Octavia Estate PHEV % read out on Dash giving a False read out

[Biggles33]

The readout on the Dash showing miles left in the battery is reading low...  The Mileage above showing petrol miles is correct,   even the side % charge is correct,   but the miles on electric is wrong..   After a full charge the side % is correct and the Dash should be 33 miles of stored charge but its usually showing  22 to 25  miles left..     Anyone had this problem?

 

[beasty54]

On 09/11/2021 at 14:40, Biggles33 said:

The readout on the Dash showing miles left in the battery is reading low...  The Mileage above showing petrol miles is correct,   even the side % charge is correct,   but the miles on electric is wrong..   After a full charge the side % is correct and the Dash should be 33 miles of stored charge but its usually showing  22 to 25  miles left..     Anyone had this problem?

 

The amount of miles can't actually be "wrong" they're just an estimate based on a number of factors including your driving on recent trips and i'm guessing, the outside temperature. Mine often says 36 miles of range but the other morning, even with the scheduler set so the batteries had only just finished charging, it said 29 miles which i'm assuming was because it was way colder than normal. If your driving consists of mainly 70mph roads your car will show quite a low estimated range because you won't get near the stated figures. I'll get 42 miles out of mine at 30mph and on a mild day but, if i drive at a constant 70mph, i'd be impressed if i got 30 miles out of the battery, 22 miles on a cold day. 

[j caff]

Not another thread on this... 

[Biggles33]

Thank you Beasty  for the reply...Sorry Jcaff was not aware of the topic being discussed..     I took it to the garage yesterday as only getting22 miles on charge and to report the strange dead info net screen which they say is an known fault and will eventually be a recall...   The garage blamed the info screen going down resetting stupid charging levels?     They showed me a submenu I had never seen which shows a slider 0 to 50 to set the input charge level... He said to set it to zero...   I doubted this on the test overnight and it showed no difference i.e 24 miles range...    So I then set it to 30 and no difference...  At the moment of writing  I have set  it at 50 to see if that makes a difference zero seems wrong to me?   Its not the capacity screen with the battery graph its a slider menu.  

Sorry will take a look at the other thread.

[Biggles33]

Sorry  J caff not find these multiple threads on my problem?

[j caff]

42 minutes ago, Biggles33 said:

Thank you Beasty  for the reply...Sorry Jcaff was not aware of the topic being discussed..     I took it to the garage yesterday as only getting22 miles on charge and to report the strange dead info net screen which they say is an known fault and will eventually be a recall...   The garage blamed the info screen going down resetting stupid charging levels?     They showed me a submenu I had never seen which shows a slider 0 to 50 to set the input charge level... He said to set it to zero...   I doubted this on the test overnight and it showed no difference i.e 24 miles range...    So I then set it to 30 and no difference...  At the moment of writing  I have set  it at 50 to see if that makes a difference zero seems wrong to me?   Its not the capacity screen with the battery graph its a slider menu.  

Sorry will take a look at the other thread.

Set the slider to 0% which will give you maximum battery only range, it will take a few trips for the system to relearn the new arrangement. With the battery depleting to zero hybrid performance is very poor as there's no reserve. The slider is setting the amount of battery reserve available for hybrid driving. My last battery only trip only gave me 21km and that was with the slider on zero, cold weather and all town driving really hammer range. 

Sorry for being glib. 

I hope my post helps as the manual is terrible. 

[beasty54]

 

3 hours ago, Biggles33 said:

Thank you Beasty  for the reply...Sorry Jcaff was not aware of the topic being discussed..     I took it to the garage yesterday as only getting22 miles on charge and to report the strange dead info net screen which they say is an known fault and will eventually be a recall...   The garage blamed the info screen going down resetting stupid charging levels?     They showed me a submenu I had never seen which shows a slider 0 to 50 to set the input charge level... He said to set it to zero...   I doubted this on the test overnight and it showed no difference i.e 24 miles range...    So I then set it to 30 and no difference...  At the moment of writing  I have set  it at 50 to see if that makes a difference zero seems wrong to me?   Its not the capacity screen with the battery graph its a slider menu.  

Sorry will take a look at the other thread.

What you're talking about there sounds like the minimum charge level when you've got the planner set. This has nothing to do with the available capacity and just charges the car to a minimum (up to 50%) before charging the rest in time for the set departure. This has absolutely nothing to do with the batteries capacity. 

 

What J Caff is talking about is the setting that determines how much of the battery will be used before the car switches to hybrid mode. Always set this to 0 if you want maximum EV range. 

 

It really doesn't sound like your range is far off if I'm honest. Mine currently only shows 29 miles and that's with the planner being used so the battery is a little warm when I leave. I also use eco mode and go out of my way to preserve range. 

[Biggles33]

Thank you both very much for your help... So to be clear I set the horizontal slider to zero      then charge and I should after a full mains charge get over the 22 miles available after the charge...     It seems strange that I was getting 33 to 35   now 22 to 27  ?

[beasty54]

11 minutes ago, Biggles33 said:

Thank you both very much for your help... So to be clear I set the horizontal slider to zero      then charge and I should after a full mains charge get over the 22 miles available after the charge...     It seems strange that I was getting 33 to 35   now 22 to 27  ?

It depends which slider you're talking about? The only one that has any effect on range is the one you'll find in the car on the actual picture of a battery. 

 

You need to ignore what the car says with regards to range, there's too many factors that impact that. What you want to be doing is charging to 100%, setting that slider (within the infotainment system and on the picture of the battery) to zero so it uses the entire battery and then, putting the car in Eco and taking a drive to see how far you can really go on battery only. 

 

The numbers you're seeing aren't strange, mine had gone from 36 to 29 due to the change in temps outside, it's quite normal. If I drive mainly on 70mph roads, I'd expect the car to show me numbers closer to yours. In fact, the last few days I've been getting to work I've only had 3-4 miles left apparently, that would make it 24-25 miles in total. 

 

Edited 21 November, 2021 by beasty54

[j caff]

48 minutes ago, Biggles33 said:

Thank you both very much for your help... So to be clear I set the horizontal slider to zero      then charge and I should after a full mains charge get over the 22 miles available after the charge...     It seems strange that I was getting 33 to 35   now 22 to 27  ?

You'll need to do a few journeys before the predicted range changes. I wouldn't be expecting much change as the temperature drops. The battery range in my Superb is dreadful and getting worse charge after charge I'm lucky to get 20km now. 

[Biggles33]

Thank you so much for your help Beasty and J caff very much appreciated..  I got no help from the garage I originally bought the car from....I don't think they knew what to do..   For your info...The slider I was talking about is in the sub menu which I never knew existed.....till the garage checked it for a fault not the Main   info screen layered green one which is what you are referring to...   I will set it to zero and see how it works out...Thank you again guys..The Skoda book is awful...  When I lost the info screen a month ago..My son and I tried to find the fuses using that book....  It was so inaccurate...We found them at the back of the glove compartment passenger side,  and almost impossible to get to them to change a fuse.

 

Thanks guys

al

[j caff]

2 hours ago, Biggles33 said:

Thank you so much for your help Beasty and J caff very much appreciated..  I got no help from the garage I originally bought the car from....I don't think they knew what to do..   For your info...The slider I was talking about is in the sub menu which I never knew existed.....till the garage checked it for a fault not the Main   info screen layered green one which is what you are referring to...   I will set it to zero and see how it works out...Thank you again guys..The Skoda book is awful...  When I lost the info screen a month ago..My son and I tried to find the fuses using that book....  It was so inaccurate...We found them at the back of the glove compartment passenger side,  and almost impossible to get to them to change a fuse.

 

Thanks guys

al

The quickest way to get to it on the Columbus is select electric vehicle and then the settings cog. My battery life has gone so bad I'm considering letting the battery run down (won't take long) and just using petrol for the cold months. On reflection considering how much I paid for it I'm sorry I didn't go for the Id3

[Biggles33]

Oh really   so sorry to hear that....Thats bad.   I would not have thought lipo batteries would be so badly affected by the ambient temp as its not that cold yet....I fly rc helicopters with powerful lipo batteries which are more or less exactly the same and they don't lose that much power in winter.

not a great advert for the car....A friend has a full electric MG SUV   so I wonder if his 200 miles range will be less also

 

[j caff]

55 minutes ago, Biggles33 said:

Oh really   so sorry to hear that....Thats bad.   I would not have thought lipo batteries would be so badly affected by the ambient temp as its not that cold yet....I fly rc helicopters with powerful lipo batteries which are more or less exactly the same and they don't lose that much power in winter.

not a great advert for the car....A friend has a full electric MG SUV   so I wonder if his 200 miles range will be less also

 

Using the heater, heated seats etc are the biggest killers. I’m not sure if the iv does it but heating the battery each time you start a journey really drains it, it’s a big problem with the id3 especially on cars doing short trips. The MG gets  great reviews I don’t know how it will perform in colder weather, I’m sure there’s some guru on YouTube that will have all the details. 

[Biggles33]

 

Sorry to go on about this.   A month ago I could plug my car in overnight and expect upwards of 33 mile  elec range... (35) ...I had a failure of the info panel,    and managed to get it back by  changing the fuse to get the system backup and running,   however after this failure charging only now gave  me 23 miles range...   Took it to the garage who said there was nothing wrong with it only the settings had been adjusted due to failure of this known fault and it was reset.?   I tried setting    0 10 20 30 40 and 50% setting on charge and it still on a overnight charge gives me 21 miles...     The garage sent me the email below today  ...  Surely losing a third of mileage when not running the car or  lights, aircon etc   ...basically the car not started shows 24 miles range   directly after the overnight charge,    this is  before anything is turned on....can't be right can it?

 

Can this be right or is it passing it off...After all the power supply could be faulty, giving less of a charge  so I don't think the email addresses the situation ?

 

al watt 

 

Here is some information I have received regarding the electric drive range for your Octavia. 

 

•

The NEFC (New European Driving Cycle) is a legally required method to calculate the consumption of a vehicle model. A precisely defined driving cycle is performed on a chassis dynamometer – i.e. under driving laboratory conditions – for example the average speed in the NEFC is about 33 km/h. The consumption measurement is monitored and verified by the TÜV experts. The overall conditions are exactly specified and the same for all manufacturers, e.g.: ‒ Ambient temperature   ‒ Load/special equipment   ‒ Starting emissions measurement   ‒ Cold engine start   ‒ All (electric) equipment is switched off.

 

•	This is why the driving cycle cannot give the customer precise information about his actual consumption and the related range. The reason is that every journey and every vehicle type are unique.

 

•	The official catalogue information is not necessarily suitable to precisely predict the customer-specific consumption because every customer has his own driving style.

The range of the vehicle with the electric drive very much depends on the driving conditions. The driver can actively influence/increase the range.

•	About two thirds of the energy consumption of the vehicle is determined by its design or by external factors that cannot be influenced. The remaining third can be influenced by the driver himself – by his way of using the vehicle and the personal driving style.

 

•	The environmental factors such as weather, temperature, topography or road surface cannot be, of course, changed, but they sometimes significantly influence the range achieved.

 

•	Every driver can positively influence the individual energy consumption by achieving lower air resistance (i.e. by reduced loading) or by increasing the efficiency of the use of additional (electric) consumers.

 

Greatest influence on the range in the electric drive mode	Range loss in %
Heating/air conditioning:	Up to 30 %
Additional equipment (seat heating, heated rear window, radio)	Up to 10 %
Influence of tyres (dimension, summer/winter tyres)	Up to 10 %

 

The calculation/the display of the remaining range in the electric drive mode is not reproducible/plausible.

•	The calculation of the displayed remaining range is based on the last driving cycles.

 

•

The remaining range therefore depends on: ‒ Vehicle speed   ‒ Driving style (e.g. frequent strong acceleration)   ‒ Switched on (electric) equipment   ‒ Outside temperature   ‒ Load   ‒ Topography           Please note where it states the displayed range is based on the last driving cycles. It is not actually based on the power it has received from the last plug in charge but on previous usage of the car including consumer settings ie heating etc   When the vehicle was in last week all battery cell voltages were checked and are all ok.    Hope this clarifies things for you and if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

[Ootohere]

Absolutely right for the different overnight temps this week.  Just as with my EV. Park with 142 miles available and a warm night maybe start with only 136 showing.   Another time with the battery full it can be 136 miles and next morning 124 mile range showing. Do not drive it until later in the day when warmer and it has 142 mile range showing. 

[j caff]

Really they're saying what everyone here is telling you, predicted range is falling because winter is here and demand on the battery is high. What range are you actually getting from a charge? On my car it predicts 30km, I'm lucky to get 20. 

[Ootohere]

NEDC was replaced by the just as much kidology WLTP so no idea why that is being quoted.   VW has to learn to cheat the new regime.  Failing badly and are having to discontinue certain cars.      Is it Skoda Aberdeen John Clark that are bumping their gums?

Edited 23 November, 2021 by roottoot

[Biggles33]

Root toot..No I won't buy a car from Aberdeen John Clark   after they ripped me off re a repair   that was not required.  so never went back..Two cars later from new, even went a distance to pick up the  new cars. ..     

 

Ok get the point,     but amazed as  the ambient temp these last three weeks was consistently  not cold enough to drop the mileage 13 miles  I would have thought..  Also it happened just after the info unit crashed? ...But obviously I am wrong.    So thank you everyone for all the feedback.      I use lipos when I was worked,     and with my RC helicopters....I expect in really cold winter days to be careful re loss of power but never a third of power?

Thanks again guys

al

Edited 23 November, 2021 by Biggles33

[beasty54]

Mine was showing 28 at start up this morning due to the cold weather, I actually only managed about 22 miles with the heater on so you really do need to learn to ignore the predicted range. 

 

What really matters is how far you can actually go, you're worrying about something that doesn't actually mean a great deal. 

 

 

[beasty54]

3 minutes ago, Biggles33 said:

expect in really cold winter days to be careful re loss of power but never a third of power?

Thanks again guys

al

 

Unfortunately yes, 30-40% power loss in the winter is perfectly normal if you're using the heaters. 

[Joss1733]

40% if you are using the heaters.well that is about 8/9 months a year where I come from.

[PetrolDave]

14 hours ago, Biggles33 said:

A precisely defined driving cycle is performed on a chassis dynamometer – i.e. under driving laboratory conditions

So it's still not real world, which IMHO makes it little better than the original pre WLTP system.

[Biggles33]

Thank you for the info I very much appreciate it... Its just, within 45 seconds of unplugging after the overnight charge ...with No engine load, no heater, no air con on etc   its lost a third of the potential mileage range,and not all days last month had cold temps...   #At the end of last month I travelled down from Scotland to Worcestershire.  Stopped overnight....In the morning my info net and sensors would not power up.....   24 hours later it came back, only difference is a reduction from 33/35 potential range to 22 to24 mile potential range....The ambient temp in Worcestershire was not cold....

 

I am just trying to see if its a fault...   ?

AL

[j caff]

1 hour ago, Biggles33 said:

Thank you for the info I very much appreciate it... Its just, within 45 seconds of unplugging after the overnight charge ...with No engine load, no heater, no air con on etc   its lost a third of the potential mileage range,and not all days last month had cold temps...   #At the end of last month I travelled down from Scotland to Worcestershire.  Stopped overnight....In the morning my info net and sensors would not power up.....   24 hours later it came back, only difference is a reduction from 33/35 potential range to 22 to24 mile potential range....The ambient temp in Worcestershire was not cold....

 

I am just trying to see if its a fault...   ?

AL

Does it show say 33 and then drops immediately to 22? I'm just using random figures. Is that what's happening? Have you done a mileage test to see what it's actually achieving? It could sit on zero range and exceed the predicted range during the test. It could easily be a fault with calibration needed.