Completed Charge Level Dropping

[kyledye]

When my wife and I purchased our 2013 FFE on Mother's Day 2013 the car would charge on a 110 outlet overnight and state a 70 mile range when fully charged. Recently the range stated dropped to 65 miles and a couple of days ago the car posted a 55 mile range. I'm wondering if something was changed by the dealership when we took the car in for a check at 3000 miles and also had the marker light recall done.

First time posting, so if I screwed up, my apologies.

Kyle Dye
Gig Harbor, WA

 

[jmueller065]

The calculated range can be all over the place... There is a reason its called the "Guess O Meter".

It is supposed to base the range estimate on your past driving/power consumption; but simply leaving the HVAC system on over night can reduce the mornings range by 20 miles (I wrote a blog post about the "Guess O Meter" here: http://jamiegeek.myevblog.com/2013/10/12/the-guess-o-meter/ )

 

[oilman]

When my wife and I purchased our 2013 FFE on Mother's Day 2013 the car would charge on a 110 outlet overnight and state a 70 mile range when fully charged. Recently the range stated dropped to 65 miles and a couple of days ago the car posted a 55 mile range. I'm wondering if something was changed by the dealership when we took the car in for a check at 3000 miles and also had the marker light recall done.

First time posting, so if I screwed up, my apologies.

Kyle Dye
Gig Harbor, WA

I see that you are in Washington. Have you started using the heater recently? If you have, that will impact the range estimate. I live in Houston and have been able to go without the AC only recently and I am now seeing the opposite effect - increasing range.

I would also watch the average energy usage with each trip and see if that is changing.

Oilman

 

[Josephus]

My is doing the same, no mystery though.

Weather is cooling. If the heat is on when the car starts, it bases its range on that. Cooler outside temp will also makes it calculate a lower number.

I bet if you turn off your heat and fan, you'll get a +5 to +8 to your budget which should equal near what spring and summer range was.

Portland, OR

 

[jdeciccio]

A similar thing has been happening to me. The weather has just dropped out here (WI) to the mid to low 30s at night. When taking my 27 mile trip tonight home from work, I started with an 81 mile budget. I turned on the heat and was down to 66 on the status. I expect that now. But the weird thing was that the budget was also going down as I drove. But the end of the drive I was at a 59 mi budget and -30 status. And as for driving styles, I set the cruise to 55 mph on a mostly flat drive. I am nervous for what the rest of the winter is going to look like when it gets down to single digits. Will I even make it to work?

 

[WattsUp]

The budget always goes down as you drive. The budget is set when you start the car and decreases in real miles traveled. So, I'm not sure what you mean, but having a 59-mile budget at the end of a 27-mile trip (starting with an 81-mile budget) doesn't exactly sound the budget went "down".

Just the 27 miles of travel alone should have taken the original 81-mile budget down to 54 miles, no?

 

[jdeciccio]

I guess I had understood the system wrong. I was so frustrated last night and couldn't understand how my my battery went down so much. But I forgot that the budget is what you were expected to get and the battery is what you are actually getting, is that correct? And the budget may have been 54 instead of 59. And the status is how much energy you are gaining/losing based on your driving style, weather conditions, vehicle usage, etc?
These cars just don't do well in the winter, I guess. It is going to be a long winter.

 

[WattsUp]

You might find this helpful:
http://www.myfocuselectric.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1343

I started the thread to explain how a positive "status number" does not indicate "regenerated miles" (as some people have erroneously concluded), but in explaining that, the budget concept must also be explained.

 

[jmueller065]

I also have a few blog posts about the status/budget and the "Guess O Meter":
http://jamiegeek.myevblog.com/2013/10/12/the-guess-o-meter/
http://jamiegeek.myevblog.com/2013/09/25/butterflies-really-what-your-dashboard-can-tell-you/
http://jamiegeek.myevblog.com/2013/09/23/1k-regen-and-the-focus-electrics-mysterious-status-indicator/