For those lucky forum members who've already taken delivery of their SE, I was curious to learn about your experiences with the "Mini Connected" app. In particular, I wanted to know the following: 1) When preconditioning the car via your cell phone, are you able to set and adjust the cabin temperature from within the app? 2) Can you use the app. to check charging status and stop charging? As far as I know, the app also allows you to lock/unlock the car, check car location and turn the headlights on/off. Am I missing anything else? It's not exactly Tesla-level functionality but this seems like it might be quite a useful little app. Thanks!
1. No, it just does 'a comfortable temperature ' 2. Yes, you can check status, but not stop. Other functions you got, but add honk horn to the list, and see your efficiency ratings.
Yes you can stop the charging by changing it to “Charge with off-peak tariff”....just set the timer to start and stop at the same time. Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
Do you have any idea what "comfortable" is in terms of temperature? I'm a little surprised they don't let you set your desired temperature.
Well, if you can't adjust the temperature I guess that setting makes the most sense. Thanks for the info! I'm going to enjoy playing with the app once mine arrives. I hope you're enjoying yours.
In South Carolina summer heat, I would definitely say "a comfortable temperature" is close enough to keep my face from melting off. I'm glad it is a feature.
Hrm. I'll have to double-check this, but I thought it used the last temperature you set it to while in-cabin.
That was my understanding as well. When on a rollercoaster of temperature a few weeks ago (80ºF during the day, 45ºF at night), I'd constantly adjust cabin temperature to minimize activation of heating/cooling while driving. But I'd often forget and leave cabin temperature set to 76ºF (to keep air conditioner under control during the hot time of day), and then in the morning after preconditioning it would feel hot inside. I've also read somewhere that if the departure time is greater than three hours away the battery pack will be preconditioned, otherwise just the cabin temperature is adjusted. This might be how the BMW i3 behaves so I don't know if the SE is the same.
Method: "Start" the car. Set driver's side to a "warmer" temperature (like 75F). Set passenger's side to a "cooler" temperature (like 65F). Turn car "off". Exit car. Send "Climatize Now" command and wait a few minutes. Get in car and observe how the HVAC is behaving. At this point, both driver & passenger sides were blowing the same moderate/cool air. When I "start" the car again, each side altered its behavior to reflect the manual settings selected in steps 2 & 3. Conclusion: It seems like the "Climatize Now" uses a default "comfortable" setting. Agree with @Toi that it seems like 72F.
BTW, that test was on battery power. I'll try a scheduled departure while plugged into the EVSE this weekend, and see if that behaves any differently.
I wonder if the app is smart enough to know whether you have off peak rate discounts available and hides the options. My power company does not offer any discounts yet.
Drove my car today for the first time in three days (still snowing, but roads are clear). When I got in my car this morning I noticed it was rather cool inside the cabin, and the display said something along the lines of "Cabin comfort not performed to protect the battery. A short drive will resolve this." I regret not having the presence of mind to take a photo. My car has been plugged in the whole time, sitting at 100% SoC for most of the time. I wonder if the car was referring to the 12V battery?
Yeah, the 12V battery runs the fan and the heat pump systems, but the 12V battery doesn't get a charge unless the car is 'on' even if plugged in.
Perhaps if you set a departure time for at least a few hours ahead of the current time, your plugged-in MINI Cooper SE would warm the battery (and then warm the cabin, too). I would be surprised if the car was protecting its 12-Volt battery and even more surprised if your 12-Volt battery's charge was depleted in just 3 days without driving the car.