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Cold weather road trip

PaulJ

PaulJ

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2024 Air Touring
I recently did a quick solo round trip from Ottawa, Ontario to Washington, DC in my 24 AT with 19" winter tires. I drove 1,120 miles and burned 358 KWh -- so a bit more than 3 miles/KWh. It was around 0 Fahrenheit when I left Ottawa and around 10 Fahrenheit when I came back, although it was warmer down south. The car was great. I had one or two occasions when I got in and it thought I was my wife. While this really annoys some (like the guy from Engineering Explained), I just make the correction on the screen and am existential about it.

A few thoughts that might be helpful to others:
* I did four fast charging stops and used A Better Route Planner to help with the planning. I found it very useful, particularly in that I was able to tell it what efficiency I was expecting (I was about right).
* I find that I stay at fast chargers not as long as others -- I just put in enough electricity to get to my next stop with around 20% battery. So my stops were 15-20 minutes -- enough time to use the facilities and walk briskly around to stretch.
* I overnighted at hotels with level 2 destination chargers. In two places (a Tesla destination charger with a magic dock and a (very expensive) ChargeSmart EV destination charger) there were no idle fees so I skipped waking up at 3AM when charging was done.
* I restarted car charging on the destination chargers in the morning with the intent of warming up the battery. Not sure if that really did anything, but it didn't hurt. On my last morning (around 10 Fahrenheit) the battery indicator was still blue after about 45 minutes of charging (and some cabin heating).
* The best fast charging experience was at an IONNA in Scranton, PA. This was great as the chargers worked flawlessly, it has canopies and windshield washer squeegees (with full reservoirs of fluid), and it is right next to a convenience store with bathrooms. I stopped there twice.
* The heated steering wheel is maybe my favorite thing in the car when it's cold!!!
 
I am kicking around a drive to the northern Midwest sometime in the next few months (about 1,000 miles each way). That temp range sounds about like what I can expect. I'm curious to see how the car does where it is really cold!
 
Beyond lower efficiency and the blue battery notification, I have noticed zero difference in how the car performs in very cold weather -- I have had the car now for over a year and have travelled to family and ski in Quebec a fair bit. You should do your road trip! Just plan for lower efficiency, try to get somewhere where you can stay plugged in overnight (I even use level 1 when visiting family), and depending on your risk tolerance consider winter tires.
 
PaulJ said:
I recently did a quick solo round trip from Ottawa, Ontario to Washington, DC in my 24 AT with 19" winter tires. I drove 1,120 miles and burned 358 KWh -- so a bit more than 3 miles/KWh. It was around 0 Fahrenheit when I left Ottawa and around 10 Fahrenheit when I came back, although it was warmer down south. The car was great. I had one or two occasions when I got in and it thought I was my wife. While this really annoys some (like the guy from Engineering Explained), I just make the correction on the screen and am existential about it.

A few thoughts that might be helpful to others:
* I did four fast charging stops and used A Better Route Planner to help with the planning. I found it very useful, particularly in that I was able to tell it what efficiency I was expecting (I was about right).
* I find that I stay at fast chargers not as long as others -- I just put in enough electricity to get to my next stop with around 20% battery. So my stops were 15-20 minutes -- enough time to use the facilities and walk briskly around to stretch.
* I overnighted at hotels with level 2 destination chargers. In two places (a Tesla destination charger with a magic dock and a (very expensive) ChargeSmart EV destination charger) there were no idle fees so I skipped waking up at 3AM when charging was done.
* I restarted car charging on the destination chargers in the morning with the intent of warming up the battery. Not sure if that really did anything, but it didn't hurt. On my last morning (around 10 Fahrenheit) the battery indicator was still blue after about 45 minutes of charging (and some cabin heating).
* The best fast charging experience was at an IONNA in Scranton, PA. This was great as the chargers worked flawlessly, it has canopies and windshield washer squeegees (with full reservoirs of fluid), and it is right next to a convenience store with bathrooms. I stopped there twice.
* The heated steering wheel is maybe my favorite thing in the car when it's cold!!!
Click to expand...
In my 2023 AT I would lose 25% range in winter. In my Audi Q8 etron I lose 40-45% in winter. Legacy car mfrs have horrible thermal management.
 
Daniel2022AT said:
In my 2023 AT I would lose 25% range in winter. In my Audi Q8 etron I lose 40-45% in winter. Legacy car mfrs have horrible thermal management.
Click to expand...
I would say BMWs are an exception to that.
 
PaulJ said:
Beyond lower efficiency and the blue battery notification, I have noticed zero difference in how the car performs in very cold weather -- I have had the car now for over a year and have travelled to family and ski in Quebec a fair bit. You should do your road trip! Just plan for lower efficiency, try to get somewhere where you can stay plugged in overnight (I even use level 1 when visiting family), and depending on your risk tolerance consider winter tires.
Click to expand...
It is my first winter in Laurentides, north of Montreal, Quebec, with my Air touring. We already have a lot of snow and cold night (-15C). Even having my car in the garage, I was told by Lucid Mecanic to avoid to use the Frunk during winter. Already, twice I open it and did want to close properly. I had to help manually the closure. Doors handles have tendency to freeze even 2 days after garage wash and having a déshumidifier in the garage. I had a Jaguar XFS before (very sensitive cat) but my Lucid is even more sensitive to cold. Lucid should plan a Winter Kit or package with washer for front camera and Lidar, better seal or heating for the frunk closing system, better seal at the trunk outside release button that as tendency to freeze too. And rethink the front door window seals that make you feel like cold air is coming from outside right on your shoulder.
 
Ledmi said:
It is my first winter in Laurentides, north of Montreal, Quebec, with my Air touring. We already have a lot of snow and cold night (-15C). Even having my car in the garage, I was told by Lucid Mecanic to avoid to use the Frunk during winter. Already, twice I open it and did want to close properly. I had to help manually the closure. Doors handles have tendency to freeze even 2 days after garage wash and having a déshumidifier in the garage. I had a Jaguar XFS before (very sensitive cat) but my Lucid is even more sensitive to cold. Lucid should plan a Winter Kit or package with washer for front camera and Lidar, better seal or heating for the frunk closing system, better seal at the trunk outside release button that as tendency to freeze too. And rethink the front door window seals that make you feel like cold air is coming from outside right on your shoulder.
Click to expand...
Fair enough about the frunk. I too have had some issues but they are probably due to my stupidity. I have tried to open the frunk with a fair bit of snow on it. Don't do that! Clean the snow off before (hard to do if your brush is kept in said frunk). Similar to you, I went to a car wash in very cold weather and needed to wait a bit in my heated garage to access the frunk. But the guidance you received is probably wise: do not prioritize use of frunk when it is very cold. BTW: things seem to get super cold in the frunk in the winter. Not sure if there is a freezing risk but probably better not to find out. I have not had any issues with door handles or trunk button freezing. The cameras do get dirty in winter, but short of your proposed camera washer that is just life...
 
PaulJ said:
A few thoughts that might be helpful to others:
* I did four fast charging stops and used A Better Route Planner to help with the planning. I found it very useful, particularly in that I was able to tell it what efficiency I was expecting (I was about right).
* I find that I stay at fast chargers not as long as others -- I just put in enough electricity to get to my next stop with around 20% battery. So my stops were 15-20 minutes -- enough time to use the facilities and walk briskly around to stretch.
Click to expand...
At this point I am so comfortable with ABRP's estimates that I let it plan trips where I reach the next charger with 10% of the battery. I use the Enode integration that allows it to get the real-time efficiency from the car though.
 
PaulJ said:
Fair enough about the frunk. I too have had some issues but they are probably due to my stupidity. I have tried to open the frunk with a fair bit of snow on it. Don't do that! Clean the snow off before (hard to do if your brush is kept in said frunk). Similar to you, I went to a car wash in very cold weather and needed to wait a bit in my heated garage to access the frunk. But the guidance you received is probably wise: do not prioritize use of frunk when it is very cold. BTW: things seem to get super cold in the frunk in the winter. Not sure if there is a freezing risk but probably better not to find out. I have not had any issues with door handles or trunk button freezing. The cameras do get dirty in winter, but short of your proposed camera washer that is just life...
Click to expand...
I had to use the frunk for a holiday trip to see family (loaded down with ski gear and xmas presents). Call it karma, but when I got back my frunk wouldn't open. I called customer service who helped me get it open (to retrieve ski boot bags) and they've scheduled a mobile visit to fix the frunk hopefully. It does seem that the frunks are somewhat fragile. Here is a post-trip picture that may win the "dirtiest Lucid" competition.
 

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Ledmi said:
It is my first winter in Laurentides, north of Montreal, Quebec, with my Air touring. We already have a lot of snow and cold night (-15C). Even having my car in the garage, I was told by Lucid Mecanic to avoid to use the Frunk during winter. Already, twice I open it and did want to close properly. I had to help manually the closure. Doors handles have tendency to freeze even 2 days after garage wash and having a déshumidifier in the garage. I had a Jaguar XFS before (very sensitive cat) but my Lucid is even more sensitive to cold. Lucid should plan a Winter Kit or package with washer for front camera and Lidar, better seal or heating for the frunk closing system, better seal at the trunk outside release button that as tendency to freeze too. And rethink the front door window seals that make you feel like cold air is coming from outside right on your shoulder.
Click to expand...
Ah I’ve been curious if I was imagining the wind, cold air front the front door seals. For me it seems to be the upper corner on the opening side. Eg not the hinge side of the door. I’m going to check with chalk to see what kind of seal I’m getting on the door.
 
1766866031118.webp

If you hear a clicking noise coming from under the front bumper after driving in snow it's the mechanical louvers frozen.
Don't worry, it goes away when it's warm enough to thaw them. Seems the engineers have thought of this so there is no damage done...I hope.
 
Daniel2022AT said:
In my 2023 AT I would lose 25% range in winter. In my Audi Q8 etron I lose 40-45% in winter. Legacy car mfrs have horrible thermal management.
Click to expand...
Our BMW X5d barely loses any efficiency in cold weather, in fact none of our BMW’s ever have.
 
JerseyStrong said:
Has anyone of you experienced a frozen charging port door? If so, how did you get it open?
Click to expand...
In case you haven't seen this already:

Halodde

Thread 'Charge port door stuck closed? Read this'

I'll fill everyone in on the details of what lead up to this later when I have more time.

Bottom line is that my charge port door would not open with any method including manually. I'm 300 miles away from home and needed to be able to charge in order to get home. So I contacted Lucid and none of the suggestions worked (resets, sleep, manual etc...). I was about to break it off so I could charge and deal with the repair after I got home.

I had started disassembling the door and inside of the frunk in an attempt to detach it. I reached the point where it looked like the attached...
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PaulJ said:
I recently did a quick solo round trip from Ottawa, Ontario to Washington, DC in my 24 AT with 19" winter tires. I drove 1,120 miles and burned 358 KWh -- so a bit more than 3 miles/KWh. It was around 0 Fahrenheit when I left Ottawa and around 10 Fahrenheit when I came back, although it was warmer down south. The car was great. I had one or two occasions when I got in and it thought I was my wife. While this really annoys some (like the guy from Engineering Explained), I just make the correction on the screen and am existential about it.

A few thoughts that might be helpful to others:
* I did four fast charging stops and used A Better Route Planner to help with the planning. I found it very useful, particularly in that I was able to tell it what efficiency I was expecting (I was about right).
* I find that I stay at fast chargers not as long as others -- I just put in enough electricity to get to my next stop with around 20% battery. So my stops were 15-20 minutes -- enough time to use the facilities and walk briskly around to stretch.
* I overnighted at hotels with level 2 destination chargers. In two places (a Tesla destination charger with a magic dock and a (very expensive) ChargeSmart EV destination charger) there were no idle fees so I skipped waking up at 3AM when charging was done.
* I restarted car charging on the destination chargers in the morning with the intent of warming up the battery. Not sure if that really did anything, but it didn't hurt. On my last morning (around 10 Fahrenheit) the battery indicator was still blue after about 45 minutes of charging (and some cabin heating).
* The best fast charging experience was at an IONNA in Scranton, PA. This was great as the chargers worked flawlessly, it has canopies and windshield washer squeegees (with full reservoirs of fluid), and it is right next to a convenience store with bathrooms. I stopped there twice.
* The heated steering wheel is maybe my favorite thing in the car when it's cold!!!
Click to expand...
Thanks for taking the extra time to document your trip so thoroughly.
 
Has anyone tried silicone spray lubricant on the rubber seals ( funk, doors, etc) to prevent icing? I wonder if WD40 would be enough?

Also, yes to some kind of air leak around upper B-pillar edge that I've come to accept. I'd like to do a smoke test to prove it... Is it the window not going all the way up or the door seal itself?

I learned to drive on very early 1960s VW beetles. To close the door you had to crack a window = they were that air-tight.
The joke was, if Robert Kennedy had driven a Volkswagen he'd be president.
1767156281825.webp
 
I think that was Teddy Kennedy if you are referring to Chappiquidick?
 
I am back from a long weekend skiing with my 2024 AT with 19" winter tires. The trip was from Ottawa to East of Quebec City (Baie-Saint-Paul). Total distance driven was about 1200 KM/745 miles. A few details:
  1. I used 231 KWh for an average efficiency of about 5.2 KM/KWh or 3.2 miles/KWh. This was a bit better than I was expecting and likely due to dry roads, temperature that was not stupid cold, and my driving not particularly fast. Average temperature was about -5C or low 20s F. I mostly cruised at 115KMH or about 70MPH.
  2. I added 120 KWh on level 2 chargers at the hotel and 95 KWh with two fast charges (one in each direction). I deliberately seek out hotels with level 2 charging because I can arrive worry free at the hotel even with a low SOC. It also allows me to depart with a nearly 100% SOC and a warmish battery as I try and have the charging session end around my departure.
  3. Fast charging is frequently slower in the winter than in the summer even with a battery pre conditioned for 45 minutes. On this trip, both fast charges were limited by the stations. In the first stop, I shared a 180KW charger so only got 90KW. At the second stop the app told me that charging speed was limited by the station to 80KW (Electrify Canada). But even at those modest speeds, the car can take on a lot of energy with ~30 minute stops. It'd be nice to have faster charging, but it probably only ended up adding ~10 minutes per stop.
  4. Charging en route cost me about $45 CAD (plus $5 electricity at home) but one of my fast charges was free. I reckon that my previous car (Lexus NX) would have cost about $120 CAD in gasoline.
  5. For help planning, I consult the "% at destination" that is somewhat hidden under "edit route" in navigation. This is remarkably accurate and stable along the route. The "range at destination" displayed left of the steering wheel is not accurate — particularly in the winter.
  6. I did not use my frunk as there can be issues in the cold. Instead, I loaded up the capacious trunk (four pairs of skis, three boot bags, a cooler, and regular luggage) with passenger-side back seat down. The sub trunk is very helpful. Two passengers and I were very comfortable.
  7. Driving in winter gets the cameras and mirrors really crudded up (along with the rest of the car). In future I think I'll carry a rag in a footwell instead of using my finger to clean things. I'll also try and assign my son the task of using said rag whenever we stop as I seem to forget to clean things most of the time.
 
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