When should i enable battery preconditioning for fast charging?

[NathanL]

I just got my first EV and I’m trying to figure out the best way to handle battery preconditioning before a fast charge. My car’s manual mentions it, but I’m never quite sure when to activate the feature—should I do it as soon as the nav routes me to a charger, or only when I’m a few minutes away to avoid wasting energy?

[Thomas.L]

Tried turning it on as soon as the nav pointed me to a charger. The car warmed the pack while I still had a few miles to go, but when I pulled in the charger didn’t feel any faster and I felt like I wasted a chunk of range.

[KevinH]

If I’m plugged in at home, I switch it on there so the energy comes from the wall instead of burning through the battery.

[Logan_R]

On longer trips I tend to wait until I’m a few minutes out so I don’t burn extra energy, though it sometimes bites me when the battery is cold.

[Kyle_L]

I once did it too early on a mild day and spent energy heating the pack for nothing; the first minute of charging didn’t improve much.

[AdamL]

Do you have auto preconditioning that kicks in when the nav routes to a charger?

[Penelope_D]

Sometimes I’m tempted to skip it entirely and just roll in; the screen says the charger will still do its job, but I worry about the first minutes being slower.