When <1%, it is better to leave in Hybrid or move to eSave to start recharging?

[FLJeep1]

I feel like I need to move to eSave once battery charge is <1%.
It seems like the length of recharging with level 1 charger gets very long vs. driving home in eSave to get some sort of charge.

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[SnB4xe]

Using the engine to charge the HVB works fine but usually is much more expensive. How much more depends on your electricity rate at home.

 

[TDangelo1219]

I had this feature on my Volvo XC60. I got horrible mileage when I used the car to charge the battery so I seldom did it. Not sure if our Jeeps will be as bad, but I plan on just putting it in Hybrid mode. I love having the option though. There will be times where it will be nice to save the charge, or "top it off" for rare occasions. It will be fun to play with. This would be a good topic to send to Brandon Haneline. He's done a bunch of great 4Xe video's on YouTube. I might suggest this experiment. Enjoy!!

 

[Geesmill]

Are you not going to have a place to charge when you get where you are going? Unless you live somewhere with high electricity rates or extremely low fuel prices plugging in is usually cheaper. That said the only real reason I was interested in the 4xe was due to the torque numbers with decent MPG.

 

[FLJeep1]

Thanks for the replies...

The one thing I noticed is the longer you stay in hyb mode the longer it will take to charge at home.
I use the level 1 so far and it usually takes 12-13 hours. The longer I drive at <1% the longer the at home charge becomes. It now says 14 hours and 30 minutes.

Level 2 at home is on the way.

 

[TDangelo1219]

Thanks for the replies...

The one thing I noticed is the longer you stay in hyb mode the longer it will take to charge at home.
I use the level 1 so far and it usually takes 12-13 hours. The longer I drive at <1% the longer the at home charge becomes. It now says 14 hours and 30 minutes.

Level 2 at home is on the way.

You'll find having a level 2 charger is a game changer for this type of vehicle. There are many days when I charge 2 -3 times a day (especially on weekends) and can get 40+ EV miles. I use the Level 1 at work just to get a few extra miles, but have the L2 at home. You'll love it!!

 

[Echo4papa]

Thanks for the replies...

The one thing I noticed is the longer you stay in hyb mode the longer it will take to charge at home.
I use the level 1 so far and it usually takes 12-13 hours. The longer I drive at <1% the longer the at home charge becomes. It now says 14 hours and 30 minutes.

Level 2 at home is on the way.

I ordered the Grizzl-e but I need to run a sub panel off my main box for it before I can set it up permanently. Once it gets here, I'm going to see if it will reach from the dryer box and if so, set it up to run in 24 amp off the dryer outlet until I get a dedicated setup.

 

[Stale]

I feel like I need to move to eSave once battery charge is <1%.
It seems like the length of recharging with level 1 charger gets very long vs. driving home in eSave to get some sort of charge.

E-Save has two modes, one to 'maintain' the charge, and one to 'actively' attempt to charge. Both of these modes will try to charge via regenerative braking, though the active charging mode will use the engine to try to boost the charge. Keeping in mind that the engine is probably at most 40% efficient, and that the battery has roughly the energy content of 1/2 a gallon of gas, it means that it would use around 1.25 gallons to charge the battery (probably $5 with Chicago prices, as opposed to ~$1.50 in electricity costs). I did run this mode for a bit, and it does increase the charge a bit, but the MPG rating was pretty bad in this mode (for the above reasons).

Because of that, I've since left E-Save in the setting to maintain the current charge, and if I'm limited on charging time I simply change to E-Save once the battery drops too low (based on how much time I can leave it plugged in for). Hybrid mode will always drain the battery first as a priority.

Granted, L2 charging is certainly the way to go.

 

[SnB4xe]

Thanks for the replies...

The one thing I noticed is the longer you stay in hyb mode the longer it will take to charge at home.
I use the level 1 so far and it usually takes 12-13 hours. The longer I drive at <1% the longer the at home charge becomes. It now says 14 hours and 30 minutes.

Level 2 at home is on the way.

Great observation! Thanks for sharing. That will help me figure out how much holdback Jeep is keeping for Hybrid mode. Nice.

 

[michail]

For the most part, plug in as much as possible and stick to hybrid or electric only. Hybrid will mostly act like electric only when charge is 1% or greater.

E-save is mostly for driving somewhere to then off-road in electric. Another possibility is to tap in to the electric power (with an inverter) somewhere off the grid.

 

[SnB4xe]

For the most part, plug in as much as possible and stick to hybrid or electric only. Hybrid will mostly act like electric only when charge is 1% or greater.

E-save is mostly for driving somewhere to then off-road in electric. Another possibility is to tap in to the electric power (with an inverter) somewhere off the grid.

Agree.
E-save is also useful if you live somewhere that requires zero emission driving such as central London and possibly SF in the near future. In the coming years, there could be more restrictions on ICE mobility so being able to save your charge for those neighborhoods could be very useful.

 

[michail]

Agree.
E-save is also useful if you live somewhere that requires zero emission driving such as central London and possibly SF in the near future. In the coming years, there could be more restrictions on ICE mobility so being able to save your charge for those neighborhoods could be very useful.

That's interesting. I'm actually surprised outside of the EU that the UK would do something that.

 

[SnB4xe]

That's interesting. I'm actually surprised outside of the EU that the UK would do something that.

I think right now ICE is allowed in the city center district but you pay a daily fee which is pretty expensive. Over the next few years the allowances expire and it is zero emission only.

 

[Black96z]

I've done some testing and made a couple videos. Esave with charging really only works in slow driving. On the freeway, you can drive 20-30 miles and only charge a few percent. In town, it actually charges the battery pretty quickly, like L2 charging times. While cruising there is plenty of extra power available to be directed toward the battery pack, plus regen of slowing for lights and things. On the freeway, almost all available power goes to propulsion. If you watch the Hybrid pages and the powerflow page, you can clearly see this.

We drive regularly to our beach house, and its about 65 miles away. We'll get the 20-25 miles on electricity, and then use gas. I just keep it in hybrid mode. When I get close to home and pull off the highway I will click it over to esave sometimes. I can usually top up the reserve and start showing 1-2% in just a few minutes. I have a L2 charger, so it doesn't really make a difference time wise, maybe 10 minutes, but I have just been testing different situations.

 

[LC FL 4xe 2021]

Esave is for the long trips as I see it. You can keep the battery up and ready for the city driving when you reach your destination. Hybrid is always the #1 choice as far as I’m concerned as long as you have battery power. The level 2 charger is a must. But having said that, you just have to drive and test what is best for your driving/location. Enjoy your new 4xe!

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