battery preservation

[RVD]

Does the car have features to self-preserve the battery?

I believe it has cooling so that's great. Is this used for DC (level 3) charging as well as hot days to prevent the batteries for overheating?

Is there anything to help preserve the battery when the weather is cold? i.e., heating batteries, limiting regen in B mode, limiting acceleration, etc.?

I'm also assuming that it's best practice to charge up to 80% instead of 100%?

 

[GizmoEV]

The car does have things in place to protect the battery. The battery pack fan will come on when the battery gets above a set temperature, and I presume if it is below a set temperature if the air inside is warmer than the pack. Depending on where your model was destined for, it may have internal battery heaters which turn on when the battery is cold and it is charging. Charging slows down when the battery is either too cold or too warm. This is true regardless of the charging type you use.

For normal driving there is no reason to limit acceleration or regen due to battery temperature.

It is best to limit charging to 80% but that depends on how much range you use on your normal route. If 80% charge means you are dipping below 20%SOC on your trip then you are better off to just charge to 100%. At least once per month it is good to let the battery charge to 100% so that the electronics can calibrate to any changes in the battery pack and so any balancing of the individual cells can take place.

Most of all, enjoy your EV!

 

[JejuSoul]

-
The car does limit performance at extreme temperatures. I have never seen this but kish has. - 2015 Soul EV: My Battery Replacement Story

... I took a 300+ mile road trip which required driving fast at highway speeds, as well as multiple DCFCs back-to-back (4 in total). Ambient temp was in the low - mid 70s. After the 3rd DCFC, I noticed that the battery temp was getting pretty warm at 100F. After the 4th DCFC, the battery temp was over 120F! :!:
...
After the 4th DCFC session, I also noticed while driving on the highway that the throttle response wasn't that good. I quickly checked Torque and noticed that the motor output power is being limited to 63 kW! (Down from 90 kW usually).

 

[Kish]

From my experience today in a massive heat wave in SoCal (105-115F ambient temp), the Soul EV does NOT have any way of protecting the battery if the car is off, even if it is plugged in.

This data is coming from my EVSE. The orange curve is instantaneous power (kW) and the black line is cumulative energy (kWh) drawn from the wall. From the data above, you can see 4 spikes: these are 4 times when I manually remotely initiated cabin preconditioning via the UVO app. Outside of these 4 cases, the car made no attempt at all to pull any power from the wall. Now, this isn't proof that the battery cooling fan didn't turn on, but at least it didn't pull any power from the wall.

I pulled up Torque and checked the live data: both Batt Fan SPD and Batt Fan MOD were at 0. As soon as I turned the car on, the battery fan kicked on to level 5-6. But as soon as I shut off the car, the battery fan turned off as well (and showed that way on Torque). If the Soul EV's default behavior is to do nothing in extreme heat, well this isn't a good thing.

 

[JejuSoul]

From my experience today in a massive heat wave in SoCal (105-115F ambient temp), the Soul EV does NOT have any way of protecting the battery if the car is off, even if it is plugged in. (unless it is charging)
If the Soul EV's default behavior is to do nothing in extreme heat, well this isn't a good thing.

With the two minor corrections to your post, I agree. The Soul EV is a disaster in extremely hot climates. It does nothing to protect the battery when parked. All Soul EVs in Phoenix Arizona have needed a battery replacement.

See Arizona SOUL EV Heat testing

In real life we park in the hot sun for 8-10 hours a day since we work. We get a high of about 122F but on the dark asphalt it can reach 160F. We then drive home in heavy traffic and park in a hot garage to charge.

I always try to park in the shade on hot days. The disadvantage in extra washing because of bird dirt is offset by the knowledge that the battery will survive much longer. The car is also much more pleasant to get into on the way home, without having to wait 5 minutes for the air con to cool it down.

 

[Kish]

Ah yes, that's a good idea. But unfortunately there isn't any shade near my house. Driveway or street parking, both are going to be under the blazing sun.

On another note, I know that the Soul EV kicks on the battery cooling fan for DCFC, but does it also do it for AC charging? If so, then the best way to handle this heat situation is to let it charge slow, so the fan stays on as long as possible. I might even charge at level 1 speeds (1.4 kW) for this, assuming I don't need the car charged up soon for another drive. This way it will also prevent the car from sitting at 100% by charging at level 2 too quickly.