T8 - should you ever use the charge mode?

Nickshu · Jan 12, 2018

Seti said:
Given the T8's 50L tank, sacrificing a gallon and a half over long distance driving is somewhat a bad idea.

The car seems to be efficient in charging up to 33% without much fuss, and it uses les fuel to get to that level. But beyond 33% battery level, ICE struggles a lot to charge up the battery.

I know this because, I tried charging the battery using ICE while driving on the freeway in one of my recent long distance trips and I realised that the car is quick to charge to 30-50% but takes much longer to go beyond the 50% battery charge mark! I drove for a couple hours charging the hybrid battery through ICE after it reached the 40% level, and it struggled much longer to rise just above the 50% mark. I then gave up because I felt charging to 90% will take much longer time and a comple waste of fuel.

IO was happy to keep the 50% and manage to harvest more using regenerative braking etc. Only through braking friction was I able to move the level from 50% to 90% much quicker. This is how I did it. After charging up to 50% using ICE, I pressed Hold. Then each time I got something from friction, I'd immediately cancel and reapply Hold. I kept doing this until I got to tthe 90% mark. I found that this was much quicker and efficient than using ICE.

Now, if only there was a home button for Save I could press and depress quickly without having to page through screens, minimising Maps etc to get to the Save/ Hold button. Another anticipated mods from Volvo's future Sensus update I'm hoping to see in my 2016 T8 lifetime

I have also noticed that on the highway using either Hybrid or Power modes the car will still use battery power to some degree even if on Hold. To me this is confusing b/c I know the way the system is designed is to retain 2-3 KWH below "empty" to run the ERAD regardless of the state of the part of the battery partitioned for Plugin/CSIG/Regen charging.

I have noticed it does not do this if your charge was a plug-in charge...it will hold. If it was a CSIG or Regen charge it seems to use 1-3 miles of it despite being on Hold.

Interesting.

rpmccormick · Jan 23, 2018

My lifetime (US) MPG is over 54 = ~4.3 l/100 km

I'm one of those people who have the 400 BHP vehicle that drive it mostly in pure electric mode and try to get the best fuel economy (e.g., buy as little as possible).

The later versions of software increased the ICE charging - which IMO was a good thing. BUT: if you figure out what it cost per kw/h for the charging off the mains versus what it costs for the ICE to replenish the battery ...

I focus most on regen capabilities: breaking and occasionally shifting the drive selector from D to B when going down hills, coming to stops, slowing down for curves, etc.

I do occasionally use the charge feature with the logic being:

- never use pure battery on Interstate / motorway / high speed limited access highways
- limit use of pure battery on roads where speed is 50 MPH / 80 kph or higher
- use charge to replenish the battery for when you'll be driving where it is most efficient: local roads
- only use charge when the load on the ICE is light

So for example - a trip may consist of driving on local roads to get to a highway which you will travel on for an hour or two. When you get off the highway you have another half-hour of local road driving. I start off in pure and use just battery to get to the highway ... maybe the battery has 25% left (which is not enough to do pure electric at the other end of the highway). I then engage hold and drive on the highway. I'll switch to charge mode where there are long stretches of level grade or downhill grade and always turn off charge (back to hold) whenever there is uphill grade or higher load on the vehicle. I will only charge the battery enough to provide enough energy to cover the last part of the journey (and a little safety margin). Exceptions: maybe I will charge it full if the end journey exceeds the battery range or I am going to a location where I am unable to charge.

Another scenario: a long day's drive (on holiday in Newfoundland) on roads where sometimes you are going 100 km/h and sometimes 30-50 km/h. In this situation I've used the charge feature in the open stretch high speed part of the journey to ensure I have enough battery power to travel on pure electric on the slower parts of the roads (through towns, etc.). The VOC graphs for this kind of driving is pretty impressive.

arch1981 · Jan 23, 2018

rpmccormick said:
My lifetime (US) MPG is over 54 = ~4.3 l/100 km

I'm one of those people who have the 400 BHP vehicle that drive it mostly in pure electric mode and try to get the best fuel economy (e.g., buy as little as possible).

The later versions of software increased the ICE charging - which IMO was a good thing. BUT: if you figure out what it cost per kw/h for the charging off the mains versus what it costs for the ICE to replenish the battery ...

I focus most on regen capabilities: breaking and occasionally shifting the drive selector from D to B when going down hills, coming to stops, slowing down for curves, etc.

I do occasionally use the charge feature with the logic being:

- never use pure battery on Interstate / motorway / high speed limited access highways
- limit use of pure battery on roads where speed is 50 MPH / 80 kph or higher
- use charge to replenish the battery for when you'll be driving where it is most efficient: local roads
- only use charge when the load on the ICE is light

So for example - a trip may consist of driving on local roads to get to a highway which you will travel on for an hour or two. When you get off the highway you have another half-hour of local road driving. I start off in pure and use just battery to get to the highway ... maybe the battery has 25% left (which is not enough to do pure electric at the other end of the highway). I then engage hold and drive on the highway. I'll switch to charge mode where there are long stretches of level grade or downhill grade and always turn off charge (back to hold) whenever there is uphill grade or higher load on the vehicle. I will only charge the battery enough to provide enough energy to cover the last part of the journey (and a little safety margin). Exceptions: maybe I will charge it full if the end journey exceeds the battery range or I am going to a location where I am unable to charge.

Another scenario: a long day's drive (on holiday in Newfoundland) on roads where sometimes you are going 100 km/h and sometimes 30-50 km/h. In this situation I've used the charge feature in the open stretch high speed part of the journey to ensure I have enough battery power to travel on pure electric on the slower parts of the roads (through towns, etc.). The VOC graphs for this kind of driving is pretty impressive.

I pretty much do the exact same thing. Still learning the car though....and my mileage yesterday and today was

5.9L/100km
5.4L/100km

My drive to work is 66km.....so I'm loving this mileage. Almost 50% better than my Acura TL was at these #'s

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Bayman48 · Jan 23, 2018

When put in hold status is it effectively not a hybrid or does it still use the reserve battery power?

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Gary-16-Xc90 · Jan 23, 2018

Bayman48 said:
When put in hold status is it effectively not a hybrid or does it still use the reserve battery power?

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

Hold status will use battery power that generally exceeds the percentage in which Hold was applied. I find Hold will more liberally use excess battery power when Hold is applied at 50% or above.

My perception is antidotal and I have not scientifically tested it out.

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FusionRedXC60 · Jan 23, 2018

I wish they can merge hold and charge mode to something a simple choice of "save battery when possible". Eg, charge battery when possible, and keep it, eg don't use it. It is not helpful to "hold" and "charge" separately and have us puzzled which one to use.

At least "hold" should means don't use battery, and meanwhile allow brake regeneration to charge battery level higher. When you "hold" at 50% level, you really mean "don't fall below 50%, and please charge to above 50% or higher whenever possible".
"charge" could be using ICE more aggressively to charge battery.

Gary-16-Xc90 · Jan 23, 2018

Would Pure v. Hybrid affect the Hold behavior?

BTW, prior to May 2016 Update for MY16s, Hold was known as Save and Charge did not exist. Feedback can result in further improvements.

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phillipu · Jan 23, 2018

Gary-16-Xc90 said:
Would Pure v. Hybrid affect the Hold behavior?

BTW, prior to May 2016 Update for MY16s, Hold was known as Save and Charge did not exist. Feedback can result in further improvements.

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And wasn't Save a separate drive mode like Pure and Hybrid, not just a function button that could be used in any mode?

FusionRedXC60 · Jan 23, 2018

Gary-16-Xc90 said:
Would Pure v. Hybrid affect the Hold behavior?

BTW, prior to May 2016 Update for MY16s, Hold was known as Save and Charge did not exist. Feedback can result in further improvements.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

But I am afraid Volvo do not watch this forum anymore. How to give them feedback? Just chat in customer support?

Gary-16-Xc90 · Jan 23, 2018

phillipu said:
And wasn't Save a separate drive mode like Pure and Hybrid, not just a function button that could be used in any mode?

Yes, you're correct. I forgot about that detail.

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Gary-16-Xc90 · Jan 23, 2018

FusionRedXC60 said:
But I am afraid Volvo do not watch this forum anymore. How to give them feedback? Just chat in customer support?

Probably email, but chat or a phone call can work, too. Limited response does not equate to "not watching" and learning [particularly if it is constructive].

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rpmccormick · Jan 24, 2018

My biggest frustration with Charge and Hold is the UI.

At first I was glad when they moved these things to the menu system and didn't require you to use the selection roller in the center console.

But - any time I want to change the state I have to swipe the screen (and if you have full screen nav running, get out of that first) and then find and tap the right button.

This could be implemented with some kind of switch - it would need three positions: OFF, HOLD, CHARGE

There needs to be a way to easily / quickly switch between these choices ...

Gary-16-Xc90 · Jan 24, 2018

rpmccormick said:
My biggest frustration with Charge and Hold is the UI.

At first I was glad when they moved these things to the menu system and didn't require you to use the selection roller in the center console.

But - any time I want to change the state I have to swipe the screen (and if you have full screen nav running, get out of that first) and then find and tap the right button.

This could be implemented with some kind of switch - it would need three positions: OFF, HOLD, CHARGE

There needs to be a way to easily / quickly switch between these choices ...

100% agree. Adding a Hybrid feature to the right hand steering wheel control is one option that should only involve software and not a new physical button at least as a short term enhancement.

Also, I found this http://volvo.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/9777/ and sent feedback that this Know Your Volvo article needs more information.

VTbuckeye · Jan 24, 2018

rpmccormick said:
My biggest frustration with Charge and Hold is the UI.

At first I was glad when they moved these things to the menu system and didn't require you to use the selection roller in the center console.

But - any time I want to change the state I have to swipe the screen (and if you have full screen nav running, get out of that first) and then find and tap the right button.

This could be implemented with some kind of switch - it would need three positions: OFF, HOLD, CHARGE

There needs to be a way to easily / quickly switch between these choices ...

A single button that toggles through these three choices would work. Maybe we can use the front fog light button (it doesn't do anything on a t8).

phillipu · Jan 24, 2018

Gary-16-Xc90 said:
100% agree. Adding a Hybrid feature to the right hand steering wheel control is one option that should only involve software and not a new physical button at least as a short term enhancement.

Also, I found this http://volvo.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/9777/ and sent feedback that this Need to Know article needs more information.

VTbuckeye said:
A single button that toggles through these three choices would work. Maybe we can use the front fog light button (it doesn't do anything on a t8).

There's a press photo of the new Polestar 1 which obviously uses an interface based on Sensus. In that photo, they show an area at the bottom of the home screen with five function buttons that are normally present in the left-most function view. It has been my assumption and that of some others that this may be a change coming to Sensus that allows us to pick a handful of functions from that function view and plop them on the home screen. This would be nice and would probably appease those looking for quick access to things like stop/start, hold, charge and the camera.

Brutus99 · Jan 24, 2018

Here is the close up of the above pic. So yes looks like we should be getting dedicated buttons to certain functions like camera, etc. I also see new button Drive Mode.

Gary-16-Xc90 · Jan 24, 2018

^ Oolala’, how sweet that would be!

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palengh · Jan 24, 2018

Could be a muck-up?
Where are the reflections i the new (green) area?

XC60 R Design T8
NORWAY
Mileage: http://bit.ly/2C2gQ9n

FusionRedXC60 · Jan 24, 2018

There is also no reflection at the bottom section for those fan/temperature icons.

palengh said:
Could be a muck-up?
Where are the reflections i the new (green) area?

XC60 R Design T8
NORWAY
Mileage: http://bit.ly/2C2gQ9n

palengh · Jan 24, 2018

FusionRedXC60 said:
There is also no reflection at the bottom section for those fan/temperature icons.

The lower part also seems photoshopped as this area is darker, and the two buttons on each side of the middle at not in the newes Sensus version.

XC60 R Design T8
NORWAY
Mileage: http://bit.ly/2C2gQ9n

T8 - should you ever use the charge mode?

Nickshu

rpmccormick

arch1981

Bayman48

Gary-16-Xc90

FusionRedXC60

Gary-16-Xc90

phillipu

FusionRedXC60

Gary-16-Xc90

Gary-16-Xc90

rpmccormick

Gary-16-Xc90

VTbuckeye

phillipu

Brutus99

Gary-16-Xc90

palengh

FusionRedXC60

palengh

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