tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31908689156387720412024-02-08T00:35:44.014-05:00Robert's MINI E Field TrialFrom June 2009 to June 2010 I had the privilege of Driving an All Electric MIMI E for a year, it was a great experience, and got me hooked on electric cars. I've since moved on to other electric cars which I will blog about.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190868915638772041.post-83619396163796379462010-08-09T15:07:00.000-04:002010-08-09T15:07:38.611-04:00Blog Site has MovedThis blog has moved to <a href="http://drive-electric.blogspot.com/">http://drive-electric.blogspot.com</a><br />
please change any links to point to the new address.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190868915638772041.post-81973449757200611622010-06-09T17:03:00.003-04:002010-06-10T09:40:45.463-04:00goodbye #304<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYz9rNKmXFViMOySAXc_x4n-I4VLt2RwAGtJQv3piv7oXd71PEs4_1tiyWjg4Ox6o4f_Wu54two1Bc4BCMGRPKJNjT5uN6t4ElQYyTJTN_8rCJ8w0XAklqSPWfqxttS-J4gA1m0dD8k3Q/s1600/DSCF0405.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYz9rNKmXFViMOySAXc_x4n-I4VLt2RwAGtJQv3piv7oXd71PEs4_1tiyWjg4Ox6o4f_Wu54two1Bc4BCMGRPKJNjT5uN6t4ElQYyTJTN_8rCJ8w0XAklqSPWfqxttS-J4gA1m0dD8k3Q/s400/DSCF0405.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480884370592681042" border="0" /></a><br />Well my one year lease of an all electric MINI E has come to an end they came and picked up the car today, after driving it 11716 miles it was a sad goodbye. But I'm planning to get the Chevy Volt this year and also moving so its for the best. Though I maybe in the market for a new car sooner then I planned, no sooner had they driven away with my MINI E, then my gas powered BMW Z3 decided not to start, hopefully it will be fixed soon I need it to last 6 more months until the Chevy Volt goes on sale.<br />Addition: got my Gas car running, wouldnt you know, they had to replace the battery :) I'm already missing the smooth feel of driving an electric car.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190868915638772041.post-65837791807332302382010-05-18T13:53:00.007-04:002010-05-18T15:14:51.148-04:00Kauai Marriage<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggE_n4LgCadPn6hteQQF_w3KaU3FOl9F3ObU820A9ZebK1MKGey0fH-DhOjHHLKWaZo3CtvoAnFCipnNq8S1On_aMs-hvh_H8ZeO8LeN4w2VbzwK6jeKTKrocbjvUVaqmMosoMip7Bc1w/s1600/Hooper508.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggE_n4LgCadPn6hteQQF_w3KaU3FOl9F3ObU820A9ZebK1MKGey0fH-DhOjHHLKWaZo3CtvoAnFCipnNq8S1On_aMs-hvh_H8ZeO8LeN4w2VbzwK6jeKTKrocbjvUVaqmMosoMip7Bc1w/s400/Hooper508.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472671116985061442" border="0" /></a><br />MINI E #304 spent the last week and a half resting in the Garage as Glenda and I went to Kauai where we got married on the beach. It was an idyllic wedding with surfers in the background and a Ukulele player.<br />We had a great time hiking and kayaking through the rain forest, swimming under tropical waterfalls, learning to surf, having a close encounter with a momma whale and her baby, and eating some really great local foods.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_53z-xyW4nG652uTReDpXSStZoGABjI9bGqZsSnB8vGR5HGeHzNsiUum3m8pp36iRH91UbzJDqBDx_DgjyyEIBLVQioUvO11PAIJE8kpxVRcOh8AuPnqZO_gkCztejgM7W7IBW6xhLR8/s1600/Hooper118.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_53z-xyW4nG652uTReDpXSStZoGABjI9bGqZsSnB8vGR5HGeHzNsiUum3m8pp36iRH91UbzJDqBDx_DgjyyEIBLVQioUvO11PAIJE8kpxVRcOh8AuPnqZO_gkCztejgM7W7IBW6xhLR8/s400/Hooper118.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472679902316268642" border="0" /></a><br />Hawaii seems like a great place for electric cars, all the driving is local and the weather is perfect for the batteries. Unfortunately they get about 90% of their electricity from burning oil, so they really wouldnt be saving much, but there is a growing push towards solar power and other renewable energies there.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190868915638772041.post-88615196375340581502010-04-21T13:03:00.004-04:002010-04-21T13:58:47.020-04:003 month extension deniedWhen we first signed up for the MINI E Field trial, it was only for a one year lease, and we would have to return the car after that year. When the car came out without the 240 volt charger for many people, we were told we'd have the option to extend our lease so we could have a full year of driving with the 240 volt charger. Then around January it was announced that leases could be extended until the new Active E car was available.<br /><br />I've been on the fence about whether to extend my MINI E lease. While I love the car, I must admit that driving it during the winter was problematic as the range dropped to the point where I was afraid to drive to my fiancee's house 80 miles away, with it. I'm also planning to purchase a Chevy Volt this November, so I want to return the MINI E before then. But I do enjoy the car especially during the summer months when its range is the best, and you can drive with the windows down and really hear nature, so I decided I'd like to extend the lease for 3 months.<br /><br />I had contacted MINI USA, and my local sales rep asking if I could extend the lease for 3 months or if I'd have to sign up for a full year, but no one seemed to know. Today after speaking to MINI Financial Services I was told they are only offering lease extensions for a full year. So I had to tell them I would not be extending my lease.<br /><br />I would have preferred to keep the MINI E a little longer, but now I'll be counting the days.<br />only 48 days left of clean quite electric driving.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190868915638772041.post-29437628007336729682010-03-29T18:53:00.005-04:002010-03-29T20:22:38.091-04:00Driving the Volt<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHgNzWqqL5EhYMz-9gsnCB3edj1F4nlP7i5wwXY0pVqFeJ3dkyxaPS6Y_E3fITlw8UnXtAsxs9WbNWAAcNEgpGDtfg75CsqmvSYH55jKX8YfxVAa5bodOcLA1388Uqopyt9gvsKwpxw1Y/s1600/Volt_NYC.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 241px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHgNzWqqL5EhYMz-9gsnCB3edj1F4nlP7i5wwXY0pVqFeJ3dkyxaPS6Y_E3fITlw8UnXtAsxs9WbNWAAcNEgpGDtfg75CsqmvSYH55jKX8YfxVAa5bodOcLA1388Uqopyt9gvsKwpxw1Y/s400/Volt_NYC.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454215697712031362" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;">As regular readers of this blog know, I'm very interested in the chevy Volt. I had been reading everything I could about it since well before the MINI E was even announced, and it was one of the reasons I decided to sign up for the MINI E.</div>A few weeks ago Lyle at <a href="http://gm-volt.com/">gm-volt.com</a> offered a contest entitled "Why I want a the Chevy Volt", with the 10 winners being invited to test drive the Chevy Volt. I submitted my essay and was lucky enough to be one of the 10 finalists.<div>I only live 40 miles from NYC, so my first choice was whether to drive the MINI E, into the event. Its been warmer lately and it has the range, but honestly I hate driving into the city, especially during rush hour which is when I'd have to go, do I took a different electric vehicle, the train in.</div><div>GM started with a presentation giving us a look at its new fuel efficient up and coming cars, first was the Spark, an all electric compact car, about the size of the MINI, with nice styling that seemed to take ques from the Scion, no mention of its range or when it would be released. Next up was a Ario RS (SP?) a sporty traditional compact car, then the Chevy Cruise a treditional mid to small size car, which shares many of the same components and is the same size as the Volt, and finally the Volt.</div><div>The Designers talked about the engineering, and showed off key features that increased its aerodynamics on a non-functional Volt prototype. Then we got our chance to see the real thing. The first thing I thought was wow it actually looks cute, this doesnt come across in pictures but its length seems a little compacted, and the lines seemed to flow together very well, something that wasnt obvious from either pictures or even the prototype. There was a silver and a dark gray version, and although I've told my fiancée again and again how much I hate that 90% of the cars on the road seem to be silver, I have to say it looked good, much better then the dark gray, where all of the cool black accent panels blended into the gray.</div><div>It was a rainy day as we got into drive and I had a big shock when I say the wiper blades, each of them was twice as long as a normal cars wiper blades, we had no troubles seeing through the light rain while driving.</div><div>At first I had to sit in the back seat, and I'm afraid the limited leg room in the back was my biggest disappointment from the whole experience. Luckly I dont plan on sitting in the back when I get a Volt, thats going to be someone else's problem, still 2 more inches would have made all the difference in the world.</div><div>I got to drive second and it was a very pleasant experience it was all in pure electric mode, unfortunately we didnt get to experience range extending mode. The car was so quite inside, I couldnt hear any road noise from the tires or wind or the electric motor, it made the MINI E seem down right noisy, something no MINI E driver would normally imagine.</div><div>The car has two modes an economy, or normal mode, and a sports mode, we got to try out both, and even in normal mode, it was quite peppy, with no hesitation from the dead stop, but when you kicked in sport the car jumped forward and I couldn't keep the accelerator floored for long, on the short course.</div><div>Handling was fantastic, the Volt has some very wide tires, and a very low and balanced center of gravity, and it held up to some tight weaving and sharp accelerations, and a wet track without any tire slippage, or spin outs, or even a traction control system kicking in. This car is a pleasure to dive.</div><div>In low gear you get regenerative braking when you let off of the accelerator, but even in normal Drive gear you get regenerative braking when you press lightly on the brake, and friction braking as you press harder.</div><div>We folded down the rear seats and this give you a lot of room in the hatchback, enough room for a bike, or two, or over 4 full backpacks. Well thats what I'm planning to put in there.</div><div>Yes I'm hooked, this is a pleasurable full featured car, that just happens to be electric, and I'm going to buy one the first chance I get. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190868915638772041.post-90634073814670242862010-03-10T18:32:00.003-05:002010-03-10T19:49:02.494-05:00Warm weather and the choice to renewIn the last week it seems that Spring is finally here on the east coast. The temperature has warmed up and the snow is melting, soon I hope to see green buds on the trees, Spring is a very happy time when you can feel the new year is coming and all sorts of possibilities are open. <div>I've been fairly lax about writing to my blog over the last couple months, part of that I can attribute to just being very busy with work, but much of it was not wanting to admit the limitations I've had with the MINI E over the winter. As you may remember for a month in December and January MINI E #304 was in the shop, then when I got it back, I was found running the heater on full barely kept the car warm, and killed my range, I've been averaging 70 miles per charge, vrs. 110 I was seeing in the summer. </div><div>So for the last two months I've been limiting my MINI E driving to just my daily commute, and using my Z3 to drive to my fiancee's house 80 miles away. There is a short distance route which actually takes longer but is only 70 miles, and maybe I could have gotten by using the MINI E. I would have had to leaving it outside on the 110 charger over the weekend, something even MINI USA doesn't recommend in the cold, then the car would have been VERY cold at 5 am Monday morning we've had a number of really bad snow storms and I was very worried about being caught in one of them while driving the MINI E. Even Lewis and Clark knew not to cross the Sierra Mountains in the Winter, and I was worried about ending up like the Dommer Party. Over the last two months I've only put 1000 miles on #304, while prior to that I was putting about 1200 miles on a month. Now that the weather has warmed up I'm looking forward to driving the MINI E to my Fiancee's house again, and putting many more miles on MINI E #304 until my lease runs out.</div><div>Today I received a letter from MINI USA offering me a chance to renew my lease for another year for $600 a month. Some people might consider that still a high price, but considering it covers everything but the cost of electricity and liability insurance it seems a fair price to me. But I have to ask am I right for the MINI E, during the weekdays the MINI E fits my driving well, I rarely drive over 60 miles, 80 miles tops, most days I only drive 40, for which the MINI E is a great commuting car. But on the Weekends I'm either driving to my Fiancee's or we are off to the mountains to go hiking on some back trail, or mountain biking somewhere new, we like to explore and get away from civilization, and technology. Unfortunately this means MINI E #304 usually spends the weekend sitting at one of our homes.</div><div>I'm afraid my life style isnt right for a pure electric car as my only car right now. I'm not giving up on Electric cars though, I think the Chevy Volt will be a better fit for my lifestyle. It offers the promise of pure electric driving for the first 40 miles then a gas generator kicks in and powers the car as far as you need, or to the next gas station. This will give me a almost all electric daily commute (All electric if I can convince my company to put chargers in at work), and it give my fiancee and and me the range and cargo room we need to explore the great outdoors, what could be better? Unfortunately the Chevy Volt wont be on sale until November at the earliest and then only in California, Michigan and Washington DC, who knows when it will be available in New Jersey. I may just have to buy it in Washington, and make service trips down there as needed, if they will let me get away with that. </div><div>But what do I do in the mean time? My other car a 1997 Z3 with 180,000 miles on it, is feeling her age and doesnt have the cargo space we need. As the weather improves I can drive the MINI E more and more, I'm hating the idea of returning it just as its at its getting to its peak usefulness time of year, and I have no desire to buy another car as a stop gap until I can get the Volt. I've asked MINI USA if the MINI E lease extension is only for a full year or if it could be for a few months, if I can I'd like to keep it a little longer, but not if it means driving it over the Winter.</div><div><br /></div><div>Finally, stay tuned for a big announcement in two month, the date been set, the reservations made, the ring is being crafted, expect some amazingly beautiful pictures. </div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190868915638772041.post-73227104019031066192010-01-20T16:17:00.002-05:002010-01-20T16:28:11.389-05:00#304 back on the roadMINI E #304 is back from the shop and running well for theis relatively warm January we are having. Still no word on exactly what was wrong with it or why it was in the shop for a month, the service techs at Morristown MINI are as out of the loop on whats being done to the MINI E's as the customers are.<br />MINI is sending me a check for the time I've been without a car, I never bothered to get a loaner, as it would have meant anouther trip into the dealer, and I have a old Z3 I still enjoy driving.<br />I think the regenerative braking is aggressive again, They had turned it down after the service in September. Or it could be I've forgotten what its like to drive an electric car, but Im enjoying breaking with one petal again.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190868915638772041.post-54763807483358897592010-01-13T10:32:00.002-05:002010-01-13T10:49:39.897-05:00One Month without my MINI EWell its been one month since I started having problems with my MINI E electric car, prior to that I'd had 6 months of problem free driving. It has been in the shop for repairs most of that time, I had it back for a week before it died on me, then again for a couple days when I only got to drive it once.<br />I've been reading other drivers posts about driving the MINI E in the cold, and needing to keep the battery temperature up, but I havent gotten much real experience with driving the MINI E in the cold weather yet. <br />I have a tough choice to make about driving to my fiance's house on the weekends, I can either drive the MINI E, and park it outside in the cold with just the 120v charger to warm it during the weekend, or leave it in a unheated garage at home the whole weekend. Either way the battery is going to get cold.<br />During the holiday I flew to Flordia, during that time I left my gas burner at an airport parking lot, where it got very cold, I'm not sure there is a good solution to leaving a electric car at the airport for a few days, its going to get cold, even if it has an onboard heating system.<br />Anyway I'm looking forward to driving my MINI E again, my Z3 is nice and warm, but its amazing how sensitive my nose is to the stink of hydrocarbons.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190868915638772041.post-63805434977948540292010-01-04T11:58:00.003-05:002010-01-04T12:13:38.263-05:00Batteries too hot?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_N1ga-jpT0xnHG0tlSMkcTAG5FXQwSuVy64jlQXcG8lysjkq8WFtzEgrtFAlnnvRma5FD7MSKq5zWsDl6j3WJYgKEeREYby_o_vXMj3PdAa8qMirTXvrXyXtb_dzL9-IXvqc3UAxShDE/s1600-h/minie_167.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_N1ga-jpT0xnHG0tlSMkcTAG5FXQwSuVy64jlQXcG8lysjkq8WFtzEgrtFAlnnvRma5FD7MSKq5zWsDl6j3WJYgKEeREYby_o_vXMj3PdAa8qMirTXvrXyXtb_dzL9-IXvqc3UAxShDE/s320/minie_167.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422930277333964786" border="0" /></a><br />MINI E #304 has been in the shop for 2 weeks, ever since it stopped running with the evil red battery symbol on the 20th.<br />I got it back on Saturday and it seemed to be running well. Still no word on exactly what work was done to it over the last two weeks. We took it out to the Movies saw Avatar what a great movie. It was frigidly cold outside hovering around 20 degrees but the batteries never dipped below 60 degrees, and the heat actually felt a warmer then I remember it feeling before the service. The range was low only around 60 miles with highway driving, but otherwise it was fine.<br /><br />I didnt get to drive it on Sunday, then on Monday I went to drive it to work and I got the evil red battery symbol, meaning the high voltage system was disconnected. I had stored the car in my garage which was cold 38 degrees according to the MINI E. I thought the batteries might have gotten a little cold, but not too much, only when I looks, it told me the batteries where at 167 F degrees.<br />Well it looks like the battery temperature gauge is broken and #304 needs to go back to service.. again. I had to rush to work so I'll be calling the tow truck this evening if I cant get it running.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190868915638772041.post-8650465180848901432009-12-20T10:41:00.001-05:002009-12-20T10:41:33.301-05:00#304 gets towed<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 18px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; ">Friday night I began experiencing problems with MINI E #304, the battery temperature warning light came on and indicated that the batteries were too hot or cold and regenerative braking wouldnt work. We were already near our destination and I continued driving without the regenerative braking, the feeling of coasting in the MINI E was a little disconcerting, I've become so use to the regenerative braking it felt strange without it, the exact opposite feeling non-electric drivers have. Anyway we got home with about 27% charge, much less then it should have been for our 50 mile trip.<br />The next day we needed to do a few errands before the big snow storm hit, I wasnt planning on driving more then 20 miles. I unplugged and reset the trip odometer, something I do every time, I think I looked at the charge and it was at 100%, but I'm not completely sure I did this anymore, I was concerned about the battery temp, and quickly switched to that view. From the start I had the battery temp warming light, and regenerative breaking wasnt working even though the battery was at 56 degrees. After a short stop for lunch we were off again, after 5 miles the battery temp hadnt changed much was 57 degrees and the warning light was still on, I was curious what not having the regenerative braking was doing to my range so I switched to % range, where I normally keep the display, and was shocked to see 35% charge left.<br />I'd only driven 5 miles and had stopped for about 30 minutes during that time there was no way it should be at 35%. I had a few ideas about what might have been wrong, either the car was using energy at a very fast rate, I did have the heat on max (as I always do in the cold) and the regenerative braking wasnt working, but I wasnt driving more then 40 mph so this seemed unlikely, or The car hadnt charged overnight even though it was plugged in, which would happen if the computer was confused and thought the battery temperature was under 30 degrees, and might explain the battery temp warning light, even though it was reporting the temp as 57 degrees, or the percent charge indicator could be out of wack, I'd just read a facebook entry stating anouther drivers opinion that the Charge indicator got less and less accurate as the temperature dropped.<br />Anyway we didnt have far to go so I just kept going and kept my eye on the charge, after shopping for a couple hours we headed home. As we got close to home the yellow service warning light came on indicating we could continue driving but should bring the car in for service, about a mile later there was a audible click the car starting slowing down suddenly and I looked down and see a red battery symbol, meaning the high voltage system has been disengaged, ie we had no power.<br />At this point we were only a mile from my house, I called MINI for a tow and my girlfriend got a ride home, it was just starting to snow. I was near a busy light and people seemed to be having the hardest time realizing they needed to go around the car even though the hazard lights were on. a few people had camera phones out and were taking pictures, after all I had the brand new MINI E side decals just put on.<br />After a half hour the hazard lights stopped working, I needed to let people know to go around me and didnt have any flares, so I opened up the hood. I was a little worried about snow going in there, but I was more worried about being rear ended as visibility was getting worse. A little while latter a fire truck pulls up and offers to push me into a parking lot across the street, they block the light with the firetruck and four big firemen, and firewomen push me accross the street, Thank you <a href="http://www.libertycornerfire.org/index.html" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 204); ">Liberty Corners Fire department</a>.<br />At this point I realized the red battery warning light hadnt come on. I tried to start the car and sure enough it worked I could drive around the parking lot, the battery temp warning light was gone too. I think opening and closing the hood must have reset things. The tow truck was due to be there soon, and my girlfriend was back with her car, so I figured it was best to just wait in the parking lot rather then risk it breaking down again. The tow truck arrived a little bit late, and #304 got towed to Morristown MINI, I have to wait till Monday to give them this story as the service department was closed by then.<br />We awoke Sunday to a foot of snow, guess Im going to have to wait to see how the MINI E preforms in the snow for myself, until then I'll be reading other peoples blogs.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190868915638772041.post-4961332718199286152009-12-16T10:46:00.003-05:002009-12-16T13:33:50.511-05:00#304 back from serviceI got MINI E #304 back from the service department on Friday after 2 days, They did a lot of work on it. Foremost of which was replacing the PCU thats the gold footlocker under the hood which is the brains of the MINI E, I know a number of people have had this replaced numerous times but this was the first time for #304. It sounds like if a MINI E has any problems at all the first thing they do is replace the PCU.<br />They also preformed the second scheduled maintenance, I'm at 7000 miles a little short of the 8000 mile point but it was over 3 months since the last scheduled maintenance.<br />The Tires were replaced with snow tires for the Winter, MINI is covering this for all MINI E drivers in NY NJ and will be storing our summer tires to put back on in the spring. They also put the Side decal on my MINI E, this the words MINI and the E plug symbol, I've been asking for this for six months, hopefully more people will recognize that its electric now.<br />I had also asked them to test the heater, as the heat output seems very low to me, but they couldnt find anything wrong with it.<br /><br />Anyway its been running great since the service, but my range is down to 80 miles, due to running the heater all the the time, the batteries being cold in the morning, and I think the Winter Tires reduce my mileage too.<br /><br />Had a little trouble this morning, I'd forgotten to plug it in the night before, this is only the second time I've forgotten to do this but its an annoying mistake. I was reading about the Chevy Volt and how they are going to have an iphone app to communicate with the car, it would be great if it could tell you at night, "hay you forgot to plug me in".Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190868915638772041.post-86192004826279050492009-12-09T10:33:00.003-05:002009-12-09T11:20:44.686-05:00#304 limps into serviceThe last couple days, I've gotten a couple warning lights on my MINI E, the warning that the battery was too hot/cold for regenerative braking, and a yellow Motor light indicating that Motor power is reduced. both times this happened when I was almost at my destination and I didnt actually notice a problem the battery temp looked good in the 60-70 degree range, and I didnt notice a lack of power, though I wasnt going very fast. I was scheduled for a the 6 month service on Friday and to get the snow tires, so I figured this problem could wait until then.<br /><br />Today the roads were covered with icy slush and it was raining hard, making for some nasty driving, heard from other people that the main roads were a mess, though I drove back roads. Anyway not long into my drive I get the temp and motor lights, but again dont notice anything wrong, a little while later the care switches from Drive to Neutral and I get a new error light indicating a Electric power system failure and/or Brake lamp control failed. I'd heard about others having the Drive change to Neutral but this was the first time it happened to me. So I pulled over and turned off the car then restarted it, then tried to switch back to Drive and instead it changed to Neutral, tried this a few times without luck and at one point saw a Red error light, that indicates Emergency transmission program active, after one more try I was able to get it in Drive. So I continued my drive, about 5 miles later I had the same problem. This time I decided if I got the car running I'd head to the dealer as I was pretty close at that point. and after about 5 minutes the emergency transmission program kicked in and I was able to drive, although I was definitely seeing very poor preformance from the motor, it was acting very sluggish. A few miles later it happened again, this time I was stopped on a hill, with lots of traffic, not a very good place to break down. but after about 5 minutes I got the car working, and drove the final mile or two to the MINI dealer<br /><br />So now #304 is in the shop they arnt sure if anyone can work on it before Friday, I have a feeling I'm not going to get it back by then. They were out of loaner cars and the enterprise Rental car shop was also out of them, so it looks like I'll be using my Z3 for a while.<br /><br />Well after 6 months of driving this was my first breakdown, and at least I avoided having to call the tow truck.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190868915638772041.post-1090878351486681512009-12-07T14:26:00.002-05:002009-12-07T14:36:31.190-05:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGyfJOMclsUsUygQTOOu-ZPS9a1EHp1OY6RqxFal9CMuWsx18pQ0Cmj6FhAHrd-0av64A61aV9zBShVdsD7cRZg8RPVsdCJZUG6TIG0an6l_Br92Y_SGKVyGRU5tOKQjDLDwgXiRIRDbE/s1600-h/mini_e_in_snow.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGyfJOMclsUsUygQTOOu-ZPS9a1EHp1OY6RqxFal9CMuWsx18pQ0Cmj6FhAHrd-0av64A61aV9zBShVdsD7cRZg8RPVsdCJZUG6TIG0an6l_Br92Y_SGKVyGRU5tOKQjDLDwgXiRIRDbE/s320/mini_e_in_snow.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412577916204485394" border="0" /></a>Had our first taste of snow in NJ and MINI E #304 handled the snow very well. There wasnt much accumulation but it was slushy and slippery, but even without snow tires I didnt feel any lose of grip.<br />One serious problem I did have is after cleaning off the wet heavy snoow from the windshield we started to drive home in the dark. At first I didnt notice anything was the matter, but when I turned off the main highway onto a unlite street, I realized my headlights werent lighting up the road it was almost all dark. I could see a little light off to the sides of the headlights but not in front. After some scary driving in the dark I was able to pull off and wipe the snow off the headlights. This solved the problem and the rest of the drive was problem free, I'm guessing snow accumulating on the headlights is a common problem with all MINI's.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190868915638772041.post-6656346036456199382009-12-01T13:24:00.003-05:002009-12-01T13:31:52.205-05:00Heater News articleI saw this article on the MINI E's Heater while browsing the web<br /><a href="http://www.just-auto.com/article.aspx?id=102273">http://www.just-auto.com/article.aspx?id=102273</a><br /><br />They say that this new electric heater developed for just for the MINI E, produces more heat then a standard car heater<br /><blockquote><br /><blockquote></blockquote><span id="lblArticleBodyText">They have a heat output of 3,000 watts and weigh about 1.8 kilograms. In comparison: a Beru cabin heater for internal combustion engines weighs about 0.8kg and achieves a heat output of 500 to 2,000 watts depending on the product line.</span></blockquote><span id="lblArticleBodyText"><br /><br />There is just no way this is true, the MINI E's heater is barely luke warm even at Max after its had time to warm up, and uses a lot more energy then the AC does. Something about this article just isnt right.<br /><br /><br /><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190868915638772041.post-89399546672165886382009-11-16T13:40:00.003-05:002009-11-16T14:36:54.187-05:00Little changes make a big differenceLittle changes make a big difference in range. A few weeks ago I posted a blog entry about my range anxiety over a recent trip back from my fiancee's house, during which my charge droped down to 3% and I froze myself the most of the way, afraid to use the heater. After last week's MINI E meet up I had a chance to talk to other MINI E drivers about their range extending strategies and overcoming the MINI E's poor range in the cold. Well this weekend I put what I'd learned to the test.<br />When I first got the MINI E, I took a tip from HyperMilers and filled the tires to pressure well above the recommended amount. Over the last five months I'd forgotten to keep this up and when I tested my tires they were down to 30 psi, so I brought them all up to 46.5 psi. We've known for some time that driving fast kills your range, so I looked at google maps, and found they have an option to avoid highways while planning a route. I used this to plan a new route to my fiancee's house, and came up with one that uses 30miles less highway driving and is 5 miles shorter.<br />On my trip there I started off with a full battery, and a warm one too at 70 degrees as I'd been using it all day. The weather was a little cold 55 degrees but I was able to make the trip without using the heater, I was very tempted too though and wouldnt want to do this on a ragular basis. The MINI E is always trying to bring fresh air in to cool the batteries, unfortunately no matter where I set the air select switch it always seems to be coming in on my legs, and the recirculate button will automatically deactivate after 5 minutes, I spent most of the trip hitting the recirculate button every 5 minutes and rubbing my legs to keep them warm.<br />I was very careful to keep my speed down rarely going above 55, my new route had a large section of 25mph roads and stop lights at which my batteries could rest and the range increase. I completed the trip driving 71.4 miles with 41% left on the battery.<br />Over the weekend I let the car charge on the 110v charger, I'd planned to run the heater on Sunday to increase the battery temperature and drain the batteries a little so it would be charging overnight (while charging, the batteries generate heat) but it was fairly warm an I didnt feel like going out after dinner so I'll save that test for anouther day. I hope BMW's next electric car has a way of pre-heating the car and the battery either from a remote or on a timer.<br />On Monday morning the batteries were at 61 degrees, which is a little low but not bad. I drove my new route home, again trying to keep my speed under 55mph, the outside temperature was 49 degrees so I turned the heater up to full from the start, After the cabin warmed up I backed the heater off slowly to about half way, I the ride was comfurtable and I found keeping the heat blowing on my legs seemed to work best anywhere else and my legs would quickly get cold. I did not use the recyrculate button at all on this trip, I know my milage would have been better if I had, but its a pain so I'll save myself the trouble until its really cold. I arrived home after 71.4 miles with 25% charge left. Not as good as without heat but still much better then I had been doing and with my room for extra heat on those really cold days just arround the corner.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190868915638772041.post-89599014727859811952009-11-05T10:33:00.002-05:002009-11-05T10:41:21.465-05:00Back Driving ElectricWell it took a whole week, but #304 is finally back home and I'm driving electric again. I'm not sure what work was done on it, they were supose to be replacing a battery module but there doesnt seem to be very good communication between the dealer service reps and the flying doctors. I kept calling the dealer and they didnt know anything, even sent in an email to MINI corprate, a half an hour before hearing my MINI E was on its way to the dealer, got a nice call back the next day, and had to tell them #304 was back and they could disregard the letter.<br /><br />Well communications issues asside its great to have my MINI E back, and just in time for the East Coast meet up, I'm looking forward to meeting other MINI E pioneers.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190868915638772041.post-66826186714751668582009-10-28T10:31:00.002-04:002009-10-28T10:40:42.489-04:00MINI E out for serviceMINI E #304 has been out for service for a few days and I miss her, yes my fiancee gets jealous of her, she says I'm not allowed to sleep in the car. About a month after the 3000 mile service I got a phone call from MINI that one of the battery modules was not fully charging and they would like to replace it. It took a while to schedule a visit when the MINI E flying doctor would be in. But after I brought it in they realized it needed to go out to be serviced. So I've been driving a Gas burning Dodge from Enterprise, its no where near as fun to drive as my MINI E, but it does have Satellite radio. hopefully #304 will be back soon.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190868915638772041.post-31690670722227394772009-10-19T13:16:00.002-04:002009-10-19T14:30:25.141-04:00Cold weather Range AnxietyWell after over 4 months of driving, I was feeling like I understood my Electric MINI E, it's been my regular car for all but 100 mile plus trips. Its been feeling like just a normal car, and I havent had much to report on this blog.<br />But my sense of normality has been shattered in the last week as Temperatures have plummeted, so has My MINI E's range. At first it seemed like a problem with the heater drawing too much energy, but it has become apparent that even with minimal or no usage of the heater, the MINI E's range has been severely reduced.<br />This weekend I drove the MINI E to my fiancee's as I've done many times, the ride there showed the first indication of a problem, I had to use the Heater a little bit but not too much it was 41 degrees out, and a bit cool in the cabin, but nothing too bad. I could tell I was using more charge then normal, but I never paniced and though I might not make it. The last 20 miles to her house are on a highway where 80 mph seems to to be the norm, I kept things at 65 mph and arrived at her house 78.2 miles, with 13% charge left and 11 miles to go. Thats a bit low, the first time I drove this I had 27% charge remaining, but it was within my comfort zone (just), as long as I didnt hit a detour, or miss her exit which would mean an extra 24 miles.<br />so on Monday morning I knew I needed to drive carefully, It was very cold it started at 35 dgrees outside and droped to 31 degrees during the course of my trip, the battery started at 48 degrees but was up to 71 by the end of the trip. At first I was afraid to use the heater, so for the first 20 miles of the trip I was freezing, I would hit the recircylate button every 5 minutes to keep from bringing in the really cold air, I kept the speed to 60 mph on the freeway, and stayed as far right as possible. After I got off the freeway the charge started to climb up and I felt I could afford a little heat before my fingers turned blue (I'd made a mistake and brought two left handed gloves, no rights) For the rest of the trip I'd bring the heater on for a little bit when I couldnt stand the cold, I had the air set to defogger to keep the fron window clear. I realized about half way that when I used recirculate the front window would fog up, but if I let the system bring in outside air it stayed clear, made for a hard choice, freezing or not being able to see. When I passed 50% at the 34 mile mark I knew it would be close.<br />When I got to 20% and had 20 miles to go I thought I could make it, especially as It seemed to hang at 20% a long time, but the last 10 miles to my house are on the freeway and up a very steep hill, I had to bring the car upto 60mph and was still passed by double trailer semi's going up hill. I reached the top of the hill with 3% charge left, after that it was all down hill and back roads about anouther mile to my house. I arrived with 13% charge and 11 miles to go.<br />I've driven the MINI E 5000 miles in 4 months but this may have been the last time I drive the MINI E to my Fiancee's house until Spring as it was just too close, and too cold. I was thinking if there had been freezing rain and I'd had to keep the defogger running at max heat to keep my window from freezing I wouldnt have even got half way, add to that the fear of being traped in the snow without heat and I dont think I'll be putting as many miles on #304 going forward.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190868915638772041.post-73862733996490527322009-10-13T10:37:00.003-04:002009-10-13T10:42:39.929-04:00NJ Leading the way to Solar PowerMove over California, New Jersey already has more Solar Powered Installations per mile and is growing. Here is a great article <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/33233060">http://www.cnbc.com/id/33233060</a> about how State intensives are really pushing the growth of solar power in the garden state. I live in a condominium community where I cant install my own solar power but we are looking at houses and installing solar power will be a priority when we do move.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190868915638772041.post-87487344952794296592009-10-02T10:09:00.002-04:002009-10-02T10:40:58.257-04:00HeatWell its starting to get cold in New Jersey so I turned on the heater in the MINI E. While driving with the Air conditioner on in the summer, barely used any electricity, I was shocked by just how much the batteries dropped when I turned on the heater. I've only run the heater for a couple days now, but the numbers are not looking good. During the summer a drive to work and back with no side trips and all on back roads a drive of 33.5 miles used 27% of the charge, but with the heater at half way and the fan on just slightly the same trip used 37% of the charge. Total range estimates are not that precise when based on these short trips, but my range has dropped from about 110 miles a charge to about 80, and this is on back roads never going faster then 45 mph. What will happen when I'm using the heater at max and driving on the highway? I'm worried about some of my longer trips, like to my fiancee's home, which is a 77 mile trip on mixed roads that uses 82% of my charge, I only have 18% to spare for heat on that trip. I'm also wondering whats the optimum temperature for the batteries, during the summer MINI recommended you use the AC to keep the batteries cool, which actually improved range, but with the heater drawing so much power I doubt it will be improving range unless its below freezing, I may be driving with my gloves on this winter.<br />Its still too early to say how significant heater usage is going to be, I'm going to need to collect more data ie drive with the heat at different levels. Got about 6 months to test the heater coming up.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190868915638772041.post-68987627322478113372009-09-14T11:35:00.002-04:002009-09-14T11:48:34.708-04:00Switching into NeutralWell I finally had my first serious problem with the MINI E, the dreaded switching into Neutral problem, that other MINI E owners have reported. I was almost home after a 80 mile drive and came to a stop at a light on a steep hill. There was a VERY Big Truck behind me and when the light changed to green and I hit the gas nothing happened for a second then I started rolling backwards. I quickly hit the break and noticed the front panel had a big N on it while the stick selector was in D for drive. Realizing what was going on from other posts by MINI E owners that had already experienced this problem, I quickly shifted into part and hit the on/off button to turn off the car, all the while keeping my foot firmly on the brake and dreading the coming of horns blowing behind me. Once I was sure the car was off, I hit the on/off button again, the car booted up normally and I was able to shift into drive and get moving all before a single horn blew.<br />Not that bad of an experiance it could have been a lot worse, if I'd been unable to get the car started again, that would have been a very bad hill to be stuck on, no side pull off and a long long long way down to the bottom.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190868915638772041.post-19317233102641216842009-09-03T21:35:00.002-04:002009-09-03T21:43:56.479-04:003000 miles#304 had its 3000 mile service, was fairly uneventful. drove in and dropped off my car, I work nearby so I didnt need a loaner just a ride to work.<br />I mentioned that I've been noticing a bad smell in it I think it has something to do with all the air that gets pushed through the cabin while its charging. I also asked about the side decals we had been promised, but the service rep didnt seem to know anything about that, he wasnt the MINI E specialist (unfortunately I never got to meet him) but said he'd ask about it.<br />They finish the same day, no problems to report and the car was smelling much better, they even washed it ( hope they remembered not to wash the under carriage ).Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190868915638772041.post-74894350035704825172009-08-26T12:25:00.002-04:002009-08-26T12:38:34.409-04:00Assignment 2 and an updateWell its been quite a while since my last post. I'd like to say I've been busy, but mostly I havent had much new to add. #304 has been humming along, driving me to work and back, and anywhere else I need to go. I'll be taking her in for her 3000 mile service soon, but really I've just been using her like a normal car.<br /><br />MINI asked me to fill out assignment 2 on their MINI E website, it was mostly a 5 point scale of how much you agree or disagree with a statement, and covered charging, regenerative braking, low speed driving and safety, it also had a number of places for comments which I enjoyed filling out.<br /><br />I'm getting noticed more and more, probably the "100 Electric" and "Just Say No to Gas" signs help. Have had a number of people stop me to ask about the car, and its great to show them just how much fun an electric car is to drive.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190868915638772041.post-56609607884707248902009-08-05T09:35:00.002-04:002009-08-05T10:03:43.590-04:00Ops and Ops againOn Tuesday I planned to drive to a remote work site to do some work on the computers there, its a long drive about 85-90 miles round trip all on highways. I made the trip once before in MINI E #304 and was looking forward to driving it on a long trip again. But when I went out to the Garage I found #304 unplugged and with only a 70% charge, Ops I'd forgotten to plug it in last night.<br /><br />I figured I had an hour to spare so I plugged it in and waited, hoping that the 40A charger would be quick, but when I checked back it was only at 80% not nearly enough charge for the trip. So I took the Gas burner, my Z3 which I hadnt driven in a month. On the way I kept thinking the 40A charger should have charged the car more, an I wondered if I had the cars Amperage set correctly. Sure enough when I got back and checked it the car was set to 12A not 32A, Ops again.<br /><br />It must have been set to 12A for a week and I never noticed, 12A at 240v is faster then at 110V but not as fast as at 32A. While forgetting to plug in the car is a problem I'm guessing all electric car owners will have now and then, I dont think setting the correct amperage on the car should be as tricky as it is with the MINI E. First I think the car could tell you the Amperage its drawing while charging on the display, as it is you just dont know unless you click through a bunch of menues maybe 10 or so short and long clicks on the selecter switch, a very clunky system. But more useful would be if the plug you connected the car to told the car what amperage to use, it seems to me a very simple thing to have a RFID chip in the plug that the car could read. While we are on the subject of the plugs, I dont like the current ones MINI chose to use for this project, they have tiny wires inside of them that look like they could easily brake from heavy use, and I cant see this as a good plug to use in a public place like a Mall as there is no locking mechanism, I can just imagine kids going down a line of EV's plugged in at a charging site and unplugging them all.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190868915638772041.post-88640091085023253962009-07-29T07:53:00.002-04:002009-07-29T08:09:09.036-04:00#304 gets noticedWell I've been back home and driving #304 everyday for over a week now, its gotten to be normal no one even notices its electric, including me sometimes.<br />But the other day I was driving along and I notice the driver in front of my turned his head completely around to look at me, I guessed he was checking that he read my "100% Electric" sign over the window correctly. At the next light I pulled up beside him and he asks if its ALL electric.<br />I tell him it is and we get to talking, he didnt know MINI made an electric car, and had bought his Mazda because of the acceleration rather then a MINI. Well when the light changed I showed him just how much acceleration an electric MINI has. We drove down the road 10 or so miles, each time he'd catch up I'd leave him in the dust again, then we waved bye, was great fun to open someones eyes to a fun electric car.<br /><br />I also had my wall charger inspected and it passed, so that is finally done. Having a fast charger makes such a big difference in how I drive, no more worrying if It will be charged enough to use the next day, and I can drive it all day then charge it for an hour or so and drive some more.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0