I always run a new car out of fuel to learn how much remains when the red light comes on and to learn how much fuel the tank can actually hold.
For example. I can put more than 11 gallons into my 2006 Insight's nominal 10.6-gallon tank and the red light comes on with about 1 gallon remaining. It will be a while before I can duplicate LegoZ's experiment, so I hope he can provide these two data points.
PHEV Newbie
Well-Known Member
Thanks LegoZ. I wondered about that on my road trips. With a 7 gallon gas tank, I tend to push it much farther than I would with a regular ICE car before looking for gas. I had assumed that would be the case since I can drive around without using a drop of gas in Econ mode. It's good to know for certain I can make it to a gas station if I accidentally run out of gas on the road. Another good reason to keep a significant battery charge during road trips.
Vezz66
Member
Even less than gentle braking shows higher regen on the power display. Wish the paddles were more like the Volt and could bring the car to a stop, not just a toggle switch. Or leave it as a level adjustment if you pull quickly but have a full regen if you keep it pulled. Accelerate with the right...zero pedal use!
We are having the same issue and we live in Sunny San Diego. It's not cold....it's always mid 70's. Still....whenever I charge the clarity it says 37 miles. I was really counting on those extra 10 miles to get me to work and back.
How fast do you drive? How many miles do you actually get vs how many it guesses? Driving freeway speeds 37 miles is pretty normal.
are you driving all highway? that leads to less EV milage
I do run a/c. I set the cruise to 78. It's mostly flat with a few up and downs but no uphills or downhills. I'm assuming the tires are at 35 (I haven't checked). Before the Clarity I had a 2006 Nissan Titan which would average about 13-15 mpg....in other words.....I try to stay off the go pedal as much as possible.
At 78 mph, 37 miles is probably about expected (and actually really good compared to my Gen 1 Volt) If you want more you would have to slow down for the 28 mile stretch. An option might be to strategically use gas on part of that stretch if you are unable to charge at work.
I've been reading that the smartest way to do this is to EV on the surface streets.....HV on the freeway....then EV again on the surface streets.
I do have a charger at work and plugged in yesterday but when I came out I hadn't charged at all. Odd since the charger in front of my local Vons works.....
K8QM
Active Member
Assuming you can't charge at work and you don't mind using up your whole charge, then on the way to work I would use EV until highway speed at which point I would go to HV then back to EV on the surface streets. On the way home I would use EV then switch to HV on the highway until your miles left are about equal to your EV miles remaining so you use the remaining charge up.
As for not charging - make sure you don't have a timer set on the car.
geo
And if you want to override the timer, hold down on the charge button on your key fob.
AnthonyW
Well-Known Member
Aaron, I have a very similar drive as you: a couple miles on surface streets in the beginning and the end and 27.4 miles of freeway in between. Drive in EV the entire time and charge for free at work. Here are a couple of things that I have discovered (the observations I list are with open freeways/no traffic):
-you just purchased the car so it will take up to a week for the EV mileage estimate to calibrate.
-Mid to low 70's is perfect weather for the car. Because I have tinted windows and park in the shade I don't use the AC when it is in the 70's and this is when I get my absolute best range.
-Driving at 78 will kill your range quicker than anything else you can do. Staying in the low to mid 60's mph range will improve your range dramatically. Using the Average Speed display on the main dashboard I tried a little experiment. Did this test traveling the same direction (work to home with no traffic) multiple times. If my average speed is close to 50mph it takes about 30 minutes to get home and EV range will calculate around 46 to 49 miles. If my average speed is around 42mph it will take about 33 minutes to get to work and range will be between 52 and 56. For me that translates into driving 65 mph versus 77mph.
-Using cruise control will kill your range by itself. In combination with going 78 mph its even worse. You have more in elevation changes than you realize. When going up a small incline, the CC will work to maintain your speed which uses more battery. Going down a slight incline the car will use power to maintain speed. If you were in control, generally you would not be as focused as the CC to maintain a set speed going up a hill. Going down an incline, you would probably let off the accelerator a bit and capture more regen than the CC would.
-You most likely have more elevation changes than you realize and that makes a huge difference. See pic below. I get about 3-5 miles of range more traveling from work to home (right to left), than home to work (left to right). The elevation change is not that dramatic but does make a difference.
Make some small changes as mentioned above (and make sure your tires are inflated) and you should see noticeable improvements in your range.
Oh wow......this is all part of why I wanted to get an EV. I knew my fellow EVers would be data geeks like me!!!
Thank you so much for this! I can't wait to do some experimenting on my own.
Could be, some people around here have said they have issues with some level 2 chargers that weren't supply enough power. There is a service bulletin to fix the issue by just accepting the lower power charge properly and taking longer to charge, but at least charging properly.