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New Owner Needs Advice


rowekmr
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Okay I did just get my 2013 Titanium model and know very little about these except they can be fun and thrifty at gas stations. What should I look for? I live in Chicago so we have cold winters and hot summers any operational guidelines I need to know about. I plug up at home with 120v and don't drive more than 20 miles one way so trying to see how little gas I can use.

 

Its 10F so after plugging up outside on start up I see normally a 12 mile range for EV but engine sometimes come on for operational needs so it rarely makes it home without running (only once so far). I do try to limit my heat and defroster use but on coldest mornings 5F engine runs with no electrical loads (driver controlled) plus I have to use my headlights.

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Cold reduces the capacity of the battery.  In the summer I get 25 miles.  In the winter I get 18 miles and if I turn the heat on I get 10 miles.  Use the seat heater and steering wheel heater if you have it and wear a warm coat.  Preconditioning the car with GO times will help but you need a 240 volt EVSE for that to be of much use.

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Thanks

Last night instead of going EV until battery depletes and engine comes one all without heat I tried something different. I put it on EV later let the gas engine run while I had the wipres, rear defroster and front heat/defroster off thinking this will preheat the system then when it was comfortable inside I put it on EV only and left the fan on low to stay comfortable all the way home. I wonder is this more efficient? Is the heat only electric or will it use engine coolant when engine is running.

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It uses the engine coolant if it is hot.  If the engine coolant is cold the engine loop is bypassed so the electric resistance heater isn't trying to heat the engine.

 

For a trip of city streets to expressway and then city streets to work, use EV Later while on the expressway and EV Now while on the city streets.  EV Now on the expressway discharges the battery in a hurry.

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If it's in EV Auto with the heat on the ICE will almost certainly still come on if it's that cold outside. That's normal.

 

Also, if it's running hybrid mode and you're trips are shorter than 20 miles then you'll have a hard time getting even 40 mpg in my experience. That's normal when it's cold outside. In the warm season you should easily get over 40 mpg. It's pretty common for me to get 50 mpg when it's warm outside.

 

How many miles are on the vehicle?

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If it's in EV Auto with the heat on the ICE will almost certainly still come on if it's that cold outside. That's normal.

 

Also, if it's running hybrid mode and you're trips are shorter than 20 miles then you'll have a hard time getting even 40 mpg in my experience. That's normal when it's cold outside. In the warm season you should easily get over 40 mpg. It's pretty common for me to get 50 mpg when it's warm outside.

 

How many miles are on the vehicle?

It has 31K miles. I am currently avg 54 mpg on this first tankful. I drove home about 490 miles flying at about 75 mph but around home I plug up everytime I get and am cycling the systems to get as much efficiency as I can. The few times I drove to work (14 miles) I plugged in there also. Currently looking for a 220/240v cord for my 14-50 outlet on my house to get faster recharges and use it for more errand running.

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It has 31K miles. I am currently avg 54 mpg on this first tankful. I drove home about 490 miles flying at about 75 mph but around home I plug up everytime I get and am cycling the systems to get as much efficiency as I can. The few times I drove to work (14 miles) I plugged in there also. Currently looking for a 220/240v cord for my 14-50 outlet on my house to get faster recharges and use it for more errand running.

 

Clipper Creek is a pretty good brand. They have a 14-50 EVSE that is 32 amps so if you ever plan on getting a Tesla or whatever you could carry it over to the new vehicle.

 

https://store.clippercreek.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=67

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've been using a portable charger from EVI for initially regular 120V charging. Then I wired in a 240V circuit and use the 14-50 connector. I bought the Deluxe Portable Smart Charger Plus, as it came with both a 5-15 and 14-50 adapter, as well as having L6-30 as the primary connector. Very happy with it, since it shows time charging, kilowatt hours, and the amps it's pulling. It maxes out at 16 amps, but for our vehicles that's fine.

 

http://ev-institute.com/portable_products.html, USA PC-0113-PA-63

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