Battery range dropping fast

[Whereitis]

I bought a 2014 i3 Rex last summer with 55k miles on it. When I first got it, it would show 60 miles available on a full (overnight) charge. A couple of months later it started showing 55 miles. Now it's 5 months later, I go out to the car and it shows 47 miles with a full charge. The car only has about 58k on it now. Has anyone seen the HV battery lose its capacity so fast? I'm concerned this means the battery is about to die.

 

[mojo]

Assuming you're in the Northern hemisphere, it's approaching the coldest time of year. It's normal to see the range drop in winter. ~20% is typical but (of course) varies depending on the temperature conditions where you are.

 

[Whereitis]

Assuming you're in the Northern hemisphere, it's approaching the coldest time of year. It's normal to see the range drop in winter. ~20% is typical but (of course) varies depending on the temperature conditions where you are.

Well, it's gone from 70s and 80s down to 40s and 50s, so I suppose that could be it. I hope it doesn't drop much further when temps get down to below freezing.

 

[mojo]

There are other factors - one being the difference in driving style between you and the previous owner. If (for example) the previous owner only travelled slowly on city roads and you use high-speed roads, the guessometer would take a while to adapt to the new "normal", so you would expect that to correct after the first few drives in your ownership - it would not be immediate - though I concede that the process should take a matter of days or weeks - not months!

 

[Whereitis]

There are other factors - one being the difference in driving style between you and the previous owner. If (for example) the previous owner only travelled slowly on city roads and you use high-speed roads, the guessometer would take a while to adapt to the new "normal", so you would expect that to correct after the first few drives in your ownership - it would not be immediate - though I concede that the process should take a matter of days or weeks - not months!

That was my thought too. But after a few occasional reads of 60 when I first got the i3, it's mostly shown consistently in the 55-57 mile range when reading "100%" in the HSOC screen. Now it still says 100%, but with miles showing 47. This readout change seems to have happened just within the last few days, not months or even weeks. I hope it never reaches zero - the car might never start again lol

 

[Joff]

45 miles range is pretty low. As has been mentioned, temperature is a big factor. Another lesser known factor is that if you don't run the battery all the way down once in a while, the car's estimation of it's battery capacity can become less accurate, usually tilting toward the safe side, reporting less.

 

[Whereitis]

45 miles range is pretty low. As has been mentioned, temperature is a big factor. Another lesser known factor is that if you don't run the battery all the way down once in a while, the car's estimation of it's battery capacity can become less accurate, usually tilting toward the safe side, reporting less.

I didn't know that. It may be the reason, since in the past few days I only ran the battery down to half before reaching home and plugging back in

 

[jfran2]

FWIW, I don't think your readings are unusual. I have a 2015 Rex with 87,000 miles, and I only occasionally see 60 miles anymore on a full charge. Usually my mileage is in the mid 50's with wintertime dipping into the upper 40's. That's consistent with the 2% per year degradation I hear talked about with this particular battery pack. I don't worry about mine; I'm thankful to have the get-out-of-jail-free card of the Rex in the back!

 

[Whereitis]

FWIW, I don't think your readings are unusual. I have a 2015 Rex with 87,000 miles, and I only occasionally see 60 miles anymore on a full charge. Usually my mileage is in the mid 50's with wintertime dipping into the upper 40's. That's consistent with the 2% per year degradation I hear talked about with this particular battery pack. I don't worry about mine; I'm thankful to have the get-out-of-jail-free card of the Rex in the back!

That's also why I bought a Rex and would not buy a full electric anything until the charging infrastructure is much improved.

 

[Gonville]

Well, it's gone from 70s and 80s down to 40s and 50s, so I suppose that could be it. I hope it doesn't drop much further when temps get down to below freezing.

It will - check the graph. (Data from US Government test labs reference in the picture)

Bad things happen below zero. Pre-condition. Oh and ABC