One of the biggest reasons new car buyers hesitate to switch from traditional fuel-powered vehicles to fully electric cars is range anxiety. While battery capacities have increased dramatically since the day the first Tesla Roadster began captivating EV enthusiasts, it’s still a sticking point for many.
A BYD owner recently demonstrated just how hairy a situation can get when an EV driver forgets to juice up their vehicle. ABAUTO (@abautoyt) took his EV to work, only realizing on his way home he’d forgotten to charge it.
It swiftly turned into a “nightmare.” He found himself with zero miles of range on the highway, desperately looking for a charger. “This is my first ever experience of range anxiety since I bought my cheap Chinese EV. Forgot to charge the car last night because I was planning on taking the Aston Martin today. But it absolutely chugged it down with rain so I was a little hesitant,” he said.
He didn’t realize the car was only at 15 percent battery capacity. By the time he finished work for the day and was driving home, it had lost 33 percent of its range, leaving him with an estimated 16 miles of battery capacity.
“I Don’t Trust It”
Despite seeing the range estimate on the dash, ABAUTO said he didn’t exactly have faith in the figure’s accuracy. As he drives, the battery life soon dips to 10 percent. High-speed highway driving continues to deplete the BYD battery rapidly. Before he knows it, the car has no range left.
Luckily, it had just enough juice for him to make it back home. The car’s percentage threshold dropped to three percent battery level, with the dash estimator still informing him that he had zero miles of range.
Which Is More Accurate: Battery Percentage Or Mileage Calculator?
The range of an electric vehicle is calculated based on the amount of energy available in its battery. However, since numerous factors can affect how quickly a car’s battery depletes, range estimates can vary widely even during a single drive.
People in a Kia EV6 forum discussed this exact phenomenon. Some said they routinely see mileage projections vary significantly while driving. This prompted many to opt for battery percentage readings, as they said that basing their travel on miles alone was hit-or-miss.
However, both mileage and battery percentage readings can differ throughout the course of a trip. And this boils down to several variables, which InsideEVs explains in detail. Cold weather can notoriously diminish a car’s battery. So if the temperature drops significantly at night, you may have less range than you anticipated.
Driver’s habits play a big part, too. Speeding on the highway will cause your car’s battery to drop faster, as an increase in MPH causes the battery to drain more quickly. In fact, EVs also deplete their batteries faster when driving at sustained highway speeds for extended periods.
Instead, their batteries tend to fare better in stop-and-go, local traffic. Accelerating quickly will also result in a range dip, as will using creature comforts in your vehicle, such as air conditioning and heating, along with streaming music or playing the radio.
Can EV Range Anxiety Be Avoided?
Knowing the true range of your car will go a long way to ensure you don’t get stuck in a “nightmare” situation like ABAUTO.
A Tesla Model Y driver found themselves frustrated with its range. Despite a maximum range of 282 miles on their car, the EV owner says they can only get 190 miles. In fact, so many Tesla owners complained about this problem that the automaker decided to cut back on its range estimates after a Department of Justice probe.
But this isn’t the case for all electric vehicles. The Mercedes CLA EV performed well in its real-world range test, according to Electrek. The outlet states the 2026 models of the plug-and-play car managed to go 434 miles on a single charge. Which is significantly more than its Environmental Protection Agency rating of 374 miles.
Motor1 has reached out to ABAUTO via TikTok direct message for further comment. We’ll update this if they respond.
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