Looking at (used) eGolfs - questions

[TSQ]

Hi all,

Contemplating the purchase of an eGolf as a commuter vehicle here in Southern Ontario and was hoping to get some feedback from the community. My better half's round trip commute is about 100 kms (60 mi) and mine is about 50 kms (30 mi) - we would probably each drive it two days a week. It would be a 2017+ for the larger battery, probably 2018+ as experience has taught me to avoid the first year of a new vehicle (or refresh). Ideally something with lower mileage, in the 50k~75k km (30k~50k mi) range.

Q1) Regarding trim levels:

My understanding is that the only trim level available in Canada is Comfortline? All Canadian eGolfs include a 7.2 kW AC charger (30 A @240 VAC), and are 50 kW DCFC capable?

Three option packages are available?

1. Technology - can tell quickly by larger infotainment screen / lack of physical volume knob?
2. Driver's aid - can tell quickly by digital dash?
3. Leatherette?

Any must have options? Things to avoid?

Q2) Regarding general vehicle condition:

Anything in particular to look out for? Corrosion spots? Things that break?

Q3) Regarding battery pack degradation:

Battery health is probably my greatest concern, and I've tried to do as much research as possible. While I have not owned an EV I do have experience with larger lithium packs at work and smaller batteries in my popup trailer, etc. I am well aware of the effects of temperature (hot and cold - and that the eGolf battery does not have active thermal management), the detrimental effects of pushing cells outside their comfort level (best to stay in 20%~80% SOC range), as well as rapid charging (and discharging).

Now that the eGolfs have been around for a while is battery degradation really a problem?

With the ~36 kWh pack:

• and a ~100 kW motor the pack probably never sees a peak discharge over 3C (3 times capacity), even with ancillary loads;
• and a ~200 km (~125 mi) range (~two hours of driving) the average discharge rate is probably around 0.5C
• and a ~7 kW AC charger the pack would only charge at a paltry 0.2C;
• even DC fast charging at ~50 kW would only be ~1.4C, and it seems ~40 kW is typical which is barely above 1C for the pack.

This all seems fairly conservative for the Samsung NCM333 cells used in the pack? With the 88s3p configuration each individual cell should only see a maximum peak dischage rate of 1C and charge rate of less than 0.5C? I could see the earlier/smaller ~24 kWh packs having more problems as the cells are working harder (likely why motor output was lower - to limit peak pack discharge to ~3C).

Q4) Measuring battery pack health (and other stuff):

It would be great to have a relatively simple way to check battery health when looking at used eGolfs (without driving them for a full cycle). I understand that the BMS does not provide a straight up battery health value, but the current capacity can be calculated estimated by dividing the remaining kWh capacity by the SOC value? I've seen a bunch of posts that indicate that the usable energy when new is more like ~32 kWh?

I see that OBDeleven has a proprietary dongle and software that lets you read the required battery parameters, as well as do some feature programming coding. Looks like some people use Car Scanner (Pro?) to read battery info using a generic ELM327 dongle.

I already have an OBDLink MX+ and use Torque with my other vehicles. Has anyone used Torque Pro to read eGolf battery info? Looks like it already has some basic battery PIDs in the sensor list (not sure if the default ones work with the eGolf?), and there is a comprehensive list of VW PIDs here: https://www.goingelectric.de/forum/viewtopic.php?t=60894&start=10#p1758362

Interestingly, it looks like there is a PID (1E32) for cumulative kWh charged and discharged (at least for the id.3, not sure if it works with the eGolf)?

 

[f1geek]

Great questions!
I have a 2017 - since it is a mild refresh, I would not worry about a 2017. I initially had a 2015 and feel there are no bugs in the 2017.

All 2017+ cars should have a CCS1 port with a 32 amp OBC. Car maxes out at~39-40 kW at any station that supplies at least 50 kW. I have 73,000 miles on my 2017 (purchased in 2018) and estimate deg at ~9%. High temp/high SOC is worst case scenario for lithium ion packs. Cold does no damage, though range is reduced due to slower rate of chemical reaction (Ahrrenius law). When new only about 31 kWh is usable capacity. My car has about 28.5 kWh usable energy now.

I like the parking sensors, heat pump, and leatherette (Vtex) seats in my LE (a very rare spec - something like 6 cars were sold with this package in the USA). The parking sensor system auto-brakes and it once saved me from bumping into a trash can.

I don't know about Canadian packages, but I do not have the digital dash and like having the volume knob on the infotainment system.

I have successfully used OBD Eleven and CarScanner to get pack usable capacity -they both seem pretty accurate compared to a real world test. GOM is pretty accurate, too, the way I drive - gently and usually go the speed limit. I also usually drive in Eco mode.