Sudden drop in range - 2015 SEL

[jaybeefstew]

Hi all,
Has anyone experienced a sudden drop in range? Here are the facts as best and brief as I can relay them.
Bought our eG new in Mar. 2016 (2015-year model). We live in the SF Bay Area, so our weather is not extreme, and the car has been through all seasons. This is its second winter. Our driving pattern is all short trips around the area, for commuting (either 25-30 miles round trip or 2, the former for my wife the latter for me). We charge at home with a J1772 Level 2 (220 V) charger.
Until recently, a full charge was between 95-115 miles. As you know, that depends on your driving immediately prior to the charge.
About a month ago my wife was driving, she turned on one or both seat warmers and immediately smelled a strange chemical smell inside the car, similar to (but not exactly) burning brake or clutch fluid.
Immediately after that we began experiencing diminished range capacity, at least, that's what the gauge tells us. Now, after a complete charge, our range barely tops 90 max, mostly only in the mid-80s, a drop of about 15%. We continue to get approximately the same mileage, about 4.3-4.5 mi/kwh, but not as much range. I've been monitoring the mileage on both the Since Charge and Extended screens. The smell persisted for about 2-3 weeks. It was present immediately upon starting but would dissipate soon after, esp. if we turned off the auto-climate.
I brought it to one dealer (so far) and they found nothing. They tried to explain it as range fluctuation. I understand range fluctuation. Everyone of us who has an eG knows about it. After nearly 2 years of paying excruciating attention to the range and its fluctuation I am confident that I know the patterns of the fluctuation. And this is outside those patterns. They didn't find anything in the diagnostic they (purportedly) ran, so they didn't believe me.

Question: Has anyone else experienced similar symptoms?
Thank you in advance for your responses and insights.

 

[f1geek]

I have not experienced this in my 2015 SEL.
Is it possible your wife put the seat heater on as soon as she started up the car and that the smell was related to starting the car and not the seat heaters?

If the smell is related to running the heater or A/C, then might it be heater core related? See any leaks in the front footwells?

The consistent efficiency suggests there isn't something shorted that is reducing your range, unless the rated efficiency number isn't accounting for up an additional power drain.


If you don't believe the dealer, you could get either VCDS or OBDEleven and look for fault codes yourself and you could look at the voltage of each of the 88 cells to verify if one is different.

 

[dustboy]

I've never seen anything more than 95 miles on a full charge, and my typical average mileage is similar to yours. Depending on the battery temperature and the previous day's driving I usually show anywhere from 77-95 miles.

 

[dustboy]

Since I wrote my last message, I think I am currently experiencing a similar effect.

What I have noticed in the past two days is that the first 10% of the battery meter gets eaten up in the first 5-6 miles of in-town driving. Is the HVAC that power-hungry? Ambient temp has been around 40 degrees and thermostat is set to 70. I typically use D2 on the highway or B in town or traffic.

The other thing that crossed my mind is that the 12V battery is pooped out, and the charging system is sucking a lot of traction power trying to get it up to the correct voltage. It seems like the 12V battery should be charged simultaneously with the traction battery, but maybe that changes when the 12V is low. I have also noticed some unusual (or normal?) glitches in the system, like the radio amnesia and this morning the instrument panel went dark unexpectedly. Perhaps the auto headlights had come on, but I haven't noticed the gauges dimming before.

 

[Verkehr]

Yes, the heater uses a lot of power.

12v battery is charged whenever the car is powered on or it's being charged.

The cluster will purposefully dim at night when the headlights are off to remind you to turn them on.

 

[JoulesThief]

Since I wrote my last message, I think I am currently experiencing a similar effect.

What I have noticed in the past two days is that the first 10% of the battery meter gets eaten up in the first 5-6 miles of in-town driving. Is the HVAC that power-hungry? Ambient temp has been around 40 degrees and thermostat is set to 70. I typically use D2 on the highway or B in town or traffic.

The other thing that crossed my mind is that the 12V battery is pooped out, and the charging system is sucking a lot of traction power trying to get it up to the correct voltage. It seems like the 12V battery should be charged simultaneously with the traction battery, but maybe that changes when the 12V is low. I have also noticed some unusual (or normal?) glitches in the system, like the radio amnesia and this morning the instrument panel went dark unexpectedly. Perhaps the auto headlights had come on, but I haven't noticed the gauges dimming before.

The first 5 or 6 miles, your drive train is cold, and not up to operating temperature. Hence there is a lot more friction and rolling resistance. CV joints and fluid in gearbox need to get up to operating temperature, much higher viscosity.

Anyone that has been on a bicycle with a Rohloff 14 speed gearbox for a hub and pedaled in cold weather knows exactly what I am talking about with gear oils being cold and higher viscosity. Not good or efficient for racing on pedal power. It's why they make 0w-30 SAE motor oils for colder weather, so your motor can turn over fast enough to fire up.