Distance when Zero range showing...

[jasonf]

I wanted to see what distance some of you have gotten when you have zero miles left showing on your battery?

Today I was showing 34 miles left and drove 26 total and 2 miles from home I hit zero (car has had bad range since my purchase). I ended up making it home, 2 miles with zero range showing. What have any of you gotten? Does anyone know what if any reserve there maybe in the FFE?

 

[jeffand]

There really isn't any useable reserve in the battery. The driving range is purely an estimate. Using the climate control does reduce the driving range estimate. It could be that when the computer estimated the battery was near depletion that its calculation was off. Just don't count on being able to drive additional 2 miles then you hit zero range.

 

[v_traveller]

I wanted to see what distance some of you have gotten when you have zero miles left showing on your battery?

I got about a mile farther before I lost drive power. But I was on an uphill grade on a relatively cool night. Here's my story:

http://vinn.myevblog.com/2013/10/06/charge-depleted/

I recall that there was one other person on the forum that kept running until there was no more, but I can't seem to find the post.

 

[georgek]

I got about a mile farther before I lost drive power. But I was on an uphill grade on a relatively cool night. Here's my story:

http://vinn.myevblog.com/2013/10/06/charge-depleted/


v_traveller,
Great reading. Nice to know the toe service works well, and friendly!

 

[jasonf]

Great blog! So, it appears I got about what I could have out of mine. I was 1.8 miles away from home when I got the message to pull over battery depleted. I am assuming because I was going on a flat surface I was able to go twice as far as you and may have been able to get another 1-2 miles yet.

“Ford or Lincoln?” she asked.
“Ford, a Focus Electric.”
“Aww, did you run out of charge?”
“Yup.”
“Don’t worry honey, that’s why we’re here.”

I am glad to know that we have free roadside assistance... I completely forgot about it till you mentioned it out here again. So did they have a portable charger that they hooked you up too?

 

[EVA]

The Ford Roadside Assistance is not special for the electric. Ford taps into the standard network of tow trucks in your area. You will likely see the same guy you would see if you call AAA.

No they don't have a special portable charging station. In fact most of the drivers know nothing about electric cars.

Be sure to tell the dispatcher at Ford you need a flat bed. The car will be towed and according to the manual this car should never be towed with any wheels on the ground. Even the Ford dispatcher doesn't know that. They are super nice people on the phone, but don't really know much about the FFE.

I've had both ends of the spectrum in tow companies. If you have a bad experience, be sure to complain.

 

[davideos]

It has been awhile since it has been announced, but AAA does have mobile charging in its plan. Not sure the concentration of them throughout the country, however, it might be a good idea to see if your area has them. Here's an article: http://newsroom.aaa.com/2011/07/ev-charging-statio/

Also, am I missing something about towing? I keep hearing about "flat bed towing", but the manual indicates that only the slingbelt towing should not be used. He're from the manual;

"It is recommended that your vehicle be towed with a wheel lift or flatbed
equipment. Do not tow with a slingbelt. Ford Motor Company has not
approved a slingbelt towing procedure.
If your vehicle is to be towed from the rear using wheel lift equipment,
the front wheels (drive wheels) must be placed on a dolly to prevent
damage to the transmission."

From the manual, if a wheel lift method is used, if you lift the front wheels, no problem. If you lift the rear wheels, then a wheel dolly is needed.

If I were to run out of juice, I would call Ford and ask if they have a mobile charging truck. If they don't, I'd call AAA and see if they have one. If no, then Ford can tow it.

 

[v_traveller]

Thanks jasonf and georgek!

So did they have a portable charger that they hooked you up to?

No, would have been nice if he did, though. I was maybe a couple of miles from home, so a 15-minute charge would have been plenty if he had L2. The tow truck driver asked if I wanted to be towed home or to the dealer, I opted for home.

If you haven't seen it yet, here's an entertaining article about a Leaf driver that ran low on charge with his family in the car in 15-degree weather. He took refuge at a Ford dealership, and was ultimately "rescued" by a Tesla after posting an SOS on Leaf Owners Facebook page. Pretty cool that he got responses in a couple of minutes.

http://insideevs.com/are-we-there-yet-the-pleasures-and-occasional-pains-of-ev-ownership/

Makes me wonder... does Nissan not include free roadside assistance with their EV?

 

[unplugged]

Makes me wonder... does Nissan not include free roadside assistance with their EV?

Yes. He was waiting for a tow from Nissan, but EV rescuers were much faster, so he cancelled the tow.

I think it is cool that the EV community would come to his aid so quickly. If only the FFE had a way to communicate, like a FFE website or Facebook page. I don't think we would get much of a response posting on the myfocuselectric.com website. I would imagine that a person would be a frozen corpse if trying to get help in an FFE.