MG ZS EV Temperature and drastic drop in miles per kWh

[Lovemyev]

ALL 12 Volt supplied accessories will be pulling power from the 12 volt battery / inverter, which power is then replenished with power draw from the HV traction battery.
The demand required for heating the front seats is on the lower end of the scale really.
The HRW is a larger drain than the heated seat, given the size of the element bonded to the glass.
I am willing to bet, IF it was possible to turn on the heated seats for 30 minutes in standby mode and measured the drain from the 12 volt battery, it would be fairly small.
But in comparison, try running your headlights for one hour in standby mode and I am more than certain your 12 volt battery would be completely flat.
You get nothing for nothing, in this life !.
The cabin heater has a split / twin power sauce in order to make it operate.
Cabin blower motor operates from the 12 volt circuit, but the HV orange cables are there to provide energy for the PTC heater element.
A perfect partnership, as one is no good, with out the other ! ?.

 

[Susanna]

Thank you @Alb and @Lovemyev for your comprehensive explanations.

 

[TheArcher]

One thing I believe many people are kidding themselves over is when they say , on my tariff at night it only costs me x p per kw. The trouble is that all of the household rate is surcharged so if you do 3500 units per annum without the car which is surcharged at 10p per kilowatt the perceived saving is nowhere near the reality as you pay more for all other electricity.
Therefore for simplicity if you do 7500 miles which is about 2400 kw used you need to take into account the surcharge on you regular offtake and add it to get true cost. Also charging at night is not always convenient especially if the nighttime slot only gives you time to put in 30 or 35 kw per session.
Each time I have looked I have struggled to see the benefit in cost or convenience terms

Apologies, but I don't understand the bit about the surcharge. ?

 

[Susanna]

@Delboy102000
You are right, of course, about the rate for electricity being higher the remainder of the day to ‘compensate’ for whatever cheap deal you get for EV charging.
It does take a lot of research to check that significant savings can still be achieved.
Many people, myself included, are able to utilise the cheap period to run washing machines, dishwashers, immersion heaters etc., and I have also used the V2L to run the tumble dryer in the peak time. Hopefully, the V2L will come in handy to run garden appliances, when necessary, although I haven’t needed to use these yet, having only had my MG since November.
So, by significantly reducing the load used during the day, and also comparing the huge cost savings over petrol, it is certainly worthwhile for me. And better for the planet of course!!

 

[N2STY]

No one tariff is perfect for everyone plenty of research needed I work a lot of nights so not really interested in night rates luckily I am with OVO 10p charging 24\7 was 5p but 10p I fill is still good to charge whenever I need to to run the rest of the house is 28p but when my deal ends it will be cap price so you don't always have to pay more to have a car charging option added to your tariff

 

[Kithmo]

I must be the only owner for which resetting the trips doesn't seem to make any difference to what the GOM says.
I've tried both resetting before charging and resetting after charging and it makes no difference.

 

[Tim Green]

My car was like yours before changes to the software, but I thought yours has been done?
Maybe the software change was not fully done?

 

[Lovemyev]

I must be the only owner for which resetting the trips doesn't seem to make any difference to what the GOM says.
I've tried both resetting before charging and resetting after charging and it makes no difference.

I think I am correct in saying you are running on the original factory software, pre BMS update @Kithmo ?.
If so, there is the answer.
Trip resetting had very little affect on the reported range on the GOM on the factory software on the ZS EV Gen 1.
I witnessed this first hand on our Gen 1 model.
But as soon as the BMS update was applied, the behaviour changed almost instantly.
It was a BMS related thing really.
This post BMS software does appear to influence the predicted range a lot if you chose to take the option to reset the trip counters or not, as is your preference.
My brother had a ZS EV Gen 1 at the same time as us.
He was running on the factory software and we had the BMS software.
When he reset his trips, the difference in the GOM prediction was fairly small over about 500 miles let’s say.
Our car, post BMS would report a big shift in less than covering 150 miles or less !.
Interestingly, we now both have the ZS EV LR versions and he has spotted the different prediction on resetting the trips now !.
Therefore the Gen 1 and Gen 2 models we have appear have, behave just like the Gen 1 we had that received the BMS update.
Gen 1 with pre BMS update is certainly different in some way ?.
Is this an advantage or a disadvantage ?.
I don’t think so really, it’s purely down to how you are able to read what the car is doing.
Owners fall into a couple of brackets.
You have got the “Resetters” on one side and the “Non - Restters” on the other.
Then you have the owners who “Charge and Drive” and don’t give a dam either way to be totally honest !.
It matters not which camp you pitch your tent in really.
Do what suits you best ?.

 

[Rayz]

As suggested by a member on here i reset my trip meters and immediately observed 272 miles for 100% instead of 237 i was previously getting it was an eye opener as never expected it to actually work!

The Truth is you are actually getting 237 miles, which is still very good . When you reset the M/Kwh will still drop down while the weather is still cold. When you going to do a round 100 miles , reset the trip. Then look at it when you get back and then that is your true M/KWH.

 

[John Li]

I have had my Long range trophy since February and a recent check states that battery condition is 100% having covered about 6000 miles.
Since the temperature has dropped over the last few weeks I have found the range on a calculator full charge has. Dropped from about 275/280 miles to about 220 with no changes in the way it is used. Have others had a similar experience.

I have exactly the same problem, having had the car for less than two months. After a long journey, the range has dropped from 278 to 230 miles on a full charge. At the same time, my radio has stopped working and on the screen, the error message ‘U disk identity failure’ appears periodically. Has any one had any similar experience?

 

[Ruislip Resident]

I am still getting a range of above 300 miles. I never reset the GOM. Its currently 231 miles at 72 percent = 332 miles at 100 percent. It only ever dropped down near 230 or lower in the cold winter months, hitting maybe 180 or 190 on those days of minus 5 that we had.

 

[steve1973]

Udisk identity failure is remove the 12v battery and leave for 10 secs and replace I took it back to the garage.

 

[John Li]

I am still getting a range of above ere300 miles. I never reset the GOM. Its currently 231 miles at 72 percent = 332 miles at 100 percent. It only ever dropped down near 230 or lower in the cold winter months, hitting maybe 180 or 190 on those days of minus 5 that we had.

Many thanks. I took it back to the garage and now the radio has been fixed with no u disk failure error message. However, I now have ‘activate head unit first’ message and cannot log in. There is no QR code displayed where it should for logging in. Dealer raised a ticket with MG but so far no luck! Any ideas please?

 

[ElectriCARy]

ALL 12 Volt supplied accessories will be pulling power from the 12 volt battery / inverter, which power is then replenished with power draw from the HV traction battery.
The demand required for heating the front seats is on the lower end of the scale really.
The HRW is a larger drain than the heated seat, given the size of the element bonded to the glass.
I am willing to bet, IF it was possible to turn on the heated seats for 30 minutes in standby mode and measured the drain from the 12 volt battery, it would be fairly small.
But in comparison, try running your headlights for one hour in standby mode and I am more than certain your 12 volt battery would be completely flat.
You get nothing for nothing, in this life !.
The cabin heater has a split / twin power sauce in order to make it operate.
Cabin blower motor operates from the 12 volt circuit, but the HV orange cables are there to provide energy for the PTC heater element.
A perfect partnership, as one is no good, with out the other ! ?.

I am new to my EV and accidentally left the ignition on when I vented the sunroof on a hot day, 6 hours later the 12v battery was dead and I needed a booster pack to reset and put it back in drive.
That was with nothing running.

 

[Lovemyev]

I am new to my EV and accidentally left the ignition on when I vented the sunroof on a hot day, 6 hours later the 12v battery was dead and I needed a booster pack to reset and put it back in drive.
That was with nothing running.

The car must have been in standby mode.
In standby mode, the 12 volt battery is not receiving any charge via the traction battery.
Had the car been in ready mode, and you tried to lock the car and walk away.
It would have sounded the horn and refused to lock.

 

[Kithmo]

The car must have been in standby mode.
In standby mode, the 12 volt battery is not receiving any charge via the traction battery.
Had the car been in ready mode, and you tried to lock the car and walk away.
It would have sounded the horn and refused to lock.

My Mk1 ZS used to turn off after 10 minutes if left in accessory mode, does the mk2 not do that ?

 

[Lovemyev]

When the car is completely powered down in the Gen2 model, I think you can still power the info / radio unit for about 10 minutes, then the radio / info unit automatically closes down.
If you have the car in ready mode and then leave the car, I presume the car will remain fully active ?.
But you will be warned by a beep on the horn if you then try to lock the car with the fob.
Indicating that either one of the doors / boot etc is still open or the car has not been closed down.

 

[sguyj]

I have exactly the same problem, having had the car for less than two months. After a long journey, the range has dropped from 278 to 230 miles on a full charge. At the same time, my radio has stopped working and on the screen, the error message ‘U disk identity failure’ appears periodically. Has any one had any similar experience?

Yes, the radio has stopping working and same error message. Possibly also linked with long journey. I haven’t noticed any drop off in range yet. Car booked into MG next week so this will notified.