couldnt see, WTF is wrong with it?
any ideas how to get my milage back up?

When was the last time you did a balance charge at 100% on a slow charger and have you discharged the battery below 10% before charging it, again with a slow charger?

 

[ukslim]

Most of the time we potter around within a 15 mile radius. We have occasional 150m+ motorway journeys. We always notice the range estimations plummet after those journeys.

On one journey, Google Maps sent us on 60mph A-roads with bends and hills, rather than the M54 and the faster roads beyond it. It was 150 miles in the Trophy LR, and used only 60% of the battery. Climbing the Cambrian mountains brought our efficiency down, but regen on the descent brought it right back up.

My Mg fully charged with 220 miles only managed 90 miles yesterday, had the car 6 months and its getting worst, steady driving demister on only when i couldnt see, WTF is wrong with it?
any ideas how to get my milage back up?

90 miles from a full battery sounds like a "take it to the dealer and get it fixed on warranty" issue.

 

[K15DNS]

So its in at Stoneacre Derby today, lets see whats is said from them. The worst bit about them having it is I am now driving a Fiat 500 loaner car

 

[Rolfe]

Please keep us posted.

 

[CarbonEV]

I know during winter, and especially last few days with snow/ice, range is going to take a hit.

But from 209 miles at 100%, it went down to 51% after only 60 miles.

This is through very easy/relaxed driving, heating on full for 5-10 mins, dropping to 26c and fan speed of 3.

Is this still considered normal?

What can be expected on the opposite time of the year when temps hit 20-30°C ?

 

[MuzGB1970]

I've found that I get around 2.5mi/kWh during the winter but could be as low as 2mi/kWh for short journeys or heater on high, that equates to between 125 and 155 miles for a full charge, so about 90 to 110 miles usable for the 10% to 80% range. In the summer my highest figures have been 4.8mi/kWh.

 

[DBedford]

We are down to 164 on our ZS TLR at 80% from what was in the Summer around 230, so yes sorry to say it’s normal.

 

[Jomarkh]

I know during winter, and especially last few days with snow/ice, range is going to take a hit.

But from 209 miles at 100%, it went down to 51% after only 60 miles.

This is through very easy/relaxed driving, heating on full for 5-10 mins, dropping to 26c and fan speed of 3.

Is this still considered normal?

What can be expected on the opposite time of the year when temps hit 20-30°C ?

What is you m/kWh showing under 3 is normal for winter and 4 is good for the summer

 

[MSvirus]

I did 20 kWh per 100 km in -6C, and 30 kWh per 100 km in -20°C, every parameter otherwise the same. So that would equal on my Xpower around 300 km (~180 miles) in -6 and 200 km (~125 miles) in -20. So a bit better than your numbers, but it is a significant loss yeah. I did preheat the battery and interior before driving, when connected to the charger.