Problems with getting a full charge

[TonyO]

When I picked up my Lightning with the standard battery in September it was delivered with a full charge showing 370km /230 miles. That was the last time I achieved that on a full 100% charge. I have the Ford pro 80 amp charger in my insulated garage . I am averaging 294 Kms/182 miles when showing 100% charge. It has been as low as 261kms/162 miles. Ford advertised 370kms /230 miles but have not seen that number again. I brought it in the dealership and everything checked out but they had no explanation for the reduction.I left it with them and they could only get it to charge to 286kms/177miles Three of the 4 truck owners who got it the same time reported the same problem with one owner returning the vehicle. If Ford was aware of this reduction it should have advertised it with a 25% less charging limit . I love the truck but would not have bought it for what I need it for , or would have gotten the extended range battery. I called Ford customer service with my concerns but no response .Anyone else having this issue?

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[greenne]

Range drops in winter temperatures...film at 11

 

[RickLightning]

It's called WINTER. The fact that your dealership couldn't tell you that is unbelievable. There are many threads explaining this. In the dead of winter, you will have around a 30% loss, more if you're in a very, very cold area.

 

[greenne]

It's called WINTER. The fact that your dealership couldn't tell you that is unbelievable. There are many threads explaining this. In the dead of winter, you will have around a 30% loss, more if you're in a very, very cold area.

A very cold area...like Canada

 

[Maquis]

100% is full charge. The end.

 

[TonyO]

That was one of the explanations they gave but I was getting the lower charges even in September when the temperatures were in the 70's. I also asked 2 Tesla owners I know that live here and they didn't have any significant issues with charges dropping .If it was a climate related charging issue wouldn't they see the same thing happening ? Also if it is charged in a heated garage should I be able to get it up to 370 kms/230 miles again?

 

[greenne]

That was one of the explanations they gave but I was getting the lower charges even in September when the temperatures were in the 70's. I also asked 2 Tesla owners I know that live here and they didn't have any significant issues with charges dropping .If it was a climate related charging issue wouldn't they see the same thing happening ? Also if it is charged in a heated garage should I be able to get it up to 370 kms/230 miles again?

Range and charge are two seperate issues.

I believe you are describing a loss of range, which is normal in low temperatures.

Are you seeing 100% on the display after charging at home? 90%? ??

 

[Monkey]

There are a few things going on here. First and foremost, the mileage the truck shows is an estimate -- usually referred to as the Guess-O-Meter or GOM. This estimate changes over time and adapts to YOUR driving and energy consumption values. Same as in an ICE vehicle with MPG based range calculations.

Additionally, the GOM takes battery temperatures and other factors into consideration. Ford recently sent out an update, which your truck will eventually download on its own, assuming it hasn't already or won't if you have it set not to update. This update makes some changes to the GOM to show a bit less influence of driving habits and things, which in turn gives drivers a more warm and fuzzy feeling when they look at the number on their dash, but isn't as accurate.

The only thing Ford can do is run a battery diagnostic and see if everything checks out. If it's all good and you can charge your battery to 100% -- although Ford recommends a daily charge limit of 90% -- then you're good to go.

Interesting that you asked Tesla owners who had nothing to offer on this. Teslas work the same way, although more like the recent update from ford where their GOM is mostly based on rated range. Any long-time Tesla owner will tell you that they won't get that range shown on their GOM under many driving situations, especially in colder weather or if they like to drive it like they stole it.

There's nothing wrong with your truck. And it seems your GOM is right in line with where it should be as the rated or advertised EPA ranges are optimistic considering how most people actually drive.

You'll find that most ICE vehicles don't get near their "advertised" range with the way most people drive them. But nobody really advertises ICE vehicle range. We get an MPG value for city and for highway and then a composite. A reasonable person assumes the composite value * gas tank capacity = range it can drive. Sure. Until it's cold or you're speeding or have a bike rack... And you average 15% less than the composite advertised MPG.

My '18 Expedition had an advertised composite MPG of 17... I averaged just under 15 MPG in my normal driving over time. So with a 28 gallon tank at 17MPG, I should see 476 miles of range or thereabouts. But, when I really get 14.8 MPG, I'm only getting about 414 miles total and not usually willing to go to much less than 25% full, which means I usually get about 310 miles out of each fill-up. ...Just because the advertised numbers say I should get 476 miles on average, but I really only get 414 or thereabouts, I don't take it to the dealership and ask them to troubleshoot the problem.

 

[Monkey]

The dash cluster/instrument display is pretty lacking in the Lightning. But you can monitor your mile(kilometers) per kWh energy consumption. Watch that number and see how it relates. There are discussions on here about energy consumption and what numbers people are seeing. It's all very dynamic and related to driving and road conditions, speed, wind, incline...

 

[Pioneer74]

Using the 80 amp Charge Station Pro is overkill on your standard battery truck. The most you will use is 48 amp.

 

[F150ROD]

Tesla owners will never admit the range is different than advertised. Tesla is worse than Ford.

 

[RickLightning]

That was one of the explanations they gave but I was getting the lower charges even in September when the temperatures were in the 70's. I also asked 2 Tesla owners I know that live here and they didn't have any significant issues with charges dropping .If it was a climate related charging issue wouldn't they see the same thing happening ? Also if it is charged in a heated garage should I be able to get it up to 370 kms/230 miles again?

Heating your garage in an effort to gain range would be a total waste of money. If you NEED the range in a given day, charge to 100% the night prior (vs. 90% normally), and set a departure time, which will heat the battery to 59% and prep the cabin.

As has been said, you are not getting "lower charges". Your truck is PREDICTING lower range BASED ON THE TEMPERATURES OUTSIDE. Not in your garage. The truck knows the weather, it knows your driving. What it doesn't know is WHERE ARE YOU GOING TOMORROW? So, if you've been driving around town and the GOM shows say 250, but tomorrow you decide to drive on the highway in 10 degree weather, 250 was too optimistic, and you should expect the GOM would drop to adjust while you are driving, especially if you put a destination in your navigation. On the other hand, if a heat wave hits, your 250 might be 280.

The difference between this vehicle and your gas powered vehicles is they don't try to estimate anything, except your past driving history x the number of gallons of gas in the truck. Weather? What weather? Even though they get lower MPG in cold weather, especially if you drive a short drive and the engine has to warm up.

It's unfortunate that you didn't understand this prior to purchase, IF you need the range, because buying a standard range EV when you live in Canada is simply a bad idea - unless you only drive <100 miles at any time.

Hopefully this all makes some sense to you.

 

[Tony Burgh]

This is some scary stuff.

 

[TonyO]

Thank you Rick. You last post made sense regarding what the vehicle has been calculating. And yes if I had have known I would have gotten the extended range battery or not gotten it as a work vehicle. I've had 4 F-150's and thought I would give this a try. If you are in a cold climate and need it as a work truck or travel outside of your city I would suggest this might not be the truck for you. Thanks again. I hope Ford does something to increase the battery performance for guys like me who need it as a work truck and are a little more transparent with the battery and its limitations. Love the frunk though!

 

[metroshot]

If I lived in Canada, knowing how EV battery chemistry works, I'd never buy an EV.

Surprised OP didn't do any research.

Need to move to So Calif where we don't have cold weather nor range losss.

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