Utility mode

Short answer is NO ..

Per manual :

In UTILITY MODE "The high voltage battery is used
instead of the 12V auxiliary battery
for operating the convenient features
of the vehicle. When driving is not
necessary such as while camping or
when stopping the vehicle for a long
time, it is possible to use the electrical
devices (audio, lights, etc.) for
long hours."

 

I do this all the time, just keep aware that the AC turned on by bluelink will only run for about 15 minutes. You can repeatedly hit bluelink after the time out if needed. You do not need to turn on utility mode or doing any thing special to use your bluelink HVAC functions. As Tim pointed out utility mode is more of a camping feature, meaning you can run all your all 12 Volt systems including HVAC powered by your traction battery without fear it will run down your 12V battery. For example lets say you want to sleep in your car with HVAC on but you don't want or need to have your running lights on- utility mode to the rescue. Also Utility mode has a different 12V battery charge profile compared to"RUN/On"mode

 

No worries about that as the DC to DC converter is topping up your 12V battery when bluetooth engages your HVAC. In the winter when it hits -32C or colder I will not uncommonly run up to 3 consecutive 15 minutes bluelink initiated heating sessions with no ill effect on the 12V battery. It would be the same for A/C.

 

Basically, yes, remote climate will know to "charge" or at least maintain the 12V battery while it's running.

 

Basically you're running the 12V components using the HV battery.

I went to the drive in theater the other day. Parked, turned on utility mode and watched two movies. We had the AC going on low the whole time and the vented seats. Over the course of about 5 hours we lost about 6% of the high voltage battery SOC.

Makes me kind of sad that there was only one other EV, a Tesla M3. A lot of the cars were idling because outside temps were over 100°F!

 

Something no ICE car can do...run the AC for hours without a care in the world about overheating the engine, exhaust system, insufficient oil pressure due to idling...
Even in normal driving mode, there is no urgency to turn the "ignition" off if you're staying in the car. Just put it in park (if you wish) and leave the thing "on"! The AC will work perfectly and very little battery reserve is used.

I know about Utility mode but I doubt I'd ever use it just to cool the car while in a restaurant...and where might that be since they're all shut down? I live just a few miles north of "hell" myself where summer temps run over 100 F everyday for months.

Now, in the winter I have and do set the heat to come on while the car is plugged in just before heading to work.

 

The advantage of utility mode is that the lights including day light running lights are off as opposed to leaving it in "run" mode. VERY handy for the drive in theater!

 

I use the utility mode if I am running my inverter during a power outage but other than that I have not had a need for it. The use at the drive in sounds like a good use as well.

 

Setting the handbrake turns off the DRLs on my EU model. Between those modes otherwise I don't see much difference in power draw off the traction battery. Ignoring possible safety issues and the power steering not going to sleep, the other main difference that I mentioned some time ago is that in Utility mode the 12V battery is under a continuous charge voltage 14.7V, while in Run it stops that after 30 min and carries on in a float condition, about 13.1V, just like when you're driving, ensuring that no discharge takes place.

 

The only value of utility mode is to leave the car ”running” without any danger of its being driven off.

 

I use utility mode often for the air conditioning on very hot days where the Kona is parked in the sun. Another use of it is camping. As in his video shows Bjørn Nyland on a winter road trip. He used the Kona's utility mode to provide heat while sleeping in the Kona. Part 2 of his video shows how much energy it uses after operating the heater and some electronics all night. I could also see it running a 12v cooler while shopping or camping. Many uses. Great to have.

 

I tested out Utility Mode. Here are the steps:

• Selected Utility Mode following directions in the manual.
• Plugged my cooler into the 12v outlet.
• If you want to do this in the dark or shade, turn the headlamps off Auto (see below).
• Locked all the doors using the switch on the driver's door.
• Turned the car off.
• Got out of the car, ignoring the "No key in vehicle" beep.
• Locked the driver's door with the mechanical key.

The rear hatch will still open electrically if you have the key, but you'll need to use the mechanical key to open a front door (or crawl through).

First time, I tried it in my garage. Got back an hour later and the car had turned the headlights on. This used up 6 miles range and 2% charge.

So I tried it outside in the sunlight. Three hours later it had used 1% and 2 miles. Much better. It was running a 12v cooler drawing 4 amps.

Here's the actual 12v voltage - more like 14.8 or so. (The hour between 12 and 13 was with the headlamps on.)

 

Utility mode is also good for ferry's, and other times when you need to be in your car (and want climate, audio, etc) for a long period of time, but you're not going anywhere.

To the OP's question, just use the Blue Link to cool the car. It's one of the best features of an electric car. No need to overthink how it works in terms of 12V battery or Traction battery. (Though I get that some people enjoy digging into the technical aspects)