FordPass only allowing "this charge" setting in 10% increments

[K6CCC]

FordPass version 5.28.0 on both Android and iOS. Charging at my saved home location. Home location is set for a target charge to 85% and charge time of 2100 - 1600. For $$ reasons, I wanted to charge this one time to 75% rather than 85%. Plugged in at about 1950 and it correctly said waiting for charge at 2100. Using FordPass on my Android, if I slide the slider on the energy tab to 75%, as soon as I release my finger, it immediately changes to 70%. Upon a little more testing, no matter where I set the slider, as soon as release my finger, it drops to the next lower 10% increment (40, 50, 60. 70%). The only exception is if I try to set limits above 85%, it drops to 5% increments (85, 90, 95%). The iPhone is a little different in that the slider does not even give the options of the in between values - i.e. it jumps from 40 to 50 to 60 to 70 to 80%. I did not go out to the truck to see if I could set 75% on the Charging screen because it's raining and I did not feel like going outside...

I don't ever remember this behavior before. Anyone else to confirm this? Note, this is not a huge deal, just an unexpected change....

Sponsored

 

[bryce]

Mine has always adjusted at 10% intervals

 

[TaxmanHog]

I don't ever remember this behavior before. Anyone else to confirm this? Note, this is not a huge deal, just an unexpected change....

This has been a thing in older version of Fordpass.

 

[abcut973]

One thing I noticed is I can't manually set the target charge below 50% when charging on the fly outside of the scheduled charge times. This has been on all versions of fordpass since I own the truck.

 

[bryce]

The whole charging to x% thing seems rather goofy to me. Like, whom only fills their ICE vehicle to 50% or 90%?
the vehicles have sophisticated battery management software, like your smart phone or computer, which can limit battery damage/wear. It already slows down charging speeds at near maximum "fill". I think that is an additional barrier to EV adoption, too many choices.

I purchased an EV for my 83 year old mother and she has been dumbfounded by all the choices. I set it up (and spent a week driving and learning the vehicle for when I need to help her figure out the changes she inadvertently made), and told her that aside from plugging it in at home she should just consider driving it like any other car. She has car play for directions , and I set up the one radio station she listens to, so that should be all that she needs.

Like DEVO said, "freedom of choice is what you got. Freedom from choice is what you want", at least for those outside of the enthusiast community.

 

[RickLightning]

Like, whom only fills their ICE vehicle to 50% or 90%?

90%? Anyone who RTFM...

 

[Vulnox]

The whole charging to x% thing seems rather goofy to me. Like, whom only fills their ICE vehicle to 50% or 90%?
the vehicles have sophisticated battery management software, like your smart phone or computer, which can limit battery damage/wear. It already slows down charging speeds at near maximum "fill". I think that is an additional barrier to EV adoption, too many choices.

I purchased an EV for my 83 year old mother and she has been dumbfounded by all the choices. I set it up (and spent a week driving and learning the vehicle for when I need to help her figure out the changes she inadvertently made), and told her that aside from plugging it in at home she should just consider driving it like any other car. She has car play for directions , and I set up the one radio station she listens to, so that should be all that she needs.

Like DEVO said, "freedom of choice is what you got. Freedom from choice is what you want", at least for those outside of the enthusiast community.

That's a wild take. An ICE vehicle tells you what viscosity oil to use to ensure the best performance and longevity. It advises what octane to use to ensure best performance and longevity. It advises not to let your fuel tank get below a quarter tank typically because it can cause any material that has collected in the tank over the years to be pulled into the fuel pump, decreasing longevity and performance. It advises you change the engine air filter to ensure longevity and performance.

So with all that in mind, depending on battery chemistry, you are advised to not leave the vehicle at a charge level above usually 80 or 90% to ensure maximum performance and longevity (for NCM batteries). You have basically one task vs the many tasks in an ICE, and suddenly this is confounding to people, who frighteningly are also supposed to be able to drive 2 ton vehicles on streets with other people, but can't understand the idea of manufacturer suggested maintenance.

If you want to ignore it, whatever it's your vehicle and the reality is for most owners they may not really notice much degradation by charging to 100% and leaving it over their ownership of the vehicle, but if you do keep it for 5+ years, that extra few percent of battery degradation can start to matter a bit more.

The BMS does come into play because many manufacturers add a buffer because they know that much like people are too lazy to change their oil or adhere to octane recommendations, they may ignore the 90% recommendation. But the buffer isn't enormous and the pack is made of a lot of cells, it isn't one single battery. So even at 100% with a buffer some of the cells can be at a high voltage state which is when chemical damage can occur. The BMS tries to top balance, but it's only so effective.

Charging to 100% isn't an issue of rate of influx of electrons, it's the chemical damage that can occur in the cell when the cell voltage is high and sits at that state, at least for NCM batteries like ER Lightnings. LFP batteries have their own requirements and often encourage charging to 100%.

The other issue with charging to 100% can be regen. Most EVs don't allow regen braking, at least not full regen, when the battery is at 100%. Because much like having a full gas tank, where is that energy supposed to go? So you lose efficiency while the battery SoC is near its max.

All leading back to, if you don't need it, just set it to 90% and don't think about it again unless going on a trip. It's not that difficult.

 

[bryce]

That's a wild take. An ICE vehicle tells you what viscosity oil to use to ensure the best performance and longevity. It advises what octane to use to ensure best performance and longevity. It advises not to let your fuel tank get below a quarter tank typically because it can cause any material that has collected in the tank over the years to be pulled into the fuel pump, decreasing longevity and performance. It advises you change the engine air filter to ensure longevity and performance.

So with all that in mind, depending on battery chemistry, you are advised to not leave the vehicle at a charge level above usually 80 or 90% to ensure maximum performance and longevity (for NCM batteries). You have basically one task vs the many tasks in an ICE, and suddenly this is confounding to people, who frighteningly are also supposed to be able to drive 2 ton vehicles on streets with other people, but can't understand the idea of manufacturer suggested maintenance.

If you want to ignore it, whatever it's your vehicle and the reality is for most owners they may not really notice much degradation by charging to 100% and leaving it over their ownership of the vehicle, but if you do keep it for 5+ years, that extra few percent of battery degradation can start to matter a bit more.

The BMS does come into play because many manufacturers add a buffer because they know that much like people are too lazy to change their oil or adhere to octane recommendations, they may ignore the 90% recommendation. But the buffer isn't enormous and the pack is made of a lot of cells, it isn't one single battery. So even at 100% with a buffer some of the cells can be at a high voltage state which is when chemical damage can occur. The BMS tries to top balance, but it's only so effective.

Charging to 100% isn't an issue of rate of influx of electrons, it's the chemical damage that can occur in the cell when the cell voltage is high and sits at that state, at least for NCM batteries like ER Lightnings. LFP batteries have their own requirements and often encourage charging to 100%.

The other issue with charging to 100% can be regen. Most EVs don't allow regen braking, at least not full regen, when the battery is at 100%. Because much like having a full gas tank, where is that energy supposed to go? So you lose efficiency while the battery SoC is near its max.

All leading back to, if you don't need it, just set it to 90% and don't think about it again unless going on a trip. It's not that difficult.

Don't get me started on people driving 2 ton machines. I have that worry about my mom and her neighbors daily.

Most of what you say needs to be done for an ICE, most people have done at their service center. Some enthusiasts do fret over oil, tires, etc., and do the work themselves. Many just have the service center do that. Including air pressure in the tires.

Most vehicles have way more tech features than most people will use. And people like my mom are baffled by just about any tech (why I have her set up with only one radio station).

So why not set the BMS to only allow charge to 90% on AC, 80% on DCFC, and give an option to extend range if needed? (Are you seeing this Ford?) I set my truck up for 90% limit for daily charging, and then go to 100% when I am departing for a longer trip and think I will want that extra 25 or so miles.

Fundamentally, people are I think intimidated by this electric technology that they do not understand or want to take the time to learn. On your phone or laptop all of that is managed by the OS in the background. Car manufacturers might want to take heed and default to simple, while allowing enthusiasts to delve deeper if they wish.

People do not realize that electrification of vehicles has been around for a long time. Diesel electric locomotives are extended range EVs. I often feel like we are the people driving the first ICE vehicles on the roads and the other folks are like "I am going to stay with my horse and buggy", but once a gas station was on every corner those fears went away. Will take some time but we will get there.

Still loving my Lightning.

 

[Vulnox]

Don't get me started on people driving 2 ton machines. I have that worry about my mom and her neighbors daily.

Most of what you say needs to be done for an ICE, most people have done at their service center. Some enthusiasts do fret over oil, tires, etc., and do the work themselves. Many just have the service center do that. Including air pressure in the tires.

Most vehicles have way more tech features than most people will use. And people like my mom are baffled by just about any tech (why I have her set up with only one radio station).

So why not set the BMS to only allow charge to 90% on AC, 80% on DCFC, and give an option to extend range if needed? (Are you seeing this Ford?) I set my truck up for 90% limit for daily charging, and then go to 100% when I am departing for a longer trip and think I will want that extra 25 or so miles.

Fundamentally, people are I think intimidated by this electric technology that they do not understand or want to take the time to learn. On your phone or laptop all of that is managed by the OS in the background. Car manufacturers might want to take heed and default to simple, while allowing enthusiasts to delve deeper if they wish.

People do not realize that electrification of vehicles has been around for a long time. Diesel electric locomotives are extended range EVs. I often feel like we are the people driving the first ICE vehicles on the roads and the other folks are like "I am going to stay with my horse and buggy", but once a gas station was on every corner those fears went away. Will take some time but we will get there.

Still loving my Lightning.

I don't know how easily we will ever get to things being easy enough for people that don't want to learn, it's definitely a challenge. The thing about it is ICE vehicles are waaaay more complex to maintain in almost every respect. But it's an issue we have all grown up with and learned on, so it's rarely top of mind. It's like having to eat three times per day or sleep at night. It's an accepted part of life that almost becomes a background task.

There's a good video about if you introduced ICE vehicles now to people that have only lived with a BEV. I originally saw it on Reddit, but the only link to it I am finding right now is TikTok and I can't do that to people. But he basically went on about lower performance, can't refuel at home, oil changes, noise, fumes, etc. It is wild to have to feel you need to "defend" BEVs when the alternative people are afraid to leave is really a pretty big PITA.

But much like giving up 6-8 hours of your life, every day, to sleeping, it's something we just came to accept as normal. I am convinced if someone came up with a pill that let you skip sleeping every day with no ill effects other than once a month you had to sleep for 24 hours straight, there would be droves of people complaining they can't possibly give up 24 hours of their life. They would ignore the cumulative advantage of not losing 8 hours per day because the idea of setting aside 24 hours once a month is too complicated.

 

[JimSmithRun1952]

I just tried changing the target charge on my Android Ford Pass App (v5.28.0) and I was able to get it to change from 80% to 85% on the third try. On the first two tries, I set it to 85% but it went back to 80% when I tried to save it. I was not charging the truck at the time I made the change.

 

[K6CCC]

The whole charging to x% thing seems rather goofy to me. Like, whom only fills their ICE vehicle to 50% or 90%?

As I said in my original post, it was dollar driven. When I charge at home, it's about 30 cents / KWH. If I am able to get a charge stall at work, it's free, and I can grab a DCFC charge on the way to work that is heavily subsidized by that city Water & Power Department for 15 cents / KWH. So yes, I will at times either avoid charging at home or only partially charge at home in order to be able to get the less expensive or free charge.

And maybe this behavior is not new, but I did not remember it before (don't use it all that often).

 

[scruvs]

I'm having a problem with target charge limits outside my charging schedule. v5.28.0.

I currently have a charging schedule programmed into the truck to charge during certain times to 85%.

When I want to charge outside the schedule, I click the charge button in the app. The app then charges the truck to 100%. If I try to adjust the target limit using the slider to 85%, the charging stops.

Any ideas on things to try to be able to charge outside of my schedule to something other than 100%?

I've been dealing with this for a few months by trying to remember to manually stop the charge when I can remember.

 

[Maquis]

The start button will always charge to 100%. That’s just how it works.

 

[scruvs]

The start button will always charge to 100%. That’s just how it works.

is there a different way within the app or the truck to start a charge to my default target charge of 85%?

 

[Maquis]

is there a different way within the app or the truck to start a charge to my default target charge of 85%?

Not without creating a new schedule.

Sponsored