Battery preconditioning: Why it's crucial & how to do that

TL;DR: Got a Volkswagen Group EV without built-in battery preconditioning? You can preheat it manually using OBDeleven – straight from your smartphone.

Battery preconditioning might sound like one of those fancy EV features you’d never actually use – until winter hits. Your charging speed plummets, range drops, and suddenly, your EV feels sluggish.

Turns out, you’re missing a simple step that could have made a huge difference. Battery preconditioning helps warm up (or cool down) your electric car’s battery to the right temperature before DC fast charging or driving.

Now, let’s break it down in more detail – when to use it, whether it really improves your battery life and range, and how to precondition your battery with OBDeleven.

What is battery preconditioning?

Battery preconditioning is a built-in feature that brings the battery to its ideal operating temperature before charging or driving.

The result? Faster charging, better range, and improved long-term battery health.

Here’s some context:

Your EV battery doesn’t like extreme temperatures. When it’s too cold, charging slows down. When it’s too hot, efficiency drops. Preconditioning helps avoid these issues.

Most EVs handle it automatically when you’re heading to a fast charger. Others let you manually activate it through the mobile app. If your car supports it, you might see a message saying, “Battery preconditioning in progress” before a session.

For some EV owners, preconditioning happens in the background, and they never have to think about it.

But if your car doesn’t do this on its own (like Volkswagen Group vehicles), or you don’t know when to use it, you could be losing efficiency without even realizing it.

How to manually precondition Volkswagen Group EV's battery with OBDeleven

OBDeleven’s One-Click App lets you manually preheat the battery in your Volkswagen Group EV before fast charging – right from your phone. For that, you’ll need the OBDeleven 3 scanner and OBDeleven mobile app for iOS or Android.

Never used One-Click Apps before? Here’s how they work:

One-Click Apps are pre-made coding options that let you turn on, off, or adjust specific features in your car with just a few taps in the OBDeleven mobile app.

They can be activated using in-app currency (), or if you drive a any of the officially licensed vehicles, you can enjoy them without any limits with the .

Available One-Click Apps vary by vehicle model. You can check compatibility by connecting your car to the OBDeleven app.

Here’s how to use "Battery Precondition" One-Click App:

1. Plug the OBDeleven 3 tool into your car’s .