[Bill]

Have had my 4xe for 6 days now. Love it so far, btw. This is Jeep #3 for me. Traded my '16 Willys for this one.
I understand how PHEVs work compared to pure EVs, although this is my first. I'm just wondering if anyone has any insight to the message "Electric Mode Unavailable. Cabin cooling or heating" ?
What temps does it try to reach before Electric Mode can be available? And is this related to the HV battery? Or is it purely the cabin heating/cooling involved here? Would pre-conditioning the battery help this at all?
I drove for about 10 kms ( ~6 miles) this morning and the temp outside was 0 (~32F) and it still wouldn't go into Electric Mode. It was plenty warm inside the cabin. I turned the HVAC off completely but no difference. It's making me wonder if Electric Mode will ever be available to me from about mid-October to end of April.
Located in Alberta, Canada. Winter should be interesting.

 

[michail]

Did you check the supplemental 4xe manual? I recall seeing in the manual the temperature ranges, but I believe they were more extreme than 32F. I skipped over most of it as we are lucky if we get to see temps drop into the 60s here.

 

[GETLAF]

Hi, I do have a 4xe ordered ( should arrive this week) and this post is a little concerning for me? I am also from canada and temps are similar. from the 4xe owner supplement;

''If the battery temperature is below -22°F (-30°C), or 131°F (55°C) or above, the vehicle will NOT start:''

I would be suprised if battery inner cabin will reach that temp often but i am intrigued if AC or Heat work directly from battery or need the engine to run? Sorry not an expert but your questions bring some concern to me if any one would know if heat/ ac will operate from battery directly or not?

 

[BHawk]

Even Full EVs will have a degraded range in colder temps. This 400v battery seems particularly dependant on the ambient temperature. A few questions; Are you on a full charge? Are you in Hybrid, Electric, or e-save mode?

If the Cabin is heating- I would just leave the heat on Auto until it reaches about 70 F (21 C); on auto, the fans should kick off once the temp is reached.

As far as how the appliences are run: There are a few components attached to the 2.0L engine:

• Electric motor generator (similar to the eTorque motor) runs off the front accessory drive belt. This starts the gasoline engine and charges the battery.
• Air conditioning compressor - while in Battery or electric mode it will run the AC system. This will probably be used more when it's colder.

The 400v battery will always keep about a 15% buffer charge to help with acceleration but also has these components:

• A heater /cooling system placed with the 400v battery to attempt to keep the battery at the right temperature for operation.
• Cabin heating system that is run off of the battery to keep the cabin warm during electric operation.

It may seem inefficient to run it this way but the closer the cabin temperature is to the human comfort level (that 70F / 21C), the battery will operate a lot more efficiently. In a way, the battery being stored in the cabin itself will mean that the battery performance could be much better than other EVs in extreme temps who store their battery underneath the vehicle. If anything- this vehicle also having an ICE is a good backup power source for the cold weather (at least over a typical full ev).

If you are in Canada and would have these cold temps consistently- you can probably actually beat typical ICE vehicle performance if you have a few precautions such as plugging in when not in use to keep the battery topped off, and keeping the vehicle in a covered garage to shield it from the elements overnight or, if possible, while at work. Leaving it uncovered at work for 8 hours will pretty harshly effect the range (I'd guess by about 30% or more) but it should still operate as long as you aren't in the temps the manual points out.

Honestly, the only reason I wouldn't consider this vehicle for a cold winter situation is if there is no way I'd be able to have the vehicle covered at night in cold temps or wouldn't have access to plug-in every night. I'm living in an apartment right now with no garage unit, so I've been struggling to plug-in, but I plan on getting a garage unit that comes with a plug (and "free" electricity) in the fall! In the meantime- I get free charges from my local grocery across the street.

 

[michail]

Where there any notifications in the Uconnect app related to the event?

I'm concerned more about the heat but I'm usually garage parked.

 

[Nohandz]

Bummer. This is one of the reasons my Tesla has a default mode to keep the cabin to 100F or less as long as there is 20% battery. I don't think it does anything for the cold (unless charging).