Only getting 44 miles on charge
- Thread starter Gary K
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ClarityBill
Active Member
Colder temperatures, and using the heater are the biggest reason for range drop.
Leaving the temperature control on Auto will allow the heater to turn on.
Is this your first winter with the car?
Leaving the temperature control on Auto will allow the heater to turn on.
Is this your first winter with the car?
Possibly I wasn't clear in my question. I realize that using the heater will reduce the actual range driven but the question is why at the end of the charge cycle Honda Link shows 100% charge with a range of 44 miles. Previously at the end of the charge cycle it showed 100% with a range of 50 miles.
Yes it is my first winter with the car.
Yes it is my first winter with the car.
ClarityBill
Active Member
The displayed range tries to predict your actual range, based on the previous driving experience. If you started using the heater, the system will adjust the predicted range to give a more accurate estimate of your future range...
This display is often called the Guess-O-Meter, and it does cause confusion. This is the car's guess for the range on your next driving cycle.
More confusion will come when you see that some of the bar graph displays show this number, and some show the percent charge.
This display is often called the Guess-O-Meter, and it does cause confusion. This is the car's guess for the range on your next driving cycle.
More confusion will come when you see that some of the bar graph displays show this number, and some show the percent charge.
Fast Eddie B
Well-Known Member
One major factor is sitting and "idling" while you wait for someone, especially with the air conditioning or heat on.
That said, I think the predicted EV range in our 2018 has been down just a tad. Last summer I think it was averaging around 52 miles, now it seems to hover right around 50.
That said, I think the predicted EV range in our 2018 has been down just a tad. Last summer I think it was averaging around 52 miles, now it seems to hover right around 50.
coutinpe
Active Member
What Landshark says is true. However, I think there are also unknown factors lurking behind the sometimes erratic GOM behavior. My humble experience: AWhen charging after my usually up to 20 miles trips within the San Fernando Valley and sometimes down to west LA almost always on EV mode I get consistent ranges within the upper 50's. However, last week I made two long trips: First to and from Palm Springs, around 300 miles total. Then to Las Vegas and back, around 600 miles total. When charging after the first trip, for the first time ever I got 46 EV miles range, which made me worry about battery health. However, when charging after the Vegas trip I got 54 EV miles. Both trips were made on HV-Sport with speeds between 70 and 75 mph. The only difference between the two trips (besides the double distance) is that temperature in Palm Springs was near 120F. There are plenty of records about the effect of low temperatures on battery performance but I'm not aware of any effect of extreme heat. Bottom line: there are many things about the GOM process that we don't know, so don't lose sleep about it...
How one charges can also affect the GOM (guess-o-meter) mileage shown after a charge. We use a Duosido 16 amp Level 2 plugged into a 120V plug. It charges at about 15 amps. We used to charge when the SOC (see the HondaLink App, etc.) was about 50% or higher. Our GOM mileage went down during the summer and was about 47 at the end of the first summer (2018). The GOM mileage was usually below 40 the first winter. We live in Indiana so we have moderately cold winters and the Clarity is in an attached garage. The battery capacity was at 54.6 on 10/5/18 (we purchased the Clarity in February of 2018) and we have not had the battery capacity read since then.
After reading some posts about charging in this forum, I thought that the battery in our Clarity was not being rebalanced during recharging. So, we tried to recharge after the SOC was between 20% and 25%. After this, the GOM reading went up. This summer, we get a GOM reading more then 60 (with a high slightly above 66). Last winter, our lowest GOM was in the mid 45's. I do not know if our charging regime has harmed the battery as I have not had the battery capacity read (I do all of my own service and the Clarity has only been to the dealer for the October 2018 recall services).
LeoP
After reading some posts about charging in this forum, I thought that the battery in our Clarity was not being rebalanced during recharging. So, we tried to recharge after the SOC was between 20% and 25%. After this, the GOM reading went up. This summer, we get a GOM reading more then 60 (with a high slightly above 66). Last winter, our lowest GOM was in the mid 45's. I do not know if our charging regime has harmed the battery as I have not had the battery capacity read (I do all of my own service and the Clarity has only been to the dealer for the October 2018 recall services).
LeoP
Mowcowbell
Well-Known Member
The only true measurement of battery capacity would be to take the car to a Honda dealership, have them plug in the diagnostic computer and read the amp hour capacity of the traction battery. Everything else is just attempting to make sense of computer algorithms.
stacey burke
Active Member
I took the EV range off my display. I just look at the bars on the left side, it is just like a gas gauge. Now I don't worry about it - out of sight out of mind.
The real check is actual driving range, since that's really all the EV number is reflecting, with a lot of averaging and smoothing to account for not fully charging, not driving to 0 EV miles, mixing in HV and other engine use, etc. And that actual range varies significantly with speed, hills, AC and heat use, and ambient temperature (even with no AC or heat).
Take a nice planned out drive -- most of us probably can't find an empty flat road at a controlled ambient temperature and drive for ~50 miles on cruise, but you can approximate. I've had a few occasions, including recently, to take back/slower roads and drive very carefully to try to maximize a trip just to see if I could, and was able to eek out 55 miles of pure EV driving. That's on a warm day using 40-45 MPH roads instead of the highway, minimizing AC. Doing so added the better part of an hour to the trip, but at least I could gloat to myself
I bet the people getting 60+ consistently pure EV are mostly driving 30-40 MPH around town with some but not a lot of traffic and little heat/defrost use.
By comparison, in my normal 40 mile/day commute up until March, my actual range (well, close to since I didn't always hit 0) varied from 48-49 miles on warm summer days with enough traffic that I can't speed too much on the highway, to ~36 on California winter days where I had to use the defroster and heat and maybe was late and drove faster on the highway. The range display would reflect that over the next couple days, but not perfectly because the next day might need no defrost etc.
Take a nice planned out drive -- most of us probably can't find an empty flat road at a controlled ambient temperature and drive for ~50 miles on cruise, but you can approximate. I've had a few occasions, including recently, to take back/slower roads and drive very carefully to try to maximize a trip just to see if I could, and was able to eek out 55 miles of pure EV driving. That's on a warm day using 40-45 MPH roads instead of the highway, minimizing AC. Doing so added the better part of an hour to the trip, but at least I could gloat to myself
I bet the people getting 60+ consistently pure EV are mostly driving 30-40 MPH around town with some but not a lot of traffic and little heat/defrost use.By comparison, in my normal 40 mile/day commute up until March, my actual range (well, close to since I didn't always hit 0) varied from 48-49 miles on warm summer days with enough traffic that I can't speed too much on the highway, to ~36 on California winter days where I had to use the defroster and heat and maybe was late and drove faster on the highway. The range display would reflect that over the next couple days, but not perfectly because the next day might need no defrost etc.
Charging above ~115F and/or discharging above ~140F may shorten the life of the battery.
Groves Cooke
Active Member
One possible explanation for this is lack of regen braking during the first few miles. Later in the drive you get maximum regen when braking. A longer trip averages this out.