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Preconditioning question

5261 Views 6 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  MichaelC
I have a 2020 Mini SE EV; when I precondition, does that also warm the battery in addition to warming the interior?
What period of time prior to leaving is recommended for preconditioning?
thanks in advance for the clarification!
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No, the SE will only heat/cool the cabin air. It does not precondition the battery.

If you set the departure time (either for 'comfort climate' or 'plan charging'), the SE will begin heating/cooling the cabin automatically so it will be "comfortable" in time your programmed departure time. If you activate it manually via the app, I'd say ~15 minutes will usually do the trick.
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No, the SE will only heat/cool the cabin air. It does not precondition the battery.

If you set the departure time (either for 'comfort climate' or 'plan charging'), the SE will begin heating/cooling the cabin automatically so it will be "comfortable" in time your programmed departure time. If you activate it manually via the app, I'd say ~15 minutes will usually do the trick.
Are you certain of this? The heat pump system typically heats the cabin through battery waste heat. It would seem silly if it didn't precon the battery too!
I have a 2020 Mini SE EV; when I precondition, does that also warm the battery in addition to warming the interior?
What period of time prior to leaving is recommended for preconditioning?
thanks in advance for the clarification!
it starts pre-con 13 mins before you depart i've noticed.
Are you certain of this?
Yes. When cold-soaked (like sitting outside overnight at near- or below-freezing temperatures), the SE will reduce available power output until you drive it enough to warm the batteries. People have reported that their SEs reduce power even when they set the departure time and enable the "climatize" feature. Same results whether on battery power or plugged in.

I'm fairly certain this is why the MINI app refers to this feature as "Climate Timer" or "Climate Control" - because it affects the "cabin climate" and is not a "preconditioning" for the batteries. The older app called it "Climatize", but the new one is much more clear that this is a "climate control" function.

The heat pump system typically heats the cabin through battery waste heat. It would seem silly if it didn't precon the battery too!
I don't disagree. I assume there were some engineering challenges as part of retrofitting the EV drivetrain into a petrol chassis which prevented this. Since the batteries are stuffed in the exhaust tunnel and under the rear seats, they do get some insulation/benefit from the cabin temperature being set for human-preferred temperatures.
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I wish sandy munro would’ve gone into this a bit. I’m sure he would’ve been critical of this. I wonder if the i3 was truly pre-conned, or also just cabin heated!

Im jealous of your moonwalk grey mini. We placed an order Dec 20 for one and it turns out the dealer never actually placed the order. By the time they figured it out (March), we were slotted for a 22 mini (to my dislike). Turns out they ordered the wrong color 22 mini for us…

They had a demo unit with a little over 1k miles and ended up selling us that. Black with yellow caps 2020. Been a nice experience so far.
Pretty lackluster range, especially highway, but not unexpected.
That's a bummer your dealer failed to order the SE spec you wanted. :(

Agree about the highway range, but the SE's small battery is actually "just right" for 99% of my needs--mostly city streets with some highway sprints mixed in. And it's really fun to drive, which is important to me. :)
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