T8 Software Update (mid-Jan 2018) - T8 will now charge battery to near full?

Sonartech · Feb 7, 2018

I'm pretty good at getting software updates done on my buggy 2016 T8, and a couple of weeks ago I picked up yet another "Total System Upgrade". This one had one very unexpected surprise: When I select "charge" after my electric-only range is used up (about 15 miles for my commute), the charge range line now allows the car to charge itself nearly 100% full. Previously, it would only allow the car to charge up to ~5 miles, for some unknown reason. VERY happy they changed this! This is definitely new behavior, but I can't be 100% sure when Volvo actually pushed it out, since they can't be bothered to give us something as simple as a %$#@!%! version number of our system software anywhere. (If I could kick anyone in the knuts at Volvo, it would be the incompetent clowns that write the software, and the ring masters that manage those clowns and allow this crappy, untested code to get installed into our $80k cars)

FYI: The reason I took my T8 in this time was to address a chronically wrong battery gauge. The gauge would indicate near "100%", but I'd only show ~6 miles of total electric-only range with a fully charged battery. This update also fixed that problem, and now the gauge indicates ~17 of range after being freshly charged.

Anyone else see this new behavior? Any other undocumented treats? I really like how every software release from Volvo is effectively an Easter Egg hunt. They COULD just give us a Change Log, like "real" developers would, but I'm convinced they actually write software updates for Sensus using a Lego Mindstorm development environment... or notepad.exe!!

Zaxxon · Feb 7, 2018

This was released awhile ago. May, maybe?

Brutus99 · Feb 7, 2018

Got this update early December.

Sonartech · Feb 7, 2018

Wow, I got a different Total Software Upgrade in late November, but I didn't get this change. Guess I missed it by days!

Baboum75 · Feb 7, 2018

How many miles do you have to drive before it gets a full charge?

Envoyé de mon iPhone en utilisant Tapatalk

rpmccormick · Feb 7, 2018

I believe that change (ability to charge nearly 100% of the battery's capacity) was released in later Nov 2017.

As for the query about how many miles before you get a full charge: it varies and I've only done this a couple of times (since it is not very efficient to use the ICE to recharge the battery). I'll make note the next time I use the charge feature for the full capacity (normally I'm only putting a couple of kW back into the battery to accommodate additional range on pure electric).

phillipu · Feb 7, 2018

Baboum75 said:
How many miles do you have to drive before it gets a full charge?

Envoyé de mon iPhone en utilisant Tapatalk

It takes a fairly long time. I went on a trip that was about 80 miles each way. Most of this was highway driving and on the return trip where my battery indicated that there was no more pure EV range, I turned on the charge feature and I think it only got to about half capacity with what was probably a good 60 miles of 70 mph driving. Kind of makes sense I guess. We shouldn't really expect to charge any faster than when plugged into a level 2 charger at best and I doubt the engine charging can be as effective since there's a lot of its energy going into motive forces.

xgman · Feb 7, 2018

Isn't there a huge mpg hit while re-charging like this?

wakesurfin · Feb 7, 2018

I'm curious to know this as well.

lamarguy · Feb 7, 2018

xgman said:
Isn't there a huge mpg hit while re-charging like this?

Charging the battery from ICE is not very efficient, which is why Volvo probably limited it to ~35% initially. However, this can be balanced if the next leg of your drive is city traffic and your pure battery range is depleted.

ICE thermal efficiency is ~20% and the C-ISG is ~70% efficient, after considering DC-to-DC converter losses...so, charging from ICE is ~14% efficient.

Compare that to regenerative braking efficiency at ~55%.

SG1 · Feb 8, 2018

Baboum75 said:
How many miles do you have to drive before it gets a full charge?

Yesterday, I used up the battery and turned on the Charge function to see how it performed. According to the driving journal in the VOC app here is what I got:

Duration: 22 minutes
Distance: 15.8 km (6.9 miles)
Fuel Consumption: 11.1L/100 km (21.1 mpg)
Electric Generation: 2.8 kWh

I was pretty impressed with how quickly the battery got charged since the full battery capacity is 10.4 kWh of which 8.0 kWh is usable. At that rate, it would have been fully charged in just over an hour.

Gary-16-Xc90 · Feb 8, 2018

The battery charges up to 80% from 0% in about an hour. The last 20% for me is much slower. I wonder if it is similar to an EVSE that slows its rate so as to not overcharge? Anyway, I am good with getting to 80% (e.g., when it makes sense to recharge for the anticipated local slow traffic crawl near and in the metro).

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phillipu · Feb 8, 2018

Gary-16-Xc90 said:
The battery charges up to 80% from 0% in about an hour. The last 20% for me is much slower. I wonder if it is similar to an EVSE that slows its rate so as to not overcharge? Anyway, I am good with getting to 80% (e.g., when it makes sense to recharge for the anticipated local slow traffic crawl near and in the metro).

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Hmm. Mine only went to a little less than half way with about a fifty minute drive in Charge mode. I can't imagine that another ten minutes would have gotten it to 80%. This was driving at about 70 mph on a relatively flat (it is the Chicago area) and wide open stretch of highway. This is the only time I've ever bothered to use the charge mode for such a long stretch and evaluate it's performance. I guess I'll have to try again some time. But I'll wait until it's warmer out to eliminate that variable.

xgman · Feb 9, 2018

All this suggests to me that you are better off just setting it to hybrid and going on your way. They key to fuel efficiency is moderate speed and light touch on the gas. All this pre conditioning and charge holding seems to be more trouble than it's worth from what I can tell. Or, if you are so inclined, just fully enjoy your 400 hp and be glad you don't get 17 mpg.

Tech · Feb 9, 2018

Sonartech said:
I really like how every software release from Volvo is effectively an Easter Egg hunt. They COULD just give us a Change Log, like "real" developers would, but I'm convinced they actually write software updates for Sensus using a Lego Mindstorm development environment... or notepad.exe!!

The big updates are supposed to be every May and November, or at least that's the plan. The last two also had a stack of informational cards the dealer was supposed to give to customers who got the update, outlining the changes. Since the last update came out in November, perhaps they ran out. The info may be online somehwere.

As for the software updates themselves, we hate them too. Half of them crash the car and require various methods and procedures to get everything working again.

lamarguy · Feb 9, 2018

xgman said:
All this pre conditioning and charge holding seems to be more trouble than it's worth from what I can tell.

Preconditioning (while plugged-in) increases overall efficiency. The gasoline 'charge' feature should be used judiciously.

phillipu · Feb 9, 2018

Sonartech said:
Anyone else see this new behavior? Any other undocumented treats? I really like how every software release from Volvo is effectively an Easter Egg hunt. They COULD just give us a Change Log, like "real" developers would, but I'm convinced they actually write software updates for Sensus using a Lego Mindstorm development environment... or notepad.exe!!

FYI:

November 2017: http://volvo.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/9924/

May 2017: http://volvo.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/9837/

November 2016: http://volvo.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/9769/

They're not perfect but they provide some information. I wish they included a bug fix list.

rpmccormick · Feb 12, 2018

xgman said:
All this suggests to me that you are better off just setting it to hybrid and going on your way. They key to fuel efficiency is moderate speed and light touch on the gas. All this pre conditioning and charge holding seems to be more trouble than it's worth from what I can tell. Or, if you are so inclined, just fully enjoy your 400 hp and be glad you don't get 17 mpg.

While Volvo doesn't provide much info on the technical operation of the vehicle (especially compared to some of the other PHEV / Hybrid vehicles) at least we do have some control over how we use the vehicle. For many - they'll probably just use it like a first generation Toyota Prius. For others (like myself) keeping visits to the fuel pumps to a minimum may be a challenge (or goal?). Nice to have the 400+ hp there (and use it when you need it) ... but I'd rather brag about 55+ MPG (US) / 4.2 l/100 km efficiency.

xgman · Feb 12, 2018

Winter is a discouraging time for mpg chasing. Even a 10 degree change in temps sends my T8 over the edge. Good news is only around one month left of it.

T8 Software Update (mid-Jan 2018) - T8 will now charge battery to near full?

Sonartech

Zaxxon

Brutus99

Sonartech

Baboum75

rpmccormick

phillipu

xgman

wakesurfin

lamarguy

SG1

Gary-16-Xc90

phillipu

xgman

Tech

lamarguy

phillipu

rpmccormick

xgman

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