I think it has to do with how much you’ve driven so far and your driving style, consumption, etc. May also have to do with the outside temp, etc. I’ve seen similar numbers charging to 80% (208 miles or so) and we’re also about 3 weeks in with ours. We also have really only driven locally and it depends on how hilly the drive has been too. I’ve seen similar with our gas powered cars in the past.

 

EPA numbers are developed at an ambient temp near 77F. All EV's suffer from loss of range as the ambient temp drops (or rises), generally on the order of 10 to 15% for NCM batteries when going from 77F to 32F (for LFP batteries the loss is more like 30% or more). I got my Q8 etron sportback in July 2023 (EPA range 295mi). In the Portland, OR, area the avg temp was about 70F and the range I was getting was about 290mi at 100%. Now in Sep/Oct, avg temp about 60F, and I am getting about 270mi at 100%. Battery sensitivity is not the only issue related to temperature--you crank up the heat in the cabin, as well, which drains battery. That said, the loss I see seems to be a little steeper than i would have thought. It could just be my driving styile and a lot of short trips (no time for the battery to warm itself). Also, the Q8 has a new battery with a lower Cobalt content than pervious MY. That might make thise batteries a little more sensitive to temp.

 

EPA numbers are developed at an ambient temp near 77F. All EV's suffer from loss of range as the ambient temp drops (or rises), generally on the order of 10 to 15% for NCM batteries when going from 77F to 32F (for LFP batteries the loss is more like 30% or more). I got my Q8 etron sportback in July 2023 (EPA range 295mi). In the Portland, OR, area the avg temp was about 70F and the range I was getting was about 290mi at 100%. Now in Sep/Oct, avg temp about 60F, and I am getting about 270mi at 100%. Battery sensitivity is not the only issue related to temperature--you crank up the heat in the cabin, as well, which drains battery. That said, the loss I see seems to be a little steeper than i would have thought. It could just be my driving styile and a lot of short trips (no time for the battery to warm itself). Also, the A8 has a new battery with a lower Cobalt content than pervious MY. That might make thise batteries a little more sensitive to temp.

That does sound a little too sensitive. My other experience is tesla model y. The range drop is not noticeable until below 50, especially if you keep it in an attached garage.

 

Pinning the thread, if I see any other new thread on range not meeting the expectation, I will be deleting them. This discussion needs to have a single spot and not be restarted over and over again ...

 

which thread is that? Hard to figure out the UI of this forum, not trying to be a pest.

 

I just got my cpo 22 etron sport back (3 days ago) and it's showing this

 

I went from a 2022 Q4 to a 2024 Q8 with 21” rims. I have had the Q8 almost 3 months. My daily commute is almost 100 miles. What I noticed is that my range changes depending on how I drive. I have 7,100 miles and have averaged 2.8
When I drive nice I get 3.0 to 3.1 and I will see a range of 240 at 80% charge
The faster I drive or accelerate hard the less range I get
At 2.8 - 2.9 I see a range of 230
At 2.6 I see a range of 215
When I drive over 100mph I see a range of 170
The range is calculated from your last drive.
I have noticed that i can see a range of 215 but if I drive nice the range starts going down at a slower pace.

 

This is how my gas car GOM works, and I imagine how every car’s GOM works. Therefore I really don’t know why people have this question, is this because they have never cared about the range of gas car?

 

The GOM in my 2021 is wildly inaccurate. I just keep the avg mi/kWh for the trip on screen and calculate.

 

For now, I was lucky to have had enough charge to get back home without going into limp mode but it is always there at the back of the head.

 

Awhite, I had to go to the office this morning to pick something up. I charge my Q8 to 80%. My last drive I got 2.8 and this morning when I left it was telling me I had 225 range. When I got to the office I had 200 mile range and had traveled 42.4 miles and got 3.3 mi/KWh. When I got home it showed I had 179 mile range and had traveled 86.3 miles and got 3.4 mi/KWh and my battery was at 56%. My range would have been 265 miles at 80% battery charge.
You can see how the range changes as you drive coming home it showed 200 mile range and when I got home 179 mile range but I traveled in that period 43.9 miles but the range only went down 21 miles.

 

You don’t mention the weather. Range is highly dependent upon the ambient temp. In Boston, in the winter, I can lose 30% of my range.

 

After driving the Q8 e tron for 1 year, my consumption is 27 kwh. So with a 106 kw net battery this means an average range of 244 miles. According to audi the range should be 330 miles. So this means the real range is 74% of the range audi says. Most cars in this class (mercedes EQE SUV - BMW iX - Volvo EX90 - Polestar 3 ......) weighing around 2500 kg have consumption between 25 & 27 kwh.

 

After driving the Q8 e tron for 1 year, my consumption is 27 kwh. So with a 106 kw net battery this means an average range of 244 miles. According to audi the range should be 330 miles. So this means the real range is 74% of the range audi says. For most electric cars the real range is around 75%.

Not sure where you see 330 miles. The 2024 Q8 etron range is estimated at 285 miles

 

Yesterday I had my first relatively long trip in my newly-acquired e-tron and was actually quite content with the energy consumption. I drove about 35-40 miles each way (one way was longer than the other because of a side-trip and brief stop), the weather was fairly cold (in the mid-30s (F)), and I was traveling mostly at highway speeds of 70-75 mph or so one way and a bit slower on the way back (more traffic). My energy consumption was about 447 Wh/mi one way and a bit better (435 Wh/mile) on the way back, or about 2.2 miles/kWh if you prefer. I did not try to save energy, drove the speeds I wanted, had the cabin heat at 70F, and some other accessories on as well. That equates to a range of 215 miles if the full battery (96 kWh) were available )but I know it isn't), which is not too bad for the winter conditions. I knew coming into it that the e-tron is inefficient, but it could be worse. (I hope this doesn't prove to be a case of "famous last words...!)

 

Yikes! I read something like that before but it's certainly is confusing. Having separate drive modes in programs sounds bizarre.

 

I think the idea is that the car NEEDS to be in Efficiency Mode in order to you the Efficiency Program (Gear), so the only way to get there is to always make sure the driver selects Efficiency Mode first.

 

Hi, we purchased a 2024 2024 Audi Q8 Etron just before the holidays. On the the sticker it said range: 296 miles. Never got it to more than 220 and it took close to an hour to charge on the fastest chargers. We took the car to Montreal/ Mon Tremblant from Boston and it was a nightmare of a trip, had to turn AC off, frozen windows, never sure if we will make it to the charging station. Long story short - we wanted to return the car for not performing to standards. Audi said, after a charade of checking, phone calls, etc, they would take the care back but that we lost $25K in value. Thinking through my options here but wanted to see if others are experiencing the same and if anyone has any plausible explanation how the care lost such much in value

 

Audi hope to keep everything in their EVs exactly the same with their gas cars so their old customers can have a smooth transition. This simply does not work. You are a prime example of their failure. They should set the expectation right instead. Your trip is the worst scenario for any EVs. If driving in winter and at highway speed can get you 220miles on Etron, that’s above standard for an EV. Almost any other scenario EV is superior to a gas car, if you have home charging. The EPA range is also achievable if you commute with some traffic in mild temperature.

Now to the charging time, again Audi failed to inform the users for a smooth transition. It is normal to fill the tank to full on a gas car, but on a EV, 80%-100% takes the same time as 10%-80%, therefore unless you happen to planned something to do during charging (and that’s why EV trip needs planning for a good experience) like a lunch or shopping, you rarely should charge for one hour on your trip to 100%, but charge half hour or less to 80% instead and charge a bit more often. These facts should be shown to the users beforehand, let them decide if it fits their use case and evaluate pros and cons.

 

When you were in Efficiency Mode via the Drive Select, did you at any time use the Gear Sifter, or turn off the car. If you did, you were not using the Efficiency Program (GEAR). Do either of those things and the car resorts to D/R/S until you go into Drive Select and pick the Efficiency Mode again. Even then, though, I doubt you would have seen a big gain in efficiency.

Were you trying to charge to 100%? That takes about an hour. But, again, in really cold weather charging rates drop, both due to the car and to the charging station.

I think your experience with the Audi Dealer is pretty typical with all EV dealerships. A lot of them wish EV's would just GO AWAY and they never try to learn any of the facts. There is significant resistance in the Dealership community and I'm not sure how the EV manufacturers can get around that. Most sales reps have and ICE and live with it an know it. Most do not have an EV and have no clue.

I am glad I live in a very temperate climate pretty well suited for EV's.

 

Q:
When you were in Efficiency Mode via the Drive Select, did you at any time use the Gear Sifter, or turn off the car. If you did, you were not using the Efficiency Program (GEAR). Do either of those things and the car resorts to D/R/S until you go into Drive Select and pick the Efficiency Mode again. Even then, though, I doubt you would have seen a big gain in efficiency.
A: I don'r think so. I was driving

Q: Were you trying to charge to 100%? That takes about an hour. But, again, in really cold weather charging rates drop, both due to the car and to the charging station.
A: We were trying to charge to 100%. That said, it took an hour to get to 80%. And then another 30 or so to charge to 100%.

Comment: I think your experience with the Audi Dealer is pretty typical with all EV dealerships. A lot of them wish EV's would just GO AWAY and they never try to learn any of the facts. There is significant resistance in the Dealership community and I'm not sure how the EV manufacturers can get around that. Most sales reps have and ICE and live with it an know it. Most do not have an EV and have no clue.
A: Here's the thing. I am pretty sure the dealership knew about the performance issues. And I think Audi went out of its corporate way to feed the dealers the playbook on how to make the sale. So I think they were clued in enough. Again, of I can get from here to say NYC the way I used to with Audi Q5 - no complaints. You take a bit of inconvenience but you do your part in saving the environment. But when both Audi and the dealership know full well this is a city car and not a long distance car, they can do their part. And not withhold info. That is disguised manipulation. The dealer, at one point said: so are you saying Audi is lying? And the answer is: yes.

 

Hi! Welcome to my world. If you look up what I posted - exactly the same thing. Short answer to your question if there something wrong is yes. First off it is on Audi - I am yet to see a Q8 charge to 285 miles. So in effect they are selling cars that don't charge as stated - ours charges to 247 at 77F. If you live in a colder climate, though, you can't even get to 247. Mind you, you can't find 247 in any of the documentation - our dealer apparently wrote 247 on windshield (!?) So for those of us who trust Audi to tell us if the battery performance is not where it needs be - tough luck. Also - you will see that once you start driving, the performance is also not as advertised. And then, if you not only see you won't be able to charge the car to 285, but it takes double the time to charge to 80% with the fastest chargers - you were told 20-30 mins, it takes an hour. When we tried to return the car for lack of battery performance, we were told the car lost $25K in less than two weeks and under 1K miles.
Here's what I am hoping to do - find a few folks like us (as many as I can), so we can make Audi and their dealers accountable for misleading their customers, who have trusted their cars for year. Let me know if you are interested in doing the same.

 

I'm sorry, but I don't quite follow here. I was under the impression that you got your Q8 in the dead of Canadian winter. Where did you find 77F temperatures to charge your car to 100% to reveal you only get 247mi. I am thinking the Dealer posted 247 on the window to announce that, under current winter conditions don't expect to get more than 247mi out of this car. There IS NO OFFICIAL MILEAGE rating for ANY EV except at 77F. That is the temp the EPA uses. (I have thought for years that the EPA rating should be posted at both 77F and 32F.) I think the dealer was doing his best to state the truth about what the car would do in your current weather. There is no deception here. When I got my q8 SB in July and the temps were in the 70's I routinely got SOC values (charged to 80%) that scaled close to the 295 EPA range at 100% SOC. If you are indeed getting only 247mi at 100% in 77F weather, then, yes, you probably have a battery problem.

 

Wow, just ---wow.

 

Not sure how to interpret your reaction Do you think I am out of line?

 

These issues you are distressed about aren’t unique to Audi EVs. They are endemic to all EVs. Blame the current state of technology.

So EVs aren’t appropriate for everyone at this time. No matter what the marketeers and sales people say. Who can imagine. But in our free market society, good luck litigating that one!

The issue with “range to empty” estimates isn’t even unique to EVs. ICE cars struggle with this too but their range is usually so much greater we don’t notice. It’s just an estimate, but our fully justified anxiety about making it to the next charging station gives it outsize importance in EVs. Look at the state of charge %. That’s real, just like the fuel gauge in an ICE vehicle.

Having travelled the wide open spaces with my family, I can assure you I experienced range anxiety long before I bought an EV.

 

The issues I am having is not with the state of technology. The issues are with how Audi, and maybe other EV car brands (which I will look into), withhold information and deliberately mislead those for whom EVs are not for. The reason why we bought the Q8 is because we need a family car to travel distances. We were explicit about that.

It does matter what marketers and sales people say, actually. It should matter to everyone - If companies make false claims, there should be consequences.

If you are told the vehicle can charge to 295 on the sticker, and it never gets to the point, (actually, if the Audi dealer goes out of their way to not even bother documenting it in your paperwork and writes it on your window), it is deliberate misinformation. What Audi et al are doing is using the good will and brand loyalty to push people to make decisions they should not be making. This is my issue.

I don't know if I can be successful in litigating, or even getting enough people to act, but if we all stay silent, then good luck to all of us with our free market society.

 

LoraK - What was the outside temperature on your trip? I think if you are driving in cold weather, you should expect about 200 to 210 miles at an 80% charge, but even that is assuming decent driving conditions. That 80% number goes up to about 235 when the temp is in the 70s. There are also other factors such as whether your car idling for extended periods, are you warming it up before you drive, are you driving at high speeds and heavy on the accelerator etc? All estimates are based on optimal conditions. It's the same with your phone, laptop and other battery-operated devices - and for me none of those get anywhere close to what is advertised.

 

It's well known that EV battery performance suffers in the cold. It WILL be better in warmer weather.

For context, here's some chatter about how Q4s are faring in extreme cold:

https://www.e-tronforum.com/threads/frigid-weather-running.6800/#replies

 

Getmoving - I get that EV battery performance suffers in the cold. All I am advocating for is educating new buyers. And not making false claims - like, range anxiety is a thing of the past, as our dealer said to us. We all need to advocate for better education BEFORE people buy EV vehicles. That should be table stakes. See this: Attaching EV chargers to utility poles is cheap, easy — and illegal in Massachusetts - The Boston Globe "The transportation sector accounts for 39 percent of the Mass state’s emissions, and convincing almost 1 million drivers to go electric by 2030 is a key part of the plan to slow climate change. But drivers thinking of switching cite a lack of charging as one of their major concerns, along with the relatively high price of EVs." I am on board to support this initiative - hence why we bought an EV vehicle. But EV car makers and dealers need to set the educational standards high - not low, to ensure people make confident decisions.

 

I think Boston, not Canada, eh. Still a bit cold in winter, as I recall. The cold mist off the Charles River cuts like a knife.

I do wonder if a dealer would be amenable to a lateral move to a Q7. But I think blood would still be spilt in the transaction, unfortunately.

But a road trip to Canada in the dead of winter is a very difficult introduction to the trials and tribulations of EV travel.

 

I'm puzzled about why a dealer would even make a specific claim about range, especially for an individual EV.

The Monroney sticker on the window lists the EPA estimate. End of story.

There are many resources for reviews of automobiles, including specific ones for EVs. Some sources have been doing road tests to determine real-word range, but unfortunately they aren't very well controlled for ambient conditions. But as the saying goes, YMMV ( Your Mileage May Vary ). Pretty tough to argue with a disclaimer that has made it into popular culture as a meme.

Having said that, there are tests dealer service can run to determine battery health. There is even a recall for defective cells in some batteries, as I recall.

As for the dealer sales "add-ons and protection plans" spiel OMG don't even get me going. But the movie Fargo did a pretty good riff on it.

The dirty little secret is that's how salespeople make most of their commission.

 

Salespeople are apt to fluff, inflate, misrepresent and downright lie to make a sale??!!! I'm shocked --- shocked I say. Call the media, call the cops, call your mom......

Uneducated, unprepared buyers of ANYTHING don't get to whine about their remorse after the fact.

 

Yes, I think it’s important to set realistic expectations before investing in an EV. And irrespective of what the enthusiasts claim, long-distance travel remains difficult. I can’t claim much personal experience because in our first year of EV ownership we haven’t attempted anything more ambitious than a city to city round trip of about 100 miles, on an Interstate Highway. Otherwise our Q4 gets used strictly in town.

From my travels in virtual space, and scouting from my gas burners in real space on recent travels, I think anytime you get off the Interstate system or face challenging conditions, the difficulty skyrockets.

DC Charger availability becomes sparse at best on US Highway routes and nonexistent on secondary highways. Throw cold and wind into the mix, and especially mountains, and I think some routes just aren’t possible. Sometimes it’s hard to find a gas station. EV charger? Hah. IMO it’s just not very practical to choose a route twice as long to ensure access to EV chargers.

I’m speaking specifically to the current situation in northern New Mexico, with desired travel into mountainous areas of NM and Colorado. No doubt it’s better in areas with higher EV adoption and more pressure for infrastructure development.

But when we started traveling by car to the mountain west, and especially when we moved here from the upper Midwest, we had to completely change our habits for fueling our vehicles. Oh, you mean there’s not a clump of gas stations every 5-10 miles on this highway? If we start with half a tank, we might actually run out of gas before we find ANY gas station?! Yikes! Fueling an EV just takes it to a whole new level.

After risking my neck climbing some remote 14,000 foot peak, the last thing I want to worry about is whether I can get back home in my car. And if I am traveling with family, that compounds my risk assessment by an order of magnitude. I can’t even imagine traveling by EV with a young family, except strictly on Interstate highways.

That’s the part of this story that makes me angry. For some reason, we allow car salespeople to be predatory slime. But this particular slime ball was told you would be traveling with your family!

 

If you made it to the peak, then there is a big chance you can make it back with regen. Steal some big rocks to increase the amount of energy you can generate going down, jk.

Not applicable to my adventure to Death Valley though. Luckily I found an outlet in the valley for overnight charging.

 

Cold weather is not to be trifled with.

 

Thanks for the primer on gravity, but I have more than enough experience of its effects. 😜

I climb the peaks on foot, but some of the approach roads are just as challenging as the hiking/climbing trails. Former mining roads mostly, and beat to crap by OHVs. My Jeep WK2 has air suspension that can lift it to 11” of ground clearance and skid plates in case I still screw up. Amongst current EVs I wouldn’t attempt some of those “roads” in anything other than a Rivian. And I wonder if those have skid plates. A cracked battery would be a very unfortunate mishap.

To return to subject, some of the gateway towns have EV chargers now, but from reviews they may or may not be working and they are very expensive. So I’ll probably just be burning dino juice on those excursions for the foreseeable future.