Sorry if this has been answered elsewhere, but I couldn't find it: When does Turtle Mode kick in on the Kona Electric? And is it a progressive thing -- like a certain speed limit at one SOC, then a lower one later, etc.? I'm planning a trip in which I might go about 200 miles, much of it at highway speed, before a charge. If I have to put up with, say, 55 mph for a few miles, it wouldn't be the worst. But I'd like to know what I should be prepared for.
From what I have read power is somewhat limited within the last 10%: Hidden Turtle Mode | Speak EV - Electric Car Forums
Generally yes, but it is also battery pack temperature sensitive and/or sensitive to variation to individual cell voltage differences at the bottom of the pack ( which may very well be aggravated by a low pack temperature). I have had turtle mode engage at 40% SOC when driving at highway speeds with a concurrent cabin heater load(high amp draw ) and the pack temperature being in the -10C or colder range. In this situation with higher SOC sometimes I could kick it out of turtle mode by reducing the electrical draw on the battery by either slowing down or turning off the resistance heater at least until the battery heater can warm up the pack.
Hello! I was wondering about how the Kona did on a road trip too, so I went on a 1000 round trip road trip last December. You can see how it went in this youtube video:
Why would you deliberately start a long drive at 80% and then charge to 100% on a DC fast charger at the first stop? I know this whole "80%" thing has become a sort of ridiculous internet EV gospel but why would you deliberately hobble your vehicle when you know you'll need the juice? And presumably you charge to 80% to "protect" the battery but slow charging at home to 100% has got to be better for battery health than fast charging. It just seems fussy and nonsensical. I sometimes feel like EV early adopters and enthusiasts are doing more to enforce EV "otherism" than pessimists and ICE-loving auto journalists. I guess I just find these sorts of things frustrating.
Pretty solid trip. Good to see that you're figuring out how to make the most of the car's charging limits and infrastructure and such. I make part of that trip (from about Frederick to Morgantown) every so often, although I haven't in a few months. You noted in the video that there are now chargers at Deep Creek Lake in McHenry, Md., which will be a big help if/when you do the trip again. There are also another set of chargers in Hancock that are cheaper and faster than the Electric Vehicle Institute ones, a few blocks away. Both the McHenry and Hancock chargers are capable of up to 125 kW (if there isn't a car at the other charger -- 62.5 kW if not). The Kona can DC charge at 77 kW, but only under certain circumstances. You should have been able to hit 77 at Electrify America, but maybe it was too cold. Infrastructure: as it stands now, there are basically just three reasons for someone to build a charger (other than Tesla): Electrify America has to spend $2 billion because of Dieselgate, state grants and utilities. State grants are dependent on state policy, and West Virginia isn't very great on that front. But the near future for utilities might hold some hope. Part of the area you covered is in American Electric Power's territory, and they're part of a coalition that just announced plans to build EV chargers along travel corridors: https://electrek.co/2021/03/02/six-us-utilities-form-electric-highway-coalition-in-southeast-midwest/. So perhaps that will help. And lastly, if the infrastructure bothers you enough, you could switch to a different route. Maybe take I-81 south to I-64, or stay on I-70 to Ohio and hop down to US 50.
Especially without the battery heater in the US model, road trips in the winter where temperatures are around freezing range is not super fun for DC fast charging. There's such a large perceived difference when you're charging at 44kw vs 55kw vs 77kw.
I think mine kicked in at 3% on the highway. It was a couple of years ago, and from what I remembered my speed reduced significantly. I was lucky there wasn't anybody behind me, else I probably would have been run into. I had to turn on my hazards to warn any drivers behind me, before I got off the highway. I was about 10km from home, made it slowly with 2% to spare.
