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The car usually gives a warning message when battery is low in the key fob. Maybe the microswitch inside the fob is playing up? Did you get a second fob with the car, and does it have the same problem?

You may well be right, nrayanov, but it worked flawlessly for 6 years, and nothing has changed on the car, so I can only assume that somehow the DAB signal in the UK has altered.

My renewal (I'm with Darwin) increased from £200 to £275 in August - but my PHEV is 8 years old, and I'm an old codger ;).

The problem (uncommanded retuning to Absolute and losing all the names on presets) only started at the beginning of 2022, never having occurred in the previous 6 years, and there were no changes to MMCS firmware at that time. It may well be a firmware issue, but something must have changed in...

I highlighted the part which you claimed to be "nonsense". "Charge" doesn't completely override this behaviour, it postpones it until the battery charge level reaches ~80%.

This behaviour you describe as "nonsense" is fundamental to the way the car (or pretty much any hybrid) operates. The only difference the buttons make is the level of charge in the battery at which it commences. If you do nothing, the car will run in EV mode until the battery reaches an...

I remain to be convinced that selection of Save/Charge makes any difference to the way the car's management system switches between series and parallel modes. It's not behaviour that I've ever observed or even read about.

I should have been clearer and written that 'Charge' converts additional petrol to electrical energy. It's true that if you arrive at your destination (or recharge point) with an 'empty' battery, you've used the same amount of fuel, but I don't really want to be thinking "I'm 30km from my...

The car will do its best not to let the battery fully discharge. What is shown on the dash as 'empty' is really about 15%, precisely because it doesn't help battery life for a Li-ion cell to be fully discharged. I'm afraid I'm going to confuse matters by disagreeing with kpetrov - I've never...

IC engine start is handled by the main drive battery. The lead-acid is not man enough to deal with this, it's only there to power up the electronics at start up. For the same reason, you can't jump start another car from the PHEV (although the PHEV can be 'jumped' if all the batteries have run...

Be aware that there's an electric drive system capable of delivering 200A at 300V. Coming into contact with that could ruin your entire day.

No it doesn't display the set cruise speed anywhere, but you can check the speedo, once it stabilises.

I can feel that my 3-pin plug is warmer than ambient during charging, but I wouldn't describe it as 'hot'. I'd be a bit concerned that there could be a poor connection between plug and socket, causing additional resistance and therefore heating.

I tried to work it out by monitoring the mpg. It appears to be just a few cls.

Yes, it's a right pain in the posterior. This only started happening about year ago, and there has been no change to the software in the MMCS, so unless something has changed in the DAB signal format (unlikely), maybe there's a limit on how many stations it can cope with. I live on the edge...

It is mildly frustrating. You have to develop a 'pre-flight' routine - in my case: Eco mode on; select B5; engine noise off; cruise control on. It only takes a second, since I've done it so often, but it should really be possible to 'save' the settings. (Perhaps it is possible on newer models?)

My lifetime average over 7 years, 44,000 miles is 78mpg. I estimate 90% of trips and half my mileage is on electric, so I probably get ~40mpg when the battery is 'empty'. Motorway cruising (70-75mph) usually delivers ~35mpg.

Save mode retains (roughly) the current level of charge by topping it up using the engine when it has dropped. Charge will recharge the battery back up to~80% 'full'. Very generally speaking, charging using petrol isn't very cost-effective, so the main use of Charge is if you're towing and...

It depends on the model year. Mine is the 4h 2016 version, and at that time (IIRC) the model 3 didn't have the MMCS display, just a basic radio, and lesser alloy wheels, non metallic paint, no electric heater (you needed the engine running to warm the car). The 4H had all these, plus a sun...

After a recent 'wash and brush up' (using a local 'hand wash' operation), I notice that the scene shown in my rear view camera has changed. It's now pointing lower down, so when I back up to my garage it only shows the bottom half of the door and a small part of the car bodywork is visible...