What's the lowest battery level you've driven your car to?

Yesterday, I drove my car down to 8%. At 10%, it showed a warning about charging, and turtle mode activated, but I was still able to drive at about 110 km/h (~70 mph). Now, I’m wondering how low I can go before the car completely stops. Is there any range left at 0%? What have your experiences been with this?

I’ve hit 0% a few times. You get about 10 miles after that.

KiaZilla said:
I’ve hit 0% a few times. You get about 10 miles after that.

Wow, that’s braver than me. I was panicking at 5%.

MatthewGonzalez said:

KiaZilla said:
I’ve hit 0% a few times. You get about 10 miles after that.

Wow, that’s braver than me. I was panicking at 5%.

Same here :slight_smile:

MatthewGonzalez said:

KiaZilla said:
I’ve hit 0% a few times. You get about 10 miles after that.

Wow, that’s braver than me. I was panicking at 5%.

Hello fellow GT-Line RWD .

KiaZilla said:
I’ve hit 0% a few times. You get about 10 miles after that.

I did a few miles at 0%, but that was in an Ariya. I’m curious about how much margin the EV6 gives you. I think it warned me about power reduction at around 5%.

0% turtle mode, and I was shocked to make it to the charger. That’s the last time I do that.

I’ve been down to 4 miles of range, but I was near the house and it was planned.

I once got it down to 3%. You may or may not have range at 0%. The state-of-charge indicator is just an estimate, and it varies based on a lot of factors. The controller looks at the actual battery voltage to know when it’s really empty. You could still have some charge left at ‘0%’ depending on how accurate the estimate was. If you go that low, it’s a good idea to charge it back up to 100% so the battery management system can reset and balance the cells.

@James
That’s not quite right. The state of charge isn’t just a guess, but you will drain the battery more or less depending on factors. Most manufacturers have baseline limits to protect the battery from extreme conditions like 100% or 0%. So, when you hit ‘0%’, you usually have around 3-5% left.

@Juneta
It really depends on the battery chemistry. For NMC batteries, the voltage curve is quite flat, and the charge jumps up quickly once you hit 100%. With Li-ion, it’s different. Li-ion batteries are easier to estimate the current range, which is why NMC batteries should be charged to 100% every month to recalibrate. Engineering Explained has good videos on this.

Once I get to 20%, I start looking for a charger. I’ve never been tempted to push it further. Why take the risk?

52%, because I’m waiting to get an L2 charger. It takes way too long to charge with an L1 when it drops below 50%.

Leeland said:
52%, because I’m waiting to get an L2 charger. It takes way too long to charge with an L1 when it drops below 50%.

Huh?

lindalaureb said:

Leeland said:
52%, because I’m waiting to get an L2 charger. It takes way too long to charge with an L1 when it drops below 50%.

Huh?

I’m only using a level 1 charger at home and want to avoid using a public Level 3 when possible. When my battery is around 50%, a L1 charger can take over 24 hours to get it back up to 80%. So, I don’t let it drop below that until I can get an L2 installed at my place. With a 40a L2 charger, the EV6 can go from 0% to 100% in about 8 hours. Plus, GT mode loses power under 70%, and that’s less fun.

I once got down to 2% after a road trip. The guess-o-meter said I had 2 miles left. I wasn’t too worried because I knew about the buffer below 0%, and I had an OBD dongle to check the true state of charge, but it’s still a little nerve-wracking in those situations.

I got my EV6 on a Friday. The following Friday, I drove from Esbjerg to Hamburg (about 3 hours) and hit a stall. I drove to a charging area with 7%. Welcome to the EV life. I was really nervous.

Some people report getting about 20 miles below 0%. But it’s not great for the battery.

#0%