I live in Victoria, BC, Canada... for north american's, we have virtually the same climate and temps as the Pacific North West of the US (Seattle), but with approx a third of the rain. Very mild winters with an average low temp of 7 (44) and temperate summers with an average high of 24 (75). I have a 2018 and for the first approx. 3 years, it was fairly easy to keep it in EV mode throughout the year and during the winter except during cold snaps. During my last scheduled service (just prior to this past winter), that changed. And now, NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO, it is impossible to keep the engine from starting if the ambient temp is approx 11 (51) degrees or below. Granted it only runs for approx 5 mins and so most of my commutes during the winter were still 80% run on the battery alone... but that was a stark change from my previous winters where most of my commutes were done with 100% EV driving.
They also substantially reduced the amount of regen available at the these same temps and even at warmer temps... I don't seem to be able to get the same amount and the usability drops of more quickly after extended use (driving down mountain passes). I have been driving to and from our local ski hill every weekend during the winter for the past 3 winters and (approx 10 times a summer to visit the bike park), and this winter I noticed a change in the regen abilities.
I am assuming this was done in the name of battery preservation, but it is annoying to see it happen. I have heard of some customers returning to the dealership to have the software reversed. But that probably has a lot to do with your personal relationship with your dealership. I'm on the fence about this though, because if they're doing it to preserve battery life then I'm probably better off in the long run, no?
I also agree with what others have said in that I don't think this class action has legs. If you live in a cold winter climate and expected a PHEV to be able to run as an EV whenever you wanted it to... even for anyone, no matter where they live, to expect a PHEV to do that, would be wishful thinking and any small amount of research would show that to be the case.
It's the same with EV's... none of the EV makers publish any info about range in cold winter weather climates, but basic common sense and knowledge and a little bit of research shows at least an approx 30% drop in range depending on maker and various conditions.
