Problems with my new e-Golf

[kobi92]

I had my new e-Golf for just over 5 months with about 800 miles on the clock before I handed it to VW for investigation. There are two main problems: a) range - fast charge displays about average 75 miles and slow charge displays just over 100 miles, b) continually getting an S0S error together with a voice message telling me not to drive any further and to take the car to a VW workshop. VW already tried to fix the issue after a few weeks, but that did not fix it.

I purchased the car on the basis that regular that range was about 130 'ish if driven in eco+ mode etc.. My car has been with VW for over 4 weeks and they still have not fixed the issue due to not lack or trained staff. VW testing has confirmed my diagnosis.

I am in dialogue with VW to reject the car as it does not meet the criteria/reason for buying it in the first place and it (in my opinion) has a technical problem which may be difficult to fix/overcome/impact future sale value.

Would to like to hear any feedback on this issue. Is this common? Anyone else had range issues or SOS alerts?

 

[Sparklebeard]

I had my new e-Golf for just over 5 months with about 800 miles on the clock before I handed it to VW for investigation. There are two main problems: a) range - fast charge displays about average 75 miles and slow charge displays just over 100 miles, b) continually getting an S0S error together with a voice message telling me not to drive any further and to take the car to a VW workshop. VW already tried to fix the issue after a few weeks, but that did not fix it.

I purchased the car on the basis that regular that range was about 130 'ish if driven in eco+ mode etc.. My car has been with VW for over 4 weeks and they still have not fixed the issue due to not lack or trained staff. VW testing has confirmed my diagnosis.

I am in dialogue with VW to reject the car as it does not meet the criteria/reason for buying it in the first place and it (in my opinion) has a technical problem which may be difficult to fix/overcome/impact future sale value.

Would to like to hear any feedback on this issue. Is this common? Anyone else had range issues or SOS alerts?

When you say fast charge shows 75 miles and slow charge shows 100, do you mean when fully charged via each method that’s what the indicator on the dash says when fully charged? It sounds like somehow you’re being limited to about the same amount of battery capacity as the 2015/2016 model

 

[manybees]

Not sure where you live, but you might want to look into your local Lemon Laws and then perhaps contact an attorney that specializes in Lemon Law litigation. A brand new car should not be behaving this way.

 

[kobi92]

Yes, I should have been clearer. When fully charged, the dashboard reads about 75 miles via fast charging and 100+ miles via slow charging.

When I drive the car away from the showroom at the end of September the range displayed was 134 miles. Every charge since then seems to generate a lower range. Once on a fast charge, I removed the charging cable at 80% and the range was on only 46 miles.

 

[cctop]

Yes, I should have been clearer. When fully charged, the dashboard reads about 75 miles via fast charging and 100+ miles via slow charging.

When I drive the car away from the showroom at the end of September the range displayed was 134 miles. Every charge since then seems to generate a lower range. Once on a fast charge, I removed the charging cable at 80% and the range was on only 46 miles.

Jumping in before JoulesThief says the same thing.

The Guess-O-Meter is exactly that...just a guess of your range based on your driving history. But yes those numbers seem low.

Two questions:
- How many mi/kWh does the car say you are getting? For comparison, I averaged 4.5 to 4.8 in my everyday driving over 3 years.
- What temperature is it where you live right now? Extreme temperatures can limit the efficiency.


EDIT: I didn't mean to ignore the SOS error, which sounds annoying and possibly serious. I just wanted to clarify whether the range issue was related.

 

[miimura]

Whether or not the car does what you expected when you bought it is irrelevant. What is relevant is whether the car is working as designed and whether they can repair it properly to get it back to factory spec.

Keep track of all your service visits and pay particular attention to your state's lemon laws.

I don't mean to be insensitive to your bad experience, but as stated above, the range display is not an indication of improper charging or degraded capacity. It is merely the car's estimation of how far you might be able to drive if you continue with driving with the recent efficiency. Driving at high speeds (over 55mph) in cold weather with the heat blasting you will definitely not be able to drive the EPA rated distance.

 

[kobi92]

The temperature has been mild this winter in southern England and most if not all driving has been done in urban areas at approx 30 mph using eco + mode.

 

[2016golfse]

Since you are in the UK, I was able to find this link that may be helpful to you. Best wishes on getting your car's issues resolved.

https://www.justanswer.com/uk-law/1tn99-hello-consumer-s-uk-equivalent.html

 

[JoulesThief]

What does the fuel gauge say, the one with a red needle on it? Then what does the infotainment center say for miles per kWh, or kWh per 100 km? How about you log some data yourself, on paper, with a pen, between recharges.

Stop driving the car in Eco+ mode, and drive it in regular mode, and control the acceleration and deceleration rates yourself, lighten up your foot on the throttle, so as to achieve that same power consumption rates as if it was in Eco+ mode, which is a gimmick, in the first place.

Also check in the owners manual and see if you are reaching a set charging limit, a max % of battery charged somehow, with a setting in the infotainment center.

 

[NellLondon]

No actual help to you but as a comparison: I’ve had my e-Golf for a little over a fortnight (and also have 800 miles on the clock). I’m also in southern England and have a commute that’s partly urban and partly motorway. I’m mainly driving on the B setting but usually normal mode (sometimes Eco, never Eco+). I’m pretty mean with the heater (big jumpers have seen me through last week's chilly starts). So far, I’m averaging about 4.8m/kWh and have somewhere around 135-150 showing after a full charge.

I feel like I still have loads to learn about EVs so I’m likely to be wrong about just about everything but it sounds to me like there’s either a setting limiting your car to a 40% charge or something or there’s a problem somewhere. The SOS messages would suggest the latter.

Mostly, good luck! I hope VW figure things out speedily and get things working as they should.

 

[kobi92]

Update from VW - My car has now been with VW for 6 weeks and they've provided another update

I've been charging my e-Golf using the fast charger ( 50 kw option ) at the dealer as I live near by and it takes up to 1,5 hours when the battery is almost flat; this is the problem.

They say that continually using the 50kw option does not fully charge the battery and over time the range decreases. I must use a home or slower solution.

I've asked for more information from VW and proof that this is the problem.

Any input / thoughts?

 

[msvphoto]

Update from VW - My car has now been with VW for 6 weeks and they've provided another update

I've been charging my e-Golf using the fast charger ( 50 kw option ) at the dealer as I live near by and it takes up to 1,5 hours when the battery is almost flat; this is the problem.

They say that continually using the 50kw option does not fully charge the battery and over time the range decreases. I must use a home or slower solution.

I've asked for more information from VW and proof that this is the problem.

Any input / thoughts?

Am I reading correctly you have been DCFC fast charging continuously? Common understanding is that will damage the battery. Is this not mentioned in the 2019 owner's manuals?

 

[Sparklebeard]

Am I reading correctly you have been DCFC fast charging continuously? Common understanding is that will damage the battery. Is this not mentioned in the 2019 owner's manuals?

2016+ manuals don't explicitly state not to DCFC without AC charging in between, but they do say that DCFC can damage the battery and to try to use AC instead as much as possible. They are explicit that DCFC is a trade off against longevity, but they're a little less prescriptive than the original manual regarding how to charge.

Its definitely feasible that there is some sort of coded diminishing returns on the DCFC charge system. I know that Tesla will permanently slow down Supercharging if the vehicle has Supercharged too much, in order to protect it. No idea if VW does something similar. Its possible that if the car is solely being charged via DCFC that the battery may not be able to balance the cells and would restrict the battery charge level but I am speculating here.

If the case is battery balancing it would seem reasonable that if you switched to AC charging that the battery may recover.

I'm eager to hear more as this goes on.

 

[2016golfse]

I've been charging my e-Golf using the fast charger ( 50 kw option ) at the dealer as I live near by and it takes up to 1,5 hours when the battery is almost flat; this is the problem.

They say that continually using the 50kw option does not fully charge the battery and over time the range decreases. I must use a home or slower solution.

Any input / thoughts?

It's very true that repeated fast charging will damage the battery, and that range is reduced because each cell does not get rebalanced. That said,

1) I thought you wrote earlier that you get more range when slow charging. You wouldn't know that unless you did slow charge occasionally, and if charged to full, the cells get rebalanced. How many times did you slow charge?
2) You only have 800 miles on the odometer, so it doesn't seem you've fast charged that many times either.

 

[manybees]

Am I reading correctly you have been DCFC fast charging continuously? Common understanding is that will damage the battery. Is this not mentioned in the 2019 owner's manuals?

2016+ manuals don't explicitly state not to DCFC without AC charging in between, but they do say that DCFC can damage the battery and to try to use AC instead as much as possible. They are explicit that DCFC is a trade off against longevity, but they're a little less prescriptive than the original manual regarding how to charge.

My 2018 e-Golf manual states the following:

"Frequent and consecutive high-voltage charging (DC fast charging) can permanently decrease the capacity of the high-voltage battery. Therefore, always alternate high-voltage charging (DC fast charging) and low-voltage charging (AC charging)."

This sounds pretty explicit to my ears.

 

[JoulesThief]

Am I reading correctly you have been DCFC fast charging continuously? Common understanding is that will damage the battery. Is this not mentioned in the 2019 owner's manuals?

2016+ manuals don't explicitly state not to DCFC without AC charging in between, but they do say that DCFC can damage the battery and to try to use AC instead as much as possible. They are explicit that DCFC is a trade off against longevity, but they're a little less prescriptive than the original manual regarding how to charge.

My 2018 e-Golf manual states the following:

"Frequent and consecutive high-voltage charging (DC fast charging) can permanently decrease the capacity of the high-voltage battery. Therefore, always alternate high-voltage charging (DC fast charging) and low-voltage charging (AC charging)."

This sounds pretty explicit to my ears.

/\ manybees covered it.

VW prefers that you recharge at home, as much as is possible. That verbage is or was in the owner's manual for my 2015. I think it still remains a valid statement.

Another item, do not run your battery "almost flat" That too is bad for longevity. Try to at least keep 1/4 of the battery charged, and in VW language, running any gauge into the red means "STOP what you are doing and fix the problem" RED always means STOP. So running your battery gauge into the red means stop and recharge your battery, don't run it down that low.

1/4 of a tank remaining should be your cut off to go and recharge.

 

[Sparklebeard]

My 2018 e-Golf manual states the following:

"Frequent and consecutive high-voltage charging (DC fast charging) can permanently decrease the capacity of the high-voltage battery. Therefore, always alternate high-voltage charging (DC fast charging) and low-voltage charging (AC charging)."

This sounds pretty explicit to my ears.

That’s interesting! Thanks! It sounds like they reverted to the wording from the 2015 model year at some point after the 2016s! i went and checked un the 2019 manual and it does say it there too, so I'm proven wrong. I don't consecutively DCFC so didn't pay as much attention to the charging section of my 2019 manual!

 

[f1geek]

If the OP is only able to charge via DCFC, and you can "reject" the car due to local laws in the UK, I think you should proceed with the rejection process ASAP. The OP should have an EV with liquid cooled batteries (any Tesla, BMW i3, Kona EV, Zoe, I-PACE, etc. - essentially any new EV on sale except for a VW e-Up, VW e-Golf or Nissan Leaf) if you are unable to use L1 or L2 charging on a regular basis because the e-Golf battery pack is passively cooled and ANY battery pack will degrade when very hot and/or at a very low state of charge. That is why Tesla throttles DCFC (supercharging) rates on the Model S (not sure about M3, but my guess is the far superior battery cooling system on the M3 will allow full charge speeds at all times) if DCFC is used as the primary means of charging so that the battery longevity does not suffer.

 

[msvphoto]

Am I reading correctly you have been DCFC fast charging continuously? Common understanding is that will damage the battery. Is this not mentioned in the 2019 owner's manuals?

2016+ manuals don't explicitly state not to DCFC without AC charging in between, but they do say that DCFC can damage the battery and to try to use AC instead as much as possible. They are explicit that DCFC is a trade off against longevity, but they're a little less prescriptive than the original manual regarding how to charge.

Its definitely feasible that there is some sort of coded diminishing returns on the DCFC charge system. I know that Tesla will permanently slow down Supercharging if the vehicle has Supercharged too much, in order to protect it. No idea if VW does something similar. Its possible that if the car is solely being charged via DCFC that the battery may not be able to balance the cells and would restrict the battery charge level but I am speculating here.

If the case is battery balancing it would seem reasonable that if you switched to AC charging that the battery may recover.

I'm eager to hear more as this goes on.

You're right, words of caution about back-to-back DCFC is a little vague. The wording in the 2015 Quick Start Guide and Owner's Manual is "Frequent and and consecutive high-voltage charging (including DC charging) can permanently decrease the capacity of the high voltage battery. See your owner's manual for details." The 2015 owner's manual includes the following as a "note" (not a "warning"): "Frequently charging the vehicle with a high charging power, particularly with a direct current (DC charging), can lead to a permanent reduction of the charging capacity of the high-voltage battery. If possible, charge the vehicle with low charging power, like with a home-charging station or with the supplementary charging cable."

Here is a CarNet page about the e-Golf: https://carnet.vw.com/web/vwcwp/e-golf This also has the same less than clear advise.

The poor and ambiguous wording in these statements implies 7.2kWh AC (L2) charging might be a problem as well. When we first bought our 2015 I read a bunch of posts throughout the years in this forum and the warnings here about back-to-back DCFC were much more serious than VW's owner's manual and QS guide.

It sounds like the wording became clearer in 2018. Should also be a "warning" and not just a "note" (said the former tech writer).

In any case, it does sound like the OP's battery may have been damaged by exclusive DCFC charging. Hopefully there is some recourse if that was a result of bad or ambiguous information. I thought I read the DC charging was done at the dealership? That adds an extra little twist if the dealership didn't caution against this practice also.