An electric car owner visited an EVgo fast charging station for a demonstration. Now she's revealing why you should never charge all the way up to 100%.
TikTok creator Titi (@lovelytitihere) posted the tutorial from the Raleigh, North Carolina Stake Center. “Hey, guys, I want to show you something really cool about charging your electric car,” she says to start the video.
Titi is parked in front of an EVgo fast charging station. “You want to look for a fast-charging station. Not all of them are fast charging.”
How to Charge an Electric Vehicle at an EVgo Station
After Titi submits her payment method, the display shows the state of charge and the time elapsed since connection.
“So I’m at 45% right now—that’s the state of my charge,” she says. “I will come back when it is fully charged. Fully charged is usually 80%.”
After waiting 33 minutes, the state of charge is up to 83%. “They recommend that we do not go up to 100%,” she says. “That charge took just $5. And I’ll be back here in maybe 150 miles.”
One person in the comments section was immediately convinced. “I’m definitely going electric next year,” they wrote.
Gallery: Ford Super Mustang Mach-E
Should You Charge an Electric Vehicle to 100%?
According to Midtronics, the issue not to fully charge an EV is that charging a lithium ion battery all the way up to 100% can cause it to charge less efficiently over time.
And that’s actually the best-case scenario, unfortunately. The worst thing that can happen is “catastrophic failure” that results in smoking, fire, and even explosions. Luckily, these are incredibly rare.
Midtronics does note that it’s not a hard and fast rule, though. There are times when it’s fine to charge all the way to 100%, like if you’re going on a trip and need the range. It’s just not a good idea to do it every day.
A Reddit user asked this very question in a thread posted to r/cars. In the comments, respondents generally agreed that the guidance varies by model and the type of battery in it.
One person said, “Read the manual to see what the recommended max state of charge [is] for daily use. For example, my Mustang Mac E says 90% for daily to maintain max battery life. With the butter that puts it at around 80% charge.”
The person continued, “Now going to 100% is fine as long as you don’t stay there for very long. I will charge mine to 100% the night before I am going to go on a long trip, but beyond that I follow the manual and stick with 90% max state of charge.”
Motor1 contacted Titi via TikTok comment and direct message for comment. We also contacted EVgo via email for comment. We'll update this article if either responds.
