Driving aid question: Why is my range different than the actual miles travelled ?

[metroshot]

Sort of a silly question to owners but I could not figure out on my first drive to work - range vs miles travelled.

So I had a 12.8 mile distance to work, half hour drive due to morning traffic, and 4.1mi/kWh efficiency.

Then I noticed when I left the house, I had 220 miles of range.
When I got to work after 12.8 miles travelled, I see 217 miles of range.

So how did 3 miles of range get to 12.8 miles of distance ?

What gives ?

Am I not to trust the range meter or do I go off the distance travelled ?

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[Beans]

It's based on driving history. I see you only have 121 miles so far, so not a lot of history. It will get better as you drive more.

 

[FlasherZ]

Sort of a silly question to owners but I could not figure out on my first drive to work - range vs miles travelled.

So I had a 12.8 mile distance to work, half hour drive due to morning traffic, and 4.1mi/kWh efficiency.

Then I noticed when I left the house, I had 220 miles of range.
When I got to work after 12.8 miles travelled, I see 217 miles of range.

So how did 3 miles of range get to 12.8 miles of distance ?

What gives ?

Am I not to trust the range meter or do I go off the distance travelled ?

4.1 miles per kWh is pretty incredible, that's 70% better than rated mileage for the ~13 miles you drove. So the truck thinks that if you drive like this all the time, you'll be able to go 217 more miles.

Of course, that's likely not to be the case.

I have the opposite problem - 400 of my 600 miles are at 79 mph on the Interstate, so at 100% my truck only thinks it has about 260 miles of range (instead of 320). I'm sure I can get more than that locally.

That's why they call the range distance on the left the "guess-o-meter" or "GOM". Get on the freeway and travel at highway speeds, and it'll be the opposite, you'll see a 20 mile range drop for driving only 10 miles.

 

[RickLightning]

Sort of a silly question to owners but I could not figure out on my first drive to work - range vs miles travelled.

So I had a 12.8 mile distance to work, half hour drive due to morning traffic, and 4.1mi/kWh efficiency.

Then I noticed when I left the house, I had 220 miles of range.
When I got to work after 12.8 miles travelled, I see 217 miles of range.

So how did 3 miles of range get to 12.8 miles of distance ?

What gives ?

Am I not to trust the range meter or do I go off the distance travelled ?

Facts based on Mach-E owners:

- Yes, you should not trust the range meter. It has issues. Ford is testing intelligent range on Mach-Es (I am part of that test). It is not accurate. You should instead multiply miles per kWh times battery size.

- Range adjusts based on many things, including temperature. Regen also kicks in, so the miles per kWh efficiency goes up, and your range drops much slower. Try going downhill all the way, range will increase from your start.

- You should not trust Ford's EV data. There are inaccuracies, sometimes blatant wrong information. Sometimes parameters don't reset.

 

[Pioneer74]

Wow. 4.1 mi/kwh is extraordinary.

 

[Skidrowe]

An average speed of 25 mph will get you a lot of range. If your commute remains consistent and the majority of your driving, you're going to realize a larger gas savings than the rest of us.

 

[Beans]

Wow. 4.1 mi/kwh is extraordinary.

Pft, 4.1 mi/kWh is nothing. Check this out. ?

 

[Roy2001]

Wow. 4.1 mi/kwh is extraordinary.

No it is NOT 4.1 mi/kWh.

Let's assume the SR has 100 kWh battery, 220 miles range is based on 2.2 mi/kWh assumption. When OP finished 12.8 miles trip, the computer determined that energy usage is 2.3 mi/kWh, and the total range would be 230 miles when battery is full. Then it tells that remaining range is 217 miles.

If it is 4.1 mi/kWh, it sould tell you remaining range is 390 miles, because 4.1 mi x 100kWh = 410 miles.

 

[Roy2001]

Am I not to trust the range meter or do I go off the distance travelled ?

You only need to be careful, when you drive all the way downhill long enough that the computer thinks your energy usage is low and reports longer range but you need to drive back uphill.

So careful planning is the key for long road trip. You need to consider temperature, up/down hill, wind etc. in addition to charger network.

 

[Pioneer74]

No it is NOT 4.1 mi/kWh.

 

[Roy2001]

If that's true, the range report should be 380 miles right?

OP can only reach 4.1 mi/kWh downhill.

 

[Deleted member 9341]

Sort of a silly question to owners but I could not figure out on my first drive to work - range vs miles travelled.

So I had a 12.8 mile distance to work, half hour drive due to morning traffic, and 4.1mi/kWh efficiency.

Then I noticed when I left the house, I had 220 miles of range.
When I got to work after 12.8 miles travelled, I see 217 miles of range.

So how did 3 miles of range get to 12.8 miles of distance ?

What gives ?

Am I not to trust the range meter or do I go off the distance travelled ?

If you’re in typical SoCal stop and go traffic it makes total sense. That’s where EVs thrive due to all the regeneration…assuming you’re likely in one pedal mode. I’ve had that experience for the last 4-5 years on the 405. Drive 25 miles and use 5-10 miles of “range”. Sometimes even less

 

[FlasherZ]

I should have said "the truck *thinks* you got 4.1 mi/kWh"... but the conclusion is still the same - the GOM sucks. Ford is working on making it better, but you just have to get used to knowing how far you'll be able to go and planning accordingly until you get comfortable.

 

[beatle]

I've never found any value in any GOM by any manufacturer because it doesn't take into account where your next miles might be traveled. I switched to percentage only on my Model S about a month into ownership.

What is really useful is being able to see the estimated percentage at your destination. That percentage can be more accurately predicted by using data on elevation changes, average speed, traffic data, and weather (temperature, wind, rain forecast). The percentage will change a bit as your trip goes on, but it's more accurate from the get go (and more important). It's even useful when charging. You could enter your next stop into the navigation system while charging the car and then unplug when the estimated percentage at your destination reaches a comfortable percentage.

Unfortunately the built in navigation system doesn't show this estimate. That omission is really my only gripe with it as I think it is otherwise superb and one of the best parts of the infotainment system.

ABRP via AA or CarPlay does show you an estimated arrival charge if you have a BLE OBD2 adapter, and it will make better estimates on your energy consumption the more data is has about your vehicle and the way you drive. But its navigation kinda sucks otherwise.

 

[Pioneer74]

If that's true, the range report should be 380 miles right?

OP can only reach 4.1 mi/kWh downhill.

All I was commenting on was it displaying 4.1. I don't care if it true or not. If he wasn't trying to hypermile, it is still impressive to get the display to show it.

You guys need to calm down.

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