Winter Driving – What’s Your Coldest iMiEV Excursion.

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FrostyCanada

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 1, 2015
Messages
109
Location
The Laurentians, a skip away from Montreal, Quebec
I’m sure sandange hold the cold weather driving record, but this morning was the coldest for me and our little ice cube (-28c).

We don’t have the luxury of parking our car indoors, so our little (i) must face the elements full on.

Daytime temperatures for the last three days:
- Friday: -8c (the temp dropped fast during the evening)
- Saturday: -22c
- Sunday: -23c

I preheat the car for 15 minutes, and left the house early in the morning for a 27km drive to work.

Average speed for the first 20km (105 kph) after that it was stop and go (15-30 kph max).

The heater was set to 1 click heater, 2 clicks fan + seat warmer on.

Almost no icing on windows with the exception of rear driver side (slight frosting).

I was comfortable thanks to heated boots + gloves warmer & nice thermal underwear (fyi: glove warmers + thermal undies are exceptional and only used in extreem cold condition - love the heated boot warmers).

I arrived at the office with a total of 4 bars used (elevation = relatively flat).

We’re still very impressed with the performance of our little Mitsubishi.

When people ask if it’s cold in the car I just say that it’s like taking a calèche drive on a nice winter day. :eek: ;)

Brian
 
Has been Negative temps all weekend on and off. Still now below 20.
Went out at noon ( 15 outside) and full battery.... regen doesn't like the cold as it didn't work at all !
:(
Poor little Jelly-Bean
 
Oddly staying warm isn't the problem. Really not that cold in the car. Seat heaters and the occasional plug in blanket make it OK. Its keeping the windows de-fogged that is the main problem. Not a big deal here in Rockford IL. Longest extreme cold trip was 57 miles, to Elgin, IL. Was -15 degrees Fahrenheit.
Folks at Mitsubishi informed me that modifying the heat system could void the warranty, but its not a problem as I am quite happy with the car as it is.
Each to his or her own.
 
Hi Frost
I doubt i hold the record , -- the coldest I can remember was -31 C ( -24 F ) on 24 February last year.
That was nasty
:shock:
 
I won't be setting any records for coldest excursion, but my worst was -10 F, which resulted in my lowest energy economy of 63 MPGe (can't remember miles per kWh off the top of my head, but that number stuck). That was max heat for nearly all of my 21 mile drive.
 
sandange said:
the coldest I can remember was -31 C ( -24 F ) on 24 February last year.

Hello sandange, I knew you would be the front runner @ -31c. :)

If your car moved at -31c, I'm now wondering at what temperature does it actually stop moving and or charging (real world data)?

What I found interesting is how the car reacts to extreme temp swings.

The morning I left at -28c, the car showed 61km still possible when I arrived at work.

Leaving work (now -6c) the car still showed the 61km but with the heat on full and driving for the longest time it still showed 56km possible. It was only when arriving home that it finally dropped to 38km.

I hope other add to this thread as it provide excellent proof that the iMiEV works just fine in the winter.

Brian
 
I don't know about anyone else but I have driven here in frosty Sudbury Ontario Canada at -37 C. Was only able to drive just less than 60 km before turtle mode.

Thankfully I was just around the corner from my house.

Feet were frozen and the windshield was hard to keep clear. Don't like doing it but the car did start and was able to do my daily travel.

Dave
 
I'm in Winterpeg, Manitoba. It's been unseasonable warm this winter, only a few weeks below -20 Celcius. But last winter there were several days below -30 C. I live in a small apartment and can only park outdoors, and have yet to encounter any problems. My Eve charges fine, starts fine, everything just works; and it is in its natural state, no mods or extra heaters or anything. From this point forward I shall endeavour to keep track of the colder days and report.
 
Yep. 76 F here. Raining now :D . Wash that salt away. I got nervous this morning, though, as I passed a brine truck. Luckily, he wasn't spraying the roads. Saved me a nasty phone call to the DOT because 36 F is the lowest temperature projected for the next week.

I actually had to cool my battery yesterday as it was into the 80's F range. No AC, just the fan on high pulling in 55 F night time air on the way home last night.

Anyway, -10 F remains my coldest.
 
Well, I think we're pretty much done with the extreme cold weather. Last week at -23c was probably the last of the cold nights, early morning days that we will be getting.

We're now enjoying a nice increase in iMiEV range thanks to the warmer days.

Plus the warmer weather in the Laurentians means that it's maple syrup time ... sugar-shack here we come.

Brian
 
I had left the C-Zero sitting at below -20˚C temperatures for three weeks this winter and the only thing different was that for the first few km the Turtle would light up when you pushed harder on the accelerator. The cold must have made the cell voltages go down, causing the Turtle to come out. That ended quite soon as the pack warmed up and that was the end of that.

The nice thing about the small pack in the i-MiEV and cousins is that it warms up fast when in use. I try not to charge it when it's frozen as it's known to hurt Lithium cells, but getting the pack warm has never been a problem, if you just have some juice left. Basically you just have to remember not to leave the car with an empty pack if you're expecting extremely cold temperatures.

I've understood that the Leaf users without pack heating functionality are struggling in the winter. The cells just don't get warm enough even after longer drives, causing DC quick charging on the road to become painfully slow. A bigger pack is not always better. Even in the colder temperatures a short commute to work has been enough to warm up the cells of my C-Zero into above freezing and ready for charging.
 
I just saw the question from FrostyCanada about details on my -37C travel.

It has only happen once or twice two years ago. My daily commute is 60 Km, 30 km each way.

5 km at 60km/hour
6 km at 80km/hour
10 km at 60km/hour
9 km at 90 km/hour

A few stop lights on the way.

When it is this cold the heater just can not keep the cabin warm. I mean not at all and you must have layers of clothes on as the cabinet just might get above freezing. And your feet, just get use to frost bite.

I find the heater is ok when the outside temperature does not go below -17 C.

For me with my commute, I do not expect more than 60km for a charge when temperature goes below -20 C. Luckily for me my work has provide a 240V plug to which I can charge during the day.

Dave
 
You're a lucky man Dave to have a 240v charger at work.

No such luck at my place of work, but we do have chargers close by if I needed.

I drove our little i in "model T" mode and with the proper winter clothing it's kinda do able, and not bad really.

In extreme cold days I usually did "model t" mode going to work, and full heat / waste energy mode for the trip back home.

Thermacell heated insole were a great investment, along with -30 Kanuk coat, and very good boots and gloves.

I usually wear thermal undies at -25 + hotshots in the gloves which makes for a comfortable ride.

FYI: crack the window to avoid any window frosting when in "model t" mode. :)

Brian
 
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