Significant Other makes a math error

[Mars]

Please note what goes unsaid here. It isn't a mistake.

My S.O took the new Leaf to work.

It's about 25 miles one-way.

Upon arrival, she has 49 miles predicted leftover range.

We are _aware_ that the indicated mileage is a guess, and that real-world is _always_ less than indicated.

At noon, off she goes on a lunch date to the city, miles away, and arrives back at work with 15 miles remaining indicated, and only a 110 charger to pack-in enough trons to get home.

Problem - the charge rate on the 110 charger, times the remaining time in her work day, does NOT equal the required charge to get her home.

I received a text message outlining the situation (absent any hint of the cause) and saying, "I may need a ride." :shock:

The allure of showing off the new EV overcame those certain mathematical (and cautionary) neuronal connections, and caused a system malfunction.

Me? I am saying NOTHING about it. I will simply prepare dinner and welcome her home with a hug and a smile when she eventually shows up after having waited around the office long enough to charge the battery enough to come home.

Anyone else have this happen?

 

[smkettner]

25 miles home? 15 miles indicated? and 3+ hours of L1? I am not sure why she would be late for dinner.
Remind her to keep the heat off and just roll home at 55 mph max.

 

[Mars]

Yeah, that would be great, except she works the early shift, and is supposed to leave work at 14:30. Not today. I think this is a self-correcting-behavior situation.

 

[TonyWilliams]

My wife drives it infrequently, and when she comes home, she doesn't plug in.

I find out at 7am the next morning.

 

[TomT]

That's why I have Carwings set to send me an email when the car is home and not plugged in within 15 minutes of arriving... I've been distracted once or twice and forgotten to do so.

My wife drives it infrequently, and when she comes home, she doesn't plug in.
I find out at 7am the next morning.

 

[smkettner]

My wife drives it infrequently, and when she comes home, she doesn't plug in.

I find out at 7am the next morning.

Part of locking the house for the night includes checking the vehicle plug. Only myself to blame if not charged.
But I suppose you could plug it in and take her car :lol: seeya

 

[lenny]

Me? I am saying NOTHING about it.

As long as she doesn't read these forums :lol:

 

[adric22]

My wife drives it infrequently, and when she comes home, she doesn't plug in.

I find out at 7am the next morning.

This happens to me all of the time. Fortunately, my work is 5 miles from here. So it has never been a real problem. It is annoying, though. I mean, how much time does it take? We have an L2 mounted right in front of the Leaf inside the garage.

 

[Boomer23]

This viral video that's blowing up all over the intertubes today may be illustrative. And we wonder how to educate the average American about the benefits of EVs. We really need to go back to basics. :lol:

Enjoy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=OdYTj5CChaA" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[adric22]

This viral video that's blowing up all over the intertubes today may be illustrative. And we wonder how to educate the average American about the benefits of EVs. We really need to go back to basics. :lol:

Enjoy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=OdYTj5CChaA" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Yeah.. Plus we have a serious problem with education of math and science in this country (the USA). Actually, I'm not sure so much the education but rather the retention. I'm in my mid 30's and I work with a lot of people in the same age group as me. Most of them cannot do basic 6th grade algebra. Most of them cannot tell you were important countries are on a map if you take the words off it it. I'm talking about countries like Canada, U.K., Australia, Russia, Japan, etc. I mean sure, I wouldn't expect most Americans to be able to point to Zimbabwe, but major world powers there is no excuse. But they can always tell you who won the last American Idol, or which celebrity is dating which other celebrity.

 

[Rat]

That's why I have Carwings set to send me an email when the car is home and not plugged in within 15 minutes of arriving... I've been distracted once or twice and forgotten to do so.

I just have Gmail calendar send me an email every evening at 9pm to check it. It almost never matters since I usually don't drive more than 10 or 12 miles in a day, so it's not down much and doesn't need much the next day either, but there have been days when I used up almost all the charge. One of those I forgot to plug it in myself, hence the Gmail reminder. Never again.

 

[planet4ever]

We are _aware_ that the indicated mileage is a guess, and that real-world is _always_ less than indicated.

The first half of that statement is true. The second half is false. The computer's guess does often (though not always) tend to be high when the battery is full, but I dare say you can nearly always go miles and miles farther than the computer guesses when the battery is low. The exceptions might be if the trip home is mostly uphill, or if you have a strong headwind.

25 miles to get home when the GOM says 15? Piece of cake! I'd be willing to do it on a relatively flat drive without any additional charge at all. I'd take an expressway or a country road rather than a freeway, if one was available. Either way, I'd drive 45 with the heater off. That would probably give me at least 10 miles before I got LBW, and I know I can go 15-20 miles after I get that. Look at Tony's table. If I hit a headwind I'd get off the freeway for sure, and slow to 30 mph. I mean, how many hours can it take you to get home at 30 mph if you only have 25 miles to go?

Ray

 

[copdoc]

This is the scariest thing I have seen in a while ... The STEM educator in me is sad.

This viral video that's blowing up all over the intertubes today may be illustrative. And we wonder how to educate the average American about the benefits of EVs. We really need to go back to basics. :lol:

Enjoy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=OdYTj5CChaA" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[adric22]

We are _aware_ that the indicated mileage is a guess, and that real-world is _always_ less than indicated.

The first half of that statement is true. The second half is false. The computer's guess does often (though not always) tend to be high when the battery is full, but I dare say you can nearly always go miles and miles farther than the computer guesses when the battery is low. The exceptions might be if the trip home is mostly uphill, or if you have a strong headwind.

I agree.. Another scenario I encounter quite often is when I am taking a trip that has a brief freeway drive right at the beginning, followed by a lot of city driving. After being on the freeway for a couple of minutes, the range estimate will drop quickly, such as down to 70 miles. But I am willing to bet I could go much further than that on city streets.. and sure enough after a few minutes the GOM will re-adjust back up to 90 miles or so. So I would say there is just as much chance of the GOM overestimating as there is underestimating.

 

[smkettner]

Well did she make it home? How late? How many miles on the GOM?

 

[Mars]

Well did she make it home? How late? How many miles on the GOM?

She came home three hours late, with 17 miles in the tank, and in a bit of a mood.

Other factors had converged, including some pretty heavy family and work-related news, and it turned into "The Worst Day Ever."

The penultimate moment was when she was putting her boots in the coat closet. My backpack, hanging on a hook inside the closet, apparently reached out with its sharp, malicious zipper-teeth and chomped down on her hair. There she stood, bent over and stuck, calling for help. I rushed to her aid where I, in a fit of self control, did not giggle at her circumstance. Gently I tugged her hair free, and held her close while she sobbed, letting the days burden leak from her eyes in little salty drops.

Sometimes, the bear eats you.

That said - she made it home without getting stranded, and, I suspect, will be more cautious about side trips and joy rides.

We most assuredly want to traipse around willy-nilly in this vehicle, but we will, at the same time, always do so mindful of the inescapable physical reality of having a car that is limited to the equivalent of three gallons of gas and a hundred miles to the nearest station.

Life-lessons are hard but, once learned, they tend to stick.
:ugeek:

 

[smkettner]

I would have skipped 3 hrs of L1 and arrived with "---" on the GOM.
Takes experience to get used to the range issues.
At least she did not have to wait for a tow truck on top of everything else.

 

[planet4ever]

I would have skipped 3 hrs of L1 and arrived with "---" on the GOM.
Takes experience to get used to the range issues.

Some time, Mars, you and your wife need to go out for a pleasure drive, probably on the weekend. Drive until you get the first "Low Battery" warning, which I suspect neither of you has heard yet. Continue driving another 20 minutes or so after that at a modest speed (say 35-45 mph), until you hear the "Very Low Battery" warning. Plan to be within five or six miles of your home at the end of that time. I assure you that you will make it home after that, even though, as smkettner suggests, the GOM will have given up, and will be showing three dashes.

Ray

 

[Ingineer]

Textbook case of Range Anxiety! You BOTH apparently have it!

As the other posts suggest, you both need to drive a few drives with the car yelling at you and lights and dashing blinking and still make it home. The first time I did it, I not only made it home, but I was curious, so I drove the car in circles around the block like 20 times trying to find out where the real "dead" is. I still made it home, albeit slowly. At low speeds getting over 100 miles is no problem.

-Phil

 

[smkettner]

Possibly she was hotrodding at bit a lunch and the GOM was artificially low.
With a conservative drive home the miles did not tick away as expected.