Preconditioning settings and results

[Pioneer74]

I've seen a lot of talk about preconditioning, but never any specifics. I thought I would show what my truck went through this morning.

My truck reached 90% earlier in the night. I have preconditioning set for 5:45AM and to be warm.

At 5:25 it started drawing 26 amps.

And it continued for the full 20 minutes, ramping down before my scheduled departure time.

Truck was toasty warm on a 35 degree day. I might try medium next time as the seats were way too warm for me.

Only problem was, as others have noted, after preconditioning my heated steering wheel was supposed to be on, the icon was lit, but it wasn't.

 

[MBM]

I’ve preconditioned mine using the cabin setting in OFF as well as WARM but there doesn’t seem to be any difference between those settings when I get out to the truck; the air is blowing, steering wheel is warm and the seats are warm.

It seems to me as if the remote start and departure/preconditioning settings kind of overlap.

That is odd though for the steering wheel light to be lit but it isn’t warm.

 

[Pioneer74]

That is odd though for the steering wheel light to be lit but it isn’t warm.

It was warm when I got in. But after I started the truck and drove awhile, the heat wasn't working but was still lit on the screen. Other people have mentioned it only does it while preconditioning.

 

[sotek2345]

It was warm when I got in. But after I started the truck and drove awhile, the heat wasn't working but was still lit on the screen. Other people have mentioned it only does it while preconditioning.

I have noticed it happening without preconditioning too now. Seems to only stay really warm for about 10 minutes, then drops off so much that you can't really feel it. Seems like a weird place to try and save energy.

 

[p52Ranch]

I've seen a lot of talk about preconditioning, but never any specifics. I thought I would show what my truck went through this morning.

My truck reached 90% earlier in the night. I have preconditioning set for 5:45AM and to be warm.

At 5:25 it started drawing 26 amps.

And it continued for the full 20 minutes, ramping down before my scheduled departure time.

Truck was toasty warm on a 35 degree day. I might try medium next time as the seats were way too warm for me.

Only problem was, as others have noted, after preconditioning my heated steering wheel was supposed to be on, the icon was lit, but it wasn't.

Did you notice a significant difference in the range as you started driving compared to a cold departure? The use of 1.36 KWh for pre-conditioning is the equivalent of about 3 miles of range.

I have noticed on cool days and a cold departure that I immediately have a drop in range as expected. When it is a short trip there isn't a concern of overall range. I'm mostly curious if the pre-conditioning is more efficient than a cold departure and then needing to charge more energy after the trip?

 

[jpepper07]

It was warm when I got in. But after I started the truck and drove awhile, the heat wasn't working but was still lit on the screen. Other people have mentioned it only does it while preconditioning.

Yeah I noticed my heating wheel light was on but it wasn't warm also.

 

[sotek2345]

Did you notice a significant difference in the range as you started driving compared to a cold departure? The use of 1.36 KWh for pre-conditioning is the equivalent of about 3 miles of range.

I have noticed on cool days and a cold departure that I immediately have a drop in range as expected. When it is a short trip there isn't a concern of overall range. I'm mostly curious if the pre-conditioning is more efficient than a cold departure and then needing to charge more energy after the trip?

By definition, preconditioning is going to be less efficient overall that just driving with the cold battery since you are losing heat energy to ambient while it is sitting there. Pre-conditioning is for comfort (very nice) and maximizing range on a charge, not to improve efficiency.

All said, the difference is pretty small.

 

[Beans]

Only problem was, as others have noted, after preconditioning my heated steering wheel was supposed to be on, the icon was lit, but it wasn't.

I noticed the same thing this morning, no heat in the heated steering wheel even though the icon was on. I turned it off and on a few times with no change. I thought it was broke, but it sounds like this might be a "feature."

 

[Pioneer74]

Did you notice a significant difference in the range as you started driving compared to a cold departure? The use of 1.36 KWh for pre-conditioning is the equivalent of about 3 miles of range.

I have noticed on cool days and a cold departure that I immediately have a drop in range as expected. When it is a short trip there isn't a concern of overall range. I'm mostly curious if the pre-conditioning is more efficient than a cold departure and then needing to charge more energy after the trip?

I didn't precondition yesterday and averaged 1.8 mi/kWh on my 54 mile commute. Today I preconditioned and averaged 1.9 mi/kWh. Not that much of a difference, but I believe the colder out it is, the bigger the benefit.

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