Questions about the Corsair GT PHEV...

[Turning Blue]

After @RedHoncho mentioned preconditioning a week or so ago, I scheduled some "departure times" because my wife has a part-time job where she works for about 1.5 hours, two mornings a week, and about 2.5 hours each weekday afternoon. So I set up departure times for the two mornings, and again on all five weekday afternoons. She plugs it in when she returns home after her morning shift (110v), so even though it doesn't fully recharge, it is still warming the car in the afternoon since it is plugged in.

I've also noticed that so far, if I remote start via the app while it is plugged in, it warms up without starting the ICE. Therefore, you guys who don't leave home at scheduled times should consider remote starting with the app, while plugged in, to see if you get the same results.

@JimReid mentions getting 33 miles of EV range when warm, but ours has only ever shown 28, which is the advertised range for our 23. Lately, with colder weather, we've been seeing 17 or 18 on a full charge.

 

[ljnelson109]

After @RedHoncho mentioned preconditioning a week or so ago, I scheduled some "departure times" because my wife has a part-time job where she works for about 1.5 hours, two mornings a week, and about 2.5 hours each weekday afternoon. So I set up departure times for the two mornings, and again on all five weekday afternoons. She plugs it in when she returns home after her morning shift (110v), so even though it doesn't fully recharge, it is still warming the car in the afternoon since it is plugged in.

I've also noticed that so far, if I remote start via the app while it is plugged in, it warms up without starting the ICE. Therefore, you guys who don't leave home at scheduled times should consider remote starting with the app, while plugged in, to see if you get the same results.

@JimReid mentions getting 33 miles of EV range when warm, but ours has only ever shown 28, which is the advertised range for our 23. Lately, with colder weather, we've been seeing 17 or 18 on a full charge.

I haven't tested this with my Corsair but most PHEVs will, in some cases, still start the ICE with remote start when they are plugged in. If you are parking inside, this poses a carbon monoxide risk. I would not recommend remote starting any car with an ICE in a garage unless you have insight into the programming logic that assure that it won't start.

On my Pacifica, I know for certain it will start when plugged in. One of the owners discovered that hitting the start button without a foot on the pedal will enable climate control but never start the ICE. The caveat to this is that your key fob has to be in the car (and you have to walk out to the garage to do this) but engaging the climate control does also seem to start the battery conditioning (due to the draw) which is a hack way to do an "on-demand" pre-conditioning.

 

[Juggernaught]

This ICE start when using the remote start can also be an issue with the Volt. You have to be careful to not let the ICE engine start on the remote start if it's parked in the garage.

 

[Sharbotcom]

I haven't tested this with my Corsair but most PHEVs will, in some cases, still start the ICE with remote start when they are plugged in. If you are parking inside, this poses a carbon monoxide risk. I would not recommend remote starting any car with an ICE in a garage unless you have insight into the programming logic that assure that it won't start.

On my Pacifica, I know for certain it will start when plugged in. One of the owners discovered that hitting the start button without a foot on the pedal will enable climate control but never start the ICE. The caveat to this is that your key fob has to be in the car (and you have to walk out to the garage to do this) but engaging the climate control does also seem to start the battery conditioning (due to the draw) which is a hack way to do an "on-demand" pre-conditioning.

I will confirm I tested using the app to start my vehicle while it was plugged in and the ICE did fire up. It did shut the ICE after a few minutes however, as @ljnelson stated, DON'T USE THAT METHOD IF YOUR VEHICLE IS IN AN ENCLOSED SPACE!.

So, I still want a quick button for an immediate departure time.

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[ljnelson109]

So, I still want a quick button for an immediate departure time.

Doesn't that seem like such a simple change? Do they not listen to consumers? Or read these forums?

I am often baffled by the design choices (and changes) that these manufacturers implement.

 

[Sharbotcom]

Doesn't that seem like such a simple change? Do they not listen to consumers? Or read these forums?

I am often baffled by the design choices (and changes) that these manufacturers implement.

Now, I just tried using the key fob and the engine didn't come on. Probably because the car was already warm from using it earlier. I'll try a couple of times over the next few days and report back.

 

[TimCooper]

Now, I just tried using the key fob and the engine didn't come on. Probably because the car was already warm from using it earlier. I'll try a couple of times over the next few days and report back.

I’m a bit confused about the issue of conditioning ev batteries ( okay I’m a lot confused). I park in a heated garage at our condo so therefore the car is near room temperature already. I Manitoba, we are getting close to some real cold temperatures and the only thing I would possibly want to remote start my vehicle is to warm up the cabin. I have never thought of the batteries. To that point I only see one way for the batteries to be warmed is by using the ICE to circulate coolant into batteries. I guess what I’m asking is what advantage is there to warming the batteries up?
Tim.

 

[Turning Blue]

Good point made on not using remote start inside closed garages. And don't forget to wear clean underwear...just in case!

My remote start times out at 10 minutes, I have an app for my garage door opener that allows me to open and close, as well as a video camera feed...lol. I still need to do some more testing, but I expect colder weather will be needed to know for sure. Please follow any of my suggestions at your own risk!

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[tgara]

I noticed that a full charge was 33miles in warm weather and 22 in cold weather. Don't understand the charge difference. I also noticed that the charge went down faster in cold weather, I assume its because of heater, etc.

It’s basic physics. Batteries don’t perform as well in cold weather. In addition, as you alluded to, you are running many more electrical heating accessories such as the heated seats, heated steering wheel etc. so that uses more juice and reduces your electric mileage.

 

[tgara]

Don’t try this…..

EV fire in carport was likely caused by the toaster used to warm the battery - Autoblog

A toaster placed under an electric vehicle to warm up its battery likely caused a fire that destroyed the car and damaged a nearby house in Denmark.

www.autoblog.com

 

[RedHoncho]

Don’t try this…..

EV fire in carport was likely caused by the toaster used to warm the battery - Autoblog

A toaster placed under an electric vehicle to warm up its battery likely caused a fire that destroyed the car and damaged a nearby house in Denmark.

www.autoblog.com

Stupid people do stupid stuff.

Fun fact: ICE vehicles are nearly three times as likely to catch fire as EVs and PHEVs. 110 per 100,000 vehicles vs. 33 per 100,000 vehicles.

 

[dogo88]

While I agree that EV and PHEV vehicles have less fire explosions than ICE vehicles, the elephant in the room addressing EV and PHEV vehicles is the off gassing and runaway fires with toxic gasses compared to ICE.

The youtube video below is from a dude in Australia who has put up a lot of videos detailing the dangers that these vehicles expose people to.

This video is about a case in Arizona and the vehicle is a jeep with a similar sized battery to the GT. There is a bit of ad info in the beginning and you can easily bypass it. I find his videos informative and entertaining with a lot of the particulars mainly for the Australian folks. But this video is extremely interesting.

FYI this is NSFW video since he throws in a few cuss words every once in a while.

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[tgara]

Fun fact: ICE vehicles are nearly three times as likely to catch fire as EVs and PHEVs. 110 per 100,000 vehicles vs. 33 per 100,000 vehicles.

There is no legitimate evidence to back this up. if you have it, please share it.

The youtube video below is from a dude in Australia who has put up a lot of videos detailing the dangers that these vehicles expose people to.

so, unsafe at any speed? Ralph Nader, call your office!

 

[greerl]

View attachment 19487

There is no legitimate evidence to back this up. if you have it, please share it.


so, unsafe at any speed? Ralph Nader, call your office!

I don't know your definition of legitimate; if it's on the Internet it must be true, right?

This site claims ICE fires are at least 20 times more likely than EV.

Statistics Show ICE Vehicle Fires 20 Time More Likely Than EV Fires - Green Car Stocks

With electric vehicle adoption picking up steam in major markets such as the United States, there have been increasing reports of EVs catching fire and requiring gallons of water to put out. Extinguishing a regular car fire takes around 1,000 to 2,000 liters of water while an electric car fire...

www.greencarstocks.com

 

[tgara]

Alabama firefighters use 36,000 gallons of water to put out 1 Tesla on Christmas

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Thousands of gallons of water and over 10 rescue organizations were used to put out a single fire from a Tesla vehicle in Alabama on Christmas. In the Pine Level community…

www.cbs42.com

EV fires are super dangerous to fire fighting and emergency response personnel. Just wondering, does it bother you that if you’re involved in a wreck, your product choice will compromise the safety of firefighters in a way that gas-powered cars don’t?

 

[greerl]

Alabama firefighters use 36,000 gallons of water to put out 1 Tesla on Christmas

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Thousands of gallons of water and over 10 rescue organizations were used to put out a single fire from a Tesla vehicle in Alabama on Christmas. In the Pine Level community…

www.cbs42.com

EV fires are super dangerous to fire fighting and emergency response personnel. Just wondering, does it bother you that if you’re involved in a wreck, your product choice will compromise the safety of firefighters in a way that gas-powered cars don’t?

Alabama firefighters use 36,000 gallons of water to put out 1 Tesla on Christmas

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Thousands of gallons of water and over 10 rescue organizations were used to put out a single fire from a Tesla vehicle in Alabama on Christmas. In the Pine Level community…

www.cbs42.com

EV fires are super dangerous to fire fighting and emergency response personnel. Just wondering, does it bother you that if you’re involved in a wreck, your product choice will compromise the safety of firefighters in a way that gas-powered cars don’t?

Your question seems to me making an unfounded assumption (emergency personnel not properly trained) and ignoring the offsetting huge risk reduction factors including that our GTs have much smaller batteries than the Tesla and EVS are much less likely to have a fire at all than an ICE.

So to answer your question: NO!

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[Turning Blue]

Alabama firefighters use 36,000 gallons of water to put out 1 Tesla on Christmas

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Thousands of gallons of water and over 10 rescue organizations were used to put out a single fire from a Tesla vehicle in Alabama on Christmas. In the Pine Level community…

www.cbs42.com

EV fires are super dangerous to fire fighting and emergency response personnel. Just wondering, does it bother you that if you’re involved in a wreck, your product choice will compromise the safety of firefighters in a way that gas-powered cars don’t?

The question you have posed is nonsensical. A horse and buggy are safer for firefighters if they catch fire. Do you drive a horse and buggy? Cars with air bags pose a greater risk to firefighters than those without them. Do you drive a vehicle without air bags? A diesel vehicle is less likely to pose an explosion risk to firefighters than a gasoline vehicle. Do you drive a diesel? If you live in a tent, firefighters are not as likely to be injured putting out your "house" fire. Do you live in a tent?

Do I want a firefighters to be injured? No, but it hasn't stopped me from living in my house.

 

[ljnelson109]

What Turning Blue said.... And to add to that, do you live in a house with engineered floors or trusses?

Learn Structural Stability of Engineered Lumber in Fire

There is no shortage of rhetoric on this topic. Oh, and what about the risk to your own family that all of the rechargeable items in your home pose? e-bikes, cellphones, etc.

This popular product could cause your cell phone to explode

 

[G-734177]

Is the AWD functional all the time?

 

[pwpacp]

Is the AWD functional all the time?

I've noticed that even under moderate acceleration in normal mode, AWD is active for a short period and watched the indicator reduce rear wheel engagement as load reduces. While in slippery mode, and climbing up the steep mountain road going home, it was active all of the time.....but that was under quite slippery conditions even when all four wheels were pulling on dry road. It would seem the algorithm is designed to not turn the feature off and on until it is certain it is not needed.

I have noted much the same in our hybrid Escape in slippery mode as well.