First year owner has battery question for winter

[Marlene]

Hello forum. This will be my first winter with our 2023 Lightening. Standard battery with 230 m range. We live in Pacific Northwest and the truck is outside all the time. We drive about 100 m a month but during the holidays we will be driving close to max range a few times. Suggestions on prepping for possible weather in the teens.

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[Athrun88]

Welcome to the club!

Set up departure times in Fordpass or in your Sync 4/4A system - By setting departure times, it will allow you to warm up the cabin and precondition your batteries to maximize range in colder temperatures. Preconditioning of the battery will only work if you have a departure time set and you're plugged into a charger.

Are there any DCFC chargers on your route when you do drive at close to max range? You may want to build in a short charge break if that is possible. Use your navigation system to route to a charger so that the system will also precondition the battery for more efficient DCFC charging.

 

[RickLightning]

Lightning...

As was stated above, plugged in and set a departure time when you need the range. Other times use remote start to warm the cabin.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

Hello forum. This will be my first winter with our 2023 Lightening. Standard battery with 230 m range. We live in Pacific Northwest and the truck is outside all the time. We drive about 100 m a month but during the holidays we will be driving close to max range a few times. Suggestions on prepping for possible weather in the teens.

Welcome to the community! We hope you find all the suggestions and tips you need for your Lightning in the winter

 

[Marlene]

Thanks for information on plugging in and setting departer time.

 

[Newton]

Don’t plan on driving the max range, there are plenty of charging stations along I-5. Just take a break more often, you will feel better when you arrive anyway. Holidays might be tricky, but everything around here is tricky on the holidays in the winter. More shorter stops is better than trying to eke out to the last mile with this truck (different than Tesla). We still stop to charge less than we stop for rest breaks.

We go all over the place in our SR, which I got last November. If you have a 2024 you have a heat pump and might do better than I do in the winter. I have never really worried about range but if I did I’d keep the heat down and use the heated seats.

Keep the speeds lower, it will get you there faster (and be much safer in 20 degree weather).

If you are staying somewhere, try to get a place where you can charge overnight. It can make a huge difference. Mobile charging cords are quite useful.

Use plugshare to get an idea about the reliability and availability of charging stations before you go, and plan your charging for when you need a break - not when it is going to be near 0.

 

[ChrisCon]

Departure times like others suggested are the most important thing . Know you will take a 25 percent hit on range if it's below 0 no matter what. Don't be afraid to charge to 100% if you are driving a lot.

 

[Firn]

Make sure you have a L2 charger, the battery won't precondition on L1.

Precondition before departure, both cabin and battery (battery by setting departure time).

Iirc remote starting the truck before you leave will also precondition the battery.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Iirc remote starting the truck before you leave will also precondition the battery.

No, must use departure timer for that effect.

 

[Steveel]

I am also in the PNW yehaaa. In the winter for trips I always precondition with a departure time plugged in to 100%. This makes the start of the trip less stressful. Use ABRP route planner with settings for charging stops few but long. This works for me. I pay for real time weather in ABRP this helps with charging stops especially in the PNW.

 

[Upstate]

Hello forum. This will be my first winter with our 2023 Lightening. Standard battery with 230 m range. We live in Pacific Northwest and the truck is outside all the time. We drive about 100 m a month but during the holidays we will be driving close to max range a few times. Suggestions on prepping for possible weather in the teens.

Welcome! Your question actually covers a few important considerations.

As stated in other replies, take advantage of pre-conditioning. Do so while plugged in and close to the time of departure.

In colder weather, I keep the truck plugged in whenever I am home and, when possible, when elsewhere if the temps are low (hotel chargers, mall chargers, etc). Do not, under any circumstances, let the vehicle sit with a low charge in very cold weather.

Consider a full (100%) charge before departing on a long trip in cold weather.

Be prepared to stop to charge more frequently on your trip. Scope out charging stations ahead of time, plan your stops with plenty of a charge cushion. My experience is that cold weather and precipitation both tax the battery a great deal (I estimate a 20% reduction in range for each). Remember too, that you will be using the heat and defrosters.

Where possible, (and to EV owners this is probably a no-brainer) find the fastest, most powerful chargers you can along the way. The last thing you want to do is sit any longer than necessary at a charging station if the weather may turn.

Remember that charging above 80 or sometimes a bit higher percent slows the rate of charge at public chargers to a crawl. Include in your stops calculation that you will likely be charging along the way only to 80% (as a matter of courtesy to others if they are waiting and also because at higher levels, you may double your charging time just to add five or ten percent!) but that you will still be eating up charge faster in cold weather and precipitation.

Enjoy all the added safety of a well-balanced load (good center of gravity), all wheel drive, high driver position and all the room you could possibly need!

 

[Marlene]

I am also in the PNW yehaaa. In the winter for trips I always precondition with a departure time plugged in to 100%. This makes the start of the trip less stressful. Use ABRP route planner with settings for charging stops few but long. This works for me. I pay for real time weather in ABRP this helps with charging stops especially in the PNW.

Very helpful. Thank you Steve.

 

[mb0220]

cold weather and precipitation both tax the battery a great deal

YES - precipitation was not one that I expected, but I guess wetter air is denser than dry air so it can make a noticeable difference.

 

[tubby]

I am thinking you saw this link. A lot of the same information +.
Optimizing Battery Use During Winter

 

[Mach Turtle]

YES - precipitation was not one that I expected, but I guess wetter air is denser than dry air so it can make a noticeable difference.

<nerd mode>
Actually, wetter air is less dense than drier air (see below), but having blobs of liquid water falling through said air is another matter!

I suspect that water on the road substantially increases rolling resistance as the tires have to push that water out of the way in order to move, adding to the range loss.

Source: The Engineering ToolBox (2004). Moist Air - Density vs. Water Content and Temperature.
Available at: https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/density-air-d_680.html
</nerd mode>

I too was surprised by the way rain reduced the range of our Mach-E on one of our first road trips.

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