Any reason for sudden battery health drop?

[jaspercarnevale]

I just bought a 2013 with 95000 miles. It had 118 mile range on full charge when I bought it, but as soon as I got it home and charged it up again it only goes up to 90 now on full charge.

Could the dealer have faked the range somehow? How can I improve my range?

 

[miimura]

The range reading in the car is what we call a Guess-O-Meter. The number it shows you is dependent on how you drive the car. If you drive the car up a mountain and then recharge it to full, it will show you a ridiculously short range. If you then drive it down the mountain and recharge it again, it will show you a crazy large number. That is just how it works.

If you drove the car home on the freeway at 80mph, the 90 mile range is totally expected. If you drive slower your efficiency will be higher and the car will both show you a larger number and the car will actually go further on a charge.

 

[dfergenson]

What miimura is saying is correct but the dealership may also have caused the range overestimate.

When I disconnected my battery and then reconnected it, my guessometer read exactly 118 miles upon startup. I think this is the default estimate until the car is driven.

The dealership may have had no idea that it would do this and may have just replaced the battery or disconnected it to preserve it or prevent theft.

 

[fred_dot_u]

"Back in the day," when my wife and I had nearly identical 2013 Rav4EVs, she would register consistently in the 100 mile range on her GOM, while I could squeak close to 140 miles on mine. I thought it was because she was a) heavy on the pedal, and 2) suffering from a coolant leak in the motor seals. We decided we would swap vehicles for the remainder of her retirement and I was able to pull her GOM darn close to 140. Same streets, same travels, just a heavier foot on the pedal, and I also like to use B more than she does. I suspect the coolant leak had zero effect.

This was and is during warm weather. All figures are meaningless when the temperatures drop into the long john weather (50 °F).

 

[hokiematt]

If 12V battery power is interrupted, as it may have been done at your dealership, the driving efficiency is reset to a default value of 3.5 miles/kWhr. This value multiplied by the charge available in the battery pack will then be shown as the range on the GOM. In your case, 118/3.5=33.7 kWhr.

For most people 3.5 mi/kWhr is unrealistically high efficiency value; speed and HVAC usage will knock it down to perhaps 2.5-3 mi/kWhr. For short winter trips with generous heater usage, you may even see efficiencies approaching as little as 1.5 mi/kWhr.

The GOM is simply giving you its best estimate of range based on your most recent driving habits.