[alex05]

I had my mx-30 for 12 months now, so I am rather familiar with range, energy consumption a.s.o.

Recently (1-2 weeks ago) I had the yearly service done; on this ocasion, they have done a software update (which, among other, significantly reduced the fake engine sound - a plus in my honest opinion). Following this update, I have installed the winter wheels and tires (Michelin Pilot Alpin 5) as temperatures dropped to freezing cold (0 or -2C).

The problem I have is that energy consumption hugely increased (from average 17kWh to 30kWh). Please note (i) I use the car only for city driving (no commuting) and (ii) in the last week traffic is rather light. For instance, the instant energy consumption on 75 km/h, no wind, flat surface, is now 26.5kWh.

As I have mentioned, I have already passed one winter with the car and I do not recall having such great consumption. (cca 1% of battery for 1km light city traffic, easy on the throttle).

Did anyone else had this issue? Would it be unreasonable to consider this related with the recent update? - the service rep said something about battery management on this update, if I am not wrong.

I am curious if this is strictly related to weather and winter tires, or if I should make a service apointment (I will loose anothe day in service at least). I find rather frustrating to have the range cut from 180-200km to 100 and yet is not that cold.

Another issue: battery temp is always just above the min blue line (and when I check the app, the battery warming does not start).

really appreciate a feedback, many thanks! enjoy your holidays!

 

[Thebriggie]

See this re one of the updates.

AM036A

In connection with the above SSP, we will also release a Mazda Service Program (MSP) under the name AM036A which will improve the fast charge (DC - charge) in cold conditions and improve the car's ability to maintain the interior heat at extremely cold temperatures . On some MX-30 vehicles, it may take a long time to complete the fast charge in cold conditions. We solve this by reprogramming the software in PCM and B ECM. After the software update, you can change the mode of how the high-voltage battery's heater works, there will be a normal mode and a mode for colder temperatures. The situation for colder temperatures will improve the fast charging time, but the car's range will be affected as the high-voltage battery's heating system will have to work harder. More information on how to change mode can be found on the next page

This the link to the fuller details

am035A and am036A upgrades

Can someone provide details of what these upgrades are actually for and if possible their experience of the car after the upgrade? It would be most helpful to know. Alan

www.mx30forum.com

Alan

 

[ljorg]

Your battery seems cold. We've had around -3C here for a while, and the battery temp sits at a bar or two above the blue area when driving. I believe it says 154km on 90% charge (my scheduled limit). That said, the calculated range is a mixture of many different components in an algorithm involving historic data and guesswork - and nowhere near exact science. I rarely pay attention to it, other than when it gets very low.

 

[alex05]

many thanks, really helpful! re cabin heater improvement, I find it quite poor especially after update. yesterday was freezing rain and quite humid, I kept my AC on, turned off Eco mode and set the temp on Auto 21C. despite that, I found the heat uneven throughout the cabin and windows were partially steamed out. Not what one should expect from a modern vehicle, I believe.
As I use DC only on ocasion and 95% AC at home, I will try to follow the instructions to reverse the settings to former state. many thanks again, saved me a lot of time!

re battery heat, can I do anything to get it warmer? I mean, is there a setting to turn on battery heater? cheers!

 

[Milkfloat]

It is rather strong to refer to the SOC computation as guesswork. It is an extremely sophisticated assessment of actual battery state, energy consumption, driver input and anticipated residual range. Unfortunately, it cannot know if the driver will radically change driving style or whether the car will face abnormal conditions. However, if driving style and conditions remain typical, it is extremely good. ICE cars could certainly benefit from such computational rigour.

 

[ljorg]

despite that, I found the heat uneven throughout the cabin and windows were partially steamed out. Not what one should expect from a modern vehicle, I believe.

It's a strange choice they made on the Auto setting of the cabin heating system. On my previous car, a 2016 Toyota Yaris, the auto was always air sent to front windows + feet. In the MX-30 it's feet only (I have on rare occasions seen it also send air to the windows, but only once or twice). This means the windows fog up in cold and/or humid weather, even though the heater is going at full blast. I have to manually push the front window defroster button to get rid of the fog on the windows, but that disengages feet mode and is pretty noisy. So I find myself switching the defroster on and off as needed. Not what one should expect from a modern vehicle, I agree.

I seem to remember our Mazda 3 didn't have this problem, but I'm not sure.

 

[Thebriggie]

Unless you park it in a garage overnight with heating capability the short answer is no. AM036 just preps the batteries for dc charging but does not improve ac charging to any great degree as the dc voltage from the ac/dc convertor is low in comparison to the dc capability. Sorry....

Alan

 

[ljorg]

It is rather strong to refer to the SOC computation as guesswork. [...] ICE cars could certainly benefit from such computational rigour.

I know it's sophisticated, but it still varies a lot and gives some hard to explain figures. I have seen it start out low and then actually raise mileage as I was driving and the battery was heating up. It should probably have anticipated this from the beginning. I look at it as a rough estimate and probably a minimum of how far you can go in currrent driving conditions. But the psychological effect of seing "154" makes you think this is an accurate figure. If it said something like "130-160", people would think "hey, that sounds about right". In the other case people will complain that they didn't get exactly 154 km because that was promised.

I tend to mostly look at the battery gauge on the right - the one that looks like the fuel meters in ICE cars. I love that the MX-30 actually has this, as percentage is another psychological barrier: "I only have 89% left!" vs "Oh, the needle shows it's almost full, no problem". That's two ways to show the exact same measure, but one of them is problematic. For the same reason I have chosen not to show battery in percent on my iPhone and iPad.

As for ICE cars, I never paid much attention to the range calculation, because range was never a thing on that tech. Either you had plenty, or you went to a petrol station and refuelled in 2 minutes. Only concern was when the fuel light went on and you knew you had to refuel in the next 50 km or so.

 

[Thebriggie]

See photo, I use this setting to do both feet and windscreen and to be honest I don't find it that noisy. It obviously automatically starts on the highest rate but will go down. My previous Mazda's (cx5, and mazda 6) were not the greatest in the world for screen demist so I assume they have carried on the tradition with this car

Alan

 

[seasidebaz]

It's a strange choice they made on the Auto setting of the cabin heating system. On my previous car, a 2016 Toyota Yaris, the auto was always air sent to front windows + feet. In the MX-30 it's feet only (I have on rare occasions seen it also send air to the windows, but only once or twice).

Not my experience with the Auto setting - I've found it starts with the windscreen then cycles downwards through the blowers to the footwell then cycles back upwards to the windscreen. Does a decent job of keeping the windows clear.

 

[ljorg]

I use this setting to do both feet and windscreen

I tried that, but that disables Auto mode, right? Meaning seat heating, steering wheel heating and fan speed will no longer automatically regulate.

 

[Thebriggie]

Yip, but it's only the press of a button to change it but your are correct so I leave it on auto most of the time. As stated my previous mazdas were the same so I asked people to stop breathing while in the car. Got a few casualties but hey the windscreen kept clearer 💀

Alan

 

[alex05]

I know it's sophisticated, but it still varies a lot and gives some hard to explain figures. I have seen it start out low and then actually raise mileage as I was driving and the battery was heating up. It should probably have anticipated this from the beginning. I look at it as a rough estimate and probably a minimum of how far you can go in currrent driving conditions. But the psychological effect of seing "154" makes you think this is an accurate figure. If it said something like "130-160", people would think "hey, that sounds about right". In the other case people will complain that they didn't get exactly 154 km because that was promised.

I tend to mostly look at the battery gauge on the right - the one that looks like the fuel meters in ICE cars. I love that the MX-30 actually has this, as percentage is another psychological barrier: "I only have 89% left!" vs "Oh, the needle shows it's almost full, no problem". That's two ways to show the exact same measure, but one of them is problematic. For the same reason I have chosen not to show battery in percent on my iPhone and iPad.

As for ICE cars, I never paid much attention to the range calculation, because range was never a thing on that tech. Either you had plenty, or you went to a petrol station and refuelled in 2 minutes. Only concern was when the fuel light went on and you knew you had to refuel in the next 50 km or so.

but did did you actually achieve / felt that you would actually achieve thatb150-160 km range? because, as I posted above, am I get only 100-110 km actual range in light city traffice, which is frustrating to say the least. is anyone else experiencing this masssive drop in range following update, in cold conditions?

 

[ljorg]

but did did you actually achieve / felt that you would actually achieve thatb150-160 km range?

I did not experience a drop in range after the latest update. I rarely drive more than 30 km, so I haven't paid too much attention to the range thing. Maybe you should calibrate it by going on a longer trip (make sure to stay near a charging point!) and see if it doesn't give you more range than it states.

 

[alex05]

well, both service / update and tyre switch to winter/cold temp occured in the same time and I find it difficult to point what caused the range drop. however, before update / snow tires I was averaging 17-17.5kWh, now I am averaging 27-30kWh, same routes, same driving style. I find the increase quite high and higher than last winter… do you average similar consumption in winter conditions? thanks!

 

[Thebriggie]

Same tyre size as normal tyres I assume but more rolling resistance perhaps due to the winter tyres?
If you did exactly the same last year with equivalent temperature and there is a notable difference this year you could check that am036 update was or was not activated by the dealer to knock that off the list as it does chew battery power and reduce range.

Beyond that......empty....sorry

Alan

 

[Figgeman]

My range is a lot shorter than before the update.

 

[alex05]

yep, same here. and same battery temp, just above the blue line

 

[alex05]

@my current average energy consumption, charging at home under my current tariff is equivalent with 6l petrol/100km (DC charging would be 3 times more!!).

6l/100 km would be what a toyota chr would get in city driving. plus maintenance - first service has been more expensive than what a toyota service would have charged for the first service for a chr (and this would have included oil and filters) - I have asked for a quotation and was actually 25 euro cheaper for the hybrid to get first service than what my mazda service charged me for an electric (?!).

I mean, it is great to drive electric, so smooth, but I don’t get any more the reason to buy such a short range electric (and such an inefficient electric). it’s a shame, I really like mazda…

 

[kopaszkrapek]

@my current average energy consumption, charging at home under my current tariff is equivalent with 6l petrol/100km (DC charging would be 3 times more!!).

6l/100 km would be what a toyota chr would get in city driving. plus maintenance - first service has been more expensive than what a toyota service would have charged for the first service for a chr (and this would have included oil and filters) - I have asked for a quotation and was actually 25 euro cheaper for the hybrid to get first service than what my mazda service charged me for an electric (?!).

I mean, it is great to drive electric, so smooth, but I don’t get any more the reason to buy such a short range electric (and such an inefficient electric). it’s a shame, I really like mazda…

It seems to me really strange. I am having 1,3 liter of petrol equivalent /100 km in city with my home chargings, even in winter time with heatings. Can not notice any range differences after update. Temperatures during winter here between -7 C and +13 C. What is yours ?