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Future Ford EVs Could Get Ice And Snow Warning System

Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for an ice and snow warning system that may be used in future Ford EVs, Ford Authority has learned.

The patent was filed on October 4th, 2022, published on April 4th, 2024, and assigned serial number 0109515.

Ford Patent Ice And Snow Warning System

The Ford Authority Take

In recent years, Ford has filed a number of patents aimed at making vehicles easier or more comfortable to drive in colder climates, including ideas for an instant cabin heating system, a smart road salt distribution system, bead lock snow chain integration, and a changed driving conditions detection system. Now, this newly filed patent continues that trend, this time, by presenting us with an idea for an ice and snow warning system that may be used in future Ford EVs, specifically.

Ford Patent Ice And Snow Warning System

Rather than improving things like traction or comfort in snow and icy conditions, this patent aims to do something a bit different – combat range loss that can occur in EVs when snow and ice accumulates on them. This may seem negligible, but as the automaker points out in the patent, snow and ice can add up to 850 pounds to a vehicle, resulting in a range loss of between 10-15 percent – a notable amount, indeed, especially since range tends to drop in colder temperatures anyway.

Ford Patent Ice And Snow Warning System

As such, this proposed system would be capable of reading temps and determining whether or not snow and ice are possible, as well as how much weight they add to a vehicle. If that weight exceeds a certain threshold, the system would provide an escalating series of warnings to drivers, and in some cases, it may even be able to remove that snow and ice itself, without any user interaction – an interesting and potentially useful idea, indeed.

We’ll have more on this and all Ford patents soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for the latest Ford patent news, Ford business news, and continuous Ford news coverage.

Brett's lost track of all the Fords he's owned over the years and how much he's spent modifying them, but his current money pits include an S550 Mustang and 13th gen F-150.

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Comments

  1. Needs a 10 speed trans warning. caution will shift to 1st at high speeds locking up the tires. Hang on

    Reply
  2. Something GM had on their vehicles for 35 years.

    Reply

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