Some electric vehicles not working in extreme heat

The heat is rough on just about everything in the desert – things like the power grid, air conditioners and, apparently, some electric cars. Christian Cordero owns a BMW i3. When she went to start her car Monday after work, she had no luck.

“The screen notified me that my battery was overheated and that it would need time to cool and therefore the car would not operate,” Cordero said.

After waiting a few minutes and still nothing she hitched a ride home with her husband.

“He went back a couple hours later and it still wouldn’t start,” Cordero said.

Its the same story for Mark Licon, who owns a Ford Focus.

“Went to start my car around 3 or 4 o’clock and it wouldn’t start,” Licon said.

When Cordero called BMW for help, they weren’t sure what was wrong.

“He seemed puzzled. He said he hadn’t heard of that happening and have it checked for a software update or something,” Cordero said.

BMW said they have not heard about the issue. But a study by the AAA Automotive Research Center in Southern California shows similar problems. They found at temperatures of only 95 degrees, the range electric cars could travel dropped by 33 percent. Licon noticed his range dropped as well. But on Wednesday he had no problems.

“It actually started just fine at 8 o’clock at night. Same day,” Licon said.

Cordero’s husband owns a hybrid, and even his car had issues.

“I was driving his car home that night. When it was on the electric power, it was really sluggish and it didn’t want to go that well,” Cordero said.

AAA and BMW recommended storing the electric car in a garage, trying to find shade to park in and cooling the car while it’s plugged in to reduce battery drain.

“I now know to park my car in the shade or carpool on days where it will be really hot,” Cordero said.

But both Cordero and Licon said these problems have not them reconsider their car choice.