[dreddy335]

Is it ok to charge to 100% regularly? I know other ev brands rec 100% only for long trips but 80 for daily use.

[Crazy1323]

Short answer, higher charge will degrade battery faster theoretically. By how much is unknown, but probably not noticeable for quite a while. I think the manual says charge to 80%, but is probably being VERY conservative.

Battery degradation will occur faster when the charging the battery to 100% state of charge (I.e. the max voltage that chemistry can take). Many lithium battles have a max voltage of 4.2 volts (exact amount depends on battery chemistry). Charging to a voltage higher than this damages the cells.

Discharging a lithium battery below a certain voltage also damages it, lets say below 2.5 volts. So the absolute range is 4.2v to 2.5v.

Lithium batteries are happiest between 20% and 80% SOC and car manufacturers know this. When your car says “100%” it may only be 4.0v per cell and “0%” may be 3.0v per cell to keep the battery happy.

If you remember a few years ago Tesla extended the range of some vehicles with a software update for people in hurricane evacuation areas. They did this by letting the car’s vehicles charge closer to true 100% and discharge closer to true 0%.

So it depends how close BMW’s charge profile gets to true 100% SOC.

[framingguy]

I've had an X5 45e for 3 and a half years (soon to swap) but I can't say I've noticed a drop in range over that time. Will charge to 100% every day. 40,000 miles drive, 32,000 in electric.

[dreddy335]

Originally Posted by framingguy

I've had an X5 45e for 3 and a half years (soon to swap) but I can't say I've noticed a drop in range over that time. Will charge to 100% every day. 40,000 miles drive, 32,000 in electric.

Wow 8k only in ice mode lol