I bought my Clarity a few months ago, and I drive it mostly highway miles. Lately I've noticed that even on a full charge (ie, the charger stops because battery is full) the estimated EV range is only about ~40 miles, sometimes even less. I charge on 110V at home, sometimes on 240V at a public charger. Is anyone else regularly seeing far less than the stated 47 miles EV range? Any ideas why?
Only getting ~40 miles on a full charge
- Thread starter Kathy
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I read somewhere in these forums that the full charge 'estimate' is partly calculated based on your driving habits. Not sure how true that is. Also, affected by weather temps
Just 5 days driving my Clarity, and I've seen the full charge estimate go Up from 45 to 49.8 (this morning) EV, I think partly because it's calculating the fact that my last 3 days have resulted in miles usage that's less than the miles traveled. Like this morning, morning commute traffic included, travel distance 12.5 miles, energy used 8 miles.
Just 5 days driving my Clarity, and I've seen the full charge estimate go Up from 45 to 49.8 (this morning) EV, I think partly because it's calculating the fact that my last 3 days have resulted in miles usage that's less than the miles traveled. Like this morning, morning commute traffic included, travel distance 12.5 miles, energy used 8 miles.
The way you drive can greatly effect the range on an EV (or on the electric range of a PHEV). If you drive aggressively, you may see your estimated range go down quite a bit (it bases it on the last several drives).
Also, weather can have a major impact. Where do you live? During the summer and earlier in the fall, I was getting mostly in the upper 40s through 57 miles estimated range (and the estimate is usually pretty close to what I actually get). The days over the past 2 weeks that have been relatively cold (in the upper 30s and low 40s some nights) have been in the low 40s, and based upon that, I suspect I'll probably be in the 30s come real winter temperatures. Electric vehicles do not like the cold
Also, weather can have a major impact. Where do you live? During the summer and earlier in the fall, I was getting mostly in the upper 40s through 57 miles estimated range (and the estimate is usually pretty close to what I actually get). The days over the past 2 weeks that have been relatively cold (in the upper 30s and low 40s some nights) have been in the low 40s, and based upon that, I suspect I'll probably be in the 30s come real winter temperatures. Electric vehicles do not like the cold
Remember, the EV range is just an estimate, not the actual limit. You can almost certainly exceed the estimate if you drive like a hypermiler (ie. slow and easy), unless that's the way you always drive.
neal adkins
Active Member
The EV range projection is an estimate based on your driving/charging history. Many have complained that Thier estimate is too high. So I recommend to reset the trip odometer and drive in ev mode and see how the EV range progresses. After about 25 miles see how much EV range remains. It is normal for Your actual range will be less than 47 if driving mostly at highway speeds or uphill grades.
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Interestingly enough, because our house is located on a hill, my commute does have up hill, and downhill, portions. So far, my Clarity calc seems to be favoring the down hills more than the uphills and have been slowly increasing it's full charge estimate. My previous post of 49.8 just got beat on it's head with this morning's 52.3 estimate. Most one-way trips (the ones with up hills and ones with down hills) have been netting me less than the actual distance traveled by as much as 20%; e.g. 12.5m trip and EV range dropped from 49.8 to 40.2. My reading after my return home was just shy of 30, so a 25 mile roundtrip used up net of 19.2 miles worth of power