What do you wish you knew about maintaining your battery before getting an EV?

A

AndreaH

New Member
Hi everyone!
I'm writing an article answering some of the most commonly asked questions by potential EV drivers. One of the things they're often concerned about is battery life and the best ways to extend it. It would be great to include some quotes from current EV drivers about what you wish you knew about batteries before purchasing your first EV - whether it's tips to avoid battery degradation or best practices for extending the life of your battery. Thank you in advance for sharing your insights!
 
AndreaH said:
Hi everyone!
I'm writing an article answering some of the most commonly asked questions by potential EV drivers. One of the things they're often concerned about is battery life and the best ways to extend it. It would be great to include some quotes from current EV drivers about what you wish you knew about batteries before purchasing your first EV - whether it's tips to avoid battery degradation or best practices for extending the life of your battery. Thank you in advance for sharing your insights!
Click to expand...
There have been a multitude of discussions on this very subject and there are no definite answers to extend the life of the HV battery pack other than to follow the manufactures instructions on charging methods and possible periodic "balancing" of the cells within the pack using those methods.
I might advise a new owner to purchase a vehicle with as large a capacity battery as one can afford so as to not push it to the buffer limits (highest and lowest state of charge) and to enable extra energy that might be required to travel the same given distance in ambient conditions that are less than favorable . Also to help eliminate an issue, if a charger that might be inoperable on the route travelled for whatever reason.
 
We found EV and PHEVs have different chemistries and Battery Management Systems (BMS) that makes simple answers nearly impossible. Everything from thermal management to SOC have to be looked at on a vehicle by vehicle case.

We have experience with 2014 BMW i3-REx, 2017 Prius Prime, and 2019 Std Rng Plus Model 3. Each is unique.

Bob Wilson
 
I personally was confused about EV batteries because Tesla dominates the market in North America, and the conventional wisdom is to avoid charging above 80% and to minimize super charging. When I bought my Mini Cooper SE I thought that guidance was general EV best practices, but after talking with my dealer I learned that what's true for Teslas is not true for all EVs. MINI has built-in battery management that eliminates all of the concern of battery maintenance. Tesla is more of a power user way of doing things, while MINI went for a "keep it simple" approach. But because Tesla was first and is so popular there's a perception bias that every EV is like theirs.

Another issue that wasn't clear was how the charging rate becomes reduced in extreme weather. My particular EV model doesn't seem to have battery conditioning, and when I charged for the first time in sub-zero weather after getting cold-soaked overnight I was surprised that it took 20 minutes on a DC fast charger to even start taking a charge.

There isn't enough general information for the handling of batteries for various EV makes, so it's a big area of uncertainty for EV owners. And no standardization of technology details makes it difficult to compare makes to decide what fits one's needs best.
 
Puppethead said:
I personally was confused about EV batteries because Tesla dominates the market in North America, and the conventional wisdom is to avoid charging above 80% and to minimize super charging. When I bought my Mini Cooper SE I thought that guidance was general EV best practices, but after talking with my dealer I learned that what's true for Teslas is not true for all EVs. MINI has built-in battery management that eliminates all of the concern of battery maintenance. Tesla is more of a power user way of doing things, while MINI went for a "keep it simple" approach. But because Tesla was first and is so popular there's a perception bias that every EV is like theirs.

Another issue that wasn't clear was how the charging rate becomes reduced in extreme weather. My particular EV model doesn't seem to have battery conditioning, and when I charged for the first time in sub-zero weather after getting cold-soaked overnight I was surprised that it took 20 minutes on a DC fast charger to even start taking a charge.

There isn't enough general information for the handling of batteries for various EV makes, so it's a big area of uncertainty for EV owners. And no standardization of technology details makes it difficult to compare makes to decide what fits one's needs best.
Click to expand...

Well said.
 
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