Using a wide state of charge range costs you very little. Living at the extremes is what costs you.
At a glance
- Verdict. Real but oversold, and it does not apply to iron phosphate
- Evidence. Manufacturer guidance plus large fleet telematics
- Applies to. Any lithium pack unless the page says otherwise
- Cost to follow it. Nothing
The detail
Geotab found no meaningful penalty for using a wide range. What did show up was habitual extremes. Cars that spent more than 80 percent of their time near full or near empty degraded at 2.0 percent a year against 1.4 to 1.5 percent for the rest. If your car has an iron phosphate pack this advice inverts and you should be charging to 100 percent periodically.
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