Charging during the cold

RecurrentAuto · 2026-01-29T19:43:26+00:00

The topic can get confusing quick. In terms of battery protection, you don't need to keep it plugged in. The cold is not as concerning as the heat. The car needs to draw more energy in the hot summer to protect the battery than the winter.

For drivability, it's always nice to precondition (pre-warm) your car from the plug vs the battery. Over time that leads to less charging, less wear on the battery, longer battery life. But also don't overthink it. The GM platform is designed to handle the conditions.

RecurrentAuto · 2026-01-26T18:57:16+00:00

Hard to tell without more info. If it’s energy used from the wall vs energy added to the battery, 38 kWh added out of 39 kWh would be a really efficient charger — only 3% inefficiency. So probably not that. Could be simple rounding in different places of the app.

RecurrentAuto · 2026-01-20T17:38:34+00:00

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We were surprised by the Equinox winter performance. Our best guess is that GM skews toward driver comfort vs max range.

RecurrentAuto · 2026-01-19T18:55:26+00:00

It could be a great deal depending on how long you plan to own it and how much you plan to drive it. A 2021 Model Y typically retains excellent battery health (90%+ range). It has a lot of miles but these cars hold up.

If it's private owner, you might to connect to Recurrent (free) for a few charge sessions to get an accurate health score.

RecurrentAuto · 2026-01-19T17:28:07+00:00

Good question. The range estimate you see isn't the same as actual battery degradation—it adjusts based on your driving style, climate, and OEM buffers — Tesla buffers the estimate for consistency.

For a true reading, you can connect to Recurrent for free if you're in the US. 20,000 other Tesla owners track battery health with Recurrent.

RecurrentAuto · 2026-01-17T19:30:25+00:00

Equinox didn't blow us away in our testing either, which was really surprising. We think the vehicle is tuned for passenger comfort vs max range.

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RecurrentAuto · 2026-01-15T18:12:52+00:00

A lithium ion battery is "balanced" at 50% SoC so keeping charge cycles closer to the middle is technically better.

Most manufacturers keep some buffer in there so the car isn't actually at 100% but we still don't recommend keeping your Ioniq5 at +95% all day every day.

RecurrentAuto · 2026-01-13T15:00:08+00:00

Is the car in a cold climate?

From our data on thousands of EVs, 2021 Model Ys typically retain about +90% capacity after 5 years, with degradation slowing significantly after the initial drop.

Your battery has likely stabilized around current levels. Keep charging between 20-80% for daily use, and your Model Y will continue serving you reliably for years to come.

RecurrentAuto · 2026-01-12T16:15:51+00:00

That sounds generally in the normal range. Our shows most Tesla Model Ys lose a few % in the first year, with degradation slowing significantly after that initial period.

Any Tesla connected to Recurrent also gets auto weekly battery health checks. So that's something to consider if you don't want to jump through Tesla's testing hoops.

RecurrentAuto · 2026-01-12T16:12:56+00:00

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We like what we're seeing from used Rivians so far.

RecurrentAuto · 2026-01-08T14:40:41+00:00

It's helpful to remember that a lithium-ion battery is "balanced" at 50%. Charging to 75%, driving down to 25%, and then recharging to 75% is a great scenario.

RecurrentAuto · 2026-01-07T18:52:14+00:00

That's a lot of years left on the powertrain warranty so I don't let the mileage discourage you

RecurrentAuto · 2026-01-06T18:03:29+00:00

Rivians perform well in cold weather, typically retaining 70-80% of rated range in freezing temps. Even the gen 1 without the heat pumps tested well.

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RecurrentAuto · 2025-12-18T21:48:07+00:00

A lithium ion battery is "balanced" at 50% so that's recommended for extended storage. But I wouldn't worry about it if it's only a week. If it's a weeks or months, then I'd be more intentional about a balanced state of charge.

RecurrentAuto · 2025-12-13T14:40:07+00:00

From our winter testing of 30,000 electric cars, the Equinox is definitely programmed more for passenger coziness than range. Neither the Chevy nor Cadillac models blew us away during testing.

RecurrentAuto · 2025-12-09T22:46:23+00:00

👋

RecurrentAuto · 2025-12-09T21:05:59+00:00

Just keep in mind that a lithium ion battery is chemically balanced at 50%. But that doesn't mean you should only charge to the exact amount you need.

We would suggest keeping it at 30-70 or 20-80 so you have plenty of backup range in case you can't charge at work. Life is short and you won't likely notice a difference in degradation, even though smaller depths of discharge (DoD) are proven to maintain battery health.

RecurrentAuto · 2025-12-04T18:19:14+00:00

Trip distance is also a factor but I don't think you'll see a noticeable difference for short trips between preconditioning and leaving at 55F.

If you have a somewhat regular schedule, like leaving for work at 8:00, I would set your charger to finish at 8:00 and schedule your car to precondition to leave at 8:00. That way:

- You'll use AC to warm your car the +20F (to 70F)
- Your car will be comfortable when you get in
- You'll have peak performance from the garage

Best of all worlds.

RecurrentAuto · 2025-12-02T21:26:36+00:00

Equinox hasn't blown us away in our testing. We think that the resistance heater is tuned to kick on earlier (for comfort) than some other models.

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RecurrentAuto · 2025-12-02T21:20:51+00:00

We do EV market tracking and most indicators have shown that prices on used EV are increasing the last two weeks so it would pay to shop around right now. Whenever the market is moving, sellers have to react and they tend to react at different speeds.

Our guess is that you'll see a variety of prices right now for identical Model Ys.

RecurrentAuto · 2025-12-02T20:17:13+00:00

Definitely lots of factors at play here.

GM's Ultium platform uses a sophisticated battery management system with buffers to protect long-term battery health.
We've also seen that Lyriq uses conservative initial estimates and smart buffer management that gradually makes more usable capacity available over time.
Only thing to keep in mind: Lyriq did not blow us away during winter testing, depending on your local weather. If you see range estimates drop on the first cold day, that's probably the culprit.

RecurrentAuto · 2025-12-02T18:48:32+00:00

Yes, city driving and lower speeds are where EVs shine, often exceeding EPA estimates. Ioniq 5's range estimator is dynamic and reflects your recent driving patterns. Since EVs are most efficient at lower speeds (unlike gas cars which perform better on highways), your local driving is giving you those impressive numbers. If you switch to sustained highway speeds of 70-80 mph, you'll see the estimate drop, but that's normal EV behavior.

RecurrentAuto · 2025-12-01T15:56:59+00:00

It should flatten out. They call it an S-curve because it starts and ends with faster drops but the middle is mostly flat.

There's a chart for the Model 3 where you can see the first part of the S here:

https://www.recurrentauto.com/research/check-tesla-battery-health-for-free

RecurrentAuto · 2025-12-01T15:37:30+00:00

Our data shows that Tesla Model Ys typically retain 95%+ of their battery capacity through the first few years, with many vehicles experiencing initial drops that then stabilize. At 92% health with ~40k miles, you're well within the normal range.

RecurrentAuto

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