When will I see 47 miles EV?

I think my range dropped below 40 when daytime highs we're about 65. Weather has a big effect on LiIon batteries, Clarity or not.
I expect to see 47 again about May

 

We still regularly see 47+ miles, but we also live in the far southwest corner of the US, and our temps don't vary much even in the dead of winter. Today, however, the estimated range is down to 44 miles of EV range. But that's because we've had an unusually long cold snap since Christmas. Quite a few nights in the frost zone - which is a little unusual for early January here.

I could easily drive that 44 miles on electric only if I stayed off the freeway. But that's quite a few street miles… and time. Your estimates will likely increase as the weather warms up - and remember that the number is still just an estimate. I saw 60+ mile estimates on our car a number of times this summer, but we never got that far in reality.

 

See this morning's EV guess-o-meter/guesstimate below. I charge outside (overnight low was below 30 F), use preconditioning each morning before my commute (allowing me to avoid use of heater, though I do use rear defrost/defog as needed). I usually use Econ, but for the past few days I've been using Sport mode, and with a light foot I can avoid engaging the ICE - maintaining my ~50 mile EV range. My commute involves 60/40 hwy/city.

My sense is that lower temperatures (still > 25 F) have reduced my EV range guesstimate 10-15% (from 57-62 in spring/fall to 47-52 now). As temps drop further, I'm sure EV range will suffer some more.

 

I bought my Clarity last Feb when temps were probably in the 20s. I was regularly seeing 35-40 miles of range on the display after a full charge. As the temps increased and it learned that I was an efficient driver, I saw 60s in the summer with a max of 65 several times. When our weather dropped into the 40-50s, my range dropped into the 50s on a full charge. Now that we are into temperatures of 20-30, I regularly see ranges of 45-50 miles BUT I tough it out without using too much hear and drive around shivering most of the time. I can lose at much as half of my expected range when the heat is on. This not only affects my current range but my future estimates as it averages your past few trips. I do turn the heat on when I have passengers as I don't want to hear the complaints and my range suffers.

 

Of course EV range depends on more than temperature! For my driving and location, I expect to see EV range back up in the 40s (from the 30s where it is now) when the nighttime temps are above 60F. Probably May.

 

I was getting low 50's in the late summer when I purchased mine (temps in the 80F range), and now with temps in the 30 F range I am in the high 30's/low 40's on a full charge.

Along with the above mentioned reasons, things like your local terrain (hilly or mountainous areas will get much lower range compared with people who usually drive in flat areas), the roughness of the road (new or resurfaced roads have lower rolling resistance), the air pressure of your tires, and also how much time you spend on the highway, and what you average speed is when driving on the highway. Obviously people that do a lot of highway driving and at speeds of 70+ mph will get much lower range than those who drive local roads or who keep their highway speeds lower (but not too slow! Safety first).

 

I'm in Indiana. Purchased our car in early Sept I think -- regularly got low/mid 50's in EV range. Lately sometimes only 35 to 40. Expecting it to drop more if it ever gets truly cold -- been a very mild winter so far.

Our "commutes" usually involve a good amount of interstate, and we make no effort to drive for economy.

 

I agree with Candice...
From my experience (Maryland), I believe the biggest factor is that heater. Even if it is 'cold' you can still get 45-50+ miles if you tough it out without running the climate system. Everyone talks about reduced battery capacity in the winter, but I think that is secondary to the losses running the heat. I read somewhere that the resistance heat draws as much as 7 kW. It probably comes down some once the cabin reaches temperature, but that is a huge load. As some have mentioned pre-conditioning (while plugged in) may help, but a lot of heat is lost from an aluminum can moving at 60 MPH when it is 30 degrees out.

 

When I am plugged in, fully charged, and preconditioning is first turned on, my charger displays that it is pumping out 7,000 watts. But as the interior warms up this reduces. So indeed the heater draws a LOT of juice, and using it absolutely digs into driving range. I refuse to sit in my car cold so climate control is set at 71 or so all the time. I’ll let you hypermilers freeze your nuggets in the name of a few extra miles, while I burn a 1/4 gallon of ethanol blended fuel in order to arrive at my destination in blissful warm comfort...

 

driving local vs highway also makes a big difference- getting 40 EV when mostly local driving even in winter

 

I've had my car about 5 weeks and, since my commute is about 47 miles round trip I have been watching my EV range closely.

First, my commute: about 23 miles one way - 17 miles where I drive 60-62 mph, and the rest is moderate or slow roads.

On the first weekday I had my car it averaged about 60 degrees (55 morn, 65 aft) and I did my commute with 1.5 miles to spare.

I've also found the last two days, where mornings were mild (40 deg) and highs about 50, I was able to complete the commute by turning off the heat for 1/2 the trip (was projected to be 1.5 miles short on Thursday, turned off climate system and had 2 miles to spare - so it appears that 70 degree heat for 1/2 hour in 50 degree temps costs 3.5 miles of range).

When it was colder (avg 40), I got about 40 miles of range while running heat normally. I ran in HV mode for about 8 miles each day.

 

Don't drive too fast, keep a constant speed, don't brake, if possible,

 

There seems to be a range of "normal." I suspect some of us may of gotten a worse deal on our car due to dealer never having charged the battery (I doubt my dealer even owns a EVSE/charger) and my car's electric was definitely zero when I picked it up.

Best mileage with warm weather in my case was 48 miles. This time of year, even with limited heat use, my car gets about 33 miles of EV range, and with normal heater use about 26 miles of EV range. My climate isn't that cold with average lows around 40F and daytimes around 50F.

Anyway, there appears to be differences between cars.

-Dan

 

I live in Connecticut with most temps in the twenties to forties. I've been seeing 52-55 range lately. Why? Easy. I've learned it only makes sense to use EV off the highway, and I almost never use the heater unless I've switched to HV. And drive smoothly.

 

What is the official EV range? 48 or 47? The Honda site says 47 but the sticker on the car says 48. I have the touring, don't know if that matters. I know it is only 1 mile but sport games can be decided by 1 point.

 

Interesting to read these posts. Seems like a group of owners gets a weaker range while others get normal/better than average range all in the same conditions. Wish everyone posted their build date/VIN sequence so we could maybe try to find some kind of bad battery batches/defects

 

Again, driving behavior, highway use, typical highway speed, aggressiveness of the driver, and "hilly" roads have big impacts on the range, which will vary a lot between all the drivers reporting in here.

 

April 23rd , 2019 at 4pm.

Seriously though yeah I would say once temperatures hover 60 to 80. Summer you should get more than 47. Probably just over 50

 

So I have to say not all folks experience is the same. I (and perhaps we all) understand that using cabin heat is significant draw, jack rabbit starts, high mph (freeway and the like), hills.

Imagine a person who lives in-town. Commute is 5 miles away. Speed 20 Mph. No freeway driving. No driving in-town above 40mph. No heater use save defrost, no jack rabbit starts, and cannot get EV range above 33miles -- even at 100% charge.

Anyway, it's not as simple as change your behavior and EV mileage goes up. At least one of us (me) cannot get the mileage period. My behavior isn't the issue. I've really tried, trust me.

My plan is to get the HDI battery test. It may be difficult, my dealer is not easy to work with or honest. Once I get the facts I think I'll find my battery is partially defective, or more likely the dealer let my car sit uncharged for months before I bought it...

Anyway, simply realize behavior change only goes so far. There exist folks for whom the behavior change simply can't get the EV range many report in these forums. I do trust those who have it (high EV range) and good on them.

-Dan