Heater reduces reported range by 12-- 15 miles instantly

[Farallon5]

Newbie question alert! Turning the heater on instantly reduces the range estimate on the dash by 12-15 miles. If you turn the heater off, it goes back up to what it was before. Is this considered "normal"? :ugeek:

 

[forbin404]

Newbie question alert! Turning the heater on instantly reduces the range estimate on the dash by 12-15 miles. If you turn the heater off, it goes back up to what it was before. Is this considered "normal"? :ugeek:

I've never seen that, but then I drive my car sorta 'hard' and never get the super economy you mentioned in another thread.

 

[f1geek]

Yes, I'd say losing 12-15 miles of range is normal, depending on how cold it is outside and how warm you want it inside your car. If you turn off the cabin heat and instead turn on the seat heater, you'll see much less loss of range. Also, if you drive in Eco mode, you should see a smaller drop in range with the same climate settings.

Gasoline and diesel powered cars also lose range in cold weather, but because the equivalent fuel tank is so large, you don't notice it as much as in an e-Golf.

 

[johnnylingo]

I'll typically see 10% range loss when using climate control on very cold days, so that's normal. Generating heat pulls lots of electricity, especially on the 2016 SE and 2015 LE models since they don't have a heat pump.

 

[Rsolaregolf]

Our 2015 SEl with heat pump drops 8-10% when the heater is on. If you put the defroster to MAX it drops about 20% but it only needs to be briefly, < 1 minute to completely clear the windshield.

 

[JoulesThief]

I dress for the weather in season as if I was outside of my car and don't use the accessories. Of course that's a lot easier to do in Southern California with mild Winters but the summers are hot, so I just roll the windows a crack them and drink lots of water. I rarely use the AC and I rarely use the heater. Not worth it to me to lose the range and have to recharge the battery more frequently. I find that October through March, my range decreases significantly, at least 10 to 12 miles lost per recharge, especially in December and January. It takes much more battery to warm up all the lube and grease in the CV joints, bearings and gearbox / drive train during the colder month, increasing rolling resistance significantly. Also wonder if the same occurs to the rolling resistance of the rubber in the tires in winter.

It was 85F today in Los Angeles where I live, and I am on an indicated 125 miles of range on the guess-o-meter, and 6.3 miles per kwh on this battery charge, about 105 miles on this charge, 17 miles left on the charge.. 10,200 miles on the car, 17 months in my possession.

 

[Jeremy1026]

Newbie question alert! Turning the heater on instantly reduces the range estimate on the dash by 12-15 miles. If you turn the heater off, it goes back up to what it was before. Is this considered "normal"? :ugeek:

This is perfectly normal. You lose about 10% of your range when you turn on the heat (with a ~40˚ difference), however that "loss" is based on using all of the available charge. Which is why you get the range back as soon as you turn it off. Same with seat heat, defrosters, and AC. All drains on the battery are shown "if used continuously for the rest of the battery" when they are activated.

 

[Deschodt]

Wife drove it to work yesterday and recharged there... she had 81 miles range when she left, drove 10 miles, and arrived home with only 51! So the heater alone used up 20 miles of range (SE)!!! Crazy... I since read it was a good idea to turn on heater before you get in the car with the app, and let it do that while on the charger I guess... Good to know ! So 20 for us ! Then again do we trust this range indicator, nope we don't...But it did suck up power because the car took another long recharge at home.

 

[johnnylingo]

do we trust this range indicator, nope we don't...But it did suck up power because the car took another long recharge at home.

The range indication is generated by an algorithm that makes a guess based off current driving profile. The battery percentage is always the real source of truth.

I play this game every morning because the first 15 miles of my commute are on the highway going uphill. 5 miles up, my range has gone from 100 to 80. 5 more miles, it's down to 70. By the time I'm at the summit, it's down around 60 at best...50 at worst if I'm using the heater.

The initial instinct is to panic because 25-35 miles of range have been "lost", but all I care about is battery remaining, which is around 3/4ths.

 

[Deschodt]

yes exactly, I figured that out week 1 and immediately banished the range indicator off the dash, and recently thanks to a tip also from the trip indicator area... Now it's gauge only for me ;-)