[EV-Travellers]

Hi,
my 500e is now almost 2,5 years old and I have made roughly 26.000 km with it.

When I got my car, the range indication said something like 300 km in normal mode and 340 km in range mode when it was charged to 100%.

No it dropped massively to something like 260 - 270 km in range mode?!?

I am wondering how the range is calculated.
Maybe it takes an average of all driven km?

Because it started to drop after a road trip of approx. 4500 km. And obviously we drove a lot of motorway which makes the range significantly lower so it would lower as well the average I suppose.

Or is it a sign of a bad battery?
Did the long trip (and or the fast charging stations along the motorway) damaged the battery?

I checked the consumption which is in average 7 km per kW which means with a 42kW battery I should have around 300 km range.

Any ideas?

 

[murkle]

The range will be lower when you charge in cold weather I think (so depending where you live hopefully it will go up a bit again soon)

 

[AndyBowden]

The range will be lower when you charge in cold weather I think (so depending where you live hopefully it will go up a bit again soon)

and will take into account recent driving speed/style and how much you've been using the HVAC.

This winter I'm getting ~5.5km/kWhr in summer more like 6.5. That's in a La Prima almost 2 years old.

 

[Ninja]

I still find normal mode produces best results for me in the Cornish hills/countryside. I thought initially my battery was deteriorating ( 18month old La Prima) but finding the predicted range is quite inaccurate with a lot of short journeys in cold weather. Range is ~ 260Km summer and ~220Km in winter ( 160/140 miles) in Normal mode. Never used charge rate greater than 7Kw. Reminder also that useable battery is not 42Kw but 37.3Kw which at 7Km per Kwh = 261Km.

Winter ~5.9Km/Kwh and summer ~ 7.3Km/Kwh (4.3/4.6 miles/Kwh)

 

[AndyBowden]

Winter ~5.9Km/Kwh and summer ~ 7.3Km/Kwh (4.3/4.6 miles/Kwh)

My less good figures include a fair bit of motorway roads. I'm always always in 'Range' because I like its one pedal driving.

 

[EV-Travellers]

I am also always in range mode...
The consumption seems to be ok - it is only that I got the feeling that the battery cannot deliver anymore the 42kw, rather something like 30 - 35...
For example now I am at 60% battery level with an estimated 140 km range.
According to my average consumption of 7km per kW - I should still have a range of approx. 185 km, so I am more than 30% below.
Does that mean that my battery can only use 70% of the 42kW?

A bit like the iPhone phenomenon... after 2 years of use the battery is just c***...

Need to figure out if it is only a calculation problem or rather a sever battery problem BEFORE I go on my 5 months tour...

 

[AndyBowden]

The range prediction is only a guess and is notoriously untrustworthy.

The % charge and the km/kWhr readouts are much more reliable.

Suggest you might reset trip A and drive 50km or so and see if the drop in battery charge % and the average km/kWhr figures are consistent.

If you're still worried after that, it might be wise to go to a Fiat workshop and get a check done. In UK only a few Fiat workshops are equipped to work on the 500e. I hope things are better there.

 

[EV-Travellers]

I have anyway an appointment beginning of April to do a proper check for the breaks, tires etc before we leave. They are equipped to deal with the 500e, they do also my service etc.

I had a look at trip B today - the consumption seemed to be ok. I went uphill and had like 5km per kW and downhill (we are living in a very hilly area as it is Central Italy with the Appenines) with 35-50 km per kW. So all very well.

 

[EV-Travellers]

Last summer I drove in the Abruzzo (mountain range in Italy) the whole day in range mode. In the morning uphill to Campo imperatore - and in the evening downhill. We drove like 3-4 hours that day (both directions plus a bit here and there). And we consumed only 20% for the day because it charged itself so well while going downhill!!!
Same on Elba where it is also quite mountainous.
The 500e is really at its best in the mountains.

 

[AndyBowden]

I've been to Abruzzo, including Campo Imperatore beautiful scenery there, but in the Giulia Quadrifoglio. I still regard the 500e as a short distance car. I find the seats aren't that comfortable after a while.

 

[Black Cat]

Is this information displayed somewhere in the many menus?

 

[EV-Travellers]

Is this information displayed somewhere in the many menus?

Yes, you can use the arrow files on your wheel to switch between the displays and you will find Trip A and Trip B statistics.

 

[AndyBowden]

Is this information displayed somewhere in the many menus?

You might find a quick read of the Owner's Manual helpful.

 

[Black Cat]

I did try to read it. It is a lot of information to take in. I don’t have any search function on the copy I downloaded so find it difficult to find things.

 

[Electric Tire Shredder]

If you load the manual on a computer you can search it by holding the Ctrl key* while you tap the F key (for "Find").

* on Apple it's Cmd or ⌘

 

[Black Cat]

If you load the manual on a computer you can search it by holding the Ctrl key* while you tap the F key (for "Find").

* on Apple it's Cmd or ⌘

Unfortunately IOnly have an ipad

 

[Black Cat]

Unfortunately IOnly have an ipad

I find it relatively easy to find things on the touch screen menus. What I find more challenging is the steering wheel buttons, especially when I find myself pressing them accidentally whilst driving. My husband has a Tesla and only having a touch screen I find is way better then all the buttons in the fiat 500e, it makes it much more complicated to me. But maybe that is because I am used to touch screens through phone and iPad.

 

[Electric Tire Shredder]

useable battery is not 42Kw but 37.3Kw

the battery cannot deliver anymore the 42kw, rather something like 30 - 35...

... or 37.3 (as @Ninja pointed out earlier)

The range prediction is only a guess and is notoriously untrustworthy.

The % charge and the km/kWhr readouts are much more reliable.

Agreed, although even the % gauge isn't all that accurate, so it's also a bit inaccurate to use it to judge battery health.

It can also give inaccurate results if you base total range on short trips starting above 90%: At high % the regen is limited since it can't charge a full battery*. So the first 10% can be used up much faster & just multiplying that distance by 10 will be much less than the actual driving range.

go to a Fiat workshop and get a check done.

Don't be too alarmed if a check shows really bad. On the 1st-gen all of the OBD data for battery State Of Health seems inaccurate.

we are living in a very hilly area

Hills make a huge difference to the very well-named Guess-O-Meter ("GOM"):

• When I drive downhill to the ocean beach & charge there it shows 1 1/2 times as far as I can actually drive.
• When I drive to my friend's at the top of a steep hill & charge there it shows about 3/4 of my actual range.

* On the same steep downhill leaving my home at 100% it will only regen about 2kW. Between 95% & 99% it's only about 5kW. At 90-95% it's about 15kW, & below 90% it's 20+.

 

[DeadEye]

I believe you guessed it :
« Because it started to drop after a road trip of approx. 4500 km. And obviously we drove a lot of motorway which makes the range significantly lower so it would lower as well the average I suppose. »

I can’t say the second gen cars use the same algorithm as the first gen, but the prediction seems to be based on the *Recent * drives…

Drive Frugally you get a more optimistic prediction, drive with a lead foot, you will not …