We own EVs. Ask Us Anything.

[N Wilson]

This has probably already been answered in the thread, but..

Those with EVs. How often do you plug in at home? Practically if most people are only traveling under 50 miles a day, I can see where after a while you'd likely not plug in every day. Maybe every other or every third if you're on a LV2?

As a second part to this, do you let it charge to 100% at home, or do you normally stop it somewhere like 80%?

When the weather is warm, I don't plug in every night. Only when needed which usually ends up being every 2-3 days. When it's cold, like below freezing, I usually plug in every night so the BMS can warm the battery as needed using shore power and not have to take it from the battery. Also, if it's plugged in, I can set a departure time in the Ford app which will warm the cabin, turn on heated steering wheel and precondition (warm) the battery using shore power and not taking it from the battery.

I usually charge to 80% at home, unless I am going on a long trip the next day, then I'll charge to 100%.

My utility company has a charger rebate program that I applied for and just got approved for today. Should be getting a check for $1,700 in the next week or so. as a condition of getting the rebate I had to sign up for their Managed Charging program which pays $10/month if you only charge between 9:00 PM and 1:00 PM. I have to remain in that program for 1 year to get the rebate, but after that I can participate in a different program that pays more money for charging during off peak hours.

I work from home most of the time but I try to go to the office once a week or so.

The office is about 20 miles from my house (40 minutes) and there is approximately 1,000 ft of elevation difference. My house is in the hills and the office is in the valley. There are free chargers at the office, so when I go there I charge to 90% since the extra 10% doesn't cost me anything.

 

[strider]

This has probably already been answered in the thread, but..

Those with EVs. How often do you plug in at home? Practically if most people are only traveling under 50 miles a day, I can see where after a while you'd likely not plug in every day. Maybe every other or every third if you're on a LV2?

As a second part to this, do you let it charge to 100% at home, or do you normally stop it somewhere like 80%?

I plug in every day and charge to 80%. Letting the vehicle sit at high or low charge for long periods is not good for the battery. If you need to take a trip, don't be afraid of charging to 100%. Just don't do it every day or leave it for many days.

 

[BeerParty]

This has probably already been answered in the thread, but..

Those with EVs. How often do you plug in at home? Practically if most people are only traveling under 50 miles a day, I can see where after a while you'd likely not plug in every day. Maybe every other or every third if you're on a LV2?

As a second part to this, do you let it charge to 100% at home, or do you normally stop it somewhere like 80%?

I work from home but travel into the office once a week, so I don't put a lot of mileage on my Ioniq 5. I will plug in the car when it gets below 50%. I end up charging about once a week. Unless I am planning a long drive, I only charge to 80% at home (the charge limit is controlled by the car).

 

[Firemedic2714]

My EV (Ioniq 5) doesn't make any motor noise when driving. What you hear when driving regularly is either road noise (that is, the sound the tires make on the road) or wind noise. The car does make a audible beeping sound when in reverse, but it is quieter than what a delivery truck makes.

There are several EVs that have artificial sounds when driving (for example, the Ioniq 5 N). In all the ones I know about, the sounds can be configured or disabled by the dri

BMW iX has a reverse beeper and a low speed exterior pedestrian warning. It very subtle or people are just getting used to the EV sounds because they walk right in front of me all the time.

Inside is what’s called Iconic Sounds which were composed by Hans Zimmer. They are different depending on the mode you are in. They rise and fall with speed. They can be turned off and currently are off in my car. I don’t hate them, but I’ve just wanted to hear my books on Audible instead of anything else.

The Iconic Sounds interest me, might have to check it out.

 

[LastDayScout]

The Iconic Sounds interest me, might have to check it out.

There are plenty of YouTube videos, but they don’t do it justice. You can actually feel them in the car.

 

[Badgered]

We plug in pretty much every day. We have the vehicles limited to 85% (Mustang) and 95% (truck). But if we need to go somewhere far, it's nice to have the vehicle already plugged in so we can use the app to tell the vehicle to charge up to 100%.

I don't have an EV yet, so I am wondering if this is an acceptable way to charge? I've been reading that it is recommended that EVs should be operated from 20% to 80% of battery. My driving can be highly variable with spur of the moment trips of considerable distance. Add to that I live in Northern Wisconsin/ UP Michigan where fast charge stations are quite rare. If I were to get an EV I think I would be tempted to charge full up at home every night 'just in case'. Would that be a bad thing ... or would the range extender be a better choice for me?

 

[cyure]

I don't have an EV yet, so I am wondering if this is an acceptable way to charge? I've been reading that it is recommended that EVs should be operated from 20% to 80% of battery. My driving can be highly variable with spur of the moment trips of considerable distance. Add to that I live in Northern Wisconsin/ UP Michigan where fast charge stations are quite rare. If I were to get an EV I think I would be tempted to charge full up at home every night 'just in case'. Would that be a bad thing ... or would the range extender be a better choice for me?

Welcome to the community. I don’t have an EV either and that’s a good question. I’m sure one of the EV owners will provide an answer. Welcome again.

 

[LastDayScout]

I don't have an EV yet, so I am wondering if this is an acceptable way to charge? I've been reading that it is recommended that EVs should be operated from 20% to 80% of battery. My driving can be highly variable with spur of the moment trips of considerable distance. Add to that I live in Northern Wisconsin/ UP Michigan where fast charge stations are quite rare. If I were to get an EV I think I would be tempted to charge full up at home every night 'just in case'. Would that be a bad thing ... or would the range extender be a better choice for me?

Welcome aboard! It’s not ideal to charge to 100 % all the time but there are some caveats to that regarding how you reach 100%. On a Level 1 or level 2 charge at home it’s not as tough in the battery as charging to 100% on a fast charger like a Tesla super charger or similar. Also, the manufacturers do have some level of buffer built in to help protect the battery and the federally mandated 8 year warranty.

It is also not good to leave lithium batteries sitting for a long time at 100% or at very low SOC. That’s when the fires tend to occur that you read about sometimes. That problem has also been largely eliminated with newer EVs.

Keep asking questions. There’s are lots of good people on here willing to share information and experience.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

I don't have an EV yet, so I am wondering if this is an acceptable way to charge? I've been reading that it is recommended that EVs should be operated from 20% to 80% of battery. My driving can be highly variable with spur of the moment trips of considerable distance. Add to that I live in Northern Wisconsin/ UP Michigan where fast charge stations are quite rare. If I were to get an EV I think I would be tempted to charge full up at home every night 'just in case'. Would that be a bad thing ... or would the range extender be a better choice for me?

The 20% to 80% approach is the result of a lot of myth, misunderstanding, FUD, and bad reporting.

Lithium batteries, whether they're LFP, NMC, or other chemistries, can be safely used from 0% to 100%.

But you'll never use them from 0% to 100%. Every manufacturer restricts the real battery state of charge to above 0% and below 100%. Example: The Lightning Extended Range battery has 143 kWh capacity. Ford only makes 131 kWh useable (or about 91.6% if the true capacity). When you charge to 100% on the display, it only reaches about 95% of the battery's true capacity. When you discharge to 0% on the display, it stops at about 4% actual.

STORING a Lithium battery for LONG periods of time at 0% or 100% can be an issue. Months at 100% in a 130 degree F storage container could hasten battery degradation. Months at 0% in a -20 F garage could hasten degradation. But charging to 100% every night and driving a couple hours later isn't going to have a measurable impact on the vehicle's useful range--you won't be able to tell if it's degradation or your driving style.

It all depends on your primary and secondary goals with the vehicle.

I don't need my batteries to last 30 years or more with 70% or more capacity retention.

I have elderly family a 16-hour and a 7- to 8-hour drive away (and also some who are closer).

I keep the vehicles at the state of charge that will work for me. I want the batteries to be ready to go when I need them to be.

 

[J Alynn]

I don't have an EV yet, so I am wondering if this is an acceptable way to charge? I've been reading that it is recommended that EVs should be operated from 20% to 80% of battery. My driving can be highly variable with spur of the moment trips of considerable distance. Add to that I live in Northern Wisconsin/ UP Michigan where fast charge stations are quite rare. If I were to get an EV I think I would be tempted to charge full up at home every night 'just in case'. Would that be a bad thing ... or would the range extender be a better choice for me?

Welcome to the forum and great question. Many of us are new to EV so sit back and get ready to learn

 

[J Alynn]

I don't have an EV yet, so I am wondering if this is an acceptable way to charge? I've been reading that it is recommended that EVs should be operated from 20% to 80% of battery. My driving can be highly variable with spur of the moment trips of considerable distance. Add to that I live in Northern Wisconsin/ UP Michigan where fast charge stations are quite rare. If I were to get an EV I think I would be tempted to charge full up at home every night 'just in case'. Would that be a bad thing ... or would the range extender be a better choice for me?

Like the name as well. Well played!

 

[bwdavis7]

I don't have an EV yet, so I am wondering if this is an acceptable way to charge? I've been reading that it is recommended that EVs should be operated from 20% to 80% of battery. My driving can be highly variable with spur of the moment trips of considerable distance. Add to that I live in Northern Wisconsin/ UP Michigan where fast charge stations are quite rare. If I were to get an EV I think I would be tempted to charge full up at home every night 'just in case'. Would that be a bad thing ... or would the range extender be a better choice for me?

Welcome to the community. I have only owned an EV for about 3 months and find that staying between 20 and 80 is not a problem for me. There are others on here with much more experience and battery knowledge but it sounds like the source of your concern is range anxiety. Consider your current range with an ICE vehicle. Do you fill up every day? What is the range of your ICE vehicle? Are the "spur of the moment" trips to the same locations? If so maybe someone here could help map out potential charging locations. I've found that there are a lot more locations than I was aware of before purchasing my EV. When you purchase an EV, you should consider the vehicles range to line up with your use case. As with any vehicle, you will start to "know" your car and most of the range anxiety will fade away.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

Some things you want to do with your batteries:

If you're driving downhill on steep grades, give your battery some buffer to absorb the regen you'll get, so don't charge to 100%.

In the cold, precondition the battery before driving. Keep it on the charger all the time when it's not being driven. Expect some lower range while driving in the cold--both because the cold lowers chemical reaction rates and because you'll be using some energy to heat the cabin.

Don't give the battery long, hot charging sessions. It's better to do a 20% charge every day than to wait until they're down to 10% and then add 80% over a long period. It's fine to do it every once in a while (road trips, for example and when it's unavoidable at home), but doing it all the time could hasten degradation a little bit.

BUT. Fear of degradation is a fear that doesn't need to exist. The two main types of batteries EVs use these days have cycle lifetimes of 3000 to 5000 cycles before degradation to 70%-80% of original capacity. If you used 100% of the battery every other day, and you only got 2000 cycles, you'd have 11 years of battery life before it degraded to about 70%.

More realistically, you'll drive about 14000 miles a year. On a 350 mile vehicle, that's 40 cycles a year. On a well-engineered battery, you'll get at least 2000-5000 cycles, so that's 50-100 years of battery life and 700,000 to 1.4 million miles before it degrades to 70%.

 

[bwdavis7]

I find that many EV owners like to chat while "filling up" at charging stations. I was talking to an Ioniq 5 owner who charged to 100% regularly because he is an Uber driver. I don't recall the details of the car but it was several years old with lots of mileage and he had never had any issues. His primary maintenance costs was for tires, but that's another topic.

 

[R1TVT]

One thing to note regarding battery health and diagnostics - you can really nerd out on this stuff, but I have never once worried about battery health, and it has never been a problem in over 60K miles of owning my truck. Checking my battery health just isn't something I ever do, b/c my range estimates are very accurate based on SOC, and they have not declined in any meaningful way. I ALWAYS charge to 100% when leaving for a trip that will require DCFC charging and will cover more than 300 miles. It would be silly not to do that for a first leg while charging at home (*** EDIT - Unless you lived on top of a mountain and had a long steep decline to REGEN down - to Space EVDrivers point)

Each manufacturer will have different ways of displaying data, and accessing that data may be "software version" AND/OR mode dependent. For example, Rivian has a hidden SERVICE MODE menu that can be used by techs (or owners - with guidance remotely). It requires a special passcode to gain access and shows very detailed screens that a driver would normally never see, unless they were in MAINTENANCE MODE and they had gained access with the alternating passcode (which can only be obtained through a service tech). This is interesting to note, since you would never know this existed as an owner, unless service was troubleshooting some issue with you remotely. All activity in this protected area is tracked by Rivian.

I highlight this because the SW stack has become a really interesting way for some manufacturers to trouble shoot, diagnose or even fix a problem - potentially even before it happens (remotely).

If you go on a test drive in a R1 or R2 you will never see the screen below (and it could have changed with recent updates). You would never need to see this screen, but here you see a ton of available views of various onboard systems with very detailed data. This particular screen shows thermal management screens for your battery (as an example):

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

I’m a data nerd.

My partner is not. She doesn’t know or care what the numbers say about battery health. All that matters is whether she can still get to where she’s going with the same kind of reliability and range she’s become used to in the Mustang? The answer is an absolute: Yes.

Every six months or so I check the state of health of our Mustang’s battery. The time I checked its battery health was just now (17 June 2026):

Corrected Data:
Age ~53 months
State of Health: 94.5%

Even if the degradation is linear, that would mean 5.5% in 53 months = 0.1 % per month = 300 months (about 25 years) before it degrades to 70%.

But battery degradation isn’t linear; it’s steep in the first hundred or so cycles and then becomes much more shallow. I fully expect a 30 year battery lifetime before it’s down to 70% or so. Then it’s not like it’s useless—70% of 312 miles is still a great range for an older car.

 

[Badgered]

Thank you all for the responses on my post It's one of those questions that have been bugging me for a while and I couldn't really get decent answers from other forums.

Another question if I may ...
How do EVs handle day long driving and parking in sub-freezing temps (so sustained 10-30 degrees farhenheit)? Say we drive ~100 miles or so to go skiing, are we going to have enough juice to drive back in the evening?

On ICE vehicles the 12v battery is often the weak point in cold conditions, I would assume that would also be a weak point for EVs right? Can you jump start the 12v on an EV to get things going like you can on an ICE vehicle?

 

[cyure]

Thank you all for the responses on my post It's one of those questions that have been bugging me for a while and I couldn't really get decent answers from other forums.

Another question if I may ...
How do EVs handle day long driving and parking in sub-freezing temps (so sustained 10-30 degrees farhenheit)? Say we drive ~100 miles or so to go skiing, are we going to have enough juice to drive back in the evening?

On ICE vehicles the 12v battery is often the weak point in cold conditions, I would assume that would also be a weak point for EVs right? Can you jump start the 12v on an EV to get things going like you can on an ICE vehicle?

I have learned so much from this community. It’s great and helped me make my decision to switch my reservation from an EREV to a BEV.

 

[LastDayScout]

Thank you all for the responses on my post It's one of those questions that have been bugging me for a while and I couldn't really get decent answers from other forums.

Another question if I may ...
How do EVs handle day long driving and parking in sub-freezing temps (so sustained 10-30 degrees farhenheit)? Say we drive ~100 miles or so to go skiing, are we going to have enough juice to drive back in the evening?

On ICE vehicles the 12v battery is often the weak point in cold conditions, I would assume that would also be a weak point for EVs right? Can you jump start the 12v on an EV to get things going like you can on an ICE vehicle?

I will defer to a friend that lives in a cold climate. But, my experience is that the battery does not really lose much charge while stationary in cold or hot weather. Yes, the range will be shorter (sometimes up to 20%) while driving. Same as it is with ICE.

 

[cyure]

I will defer to a friend that lives in a cold climate. But, my experience is that the battery does not really lose much charge while stationary in cold or hot weather. Yes, the range will be shorter (sometimes up to 20%) while driving. Same as it is with ICE.

That was another thing I learned from the community here. I never paid attention in the winter and I did this past winter. In my Wrangler I went from 320 to 330 miles per tank of gas in the summer down to 280 to 290 miles per tank in the winter. It was eye opening.