New eGolf Owner: Loving it so far! Quick questions

[JoulesThief]

If it were just me in the eGolf, I'd dress up and deal with it. However, I've got two young kids sitting in the back. I'm not going to make them suffer in the cold.

Looks like hitting the "Start" button ahead of time, and letting the heat run while plugged in, is the free & universal solution.

About the windshield -- I purchased a windshield cover that you place on the outside. This should keep the snow, ice & frost off.

I think you'll find that your strategy isn't going to work. No only will the car shut down a minute or two after you get out, I don't think the heat and A/C work when the start button is pushed while plugged in. I think you will have to use the CarNet preconditioning function to get the desired result.

I confirmed this /\ yesterday, the lone car charging at a Sheriff station in Castaic, CA.... AC will not work with start button on, but not in "run" mode, or I'll call it "accessories' mode. It works quite well with Car-Net, but Car-Net will leave the vent open, not in recirculate, and it won't select "top vents" only. All it activates is turning on the AC function, at 72F... which is why I think VW has the temperature overide and the fan on, every time you start the car. They have set the car up with it (72F) as a default value for if you want to precondition the car with Car-Net, while plugged in.

 

[jack8trades]

... Looks like hitting the "Start" button ahead of time, and letting the heat run while plugged in, is the free & universal solution.
...

I think you'll find that your strategy isn't going to work. No only will the car shut down a minute or two after you get out, I don't think the heat and A/C work when the start button is pushed while plugged in. I think you will have to use the CarNet preconditioning function to get the desired result.

I've never had my car shut itself down when started while plugged in, which doesn't allow the drive train to engage. I think this is why the car beeps a constant loud warning anytime I open the driver's door in this state. Also, heat & A/C definitely work then -- at least for me -- maybe there's a setting which affects this, such as the one controlling whether car-net can start the climate control while the car's unplugged?

In fact, I have started the car unplugged, into ready mode but without ever taking it out of park, and it stayed that way for over 5 minutes with no one in the car (and I'd bet it would remain so for a long time with a full battery.)

 

[miimura]

You are right. If you start the car unplugged and don't move it, the car will keep "running", maybe indefinitely. However, if you do something like pull the car out of the garage, then get out to do something before actually leaving, it will shut down.

 

[phr00t]

I'm not so worried about running the A/C while sitting, but heat. I can do a good job of keeping the car cool enough with a windshield cover & windows cracked open in the summer, but not so good keeping the cabin warm in the winter. Last time I checked, I was able to press "Start" into "Accessory" mode and the fan & heat seemed to kick in. I don't remember if I was plugged in at the time. I let it run for ~5-10 minutes, and it didn't turn off. I'll have to do some more testing, though. I'm just getting my Level 2 charging setup at home, and it is getting colder up here... so I'll give it another go.