From Bonn to Eemshaven and back again (700 km)

[tfnico]

I finally got to put ABRP to proper use over 700 km the last weeks for the summer holidays.

I've got an Ioniq 28kwh with an OBD2 connection to ABRP version 4.2.8 (via the ABetterObdReader app) on a OnePlus 7t connected to Android Auto with cable.

I wanted to arrive with 40% left, so the initial outline was something like this:

In planning the trip, ABRP (browser) was of course indispensable.

Some nits here: As I was planning alternatives, ABRP was quick to suggest leaving the Autobahn, sometimes going deeper into cities to possibly save one charging stop. I guess the old Ioniq is quite susceptible to this given its short range. I personally prefer one extra quick stop along the highway rather than navigating off course to charge at the ideal time. So I ended up manually "hardcoding" in all the charging stops as waypoints.

It was very annoying how the webapp will automatically reset the zoom level when changing tabs, and zoom way too far out when returning back from inspecting one stop. It's been reported several times:

* https://abrp.upvoty.com/b/report-a-bug/switching-from-another-tab-resets-zoom-to-entire-trip/ 
* https://abrp.upvoty.com/b/report-a-bug/map-zooms-out-whenever-i-switch-tabs/ 

Also when I'm browsing around the map, it will zoom way in when I click a charger (I just want to glance what kind of charger it is).

Another nit was how sharing a route to Google Maps will always open in the current tab instead of opening a new one. Already reported here: https://abrp.upvoty.com/b/report-a-bug/open-in-google-maps-doesnt-open-in-new-tab/

Anyhow, I was more interested in learning if I could drive all the way using ABRP on Android Auto as my sole navigation tool. 

Unfortunately, there were some quirks with ABRP on the trip, so I ended up flipping between Google Maps and ABRP many times. 

The most disturbing issues were:

1. The phone runs very hot, especially if I have the screen on with ABRP as a secondary screen. This has been discussed before in https://abrp.upvoty.com/b/report-a-bug/smartphone-gets-really-really-hot/ - I guess the problem description is as useful as saying "bad app", but I want to say that this still happens (with Google Maps it's not an issue).

2. Possibly related to 1. - the occasional crash (unfortunately I didn't get any photos of this, but I think it was a very generic message like "Android Auto has encountered an error" and the App would exit). This occurred once every 30-60 minutes. When searching the bugtracker now I see it is recommended to reinstall the app, which I'll try before setting out again next time.

3. When driving across stretches where there is very shoddy mobile data connection (which is embarrassingly often in Germany), ABRP would suddenly stop navigating, i.e. the route/arrows would just vanish. A few seconds later, the route would usually reappear, but not always. This occurred about every 10-30 minutes at times. It's of course very distressing when this occurs as I'm approaching some junction.

I also found myself having to re-plan the remaining part of the journey as we advanced on each charging stop. Ideally the app would be more "flexible", in letting me continue the journey from where I currently am, instead of starting over with the original waypoints. I know the app will "follow" the journey as long you don't interrupt the navigation to inspect/adapt the route, or the app doesn't crash, but this was in practice the case with every stop. I realize that's probably a bit of a UX tough nut to crack.

Anyhow, I know that's a lot of stuff crammed into one report. If you would prefer, I'm happy to submit each or some of the issues into the bug/feature tracker. Let me know.

In spite of these issues, ABRP got me safely there and back again. Thanks for creating such a great product and service overall!