[jneron]

I'm trying to determine if I have a battery issue or if this is just normal for the conditions. We have a 2019 28K Ioniq which we bought new, so this is our 4th winter with it. Winters here get pretty cold (-15C to -25C or colder) and it seems to me that our battery performance is worse than it used to be. We know that range goes down as it gets colder, and that using cabin heating really sucks up the old juice, that's not the issue. The problem is that I don't get anywhere close to the predicted range. For example, after a full charge it might show 130km range (vs typically 200+ in the summer), but when I track the actual distance, I'm only getting 80-90km. I don't have this issue in the summer, predicted range is pretty close to actual.

I don't know if it's always been this way and I never noticed, or if something has changed. It was highlighted to me last winter when I had to run some errands with 32km range left. I only needed 12k for the trip, so I thought I was fine even if it took double the range. Well, it took a lot more than that. I had to shut off the cabin heat for the last half of the trip, and even then I just made it back with 4-5km left. Yes, it was very cold that day (-27C as I recall) and I was running the cabin heat, but the car knew all of that. If, under those conditions, I only had 10km why tell me I had 32km?

I've been keeping track of actual vs predicted for quite a while, and it's always way less in the winter. Last charge said 136 predicted, but I only got 69 actual, with a predicted 26 remaining, so something less than 95 actual (since I doubt I would get the full 26 predicted remaining).

So, is this the same experience everyone else has in cold weather? Is your actual range way less than predicted?

Thanks for any info!

Jean

 

[nburd]

My winter range is typically pretty reliable. 100-110 miles and 90-95 at 55 MPH. Your range prediction should adjust with Climate settings. Unless you look at range with climate off and drive with climate on (sometimes blue link does this) mine is pretty accurate. Same car and same miles. It was 10F on the way to work today and I was showing 100 miles, which is my norm. I will try and track a few days (but we have a warmup for the next two days) and see.

 

[vanctour]

It is really hard to say when conditions / temps get that low. Vehicles are test in negative temps, but at -15 to -25 C that may go well below duration testing of the battery. You will need to compare numbers with others who live in that climate. But if you wait until mid-summer and your range returns, then it is more than likely just the severe winter weather and not battery degradation. Sorry, I can't be of much more help, but I see a slight reduction in range but in Vancouver we are sitting at 0-10 C for winter.

 

[jneron]

My winter range is typically pretty reliable. 100-110 miles and 90-95 at 55 MPH. Your range prediction should adjust with Climate settings. Unless you look at range with climate off and drive with climate on (sometimes blue link does this) mine is pretty accurate. Same car and same miles. It was 10F on the way to work today and I was showing 100 miles, which is my norm. I will try and track a few days (but we have a warmup for the next two days) and see.

The range prediction does change based on climate settings, etc. I've even had the range go up if the weather warms up enough. The issue is that I don't get the range that it says. I'll be interested to see if you get the range your car predicts.

Jean

 

[jneron]

You will need to compare numbers with others who live in that climate.

That's what I'm hoping to do here. Any owners in northern Europe, or here on the Canadian prairies would probably have the same weather conditions. The range does return in the summer, the issue isn't that my range goes down in the winter, I expect that. The issue is I don't get close to the predicted range in the winter. The car knows the outside temp, it knows if the cabin heat is on and should give me an accurate range, but it doesn't. And the colder it is, the greater the discrepancy, eg, last February after a full charge the range showed 129km, but the actual range was less than 82km, almost a full third less.

And maybe this is normal and I just never noticed before. That's what I'm trying to find out.

Jean

 

[Sähkövatkain]

Recent experience from Finland. It was -22 to -28 celsius at one day when we did a total trip of 78km split in two equal parts, heating was at 19-20 with butt warmers on.
Car was frozen from start and i did wait in car for 10 minutes on the way as wife visited shop.
Car sat 5-6 hours at destination before driving back.
GOM stated ~130km with 100% battery at start. At home again it showed ~25km. I bet car would have driven max 15km before stopping.
I don't remember exact numbers, but its really close.
Driving speed GPS max 85kmh, google estimates 1h 10min for the whole drive, while i think it took a bit longer.
Consumption figures were 24,9 and 24,2 kWh/100km.

What I think happens, is that battery is so cold, you can't get all the juice out of it.
Also GOM calculates by amp hours i think? And when reaching empty battery, voltage drops faster and so does estimated range.

My thinking is that in summer, deduct 15% from GOM when battery is at 100% and you get real range. At winter I take 30% off.
It has held up quite nicely for me at least.

I have a 28kwh 2017 model with 141 000km driven. Studless nordic winter tires.

 

[jneron]

Recent experience from Finland. It was -22 to -28 celsius at one day when we did a total trip of 78km split in two equal parts, heating was at 19-20 with butt warmers on.
Car was frozen from start and i did wait in car for 10 minutes on the way as wife visited shop.
Car sat 5-6 hours at destination before driving back.
GOM stated ~130km with 100% battery at start. At home again it showed ~25km. I bet car would have driven max 15km before stopping.
I don't remember exact numbers, but its really close.
Driving speed GPS max 85kmh, google estimates 1h 10min for the whole drive, while i think it took a bit longer.
Consumption figures were 24,9 and 24,2 kWh/100km.

What I think happens, is that battery is so cold, you can't get all the juice out of it.
Also GOM calculates by amp hours i think? And when reaching empty battery, voltage drops faster and so does estimated range.

My thinking is that in summer, deduct 15% from GOM when battery is at 100% and you get real range. At winter I take 30% off.
It has held up quite nicely for me at least.

I have a 28kwh 2017 model with 141 000km driven. Studless nordic winter tires.

Hmm, that sounds pretty close to what I'm getting. Last run was 136 predicted, 69 actual and 26 (95) remaining, which is almost the same as your 78 + 25 (103). So maybe this is more or less normal?

Thanks for the report.

 

[Juhani]

Hmm, that sounds pretty close to what I'm getting. Last run was 136 predicted, 69 actual and 26 (95) remaining, which is almost the same as your 78 + 25 (103). So maybe this is more or less normal?

Yes, I think it might be pretty normal.

I remember doing a 90 km trip(total) in -25 C, cold storage and start, 2,5h stop before back home, average speed under 80 km /h because of narrow road. I cannot remember how much was left, but not much, I dont remember freaking out 😁, maybe 15 km, but I do remember thinking that now I know the minimum for this car, "about 100km".

MY2019 28 kWh car with 85 k now

 

[darjan]

It is not just the climate that is taking a toll on the range in winter, but the battery chemistry...it just outputs less energy when cold.

 

[jneron]

Yes, I think it might be pretty normal.

I remember doing a 90 km trip(total) in -25 C, cold storage and start, 2,5h stop before back home, average speed under 80 km /h because of narrow road. I cannot remember how much was left, but not much, I dont remember freaking out 😁, maybe 15 km, but I do remember thinking that now I know the minimum for this car, "about 100km".

MY2019 28 kWh car with 85 k now

I've been keeping a log, and I just entered all the numbers into a spreadsheet so that I could calculate actual km and % variances. Winter variances can be as high as 40% or more, eg, earlier this month I should have gotten 145km on a charge, but only got <78km. I think it still sounds low, even with the cold.

OTOH, it's really hard to judge these. If the temp drop 5C or so, I'll lose a lot of range just from that, so it looks like I'm not getting what I should but it just because it got colder. Still, the car knows the outside temp, it should adjust my remaining distance accordingly. Don't tell me I can drive 32km when I can only go 10.

 

[jneron]

It is not just the climate that is taking a toll on the range in winter, but the battery chemistry...it just outputs less energy when cold.

Yeah, I know and I expect the range to decrease in the winter. However, I don't expect the range to be so inaccurate, like after a full charge telling me I've got 145km (vs 200+ in summer) but I only get 78.

 

[Juhani]

but I only get 78.

Sounds that there might be something wrong with you car

 

[jneron]

Yeah, maybe, that’s what I’m trying to determine.

 

[darjan]

Whats the energy consumption during the trips in the console menu? Might be the PTC heater is always on, drawing 6kw, and that would affect the range quite a lot.

 

[KevinT]

It's not just outside temps that are an issue in winter, but road conditions. Wet road surfaces, pushing tires through snow/slush or over bumpy frozen hard pack all takes extra energy, but the guess-o-meter isn't accounting for that when you first start the car. It only learns it as you go when the actual consumption is higher than it expected based on temperatures alone.

Could they have factored that in up front for cold weather and then surprised you with extra range as you got closer to empty on a clear cold road? Yup, and they probably should have, but the reality is that they didn't.

Edit to add: As a winter cyclist riding on paved paths, I firmly attest to the fact that it takes a lot more energy to go through snow, slush, or ride atop hard pack than it does to ride on cold bare asphalt.

 

[Jessiejosco]

I have found the type of winter tire makes a difference as well. I had Blizzaks last winter and they got better range the the Continental winter contacts I have this year. May have to do with them being run flat tires.

 

[jneron]

Whats the energy consumption during the trips in the console menu? Might be the PTC heater is always on, drawing 6kw, and that would affect the range quite a lot.

If PTC refers to the cabin air heater, yeah, it's almost always on. But the car knows that, I get an immediate increase in mileage if I turn it off, so it does factor that into the range.

 

[jneron]

I have found the type of winter tire makes a difference as well. I had Blizzaks last winter and they got better range the the Continental winter contacts I have this year. May have to do with them being run flat tires.

I'm using the same set that I always used, so that can't be it.

 

[jneron]

It only learns it as you go when the actual consumption is higher than it expected based on temperatures alone.

Maybe that's the issue, because it doesn't seem to learning. I always get noticeably less than it tells me. Or maybe it's not possible for it to learn, given the variety of road conditions here (varies from ice pack, slush, bare road, snow).

Still, this is our 4th winter and I don't remember the guess-o-meter being this inaccurate, or my actual mileage being so low. I can remember distances in the 90km range on a full charge a few years ago, only when it was really cold (<-20C). It's not that cold this winter, and I'm not getting that sort of range.

 

[JimRad]

I think my real range on the Ioniq 28 is down to 160 km when it's 0-5°C outside, I can get to work and back for two days (total of 130 km) then I need to charge badly!

I'm a bit annoyed that the GOM seems to be way more off during the winter as it keeps on showing 180-200 km even if it can't get anywhere near that range. In the summer I get 230-250 km on the GOM and much closer to that in real life.

Apart from a bit of whining I love the timed charging, it's so nice to have a warm car with defrosted windows waiting for you in the morning.

/Jim