Wildly erratic range making car untrustworthy

Verbruggan said:

Under the speedometer is the battery gauge giving the level of charge. Each hash mark is about 10% with the red section 20% to 0...

Use this screen when you drive. Take the number of "mi/kWh" & multiply it by "35" ( "roughly" for kW battery size):

THAT NUMBER WILL BE THE TOTAL RANGE "IF" YOU HAD CHARGED TO 100%

Only 80% at start? Subtract from 35 (100%)
minus 3.5 (10% of 35) to = 31.5 (90%)
minus another 3.5 (10% of 35) to = 28 (80%)

Using the image below if my starting charge level was 80% & the "average" of my trip I maintained "overall" was 5.8 mi/kWh:
My range I could drive would be 162.4 miles. However at about 130-140 miles I would be looking for a stopping location to recharge...

Your numbers will change due to:

- your driving style
- your speed
- the terrain you drive
- what regeneration mode you are or are not using.
- whether or NOT you are using climate control (AC or Heat)

You have range anxiety. There is a 10 step program, you have come to the right place...
The key is to:
~know your starting charge %
~know where you have to go (in miles)
~take into account the route (hi-way? mtns? stop & go traffic? backroads?) all of which may help or hinder your range

Besides getting yourself better at math, these mathematical exercises will also take your mind off running out of electrons.

I've had trips that went from 4.1 to 5.9 to 4.7 to end at 5.4. However I knew I was going over some major mountains & hills for my route AND was on the highways at 65mph for 2 exits (range suck).

These are numbers for the back of your mind. The GAUGE UNDER THE SPEEDOMETER IS YOUR "FUEL TANK." Notice I did not call it gas tank...

You can do this. We believe in you.

Click to expand...

uscpsycho said:

I don't know if this is normal or if I have something wrong with my car but the range on this thing is completely erratic and unreliable. And so I can never trust it, which makes me nervous to drive the car very far. This weekend I drove 22 miles away and recorded my range at different points of the drive. I charged to 80% with the e-planner before leaving and had 118 miles of range. This is what happened.

At 12 miles I added 16 miles to my range, up to 134. HOW?!?
At the 22 mile destination I had exactly the same number of miles I started with.

On the return trip I again started with 118 miles of range and things got crazy!

At 4 miles I lost 20 miles of range.
At 6 miles I lost 25 miles of range.
At 9 miles I lost 30 miles of range.
At 12 miles I lost 35 miles of range.
At 14 miles I lost 40 miles of range.
At 15 miles I lost 45 miles of range.
At 17 miles I lost 50 miles of range.
At 18 miles I lost 55 miles of range.
At 19 miles I lost 60 miles of range.
At 21 miles I lost 65 miles of range.
At 22 miles I think it was still 65 miles lost.

HOW did I go from 118 miles to 134 miles of range after driving the first 12 miles?!?!? This is more than 100% battery range but it still showed 80% on the meter. I was so surprised I took a photo of the instrument panel and got a screenshot of Car-net app showing 134 miles of range at 80% charge. At 22 miles I returned to where I started with 118 miles of range. Again, weird! Then I lost 65 miles on the final 22 mile return drive. So I lost a total 65 miles of range in just 44 miles and I had 53 miles of range left upon my return.

The problem is at no time did I ever have an accurate reading of my true range. So how can I ever count on the reported range???

I think something was way off when it said I had 118 miles with 80% charge to start and even worse when it said 134 miles of range at 80% after 12 miles. I thought 118 was too high and expected it to drop rapidly instead of increase.

If we assume 53 miles at the end is the correct, then the starting range should have said 97, which would have made sense for 80% charge. And then it should have steadily dropped to 53 instead of wildly fluctuating.

What I experienced on this trip is not unusual, I am often getting range changes that feel random and never reflect the distance I've traveled. It is beyond frustrating. My car is less than two weeks old with just about 300 miles on it so still very new. Is this eventually going to stabilize? Or is this normal for this car? Or do I have a problem that needs to get checked out?

HELP!

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bjwong731 said:

Recent new owner here, since late June and 600 miles in.

After awhile, I've also stopped relying on the GOM. I now monitor the gauge and percentage from car net instead.

My daily work commute is almost 40 miles. To work will drain about 15% (against traffic, 60-65 mph). Wild GOM swings here, I have seen 20-30 mile reductions. Back home about 10% (bridge traffic, but coasting and regen possio.ble). Sometimes no or nominal GOM change.

Think my first real anxiety attack will be in Nov, if I decide to drive the golf to Sacramento (from SF) for conference.

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JoulesThief said:

Just make sure you can get 4 hours min on a level 2 208V 30 amp EVSE while in Sacramento, and you'll be fine. I would charge to 100% right before you leave and also in Sacramento. Shows it's about 85 to 90 miles, not really sure where exactly you are leaving from in SF and where you are exactly arriving to, in Sac, do a route calculation on Google Maps for miles for the route, or load it into your GPS in your car.

Click to expand...

Verbruggan said:

Under the speedometer is the battery gauge giving the level of charge. Each hash mark is about 10% with the red section 20% to 0...

Use this screen when you drive. Take the number of "mi/kWh" & multiply it by "35" ( "roughly" for kW battery size):

THAT NUMBER WILL BE THE TOTAL RANGE "IF" YOU HAD CHARGED TO 100%

Only 80% at start? Subtract from 35 (100%)
minus 3.5 (10% of 35) to = 31.5 (90%)
minus another 3.5 (10% of 35) to = 28 (80%)

Using the image below if my starting charge level was 80% & the "average" of my trip I maintained "overall" was 5.8 mi/kWh:
My range I could drive would be 162.4 miles. However at about 130-140 miles I would be looking for a stopping location to recharge...

Your numbers will change due to:

- your driving style
- your speed
- the terrain you drive
- what regeneration mode you are or are not using.
- whether or NOT you are using climate control (AC or Heat)

You have range anxiety. There is a 10 step program, you have come to the right place...
The key is to:
~know your starting charge %
~know where you have to go (in miles)
~take into account the route (hi-way? mtns? stop & go traffic? backroads?) all of which may help or hinder your range

Besides getting yourself better at math, these mathematical exercises will also take your mind off running out of electrons.

I've had trips that went from 4.1 to 5.9 to 4.7 to end at 5.4. However I knew I was going over some major mountains & hills for my route AND was on the highways at 65mph for 2 exits (range suck).

These are numbers for the back of your mind. The GAUGE UNDER THE SPEEDOMETER IS YOUR "FUEL TANK." Notice I did not call it gas tank...

You can do this. We believe in you.

Click to expand...

JoulesThief said:

Quit worrying about it... Drive more, worry less.

Get 6 months of experience under your belt, you are just at the beginning of a steep learning curve like with any new device, where the technology changes. It takes time to learn the nuances of new technology.

Electric cars do better in city traffic because you can recapture some of your kinetic energy as potential energy, when you have to slow down. In a ICE, that kinetic energy is captured in the form of heat, your brake rotors and your brake pads. It's lost, in terms of adding to your MPG. In an electric car, you recapture 70 to 80% of it in the form of the electric motor in you car being then used as a generator, putting electricity back into your battery, where it can be used again to push you down the road, otherwise known as storing potential energy in the battery.

This is why an electric car is superior in city stop and go traffic.

Despite it's weight, a LiPo cell stores far, far, far less energy for it's weight, than hydrocarbon based fuel. Liken your e-Golf battery to a 4 gallon tank of gas, in terms of capacity and range between refilling it back up. If you only charge to 80%, liken it to a 3 gallon gas tank, in terms of range.

The energy density of batteries for 7 to 8 kWh has a long ways to go before it's close to energy content of 1 gallon of diesel fuel. Both will get you around 30 miles of distance, in normal driving. Drive highway and a gallon of diesel fuel will get you 45 or 50 miles down the road. 8 8 kWh of battery capacity probably weighs close to 200 pounds, just in battery and dead weight being carried around to store it. A gallon of diesel fuel weighs around 7 pounds. Carry that dead weight up a hill, and you'll see how much energy it takes to go uphill. If you want a more personal experience, get on a mountain bike and climb a fire road up with 3000 ft increase in vertical elevation. Take a Camelbak, and add 30 pounds additional weight to it, and pedal up that same mountain. See how much longer it takes you, hauling an extra 30 pounds uphill. You will become keenly aware of energy management if you do that quite a few times, riding mountain bikes.

You waste a tremendous amount of energy pushing and stopping a 3450# car to carry a 125 to 250 # person around on their commute. Most of the energy is wasted pushing the car around, not the passenger or driver.

If you want real efficiency, get on a road bicycle and pedal. You will also then understand why so many roadies on road bikes run stop signs and red lights, trying to preserve kinetic energy losses.

Click to expand...

msvphoto said:

JoulesThief said:

Quit worrying about it... Drive more, worry less.

Get 6 months of experience under your belt, you are just at the beginning of a steep learning curve like with any new device, where the technology changes. It takes time to learn the nuances of new technology.

Electric cars do better in city traffic because you can recapture some of your kinetic energy as potential energy, when you have to slow down. In a ICE, that kinetic energy is captured in the form of heat, your brake rotors and your brake pads. It's lost, in terms of adding to your MPG. In an electric car, you recapture 70 to 80% of it in the form of the electric motor in you car being then used as a generator, putting electricity back into your battery, where it can be used again to push you down the road, otherwise known as storing potential energy in the battery.

This is why an electric car is superior in city stop and go traffic.

Despite it's weight, a LiPo cell stores far, far, far less energy for it's weight, than hydrocarbon based fuel. Liken your e-Golf battery to a 4 gallon tank of gas, in terms of capacity and range between refilling it back up. If you only charge to 80%, liken it to a 3 gallon gas tank, in terms of range.

The energy density of batteries for 7 to 8 kWh has a long ways to go before it's close to energy content of 1 gallon of diesel fuel. Both will get you around 30 miles of distance, in normal driving. Drive highway and a gallon of diesel fuel will get you 45 or 50 miles down the road. 8 8 kWh of battery capacity probably weighs close to 200 pounds, just in battery and dead weight being carried around to store it. A gallon of diesel fuel weighs around 7 pounds. Carry that dead weight up a hill, and you'll see how much energy it takes to go uphill. If you want a more personal experience, get on a mountain bike and climb a fire road up with 3000 ft increase in vertical elevation. Take a Camelbak, and add 30 pounds additional weight to it, and pedal up that same mountain. See how much longer it takes you, hauling an extra 30 pounds uphill. You will become keenly aware of energy management if you do that quite a few times, riding mountain bikes.

You waste a tremendous amount of energy pushing and stopping a 3450# car to carry a 125 to 250 # person around on their commute. Most of the energy is wasted pushing the car around, not the passenger or driver.

If you want real efficiency, get on a road bicycle and pedal. You will also then understand why so many roadies on road bikes run stop signs and red lights, trying to preserve kinetic energy losses.

Click to expand...

I thought they were just bad/lazy riders. (And yes, I have been a cyclist for decades.) Don't get me started on the way people ride rental electric bikes.

Click to expand...

JoulesThief said:

msvphoto said:

JoulesThief said:

Quit worrying about it... Drive more, worry less.

Get 6 months of experience under your belt, you are just at the beginning of a steep learning curve like with any new device, where the technology changes. It takes time to learn the nuances of new technology.

Electric cars do better in city traffic because you can recapture some of your kinetic energy as potential energy, when you have to slow down. In a ICE, that kinetic energy is captured in the form of heat, your brake rotors and your brake pads. It's lost, in terms of adding to your MPG. In an electric car, you recapture 70 to 80% of it in the form of the electric motor in you car being then used as a generator, putting electricity back into your battery, where it can be used again to push you down the road, otherwise known as storing potential energy in the battery.

This is why an electric car is superior in city stop and go traffic.

Despite it's weight, a LiPo cell stores far, far, far less energy for it's weight, than hydrocarbon based fuel. Liken your e-Golf battery to a 4 gallon tank of gas, in terms of capacity and range between refilling it back up. If you only charge to 80%, liken it to a 3 gallon gas tank, in terms of range.

The energy density of batteries for 7 to 8 kWh has a long ways to go before it's close to energy content of 1 gallon of diesel fuel. Both will get you around 30 miles of distance, in normal driving. Drive highway and a gallon of diesel fuel will get you 45 or 50 miles down the road. 8 8 kWh of battery capacity probably weighs close to 200 pounds, just in battery and dead weight being carried around to store it. A gallon of diesel fuel weighs around 7 pounds. Carry that dead weight up a hill, and you'll see how much energy it takes to go uphill. If you want a more personal experience, get on a mountain bike and climb a fire road up with 3000 ft increase in vertical elevation. Take a Camelbak, and add 30 pounds additional weight to it, and pedal up that same mountain. See how much longer it takes you, hauling an extra 30 pounds uphill. You will become keenly aware of energy management if you do that quite a few times, riding mountain bikes.

You waste a tremendous amount of energy pushing and stopping a 3450# car to carry a 125 to 250 # person around on their commute. Most of the energy is wasted pushing the car around, not the passenger or driver.

If you want real efficiency, get on a road bicycle and pedal. You will also then understand why so many roadies on road bikes run stop signs and red lights, trying to preserve kinetic energy losses.

Click to expand...

I thought they were just bad/lazy riders. (And yes, I have been a cyclist for decades.) Don't get me started on the way people ride rental electric bikes.

Click to expand...

Probably that, and think they are above the law, for being so green. Running a stop sign is running a stop sign. Here in CA, you are subject to the same motor vehicle code, if you share the road with motor vehicles. We now have idiots on battery powered scooters running over pedestrians on sidewalks here in L.A. The app says you're supposed to ride the scooters in the streets, not sideWALKS, which are strictly for pedestrians. No common sense, it seems.

Click to expand...

Sparklebeard said:

if you set the ‘since last charge’ display to show up in the digital dash, does that not stay there when you next start up? I usually keep ‘distance since last charge’ up in the dash as my default

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uscpsycho said:

Sparklebeard said:

if you set the ‘since last charge’ display to show up in the digital dash, does that not stay there when you next start up? I usually keep ‘distance since last charge’ up in the dash as my default

Click to expand...

Yes, you're right, on the digital dashboard it will come back. I was setting that screen on the infotainment display and there it will not return when you restart the car.

Off topic question rather than starting a new thread. How do I switch the odometer reading between actual car odometer and trip counter? The manual doesn't specify how to switch between the two. It only tells you that it can give you both, and it tells you how to reset the trip counter to zero. But how do you toggle?

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