If you get low on charge, your EV will warn you many times and increase saving measures that you will notice. Best to make a rule such as top up if it drops below 20%. Obviously if you know you will get home say with 10% no need to charge elsewhere, but generally it works well as a rule.
Today , for the first time, I chanced upon an EV stopped by a flat battery. It was a pool car. The driver had been loaned it for a simple trip of about 10 miles by his employer. He was told that it 'should' have enough range to get to the destination, where there was a rapid charger. It didn't. Luckily the driver had contacted the recovery firm specified on the cars on board paperwork. Apparently the car had shown 20+ miles when he set off, but at about 8 miles it died. 2 miles from the nearest and only Rapid charger. The moral in the story:- If you park up a pool car put it on charge, and If given a pool car, put it on charge before you set out.
In my over 45 years of driving I have only called out the AA twice, once for a flat battery when I left the car lights on all day at work, the other was a destroyed tyre when an agricultural vehicle forced me off the back road road I was travelling on. Never for running out of fuel!
A word of caution if you are disabled:- DO NOT RUN OUT Of CHARGE and have to be rescued by a flatbed trtuck recovery unit, you will find it very difficult to climb up into the drivers cab as it is quite high off the ground and may require a push on the bum to get you up the few steps that may be there and there is the problem of getting back down, Have been there and done that and not a pleasant experience plus it hurt's
This is all pretty amusing to me. In the last 5 1/2 years that I've had my van with the small 24kWh battery I've gone below 10% regularly, probably at least once a fortnight. But I only ever do it on the way to a charger that I know I can get to with the remaining charge, usually home. I've never run out on the road side and only once had to call a friend when I'd come across a series of uncooperative rapid chargers. The battery is still good.
That's why I have a 8KW diesel generater in the bavk of our ev van. It can put in 7.4KW in one hour. This gives me about 26 mile range, My van on a full charge shows 164 miles of range. Not in the winter my van will only drive 110 miles. In the summer my van will do 176 miils on a full charge. EV batteries need to be between 22-23ºC for best range. Most of our jobs are more then 90 miles away.
Certainly a solution, but how much does that weigh? I looked up 8kw diesel generator and the one I found was 165Kg. You are effectively lugging around an emergency generator that is reducing your range quite a bit for an occasional usage. Also lets not forget you are providing social media content for all the EV haters when you use it.
@@stoobydeuxMy 8KW diesel generator is used for work to power welders onsite. Charging our van for 1 hour burns 2.7L of red diesel. Costing £0.84 per litre. So 7.4KW £2.27 this gives a 26 mile range. This is only used to get us to a 100KW or more fast charger
@@st200olMy geneerator is open frame and it's dry weight is 142Kg. It gives out 7.9KW max continuous 6.8KW. It is used onsite to power our welders and power tools. it also powers out floorsaw and dump vac for floor cutting. All our vans have generators from 7.5KW up of 240V and 120V power.
Saying Tesla cannot cope with “all four wheels on the road” implies it will tolerate two wheel towing. It won’t. Note also that the nearer you get to zero, the more accurate your range reading is, but the ultimate range readout is obtained through the built-in Tesla power consumption app. As long as Navigation is on (i.e. you have a set destination) not only will it give you an extremely accurate estimate of range based on your current driving conditions - it uses the last 20, 30 or 50 km (as you set), so knows if you are cruising at Highway speeds, and it accounts for anticipated terrain (climbing) and wind effects. A major advantage of this app is enabling you to adjust your speed in real time, to eke out the remaining charge available. It is a brilliant make or break tool. Finally, at least for the Tesla, note that as you approach a lower SoC, the car will drop off features that you are used to. Things like windscreen washers might stop working, Dog Mode is disabled (below 25%), and auto-light dipping, etc.
I agree totally with your comment on 4 wheels on the road towing but I didn’t make up the advice I gave. I quoted direct out of the manual and showed pictures of the relevant page. Also fully agree with your comment on range. I once had a notice pop up on the display warning me I was close to being out of range of the nearest charger ( I wasn’t, I was outside my home with home charging which it didn’t recognise) I find it strange that the breakdown services are already getting calls for zero range and EVs grinding to a halt
Hi Dave, a quick thought for another video as an article from daily fail article headline Electric Cars release MORE pollution than gas powered cars, study says. It is talking tyres and basically seems to be saying brakes and tyres wear out faster on an EV.
What idiots, 10 years of driving everything from 60 mile Nissans to entry level Zoe’s never run out of battery apart from once when the Ecotricity chargers were both broken, Renault picked up the car and dropped it at a working charger, end of
Other option is to flag down a passing EV with Vehicle To Load (e.g. Hyundai Ioniq 5/6, Kia EV6/9, etc.) and they can charge your battery (similar rate to three pin plug), enough to get you to a proper charger.
Your charger map is centered on Manchester. Here over 20 million people live within a two hour drive. A very concentrated population with consequently a huge number of charge points. Move your map a little to the right and the same scale and area will have three separate, 7KW charger sites. I called out the RAC due to a software bug emptying my 12v battery. They took over 24 hours to attend. Any 'charge top up to get to the nearest charger' would be a joke. I am asked about the viability of buying EVs and answer without home charging don't bother. Too stressful locally. I show them zapmap and that is the decider and they buy ICE cars. Sadly ICE is the right choice for them.
Had the same issue on my EV, wouldn’t start and said disconnect charging cable, despite being nowhere near one. Fortunately breakdown arrived in 30 minutes, disconnected the 12v, reconnected, give it a bit of juice and hey presto car absolutely fine. I never go below 20 miles estimated range on the main batteries anyway and like you say, I wouldn’t have an EV without home charging yet as we are a few years away from a decent infrastructure.
Check your insurance doesn’t count these rescues as a claim, they shouldn’t but you never know. People still run out petrol so there is no hope they won’t run out of charge. You could always charge it like the outofspec guys did, they tow charged it and it was rapid, not recommended obviously but makes for fun content.
I only have experience of Tesla but the car warns you at 20% again at 10% again at 5% and you have distance after 0% you have to be pretty dumb to run out. Having said that I’m not using the public charging network. There again I am of the opinion that most people are pretty dumb.
Don't drive down to the 12 try a limit of 20 to seek a charger, more if it could mean your first charger call is faulty and you may have to drive a few more miles to the next
@@janetmorris6792 I wasn't trying to Run it down to 12, Was just the lack off chargers on the M5 and was put on the crappy m50...I always try not to go below 30 or 40 range
Why should towing an EV with all four wheels on the ground cause any damage? It is just the equivalent going downhill with regeneration charging the battery if there is sufficient capacity.
The issue is automatic braking when not being driven. Imagine being towed with the hand brake fully applied. The brakes will be shot. Now think about going over a speed hump at 20mph without the wheels wanting to turn, you could damage the suspension. The heat generated could weld the components once you've burn through the asbestos. Now apply the brakes to all four wheels which EVs can do.
People have flat towed teslas to recharge them. Here are two issues: it utterly kills whatever is doing the towing obviously and it’s best to have someone in the Tesla while it’s being towed. Point 2 is you really want to have a dedicated solid flat tow bar. Under these circumstances a low battery can be recharged using the regen. Nobody knows what is going to get hot using regen for 2 to 5 miles. I plan on not finding out. Yes there are videos on RUclips
@@theairstig9164 In the UK, I doubt that a towing company's insurance would cover a person being in the car being towed. In fact bailiffs cannot take a car if someone is in it. But I accept, from a physics perspective, that regenerative braking would work.
I think Dave said that when you leave the car it applies the brakes. In old fashioned cars the hand brake would stop the rear wheels. But given that EVs are controlled electronically, it probably makes sense to lock all wheels. You probably need to check with the manufacturer.
Tow charge? As in regenerative braking? It can be done as long as the vehicle powers up. Engineering Explained channel did just this but bear in mind the EV isn't a freewheeling vehicle there but highly resistive.
@@djtaylorutube There is a difference between regenerative braking and parked braking. EVs often go to parked breaking when they are not being driven. With all the wheels in brake mode you will no longer need the battery because the car will be undrivable.
@@robertwhite3503 yes, it would need to be powered up and in drive. Engineering Explained tow charged a Tesla and then showed that the Tesla driver further than the pick up truck that towed it would have gone with the same consumed petrol. It's on RUclips.
Got those already, not sure how that fixes an EV with a flat battery? Do expand... Ironically, my biggest problem in winter is ensuring the batteries in my ICE cars don't go flat between use.
@@lharris828 and they catch fire! I drove past one today on the A42 just North of where it splits from the M42, a BMW on the hard shoulder, it had only just started but fire in the engine bay was going to get big pretty quick.
My mate got locked in an old astra gte because he locked the door from the inside after turning the ignition off had to wait for his dad to get home from work to let him out with the spare key
If you get low on charge, your EV will warn you many times and increase saving measures that you will notice. Best to make a rule such as top up if it drops below 20%. Obviously if you know you will get home say with 10% no need to charge elsewhere, but generally it works well as a rule.
Today , for the first time, I chanced upon an EV stopped by a flat battery. It was a pool car. The driver had been loaned it for a simple trip of about 10 miles by his employer. He was told that it 'should' have enough range to get to the destination, where there was a rapid charger. It didn't. Luckily the driver had contacted the recovery firm specified on the cars on board paperwork.
Apparently the car had shown 20+ miles when he set off, but at about 8 miles it died. 2 miles from the nearest and only Rapid charger.
The moral in the story:- If you park up a pool car put it on charge, and If given a pool car, put it on charge before you set out.
In my over 45 years of driving I have only called out the AA twice, once for a flat battery when I left the car lights on all day at work, the other was a destroyed tyre when an agricultural vehicle forced me off the back road road I was travelling on. Never for running out of fuel!
Never ran out of gas and have never ran out of electricity in my >50 years of driving.
Yes dave I hear ya loud n clear.. no red levels on battery status 😅
A word of caution if you are disabled:- DO NOT RUN OUT Of CHARGE and have to be rescued by a flatbed trtuck recovery unit, you will find it very difficult to climb up into the drivers cab as it is quite high off the ground and may require a push on the bum to get you up the few steps that may be there and there is the problem of getting back down, Have been there and done that and not a pleasant experience plus it hurt's
They ought to provide a taxi.
This is all pretty amusing to me. In the last 5 1/2 years that I've had my van with the small 24kWh battery I've gone below 10% regularly, probably at least once a fortnight. But I only ever do it on the way to a charger that I know I can get to with the remaining charge, usually home. I've never run out on the road side and only once had to call a friend when I'd come across a series of uncooperative rapid chargers. The battery is still good.
and you are the people who should have an ev, the next town from me is 300kms away, no shite ev for me
@@darryllspalding9680 Did you have a point to make or are you just lonely and reaching out?
I’m with LV insurance and it’s part off my cover, with no loss of no claims bonus.
Breakdowns will never impact NCB with any insurance company…
Well done RAC
Cheers Dave
Thanks Dave. Useful information. As more chargers arrive on the scene hopefully there will be more working.
Thanks Dave.
That's why I have a 8KW diesel generater in the bavk of our ev van. It can put in 7.4KW in one hour. This gives me about 26 mile range, My van on a full charge shows 164 miles of range. Not in the winter my van will only drive 110 miles. In the summer my van will do 176 miils on a full charge. EV batteries need to be between 22-23ºC for best range. Most of our jobs are more then 90 miles away.
Out of curiosity, how does the cost of running the diesel generator compare to using a rapid charger?
Certainly a solution, but how much does that weigh? I looked up 8kw diesel generator and the one I found was 165Kg. You are effectively lugging around an emergency generator that is reducing your range quite a bit for an occasional usage. Also lets not forget you are providing social media content for all the EV haters when you use it.
@@stoobydeuxMy 8KW diesel generator is used for work to power welders onsite. Charging our van for 1 hour burns 2.7L of red diesel. Costing £0.84 per litre. So 7.4KW £2.27 this gives a 26 mile range. This is only used to get us to a 100KW or more fast charger
@@st200olMy geneerator is open frame and it's dry weight is 142Kg. It gives out 7.9KW max continuous 6.8KW. It is used onsite to power our welders and power tools. it also powers out floorsaw and dump vac for floor cutting. All our vans have generators from 7.5KW up of 240V and 120V power.
Saying Tesla cannot cope with “all four wheels on the road” implies it will tolerate two wheel towing. It won’t. Note also that the nearer you get to zero, the more accurate your range reading is, but the ultimate range readout is obtained through the built-in Tesla power consumption app. As long as Navigation is on (i.e. you have a set destination) not only will it give you an extremely accurate estimate of range based on your current driving conditions - it uses the last 20, 30 or 50 km (as you set), so knows if you are cruising at Highway speeds, and it accounts for anticipated terrain (climbing) and wind effects. A major advantage of this app is enabling you to adjust your speed in real time, to eke out the remaining charge available. It is a brilliant make or break tool. Finally, at least for the Tesla, note that as you approach a lower SoC, the car will drop off features that you are used to. Things like windscreen washers might stop working, Dog Mode is disabled (below 25%), and auto-light dipping, etc.
I agree totally with your comment on 4 wheels on the road towing but I didn’t make up the advice I gave. I quoted direct out of the manual and showed pictures of the relevant page. Also fully agree with your comment on range. I once had a notice pop up on the display warning me I was close to being out of range of the nearest charger ( I wasn’t, I was outside my home with home charging which it didn’t recognise) I find it strange that the breakdown services are already getting calls for zero range and EVs grinding to a halt
Hi Dave, a quick thought for another video as an article from daily fail article headline Electric Cars release MORE pollution than gas powered cars, study says. It is talking tyres and basically seems to be saying brakes and tyres wear out faster on an EV.
What idiots, 10 years of driving everything from 60 mile Nissans to entry level Zoe’s never run out of battery apart from once when the Ecotricity chargers were both broken, Renault picked up the car and dropped it at a working charger, end of
ZPN sounds good
Other option is to flag down a passing EV with Vehicle To Load (e.g. Hyundai Ioniq 5/6, Kia EV6/9, etc.) and they can charge your battery (similar rate to three pin plug), enough to get you to a proper charger.
Just a quick comment I’ve had my EV for over 4 years back when public chargers were really scarce and I’ve never run out or got close to zero charge
Evening mate 😂
Great video
Which manufactures warranties have a get you to the garage clause?
My Admiral insurance includes free recovery if I run out of charge to my home or destination
You could phone a friend if they have vehicle to load on a their EV.. It would be a pretty slow charge though.
I usually charge my car when it's just below 30% so in case I make an error 40, like a week ago) I can still go to work and back again
Your charger map is centered on Manchester. Here over 20 million people live within a two hour drive. A very concentrated population with consequently a huge number of charge points. Move your map a little to the right and the same scale and area will have three separate, 7KW charger sites. I called out the RAC due to a software bug emptying my 12v battery. They took over 24 hours to attend. Any 'charge top up to get to the nearest charger' would be a joke. I am asked about the viability of buying EVs and answer without home charging don't bother. Too stressful locally. I show them zapmap and that is the decider and they buy ICE cars. Sadly ICE is the right choice for them.
Had the same issue on my EV, wouldn’t start and said disconnect charging cable, despite being nowhere near one. Fortunately breakdown arrived in 30 minutes, disconnected the 12v, reconnected, give it a bit of juice and hey presto car absolutely fine.
I never go below 20 miles estimated range on the main batteries anyway and like you say, I wouldn’t have an EV without home charging yet as we are a few years away from a decent infrastructure.
Check your insurance doesn’t count these rescues as a claim, they shouldn’t but you never know. People still run out petrol so there is no hope they won’t run out of charge. You could always charge it like the outofspec guys did, they tow charged it and it was rapid, not recommended obviously but makes for fun content.
I only have experience of Tesla but the car warns you at 20% again at 10% again at 5% and you have distance after 0% you have to be pretty dumb to run out. Having said that I’m not using the public charging network. There again I am of the opinion that most people are pretty dumb.
my car range disappear after 12miles left off range, not very helpful
Don't drive down to the 12 try a limit of 20 to seek a charger, more if it could mean your first charger call is faulty and you may have to drive a few more miles to the next
@@janetmorris6792 I wasn't trying to Run it down to 12, Was just the lack off chargers on the M5 and was put on the crappy m50...I always try not to go below 30 or 40 range
Why should towing an EV with all four wheels on the ground cause any damage? It is just the equivalent going downhill with regeneration charging the battery if there is sufficient capacity.
The issue is automatic braking when not being driven. Imagine being towed with the hand brake fully applied. The brakes will be shot. Now think about going over a speed hump at 20mph without the wheels wanting to turn, you could damage the suspension. The heat generated could weld the components once you've burn through the asbestos. Now apply the brakes to all four wheels which EVs can do.
People have flat towed teslas to recharge them. Here are two issues: it utterly kills whatever is doing the towing obviously and it’s best to have someone in the Tesla while it’s being towed.
Point 2 is you really want to have a dedicated solid flat tow bar.
Under these circumstances a low battery can be recharged using the regen. Nobody knows what is going to get hot using regen for 2 to 5 miles. I plan on not finding out.
Yes there are videos on RUclips
@@theairstig9164 In the UK, I doubt that a towing company's insurance would cover a person being in the car being towed. In fact bailiffs cannot take a car if someone is in it. But I accept, from a physics perspective, that regenerative braking would work.
If you run out, call out the AA or similar and connect the charging cables to your privates Dumbo.
If you have a front wheel drive ev can it not be towed with a front lift?
I think Dave said that when you leave the car it applies the brakes. In old fashioned cars the hand brake would stop the rear wheels. But given that EVs are controlled electronically, it probably makes sense to lock all wheels. You probably need to check with the manufacturer.
💡what of they charged while towing your car ? 😂
Perhaps, one day.
Tow charge? As in regenerative braking? It can be done as long as the vehicle powers up.
Engineering Explained channel did just this but bear in mind the EV isn't a freewheeling vehicle there but highly resistive.
@@djtaylorutube There is a difference between regenerative braking and parked braking. EVs often go to parked breaking when they are not being driven. With all the wheels in brake mode you will no longer need the battery because the car will be undrivable.
@@robertwhite3503 yes, it would need to be powered up and in drive. Engineering Explained tow charged a Tesla and then showed that the Tesla driver further than the pick up truck that towed it would have gone with the same consumed petrol.
It's on RUclips.
@@djtaylorutube If it's powered up and in drive that would be different. But then it wouldn't need towing.
The best way to deal with a flat battery is buy a petrol or diesel car.
Got those already, not sure how that fixes an EV with a flat battery? Do expand...
Ironically, my biggest problem in winter is ensuring the batteries in my ICE cars don't go flat between use.
Not sure I would like to buy a petrol or diesel car and then having to pay almost £2000 per year for fuel and servicing.
you ev freaks need to do some proper research! youve been mislead!
Misleading comment because it implies that petrol cars can't run out of fuel. I did once because there were no open garages on the Sunday morning.
@@lharris828 and they catch fire! I drove past one today on the A42 just North of where it splits from the M42, a BMW on the hard shoulder, it had only just started but fire in the engine bay was going to get big pretty quick.
So why would you want to have an EV at all, just look up the MacMaster, he got locked in his EV when the battery failed with no way of getting out
My mate got locked in an old astra gte because he locked the door from the inside after turning the ignition off had to wait for his dad to get home from work to let him out with the spare key