[ First impressions ]

Interior
https://acurazine.com/forums/zdx-326.../#post16943671

Charging
https://acurazine.com/forums/zdx-326.../#post16943672

Infotainment
https://acurazine.com/forums/zdx-326.../#post16943673

NVH
https://acurazine.com/forums/zdx-326.../#post16944574

Dynamics - Ride & Handling
https://acurazine.com/forums/zdx-326.../#post16944850

Dynamics - Brakes & Powertrain
https://acurazine.com/forums/zdx-326.../#post16944980

Super Cruise & Thermal Management
https://acurazine.com/forums/zdx-326.../#post16945151

Audio - the switch to B&O
https://acurazine.com/forums/zdx-326.../#post16945523

Efficieny & Range
https://acurazine.com/forums/zdx-326.../#post16946304

Sales
https://acurazine.com/forums/zdx-326.../#post16946305

 

First OTA - Braking system control module update, improved braking performance and feedback
https://acurazine.com/forums/zdx-326.../#post16950026

 

[ Infotainment Stability ]

The infotainment seems reasonably solid. At one point, there was a bug from Google map that whited out the navigation bar, but Google has fixed it. The infotainment occasionally get offline unexpectedly, but the occurrence is not frequent enough to be a concern.

The weakest link has to be the camera systems on Type-S. There are several issues. First, the frame rate of the 360 view occasionally drops to the point that anything above 5mph seems laggy. The 360 camera, or more precisely the video processing unit, apparently takes a few seconds to boot up. If switching to reverse quickly after powering up, only the backup camera is shown but without any guidelines.

The bigger issue is that sometimes the 360 view and guidelines become available after the boot-up, but sometimes they never come back until a power cycle. Even worse, there was one occasion that both 360 and rearview cameras died on me. The infotainmemt threw me a black screen when switching to reverse. As if the situation was not bad enough, the reverse mirror tilt-down also failed to engage on that occasion...

The camera issue did not clear itself with a simple power-off, door-lock/unlock sequence. It took a deeper power cycle (something like leaving the car locked and powered down for maybe 10 minutes?) for the camera systems to come back to life. Thankfully, the meltdown only occured once, but once is too many. IMHO, this is one of the red flags for anyone thinking about buying ZDX at the moment. I hope future OTA will make the communication between the infotainment and the camera systems more robust.

 

I test drove three different ZDX's yesterday. First up was an ASpec which I was very impressed with, heavy solid ride with great acceleration obviously and excellent handling. The cabin was silent and serene no wind or tire noise at all.

Next was a Type S. It felt awesome as well to drive, however on the highway there was noticeable and annoying wind noise. Thinking it was just this car the salesman and I took out another one and lo and behold the same wind noise (perhaps slightly less noticeable). The salesman conjectured that perhaps the air curtains are different on the Type S but they look the same to me. Is this a known issue? The two cars I drove were built four months apart the second one right off the truck, built in August so I'm not sure Acura is aware of this since it is also very evident on the August built car.

The Type S would not be considered by me if this situation is not addressed.

Please advise if you have experienced this and if so what would be the fix?

 

Do you recall if it comes from the mirror area or the upper A-pillar area? Does it sound anywhere like a whistle?

When I first got the car, there was a whistling noise from the A-pillar. I quickly found the source - it came from the black plastic trim on the side of windshield not seating correctly. The noise went away after I snapped the trim back in place.

The mirror noise is not loud on my car, just stands out in relative quietness. It does not bother me at all, but I can take a deeper look if there is any correlation with what you heard

 

Took my first good look at the rear mirror housing, and one thing immediately caught my attention. The side camera sticks out, and the camera housing is definitely not aerodynamically shaped.

The mirror noise on my car comes from the lower part of the mirror on the driver's side, so the noise is very likely caused by turbulence from the protruded housing.

If that is the case, I think a little DIY could dramatically reduce the noise.

 

Thank you for all of your comprehensive, detailed reviews of your car. I have read all of them. They are very helpful and much appreciated. I (and the salesman) noticed both what I can only describe as both wind noise (wooshing) and yes a whistling sound. The newer Type S had diminished whistling compared to the early build one, but the wind noise was still present. As I mentioned the odd thing is the ASpec did not exhibit either sound. It was pleasantly serene in that vehicle. So I wonder is there a different part/design on the Type S or was the particular ASpec I drove somehow assembled better. Since even though GM has been building the Lyric for two years, in reality the ZDX is a new model for all intents and purposes and perhaps the plant is still somewhat unfamiliar with the differences. This is the issue we all face in deciding whether to acquire a first year model.

The incentives right now are incredible, including the Federal $7,500 tax credit, the total at the moment is $19,450 and who knows what amount Acura is paying to the dealers. Inventory at many dealers is huge and growing as production seems to be going full tilt. I am sure especially through September and continuing to year end a significant discount can be obtained as dealers will want to move units to meet quarterly sales targets. However unless we drive the exact car we intend to obtain no one will know if that particular one exhibits the issues I found. I would not be happy at all to drive with these issues and either need to DIY or go back to the dealer, perhaps multiple times. I live over an hour from the closest dealers.

One other curiosity is why Acura will only contribute $500 for the charger installation if you use their designated electricians. I would prefer to use my own and receive the rebate that way which I was told is not possible.

That being said I was not at all interested prior to this in any EV. It was an eye opening experience to actually drive them. The design is attractive to me, however I am hesitant to further pursue this model at this time.

 

Maybe other owners can chime in to see if there is a pattern of Type-S having higher wind noise.

Regardless, it is wise to hold when you have concern. There are plenty of good EVs to choose from in the price range. Even Polestar have realized they are in trouble, and dropped the lease price on Polestar 3.

 

No wind noise on my A-Spec. However I sometimes get a metallic rattle, sounds like from the back, and I think it might be the metal-on-metal latch that keeps the rear seats upright. Today I plan to drive with the seats folded to see if it goes away.

 

There is no noticeable wind noise, even with the roof rack mounted. I'm quite impressed at how quiet this vehicle is, even with the sun shade open. As a quietness benchmark, my other vehicle is a Lexus ES Hybrid.

 

[ B&O - Take #2 ]

I am glad to report that the B&O sounds better after run-in. The mid-tone grows a little tighter, improving imaging and staging along the way. The change isn't dramatic, but it is enough to balance the mid-tone with the clean bass and the smooth treble. But in terms of staging, I still feel the B&O is distant from the performance. I feel I sit in an upper section that has good acoustics, looking down at the stage.

Another thing I found is that the sound quality from the native Spotify app is quite different than that also from Spotify, but through Android Auto. The difference still persists using very-high playback quality in both apps. AA sounds more like ELS where vocals or strings are closer and more elaborated. However, the bass can turn muddy compared to the native app. I feel the sound from AA is more "compressed" with worse dynamic range.

I do not know if the difference is due to the wireless connection, but I do not bother to research. The muddy bass is all it takes for me to stick with the native Spotify app.

 

Interesting, thanks for the input.

Following up on my earlier observation on the camera housing, I did some mental wind tunnel simulations on it, and it goes without saying that the housing creates a turbulence curving towards the doors.

I tried a few hacks, one is smoothing out the frontal area with tapes, and the other is to put a silicon bumper pad in front to pierce through the air more cleanly.

My unquantified observation is that the former changes the noise to a lower frequency, hinting at a reduction in the energy carried by the turbulence. The latter is less convincing, simply because the pads I have are either too large that they cannot sit directly in front of the housing, or too small that they don't shadow the housing fully.

My takeaway from the unscientific science project is that while the shape of the housing isn't perfect, it probably is not a big offender in the amount of noise generated.

 

[ Good for road trips? #1 ]

Took ZDX on a mid 200-mile trip. How good or bad was it?

The car, as expected, was a great cruiser. The cabin was relaxingly quiet, the AC was strong, the air ride was smooth, and Super Cruise took care of a lot of the drivings. Power was point-and-shoot. The car had no problem accelerating well beyond speed limit, even when going uphill. I felt I had enabled cheat code when passing ICE cars effortlessly.

I have driven the same route with MDX Type-S, and ZDX is on a whole new level of ease and comfort. Imaging how much nicer ZDX would be if it had massage seats and B&O Ultra from MDX...

Unsurprisingly, the trip also exposed weaknesses. Luggage space came on the scene quickly. The trunk was wide, but relatively shallow and quite low in height. The upper section was further limited by the forwarded position of the D pillars. Therefore, packing in ZDX took more Tetris skills than in RDX.

I wish GM put in sliding rear seats. Having the option to add two inches to the trunk space would have changed the conversation greatly.

Nevertheless, the rear camera mirror on Type-S came to the rescue. I could fill the trunk completely to the roof without any gap. This was the joker card that made ZDX somewhat equivalent to RDX in the useable trunk space.

Of course, that is not counting the underfloor storage space, which ZDX Type-S has barely any due to lack of effort. The air suspension tank underneath the lid only occupies 50% of the void.

Luckily, it is easy to reclaim the lost space - just pry the lid off, and put whatever container that fits the right-half space. In addition, there is a small compartment between the rear seats and the trunk floor. It is a perfect place to hide electronics, or to store long and thin objects. Just make sure sharp objects are padded, because there are exposed wires, and a controle module on the floor.

 

[ Good for road trips #2 ]

The trip needed just one charging stop along major highways, so charging was not a big issue. I was also well prepared with plan A/B/C in place. My effort paid off, but I could see myself running out of luck finding an empty, working, as and high-power spot during peak time. Having Supercharger access should serve as the ultimate get-out-of-jail card.

I was a little concerned about the charging time beforehand, but my car charged reliably with no surprises both ways. Therefore, I was able to plan according to the estimated time, and felt the longer stop made the journey more relaxing.

While the trip only needed one charge, there was an uphill stretch with >5% max grade and few DC stations. I didn't think too much about it when planning the charging stops. But once the climbing started, I soon realized that the efficiency tanked dramatically. With a fully loaded ZDX cruising at 70+ mph, the efficiency would dip below 1.5 kW/mile and be uncomfortably - perhaps hilariously - close to 1 kW/mile. Slowing down to 60-70mph, ZDX still struggled to break 1.5 kW/mile. So I stepped in and actively managed the ACC speed limit to target 1.5kW/mile. It sounded like a terrible experience, but was in fact somwhat satisfying in an unexpected way. However, the experience made me wonder how bad the efficiency would be if I had a roof box....

 

This is a new thing to me. How do you know your efficiency as you are driving?

 

Go to "Vehicle Status" app, there are several options. You can use the good old trip computer in the "Trip" tab, or choose the "Energy" tab to display a graph that shows recent consumption. There is also a "Current trip" view somewhere.

Personally, I choose the last one, and have the "current trip" card always shown in my instrument panel.

 

[ First maintenance update ]

As more and more ZDXs pop up on the road, my career as an unofficial Acura ambassador seems to be coming to an end. The most frequently asked question I recieved was about the range. Intriguingly, people seemed satisfied, if not relieved, when I said 300 miles.

My trip computer backs it up, settling into 3.2 miles/KW after thousands of miles. I don't keep track of my city/hwy ratio, but I can say I drive normally in cities. On highways, I do drive slower (up to low 70mph), and follow a car whenever it makes sense. However, I still go above 75mph when needed, even though that means the efficiency number dip below 2.5 miles/KW.

I do fewer public chargings these days, but when I do, locating a public station can be a game of treasure hunting. Occasionally, I find DC stations that are cheaper than average L2 stations. In extremely rare cases, I strike gold and come across free DC chargers.

Acura/GM suggests tire rotation as the only maintenance item to be done at 7500 miles. I took the opportunity to address the dashboard rattle on my car. The technician removed the dashboard, and put felt tape on not only where the rattle came from, but also proactively on various contact points.

It was a success. I cannot say the dashboard is 100% rattle-free, but the car is refreshingly quieter. I also feel my ZDX drives smoother and strangely, drives a little smaller at low speed after the maintenance. I am not aware of any control module update applied to the car. Maybe tire balancing has a more significant effect on these large wheels?

 

Joy to Drive?

With the many ZDX Type-S reviews in mind, I think it is safe to say no one would put ZDX and joy-to-drive in the same sentence, at least not in the traditional Acura way. It is true. To enjoy ZDX, you need to have a different mindset. Instead of wishing the elephant could fly, better play to the car's strength, and enjoy the effortless power and the smooth ride. Indeed, from that perspective, the car keeps reminding me of a V8-powered X7.

Starting from that baseline, the sportiness flavor does increase meaningfully with the car in sport mode. There is subdued, but ever-present, feedback in the steering rack after the tires are more worn down. With sports-mode suspension, the car settles decently once it overcomes the initial struggle to fight the body lean and the understeer. By default, sport mode is not sharp nor spicy enough for enthusiasts, but I think it may be enough to fake the sportiness for average drivers.

Critics harped on the weighty initial response. I think the weight mostly comes from the delay in response, from the softer initial damping. What if Acura dish out a sport+ mode with the initial damping increased by 25%-50%?

The Secret Sport+ Mode?

Sometimes when switching from normal to sport mode, the ride height of my car does not change immediately. I know the car would eventually drop the ride height, so I have been ignoring the behavior until this week. This time, I decided to press the ride height button to force the ride height change. This was when I found I might have uncovered the secret sport+ mode in the suspension setting.

I could not believe it when I noticed the sudden and noticeable change, so I tested a few more times. Even my kid agreed that the ride became bumpier in this setting. All of a sudden, road imperfections are easily felt. I think the profile difference is mainly on the initial damping. By default in sport mode, there is a ramp-up to build damping force. In this sport+ mode, the initial damping is stiffer and seemingly forgoes the ramp-up.

The damping profile change removes the occasional blank space in the initial phase of suspension change, where there used to be no feedback at all from the suspension. The elimination of the blank cascades to help other parts of driving dynamics. For example, the understeer that usually happens during this blank period seems largely gone. Braking also becomes more direct due to reduced dive.

This ultimate setting reminds me of the sport suspension setting on MDX Type-S. Both sacrifices ride comfort significantly to gain better body control. All ZDX marketing materials only say the car lowers itself in sports mode, without mentioning anything about the ride height setting on top of that. So I can see how reviewers completely miss this sport+ mode, and hence, the less-than-stellar impressions.

The sport+ mode turns ZDX Type-S from a comfy cruiser, to a semi-hot wagon that I want to explore on my favorite mountain roads. I have no idea if this sport+ mode is due to a glitch with the sport mode on my car, or if this is the sport+ calibration that is somehow omitted.

I would very much like to see fellow Type-S owners give it a try, and see if there is a difference. Again, the procedure is simple:

1. Set the car to sport mode.
2. Single click on the ride height adjustment button. I press downwards.
3. The instrument cluster shows "Lowered" message in the ride height adjustment pop-up window.
4. Does the suspension feel stiffer afterwards? If yes, let us know. If no, don't let others know - PM me instead! LOL

 

Winding Road Impression - Worthy of Type-S Name?

Armed with the newly-found "Sport+" mode, I took ZDX Type-S to my reference winding road to see what the car could do. I had taken my A-spec RDX to the same place before, back when it was on oem tires. It did poorly, especially when going downhills. The 10AT was out of breath, the suspension was too soft to cope with fast side-to-side transition, and the braking was a bit too front-heavy. Needless to say, I never took RDX back, and relegated it to commuter duty.

Back to ZDX. At first, I left TCS on, but quickly found the system stepping on my toes. It intervened way too early, preventing me from tasting the dynamics. With TCS off, the car immediately calmed down with more faithful responses to my inputs.

As the pace increased, I quickly realized that the weakest link was the corner entry, maybe due to the feeble oem Michelin Primacy All Season tires. I was disappointed to see that while Sport+ erased understeer during normal driving, it could not completely hide the understeer in an environment that needed quick reflexes. When I steered quickly as if I was driving a sports car, ZDX would lean towards understeer, before electronics wizardry kicked in to pull the car out of understeer territory.

ZDX also did not like seeing braking and steering at the same time. When I tried trail-braking ZDX like how I drove other Acuras, the steering feedback would evaporate, making it impossible to gauge the grip level. True to its RWD root, I found the best way to drive ZDX was to separate braking and steering. Slowing down, then pointing its head roughly to the apex, exiting on power was a piece of cake thanks to the natural RWD-like rotation. The rear end rotated on power, but was super stable even when I lightly provoked reactions. The computers seemed to do a good job estimating the tire grip and the body response, so while things stayed in check, the dynamics of the car still flowed naturally.

Another key point to extract the best of ZDX was to be smooth and gentle with the steering input initially. This seemed to alert the computers, and perhaps more critically, built up the grip of the tires. The slower initial input also hid the understeer by nature. By adapting to ZDX, I found once the car started rotating, everything lined up instinctively.

In the end, I was able to develop a good rhythm and "enjoyed" the drive. Well, to be honest, the drive was not truly rewarding. ZDX did not shout out "more! more!!" like those engaging Acuras. Instead, it kept up with me diligently, perhaps too silently. However, do keep in mind that I did not push very hard, as I knew the grip of the oem tires dropped alarmingly fast beyond its limit. Even with the computer aids, I would rather be safe on my first attempt due to the sheer weight and size of the car. Looking past the tires, I felt this exercise was maybe a warmup to ZDX. The car appeared to have significant more untapped potentials awaiting to be unlocked by sharper tires.

In this sense, the car is truly worthy of the Type-S nameplate. It has much more depths than A-spec models, and does not falter as much when being pushed.

 

Super Cruise Expansion

GM Software & Service (S&S) might be taking sevral beatings in recent years, but Super Cruise team has consistently been the savior. While GM doesn't publish any roadmap, the SC leaders clearly have a vision, and then a plan and the will to make it come true.

SC had been expanding earlier this year after GM announced they would increase the coverage from 400k miles to 750k. However, the expansion screeched to a halt about the same time when GM abruptly stopped the robotaxi Cruise operation. (That is a good hint that Cruise provides the lidar mapping information used by Super Cruise team.) The hiatus lasted several months, making me wonder if the expansion was another bubble, like many other GM initiatives that made a splash on announcement, then never get fulfilled.

That is why I am relieved to see SC resuming the expansion recently. It is satisfying watching green dots grow into green lines, and seeing the dots/lines sprout in multiple places at the same time.Apparently, the second-phase expansion is faster, and also reaches busier local roads. The future of SC looks promising. IMHO, GM does not need to seek outside help to clean house S&S. Just reference what SC team has been doing, and GM software should be way better.

Maybe this growth sprout also hints that Cruise is going to resume its service soon.

 

Supercharging Experience

On a day where I couldn't find any EA or EVgo chargers available, I decided to try my luck at a Supercharger station.

In fact, I have attempted to charge at Supercharger before, but found the cold truth that the V3 cable was too short. It was close, just needed another 2~3 feet. Maybe I could make it work by driving over the wheel stop, but I wasn't prepared to become the first non-Tesla to knock down a station.

So this time, I went for a V4. Plugging in my A2Z Typhoon Pro adapter, attaching the NACS cable, setting up first-time logistics, and the session launched without any drama.

The initialization time was crazy fast on Supercharger. In less than 5 seconds, the car beeped to confirm the start of charging. The session was as good as it could be on a ZDX, starting from 180+kW @ ~35% charge, 130kW @ 50%, then rolling off to high 100kW towards 70%. In other words, there was virtually no difference charging natively, or through NACS adapter.

Of course, I did the usual prep for DC fast charging - warmed car with preconditioned battery. The ambient temperature was also an adapter-friendly 50-60F.

 

As one of my tasks working as an Acura service advisor is to check in new shipments of vehicles. Out of the last 2 truckloads of ZDXs, there were 12 vehicles with bird etchings, dents, tires with flat spots, paint drips, and more. We have 24hrs to file a transport damage claim, but the damage usually isnt discovered until the PDI has been complete (up to 2 weeks later), so the dealership is on the hook for all of the repairs. Some are as simple as buffing and some are requiring body work or replacement of parts. It saddens me to see the brand that I love so much, putting out such poor quality. I've seen it across all models, but the ZDX is the worst by far. It almost seems like these ZDXs were sitting out in a field for a year before they were sent to us. Does anyone else work in a similar position and see this trend, or is it just my market area (Gulf coast of FL)?

 

*I meant 48hrs to file.

 

My ZDX had a misaligned exterior trim piece that was annoying, and I did not find it until 2 days after I took the car. I just never thought to look that closely on an Acura. The car was delivered to me with only 18% battery, which was super annoying but what do you do? I took it to a fast charger on the way home. I also saw that it had 35psi in the tires which I thought was good because that is "normal" to me, but only recently learned the cold tire pressure should be 42! So I've been driving 3 months on very under-inflated tires. Lastly, interior trim piece rattling but was fixed easily by the dealer.

I love the car, but far too often it reminds me of why I haven't bought GM since 1999. I love the car but my feelings are very definitely mixed about the car.

 

I think YourCrownServiceProvider is spot-on that some of the recently delivered ZDX were built a while ago. When Acura recalled ZDX in August, they said it covered 5k AWD units. Adding RWD into the equation, we can easily tell that Acura sat on many months of supply back then. Judging by the sales numbers, the old stock might have been depleted only recently.

I have seen similar stories on Lyriqs as well.

 

This is why many people avoid first year or first couple of years of a new model !!!

 

Well, seeing as how it is basically a Lyric, its not really a first year model.

 

I said first year or first couple of years. Clearly there are manufacturing issues and charging issues along with an app that doesn't function as it should. It may be a good vehicle but these glitches are not acceptable for a $70,000 vehicle.

 

I don't know if the issues are "it's a new model" or "it's made by GM". Either is a possible reason.

 

Quirks of ZDX (Loud Chime/blinker, Service Leveling System, Phantom Braking, Auto Reverse Braking)

ZDX surely has a few annoying quirks. Most, if not all of them, are SW related.

One of them is that the chime/notification/blinker sound would suddenly become very loud for no reason. The issue usually goes away after several power cycles, but if you cannot wait, here is the solution:

• Ask Google Assist to "open audio setting."
• The audio setting app should pop up, with many sliders. Find the "notification" one, and lower the setting.
• You can also change or disable the notification tone here, similar to smartphones.

Then there is the "service leveling system" message. According to the service manual, the message simply means the leveling adjustment is not completed in a timely fashion. As long as the message does not persist, and the height adjustment still works, there is nothing to worry about. Still, I feel GM should refine the threshold, and only flag the message when there is real concerns.

Phantom braking is mentioned by some. As good as Super Cruise is, the occasional phantom Braking can be scary and dangerous. I have experienced this many times, the problem is that there is no consistent pattern in what triggers the braking. I do feel that when the ACC is about to do phantom braking, there is a split second of human-like hesitation. So with experience, I learned to catch the cue to better mitigate the braking. I also get ready for intervention in these scenarios:

• Following a truck with protruded objects, like bike rack and lifegate. When such truck goes over bumps, the following distance can change more significantly, hence triggers the braking.
• Going under a bridge with dark patch on the road.

Clearly, the ACC stack needs more fine tunings by GM. There is supposedly an OTA coming to address this issue for Blazer. Hopefully, that means ZDX would get similar refinement as well.

Another issue that seems prevalent is the over-sensitive auto reverse braking on rainy days. Personally, I don't see this issue yet, but that is perhaps because I know the auto braking is sensitive even on dry days, so I tend to back out slowly with ZDX. The issue plagues all Ultium SUVs, so GM really need to work out the tuning, instead of asking users to set the system to alert-only.

The problem is, will GM ever be able to iron out these issues, judging by their horrible track record on Ultium platform?

 

@sonyfever very impressive blog .

I have a question about the range.

a background: i had always using ice cars like a one pedal drive method and I barely use my brakes. (My previous mdx had original brakes and replaced at 139k it still had more than 20% life). In summer I had around 8.6lt/100km and winter 11lt/100km. So I am very cautious driving on my foot pressure and driving patterns.

My new Zdx TypeS, recently surprised me. We had -14 celcius today and by the time I went out, it was -9 celcius. I started with 80% (390km) and left with almost 55% life (230ish km) with only driving 73km average speed 130 ish and dropping down to 110ish for last 25km ( first48km 130ave, 25km 110ish). Since I got the vehicle (except city drive) cannot make me rely on "remaining km" on the dash. I tried to same road between 90-100km, it definitely uses less power but still "remaining km" is not reliable.

what are your thoughts? What do you want me to recommend doing it? Do you have a method you apply ? Even I have 390km dashboard range, I am a bit afraid to go 250km highway drive.

 

Xsentius, I only have limited cold-weather experience with ZDX, but interestingly, I also see around 2 miles/% at 20-30F (negative single digit Celsius) in light traffic.

This is with a cold-soaked car, and all heating elements (steering wheel and seats) turned on as needed. To be honest, the number is a little better than I anticipated.

As for squeezing out more range, there is not much you can do when you already have clean throttle control. At below freezing temperature, the coolant heater is always turned on to warm up the battery, as well as for HVAC. So obviously, if you can have the car AC charged during warm-up, that would save a good amount of battery energy.

A trick worth trying is to set the HVAC to a lower temperature, and compensate that with the seat heater. It acts more quickly and is more direct, so should end up being more energy efficient than heating a big pot of coolant.

 

Cold-weather Observations

Cold here means 10-40F:
- More rattles. Not a surprise, bring back nostalgia about 90-00 Civics.
- Cold-start really kills efficiency, like I mentioned in the previous post, the worst I have seen is 2 miles/kW on a 20-mile drive, cold start both ways. But once the car is warmed up, efficiency climbs back quickly.
- The heater takes a long time to warm up on a cold start. Easily more than five minutes and probably closer to ten if the car is standing or moves slowly. This means that the car takes a long time to de-frog. So far this is the biggest annoyance compared to ICE cars.

 

nice observation. I recently tested at -8 celcius and it shows as 3km per kWh.

I started to turn off the heater if gets to desired temperature and drive around 10-15 minutes no heat to ensure I have back and forth milage .

 

Wind Noise from Front Quarter Window

I think I have figured out where the whistling wind noise some of you mentioned comes from.

The culprit is most likely the interior window seal behind the door panel. The stripe, or at least the rubber flap, is somehow shorter than the width of the window frame. If the stripe is installed slightly rearwards, closer to the B pillar, that leaves a gap in the front between the stripe and the pillar connecting the front quarter glass. Apparently, there is enough air flowing inside the door panel above 40mph, that the gap creates a distinct whistling noise.

To verify that the gap is indeed the source, you can plug that corner with anything suitable, or even simply covering the area with your palm. The wind noise should reduce significantly.

As a result, if you plan to tint the front windows, better ask your installer to pay attention to the positioning of the seal.

 

Correction: Turned out in my case, the culprit is loose hole plugs behind the door panel (”deflector" on the part catalog, covering holes on the metal door panel). The glue is apparently not strong, and the covers can be accidentally loosen when removing the door panel. Once the covers are sealed properly, the wind noise subdues to reasonable level.

 

Any chance you have a photo or diagram of the area you speak of?
Thanks.
Swanny

 

a new observation,

We are currently hitting between -15 celcius to -5 celcius. During my highway drives , once the range "100km" left and counting down, in more realisric drive range than having "390km" left and faster countdown

 

This is from Lyriq, but looks the same as ZDX. The main cover is obvious, and there is a smaller one above the speaker. Check if the top edge is peeled off.

There are four screws holding the door panel. One in the door handle pocket, one on the bottom edge of the door panel, and two under the sliding cover close to the B pillar.



Image credit to Stricker Auto Parts on eBay

 

Thanks for sharing!
Swanny