MY26 software update (week 36) for MY24-25

[seabird]

very informative. So all the Tesla and BMW owners that rave about how efficient their EV systems are by preconditioning are really only saving a few minutes !

Correct--no one is sitting at a DC fast charger for twice as long because they forgot to set a preconditioning destination in the nav, or were using Carplay instead of the PCM.

It's a helpful feature to try to shave a minute here and there off charging times because range and charging are the two key complaints about EVs. But it is not accomplishing Herculean feats of time savings.

In UK during winter and low ambient temps the preconditioning prior to DC charging will not be achieved by simply driving around. Driving like you stole it in Sport Plus will help but not practical for many.

You don't have to drive it like you stole it. The thing you seem not to be recognizing is that when you get in a car at 0C, it's going to heat the battery to help maximize its range regardless of where you're going. The car is aiming for 20C in cold weather driving, and will use the PTC heater, the heat pump, and scavenge the waste heat from battery discharge and the motors to get there, always optimizing for maximum driving range. This is normal operating battery conditioning.

The only thing preconditioning changes is that it will run the heating system a little more aggressively and a little longer knowing that you don't need every last mile of range because your destination is a fast charger. At the very maximum, this is about 3kW of battery power traded for heat, or a 10C advantage on a 1000-pound battery pack. And that advantage is only temporary because the battery in a non-preconditioned car is not going to stay 10 degrees colder the whole time.

My experience is with 2 Taycans and unless the battery was around 32C max DC charging was highly unlikely if ever.

Getting the battery to 32C is a lot easier to do when you're charging at 200+kW compared to a 5-6kW heating system. And the initial charging speed is really meaningless when it's the overall delivery that matters.

Take two identical cars with a 100kWh usable battery pack (one to precondition and the other not) at the same SOC (let's say 18%), same battery temperature (let's say 0C), departing at the same time and driving the same speed to the same DCFC station (let's say 30 minutes away). Let's say Car 1 will arrive at 15C and 10% SOC without preconditioning.

Car 2, with preconditioning on, will use an additional 3kW of power to raise the battery temperature to 25C, arriving at 7%. It will need 73kWh delivered to get to 80% and will take 2-3 minutes to warm up to the ideal 35C before it can take the full 270kW charging speed, meaning that it will be at the charging stop for 23 minutes in total based on the 21-minute 70kWh delivery.

Car 1 arrived at 15C and 10%, needing 70kWh to get to 80%. The exact same amount of energy used to preheat Car 2 is required to heat Car 1 at the DCFC, except that it's delivered ~25% slower until the temperature catches up. It takes 6 minutes to warm up to 35C and then charges normally thereafter, hitting 80% charge in 25 minutes.

Both cars leave two minutes apart at 80% charge and the same battery temperature, having switched to cooling the battery about halfway through the charging sessions.

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[Wivenhoe]

I appreciate it when somebody with real knowledge provides an answer. Thank you very much for confirming that the time saved is neither here or there compared to the time taken to charge. Some people will say there is a 10% difference and that’s a lot, but in the real world it’s no longer than it takes to pay for a charger that uses an App & credit card.

 

[skshimer]

Just a minor point to add to the preconditioning the battery discussion. Unless I missed one of the posts, everyone seems to be focusing on the charging time. A year ago I read an article about DC charging effects on long term battery health. The main issue they discussed was the negative effects on the battery when it was charged at a suboptimal temperature. Different degradation problems could arise if battery was too hot vs too cold. They paid little to no attention to the rate of charge. I have searched for the article but can’t find it. Since then I have always told my cars (Model S and Macan 4) when I am heading to to a DC charger.

 

[seabird]

Just a minor point to add to the preconditioning the battery discussion. Unless I missed one of the posts, everyone seems to be focusing on the charging time. A year ago I read an article about DC charging effects on long term battery health. The main issue they discussed was the negative effects on the battery when it was charged at a suboptimal temperature. Different degradation problems could arise if battery was too hot vs too cold. They paid little to no attention to the rate of charge. I have searched for the article but can’t find it. Since then I have always told my cars (Model S and Macan 4) when I am heading to to a DC charger.

You might be thinking of the Geotab report. Even then, the conclusion is overstated, as the data showed no statistical difference between L2 and L3 charging in general or between battery temperature in cold or moderate climates. The only area of slight concern was in hot climates (e.g., Phoenix), where frequent L3 charging (>3x/month) trended toward 5% worse SOH compared to infrequent L3 charging. All other combinations were statistically insignificant. That includes preconditioning vs. not, which, again, is at most a ~10C difference. That's less than the beach side of San Diego vs. La Mesa.

Any modern water-cooled EV genuinely does not care about these minor variations. If preconditioning makes you feel better, by all means, embrace it. You're not hurting anything. But you are equally not missing out or doing anything wrong by skipping it. The car will take care of itself just fine.

Most people shouldn't bother even thinking about it in their entire ownership of the vehicle, which is why it usually happens invisibly and automatically in the background.

 

[CHP]

From my experience, charging time matters to me on long drives only and main limiting factor is charging infrastructure available at time of driving. I plan the route via Porsche app. and stops depend on charging infrastructure and variety of food available. Never worried about preconditioning. As for battery life, we are in a kind of Moore’s law cycle. Advances in battery technology are so fast that it really doesn’t matter how much you loose over 10 years, our battery will be old technology in any case. Have a look at Taycan as reference. If I would to buy 1st gen, specs and car mileages would be most important to me as I know battery is outdated anyway. Just my 5 cent.

 

[Yves]

Correct--no one is sitting at a DC fast charger for twice as long because they forgot to set a preconditioning destination in the nav, or were using Carplay instead of the PCM.

It's a helpful feature to try to shave a minute here and there off charging times because range and charging are the two key complaints about EVs. But it is not accomplishing Herculean feats of time savings.

You don't have to drive it like you stole it. The thing you seem not to be recognizing is that when you get in a car at 0C, it's going to heat the battery to help maximize its range regardless of where you're going. The car is aiming for 20C in cold weather driving, and will use the PTC heater, the heat pump, and scavenge the waste heat from battery discharge and the motors to get there, always optimizing for maximum driving range. This is normal operating battery conditioning.

The only thing preconditioning changes is that it will run the heating system a little more aggressively and a little longer knowing that you don't need every last mile of range because your destination is a fast charger. At the very maximum, this is about 3kW of battery power traded for heat, or a 10C advantage on a 1000-pound battery pack. And that advantage is only temporary because the battery in a non-preconditioned car is not going to stay 10 degrees colder the whole time.


Getting the battery to 32C is a lot easier to do when you're charging at 200+kW compared to a 5-6kW heating system. And the initial charging speed is really meaningless when it's the overall delivery that matters.

Take two identical cars with a 100kWh usable battery pack (one to precondition and the other not) at the same SOC (let's say 18%), same battery temperature (let's say 0C), departing at the same time and driving the same speed to the same DCFC station (let's say 30 minutes away). Let's say Car 1 will arrive at 15C and 10% SOC without preconditioning.

Car 2, with preconditioning on, will use an additional 3kW of power to raise the battery temperature to 25C, arriving at 7%. It will need 73kWh delivered to get to 80% and will take 2-3 minutes to warm up to the ideal 35C before it can take the full 270kW charging speed, meaning that it will be at the charging stop for 23 minutes in total based on the 21-minute 70kWh delivery.

Car 1 arrived at 15C and 10%, needing 70kWh to get to 80%. The exact same amount of energy used to preheat Car 2 is required to heat Car 1 at the DCFC, except that it's delivered ~25% slower until the temperature catches up. It takes 6 minutes to warm up to 35C and then charges normally thereafter, hitting 80% charge in 25 minutes.

Both cars leave two minutes apart at 80% charge and the same battery temperature, having switched to cooling the battery about halfway through the charging sessions.

Sorry but this is only when you charge to 80% … I drive 10 to 50 - 60% and then my friend with temperatures of today it is more then just a few minutes and it is long enough to become a hassle … all these arm chair discussion …
if my battery is well pre conditioned I can get stops of 10 minutes instead of 15 to 20 minutes … at least 50% longer in time … just enough to get annoyed and be longer then a restroom/coffee brake … If I drive up now with a cold soaked battery even after 120km’s it gets up to 7 - 9C very slow charging speed I can assure you … below 100kw compared to 270 …
To each their own and if you drive with familie it doesn’t matter, but will drive with a friend to south of France and then we prefer 10 minute stops, you want the battery in the right zone …
Little trick I do is fast charge the night before departure to 70% and then slow charge it to 100% so that it stays nice and warm, shaves off 30 to 45 minutes on a trip of 1100km in winter, always fast charging and no loss in pre-conditioning … and we can use CarPlay … (BMW has at least manual pre conditioning and it will even offer pre conditioning if battery is low and you are using Apple Maps)

 

[Paris92]

Received notification from the SA late Friday afternoon that the software update was completed but they wanted to hold it until Monday to see if there was any loss of battery % over that weekend timeframe, and other double-checks against my list of items I had at drop off last Wednesday.

Received notification from the SA late Friday afternoon that the software update was completed but they wanted to hold it until Monday to see if there was any loss of battery % over that weekend timeframe, and other double-checks against my list of items I had at drop off last Wednesday.

Software updated. Only a short ride home from the dealership, but the air suspension feels less “wobbly”, and the acceleration and deceleration are both much smoother. Not sure if those are software related in any way, but those changes were noticeable for some reason.

 

[Flying4Fun]

After the update, all the dash Christmas lights and assistance errors are returning - all the same errors and problems as before the upgrade. I don't think this 'update' actually fixed them, just masking them differently. After seeing the service departments systems that show only parameter changes, I am actually not surprised, but I am disappointed.

 

[CandianPorsche83]

After the update, all the dash Christmas lights and assistance errors are returning - all the same errors and problems as before the upgrade. I don't think this 'update' actually fixed them, just masking them differently. After seeing the service departments systems that show only parameter changes, I am actually not surprised, but I am disappointed.

Shitty to hear. What parts of Canada are you from btw!? I tried to book a service with Porsche Vancouver to fix my blacked out reversing camera and they told me that no appointment was available until late January!

I then asked about software updates or any recalls and they told me they had nothing in their system at the moment. Didn’t have time to argue with them so left it as is.

 

[Flying4Fun]

The service for the upgrade 100% exists, and is available - not sure why they are pushing back... I get the feeling that you have to have a specific complaint, then they offer it. If you're asking for the update without a symptom, they seem to not have it available from what I can read between the lines.

I showed them a video, and photos of the decorations on my cluster, they called back an hour later said that an update had become available 'recently'. Feels like the normal dance routine with any dealer.

I'd say if you're having the issues, by all means get the 'update' done. But so far, don't expect much in terms of solving anything.

Not even slightly impressed with this situation at this point. No improvement after 2 days with the car, waste of time so far. My dealer seems like they want to help, but it's clear only the software designers and programs can get this working. I hope this is not going to persist for years, feels like it has the potential to.

Edited to add, about the camera, maybe I am wrong, but is it not Transport Canada requirement to have a rear camera on late model cars as a safety system requirement - might be worth confirming that and advising the dealer that safety items should get faster service that waiting 2 or 3 months. You can also consider opening a case with TC if this has been persistent or just want a record of it - they tend to investigate if they see abnormal number of reports, which is not 100's of 1000's - It can be as low be under 10 as very little people actually report stuff to them.

 

[lukine]

Anybody in Canada ask about the software update? Might need to bring in car for my reverse camera and wondering if I can get it all done without multiple appointments

thanks

I had issues with the surround cameras not functioning. They updated my vehicle last Friday at the Kitchener Waterloo dealership, and it worked for one day, and then it stopped working again. Plus got a new problem. My mobile charger is not charging at home anymore. But somehow, the chargers at the dealership works. And apparently the mobile charger works there as well. They fixed the blacked out cameras by reinstalling a camera update and recalibrating them. I brought my mobile charger back home and plugged it in, but I still can’t charge at home. But I guess the cameras are working. We will see how long before it blacks out again. I have been dealing with so many issues with this car that I see the people at the dealership more than my own mother. I’m weary of when the warranty runs out. I feel like we want to get rid of this car before warranty runs out, as we suspect when that happens, it’s going to cost so much for them to just run diagnostics and never actually fixing their “software” problems.

 

[Yves]

So as mentioned in another thread, I too have an issue with wireless CarPlay after some days. Apparently, you need to do a factory reset of the PCM ... not looking forward to it ...

 

[Petzi]

So as mentioned in another thread, I too have an issue with wireless CarPlay after some days. Apparently, you need to do a factory reset of the PCM ... not looking forward to it ...

I had this "problem" after the software update. for me it was sufficient to erase and reconnect the phone. PS: what is a "factory reset" of the PCM?

 

[lukine]

The service for the upgrade 100% exists, and is available - not sure why they are pushing back... I get the feeling that you have to have a specific complaint, then they offer it. If you're asking for the update without a symptom, they seem to not have it available from what I can read between the lines.

I showed them a video, and photos of the decorations on my cluster, they called back an hour later said that an update had become available 'recently'. Feels like the normal dance routine with any dealer.

I'd say if you're having the issues, by all means get the 'update' done. But so far, don't expect much in terms of solving anything.

Not even slightly impressed with this situation at this point. No improvement after 2 days with the car, waste of time so far. My dealer seems like they want to help, but it's clear only the software designers and programs can get this working. I hope this is not going to persist for years, feels like it has the potential to.

Edited to add, about the camera, maybe I am wrong, but is it not Transport Canada requirement to have a rear camera on late model cars as a safety system requirement - might be worth confirming that and advising the dealer that safety items should get faster service that waiting 2 or 3 months. You can also consider opening a case with TC if this has been persistent or just want a record of it - they tend to investigate if they see abnormal number of reports, which is not 100's of 1000's - It can be as low be under 10 as very little people actually report stuff to them.

If ONLY the update worked. Because then I wouldn’t feel like selling this car. I got my car back yesterday after they “fixed” cameras. And guess what? This morning it stopped working once more. They tried to fix it twice already. Both times, it worked for one drive home, and next morning it stops working. I have had so many “software” issues that always needs to “wait” for another update to get “fixed”. At this point my husband and I wants to get rid of this car now. And I’ve had it for less than a year. I wonder if I got a lemon, or if it’s a common thing with a lot more owners of the Macan EV. In which case, then Porsche screwed up with this car. Dealership doesn’t even know what is wrong. They don’t even have an on site engineer to properly diagnose the problem. All they do is reset PCM, update software, recalibrate, reset network module. Sometimes it fixes the problem, but problems don’t stay away. They keep coming back.

 

[pm4s]

I had this "problem" after the software update. for me it was sufficient to erase and reconnect the phone. PS: what is a "factory reset" of the PCM?

It is an option in the menu.
It will wipe everything from the car and return it as it was when you bought it from the dealer same as wiping an iPhone before selling it/handing it down.

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