Cold weather and electric miles

[srl99]

Can you park indoors? Keep the battery pack warm(er)? I'm surprised Honda is selling the Plug-in Accord in Maine, I thought it was just Cali and New York (which also has cold weather).

Many (most?) people bought these cars to be able to use the carpool lane, not so much on all electric miles.

Hi all,
I've owned my plug-in since Sept. My Honda provided charger didn't work. I brought it to the dealer and diagnostics called for a replacement charging module in the car. A week later, the part came in, looked like a small silver suitcase. They swapped it out and VOILA- the same charger started to work. The most ev miles available it ever showed was 11. Now, I am in Maine and temps have dropped to the 30's. After a overnight charge, my ev mileage in between 6.1-6.7 ! Every day I get the same ev range in the 6's. Is that right? Why would anyone pay the extra money and bother to plug in for a measly 6 miles ?
Anyone have any ideas or similar experience?
Thanks, meccord

 

[meccord]

They don't sell them in Maine. I got it in NY but am now staying in Maine. I keep it in an unheated garage.
So 6.7 EV miles is the norm in cold weather? Today it was in the 40's and still only showed 6.7 on a "full" charge.

 

[rinthos]

In the 40s, 6.7 is *not* normal. HOWEVER, how far are you actually able to drive on battery? (how accurate is 6.7, how does distance compare to when you had significantly higher numbers)?.

The number that's displayed is based on historical data, so you have any aggressive driving previously before the number dropped, or let the car sit for a long while?
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[meccord]

When I drive, I try to coast and maximize the mileage. I don't let it sit and probably get about 5 actual miles driving around town on EV. I tried to preheat the car using the ap today but that didn't seem to work either. Not very impressed with the ap.
I really like the car but it doesn't appear to live up to the hype. Open to any suggestions or comments. thanks

 

[Cobra]

What are your overnight temperatures? If you charge in the evening, then it sits in an unheated garage, the entire car can be very cold. When you first start it, what does the gauge temperature show on the dash? That's a good indication of the temp the car is presently at (assuming you look at it before you've run heat or let the engine run.)

The preheating with the app (or using the in car scheduling, if your departure times are predictable) is the best way to improve your electric only mileage in cold areas. Or throw on a coat and turn off the heater to see how much difference running the heat makes. If you start with a cold car, the heating impact on your electric range is quite large. Press the 'Off' button on the climate control, and with a full charge you'll start getting 10-15 miles of electric range again, I'll bet. (Yes, I've tried this...)

The app depends on a cellular signal getting to your car, so unfortunately, if the network Honda is using can't talk to the car, the app will be limited. It works quite well here, and for cold weather, having the app and a Level 2 charger are the way to go, in my opinion. If you are driving ~10 miles, you can preheat on the charger, start off with a full battery, and if you don't care for heat, drive 10+ miles with the heat off on EV only. You will need a Level 2 charge though, because 120V chargers don't put out enough current for the Accord to both run the heaters and maintain full charge on the battery.

 

[meccord]

Thanks Cobra. That's helpful. I was thinking about a Level 2, but would have to rewire the garage. This weekend the temp got up to near 50 and the EV mileage went up to 8.2. At one point, I had 2 trouble indicators- ACC problem and emission problem. Drove around fine. Turned car off and when restarted, they were both gone. Seems ok now. I only have 1200 miles on this car.

 

[loeny]

I was having this low electric range problem. Then I searched around and found that I wasn't the only one having this problem. Now I realize the problem is because of the cold weather. The electric range is an estimate of how we drive the car. The battery is using its power to heat up the car so the electric range goes down. My EV range was down to 8 miles when I noticed the problem. I decided to turn off the heater completely and only use the seat warmer while I was on EV mode. The EV range started to go up again. Now, I'm back to 11 miles of electric range. I think the electric range will go up when the weather gets warmer.