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Questions about the ID.4 battery capacity and cold weather

23301 Views 49 Replies 19 Participants Last post by crabnebula, Mar 2, 2022

brifi

Discussion Starter · Oct 25, 2021

So I'm a new EV owner, having purchased the ID4 Pro S in July. I love driving the car and everything about it except for the lack of range and the shortage of fast chargers in my region. There's only one EA charging station in the entire state. Hopefully more are on the way. I digress...

During warmer weather I could charge the battery to 80% and the range indicator said that the range was about 230-240. Now the weather is changing in the Upper Midwest and I took a short road trip to a location where I left the car out overnight for 4 nights without driving it and the temperatures dropped into the mid-to-low 30s. On my return trip, a charge to 80%, which took about the same amount of time as it did during the summer months, only got the range indicator to 160-175. I got it home to my garage where the car is charging in a partially enclosed area (warmer than outside, say around 60 degrees) and it doesn't seem to have improved. Does anyone know how long does it take for the effects of being outside to normalize once I return it to the garage? Is this dramatic change something I can expect for the entire winter (and for it to potentially get worse), or am I doing something wrong?

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jgoodnough

· #9 · Oct 25, 2021

VW Technician recently made this post.

VW TECHNICIAN said:
Battery temperature management is independent from car-net.
Unless future battery management revisions change this.
Depending on is the EV connected to the L1 or L2 or is it unplugged.
If plugged in it will maintain Battery temp irrelevant from car-net command.
If not plugged to EVSE it will use different algorithm how and when to heat battery.
Example....
Talking from engineering standpoint.
Id4 has mixing valve that will use waisted heat from electronics and motor propulsion to assist in heating battery when necessary ( unplugged)
So with that is more efficient to have different battery temp algorithm.
When plugged to L1 or L2 charger it will move strategy to keep battery pack at all times within calibration parameters without assist from waisted coolant heat loop.
Also when ID4 is charging and mixing valve is sensing temperature below set threshold it will circulate coolant trough the battery pack while charging on L1 or L2.

The basic takeaway is keeping your car on a charger, either L1 or L2 will keep the battery warmer, which will in turn give you better charging results and the best possible range. It's still going to take a hit from very cold temps, but if you set your desired SOC and plan to drive shortly after the car is fully charged to that level, then pre-warm while the car is still on the charger and it should be as good as it's gonna be.

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jgoodnough

· #10 · Oct 25, 2021

brifi said:
I'm charging it right now on a 6.6kw Chargepoint, which tells me that it has given my car an estimated 72 miles. According to Car-Net, its been closer to 40 miles, and its at 68% and 132 mile range.

This discrepancy may be a result of the car drawing power to warm the battery...not charge it. It's also charging, but only a portion of that 6.6 kw draw is going to warm the battery. The Car-Net reading may be correct regarding the amount of power that's been stored in the battery.

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jgoodnough

· #13 · Oct 25, 2021

JimmyVW said:
That being said, around freezing and on winter tires my range at 80% is still a not too bad 360 KM.

Thanks so much for providing that info. I've been hoping someone would mention what range they're getting at freezing temps on snow tires. I'm purchasing tires next week and have been wondering about what I can expect. I'll be garaging and charging inside at home and pre-heating before driving. I'm also planning to plug-in on my L1 charger while at work to keep the battery warmed.

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