Range Fixation and Anxiety

If this is your first electric car, and especially, your first time driving an electric car, it is normal for you to be constantly checking your fuel gauge. Many, of not most new owners of electric cars will become fixated by their car’s fuel gauge for the first few days or weeks of getting their car. The range of an electric car is definitely shorter than that of a combustion engine car. This is why the fuel gauge in an electric car moves faster than that of a conventional car. The quick movement of the fuel gauge may take some time to get used to. In a conventional car, the fuel gauge moves gradually from the full tank mark down to the half-tank mark. After it gets past the half mark on the gauge, it will now move faster until it reaches the empty mark.

For many car owners of conventional cars, the “range fixation” starts when the gauge hits the quarter mark. They begin to feel anxious about being able to make it to their destination with just a quarter-tank of fuel. They start looking out for a gas station along the road and when they do not pass by one, they begin to worry. When it comes to electric cars, the fuel gauge will begin to move rapidly just a few miles into the trip. It may cause some anxiety at first because you are still used to the mechanics of a conventional car’s fuel gauge. The range fixation that you feel when looking at the rapidly moving fuel gauge of an electric car is the same as when you are running low on fuel in a conventional car. For some owners, the fixation remains even when they are aware that their destination is well within the range of their car. This is purely psychological. The truth is that the chances of running out of range in your electric car are relatively the same as your chances of running out of fuel in your conventional car.

To make you feel more at ease, you can compare your electric car to your mobile phone. If you charge your mobile phone overnight to fully charge it, you can use it the next day without worrying about having a drained battery before the day is out, even if it drops a bar. This is also true when it comes to electric cars.After a while, when you realize the capabilities of your electric car, you will become more confident about its range and the range fixation will eventually wear off.  You will learn to ignore your fuel gauge as you drive your car; confident that you will get where you need to be. If you are sure that you have charged your car the night before and that you have enough range for the day, then there is absolutely no need to worry.

The range fixation is usually more severe when you own a new electric car as compared to owning a used one. This is because the batteries