4 diif makes - Electric car range

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Mon 3 Apr 2023 15:21
4 diif makes - Electric car range - HGV ~ P Valentine

Hello One and All,

I hope all is well with you, I have just watched a video with Mat Watson who has driven 4 cars ( himself plus 3 others ) until they stop, average range was about 288-324 miles, Claimed range was 72-82%.

It came to light while watching this that the fuel cover on 1 of the cars was electronically operated, and with zero power he had no way of getting it open to be able to charge the car up.

While you would never run a car until it stop, and to be honest they all had fair warning from the car to find a charging point, it never occurred to me that this would be an issue, I also question why they would do it in the first place since the whole point of having a secure cover on the fuel tank is to prevent people from stealing fuel from your car.

However, if you did go on holiday and decided to use the proper fossil fuel car because you wanted to do more then 325 miles per day ( 2 people driving 1 car ), and decided to leave your electric car at home, which might develop a problem and go flat.

You might have to get it towed to the nearest dealer and fixed before you can plug the charger in.

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Mon 3 Apr 2023 19:05
4 diif makes - Electric car range - craig-pd130

It came to light while watching this that the fuel cover on 1 of the cars was electronically operated, and with zero power he had no way of getting it open to be able to charge the car up

That's surprising, my last BMW plug-in hybrid had electrically-released fuel & charging flaps but there were pull-straps to release them manually from inside the bonnet and boot if the electric release failed.

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Mon 3 Apr 2023 19:19
4 diif makes - Electric car range - Graham567

As far as I'm aware all electric cars have a 12volt car battery in addition to the main battery.This 12volt battery powers the electrics when the car is off (ie central locking and opening the fuel cap) so even if the main battery dies then the auxillary power is still available.

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Mon 3 Apr 2023 19:33
4 diif makes - Electric car range - Adampr

The car in question was a Tesla Model 3 and the auxiliary battery had drained, which is why the flap wouldn't open. Apparently, it's a problem specific to this model where the auxiliary battery begins to drain when the drive battery gets below about 10% charge. It's a fault, something to do with calibration, and can supposedly be fixed with a software update.

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Mon 3 Apr 2023 19:35
4 diif makes - Electric car range - Adampr

Interesting too that the Tesla was by far the most efficient of the four on test. Partly, I'm sure, because it was much smaller than the other three, but I wonder how much it gained from also using its auxiliary battery up.

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Mon 3 Apr 2023 20:03
4 diif makes - Electric car range - pd

I doubt a 12v auxillary battery could get a car more than 100m.

Teslas are just generally very efficient. Many modern cars of all types are a nightmare to access with a totally flat battery. Whilst most have an emergency cord for the fuel filler on many you can't open the boot to access the main battery so need to find an emergency charge point.

That used to usually be under the bonnet but even those seem to be disappearing.

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Mon 3 Apr 2023 20:16
4 diif makes - Electric car range - Steveieb

My friends Volvo PHEV had a different problem.

The charging lead would not disconnect from the socket in the car.

First he tried the main dealer who suggested reloading the Volvo App. No luck.

So Volvo suggested calling Volvo HQ.

They suggested reloading the app yet again. No luck.

Then they suggested switching off the mains power at the consumer unit.

Success!

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Mon 3 Apr 2023 20:24
4 diif makes - Electric car range - Adampr

My friends Volvo PHEV had a different problem.

The charging lead would not disconnect from the socket in the car.

First he tried the main dealer who suggested reloading the Volvo App. No luck.

So Volvo suggested calling Volvo HQ.

They suggested reloading the app yet again. No luck.

Then they suggested switching off the mains power at the consumer unit.

Success!

Most won't release the charge cable whilst charging. It sounds like whatever was supposed to notice that no further charge was needed and the central locking was unlocked doesn't work properly.

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Mon 3 Apr 2023 21:11
4 diif makes - Electric car range - sammy1

Then they suggested switching off the mains power at the consumer unit.

Success!

Arrh, the switching off trick as Clouseau would say, works on nearly everything. one of Sky TVs favourites especially for the router

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Mon 3 Apr 2023 21:56
4 diif makes - Electric car range - Big John

Then they suggested switching off the mains power at the consumer unit.

Success!

Arrh, the switching off trick as Clouseau would say, works on nearly everything. one of Sky TVs favourites especially for the router

I suppose this was part of my career in IT - turning it off and on again solved many a problem!

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Tue 4 Apr 2023 08:49
4 diif makes - Electric car range - Steveieb

The mystery deepens as switching the power off at the charge outlet failed to work and that’s why Volvo suggested switching off at the consumer unit !

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Mon 3 Apr 2023 20:22
4 diif makes - Electric car range - Adampr

I doubt a 12v auxillary battery could get a car more than 100m.

Teslas are just generally very efficient. Many modern cars of all types are a nightmare to access with a totally flat battery. Whilst most have an emergency cord for the fuel filler on many you can't open the boot to access the main battery so need to find an emergency charge point.

That used to usually be under the bonnet but even those seem to be disappearing.

About 400m if my maths is any good.

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Mon 3 Apr 2023 22:21
4 diif makes - Electric car range - bathtub tom

I was once blocked in by a diesel qashqai. The silly driver had parked up with the lights and radio on, then couldn't release the electric handbrake because the battery was flat! Listening to the subsequent phone calls to call out breakdown, it had happened on several previous occasions.

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If you cover no more than 100 miles per day and have easy access to a charging point at home or work, then an EV is ideal for you.

Is an electric car right for me?