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F-150 Lightning house owners throughout the nation will likely be going through their first winters with their EV pickups this 12 months — and for a lot of, it’ll even be the primary time they expertise chilly climate with an EV on the whole. These uncertain about what to do with charging and driving the car don’t have to fret although; Ford’s acquired their again. The automaker has just a few suggestions that ought to put house owners comfy.
Ford has confidence that the F-150 Lightning can deal with excessive temps. Ford says that testing on the EV pickup was completed in Alaska and Michigan’s Higher Peninsula, the place temperatures can drop as little as -20°F. However the actuality is that EVs endure vitality loss with low temperatures, which have an effect on the car’s vary. So Ford is making house owners conscious that each one of that is regular and to comply with these tricks to maximize their vary.
The primary two suggestions are apparent: park the car in a storage every time attainable and maintain it plugged in.
The third tip is likely to be a bit making an attempt for some house owners because it includes digging into the car’s settings. Ford says that if an extended drive is deliberate, house owners ought to precondition the battery. This includes both utilizing the FordPass app or going into the car’s settings and altering issues like departure and arrival time and cost ranges.
The fifth tip would possibly make some individuals a bit mad, however it’s kind of comprehensible. Ford says to keep away from utilizing the car’s HVAC system. This will or will not be attainable relying on the place you reside and the way chilly it’s. With freezing or beneath temps, utilizing the heater could also be a life or demise scenario. Ford is as an alternative advising house owners to make use of the heated seats and steering wheel for main warmth to cut back vitality consumption.
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The sixth tip is one other given, with Ford saying to show off the heater if it’s in use when charging. If you need to have it on, decrease the temperature sufficient to the place it’s snug for diminished vitality consumption.
The ultimate three suggestions have Ford telling house owners to take away all snow from the car earlier than driving because it provides weight and drag; keep away from rushing in chilly climate as larger speeds use extra vitality; and ensure all tires are at their correct pressures.
Hopefully, the following tips assist Lightning (and another EV) house owners in areas with decrease temps get round. They’re going to want it. Chilly climate can reduce EV vary in half. Some areas, like Canada, face such excessive chilly that house owners there suppose EVs received’t even be as much as dealing with their winters, even with automaker-backed suggestions similar to these. However Ford is hoping that sufficient drivers plan forward so that they don’t discover themselves stranded and in a harmful scenario.
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