10-20% range drop - is it 2019.36.2.1 or "cold" weather?

[Duf67]

I'm trying to figure out if my daily commute suddenly taking 10-20% more battery is related to 2019.36.2.1 or the "cold" weather we have had in Florida recently. Definition of "cold" being lows in the mid 50's and highs around 80. Ever since I bought the car in April my commute consumes 10% of my battery, consistently. It seems ever since the last software update it now consumes 11 or 12%. I am scratching my head on this one. Anyone else notice a range drop after last update?

Did the 5% power gain equate to a range loss? I have tried my commute with hold mode on and off, still got similar numbers.

 

[640k]

what does your tire pressure look like?

 

[Duf67]

what does your tire pressure look like?

Dropped a bit with the cold, 39 in morning, 41-42 later in the day. Last night thought same thing I pumped all tires to 43 psi. Still chewed up 12% battery this morning.

 

[Duf67]

Last update was on the 11th.

Afterupdate

• Duf67
• Nov 21, 2019

 

[gecko10x]

If you're starting out with a 50 degree car/battery, that will consume more energy for sure. Optimal temp is around 80.

 

[Duf67]

If you're starting out with a 50 degree car/battery, that will consume more energy for sure. Optimal temp is around 80.

Ok, since I bought the car in April this is the first time the car has ever seen temperatures below 70 degrees.

 

[640k]

expect to see range degradation in the winter months. bump your tire pressure up to 45. your wh/miles are significantly better than mine.

 

[jjrandorin]

I'm trying to figure out if my daily commute suddenly taking 10-20% more battery is related to 2019.36.2.1 or the "cold" weather we have had in Florida recently. Definition of "cold" being lows in the mid 50's and highs around 80. Ever since I bought the car in April my commute consumes 10% of my battery, consistently. It seems ever since the last software update it now consumes 11 or 12%. I am scratching my head on this one. Anyone else notice a range drop after last update?

Did the 5% power gain equate to a range loss? I have tried my commute with hold mode on and off, still got similar numbers.

Likely the weather.

If this is your first winter with a model 3, this is normal (I am writing you from southern california, a place which has winter weather similar to yours).

From november to march, my commute (which is 80 miles round trip to work and back, 95% of my miles on the car), takes between 95-130 "rated miles" depending on whether its raining or not, and the weather (which can be low 40s in morning, and normally 60s during the day, so not freezing like other places).

 

[5_+JqckQttqck]

Welcome to winter EVing

The initial boot up of all systems will draw large chunks of the battery. Many short trips = 50% efficiency.

One or two long trips = ~70-80% efficiency.

Charge to 80 or 90% daily and enjoy the winter driving experience.

Want to maximize range and you're solo in the car? Get a blanket for your legs and set the cabin temp to LO or 15.5. Use the seat heaters. That should get you close to ~90-100% efficiency. Even better if the battery is not cold soaked (snowflake'd).

 

[adamtc4]

Jeez at first I thought you meant you used 10% of battery on your commute but now its using 20-30%. That would have been shocking, 10% to 12% aint a big deal especially if temps dropped into the 50s. Par for the course, don't lose sleep over it.

 

[lolder]

Cold weather and running the HVAC in auto causes electric resistance heating AND AC to be on well into the lower temperatures for de- humidifying.

 

[Rocky_H]

People new to electric vehicles don't seem to realize this that they don't have a huge hot engine running at several hundred degrees to tap from to get "free" heat. So that same battery you have is now supplying MILES + HEAT.

 

[KenC]

You definitely lose 4 to 5% for every 10 deg F drop in temp. Is the temp in the 50s? That can easily knock off 10% of your efficiency.

 

[Socomm203]

Its been pretty cold where I am for a while now and I've noticed massive gains in efficiency when I don't use the heating. At 40-45F ambient and 68F cabin temp I was getting around 310Wh/mile. With heating off I am getting closer to 240Wh/mi. So in my limited testing the cabin heating takes a bigger toll on efficiency than purely ambient temperatures.

This is just what I've noticed when I check the trip in the car before I get out. I haven't been doing it regularly enough to tell you for sure using data from teslafi though so take this with a grain of salt.

 

[scubastevo80]

This will be my second winter with the dual motor 3. I can state, from my personal experience, that leaving on a battery that just finished charging, and with only the seat heater being used, my range did not suffer that much in freezing temps. Maybe a 5-10% hit on efficiency. If I was using the heater and/or leaving on a cold battery - it could be anywhere between 20-40% worse in terms of range. For example, here's a ballpark for my work commute (20 miles of a combo of city and highway driving )...

Coming off a freshly charged battery in the morning...
Summer: 200-210wh/mi
Winter: 215-230wh/mi

Night, leaving my parking garage to drive home...
Summer: 230-240wh/mi
Winter: 270-320wh/mi (mainly due to having limited to no regen)

 

[ZOMGVTEK]

On my daily commute, I use ~6% under ideal conditions. 10% is more typical for summer weather, but so far its been as much as 20% during winter and it wasn't that bad yet. It appears to be quite possible to use around 35% in double digit negatives with very low average speed, deep snow, long preheating due to ice, and leaving the heat on HI for the ~2hr roundtrip drive in whiteout conditions.

 

[lolder]

Try this technique, AC off, only defrost vent on, temp set to 68 F, fan speed as desired, recirc off and seat heater as desired. Only moderate heat will be on and it will tend to defog the windshield. Except in very high outside humidity, using outside air will tend to fog the windshield less than recirculating the inside air that is made moist by the occupants breathing. If the windshield defog button is pushed, the AC will come on and the manual set-up will have to be repeated.

The easiest is just to use auto as it costs only a couple more cents per mile unless you are commuting the maximum range every day. Garage your car and keep it plugged in and use the new departure time charging.

Call in sick when the weather's rotten.

 

[RickW]

I'm trying to figure out if my daily commute suddenly taking 10-20% more battery is related to 2019.36.2.1 or the "cold" weather we have had in Florida recently. Definition of "cold" being lows in the mid 50's and highs around 80. Ever since I bought the car in April my commute consumes 10% of my battery, consistently. It seems ever since the last software update it now consumes 11 or 12%. I am scratching my head on this one. Anyone else notice a range drop after last update?

Did the 5% power gain equate to a range loss? I have tried my commute with hold mode on and off, still got similar numbers.

Duf,

I'm not sure I agree with the above about the temperature. The temps in Seattle haven't changed much over the past month - Low 40's at night, Max 55 during the day. Before the update I was using about 17% battery round trip. Following the update it's been about 19 to 20%. Both use scenarios had the heat running and defrosters on simultaneously. Stats App seems to have gone wonky too since the update, failing to record the price graphs. There has certainly been a change for the worse in terms of range (my range in mileage has dropped from 309/310 to 300. Again this is from the Stats App). On the plus side one-pedal driving has been fun and consistent. The so-called power increase may have come at a cost - Range!

 

[5_+JqckQttqck]

Duf,

I'm not sure I agree with the above about the temperature. The temps in Seattle haven't changed much over the past month - Low 40's at night, Max 55 during the day. Before the update I was using about 17% battery round trip. Following the update it's been about 19 to 20%. Both use scenarios had the heat running and defrosters on simultaneously. Stats App seems to have gone wonky too since the update, failing to record the price graphs. There has certainly been a change for the worse in terms of range (my range in mileage has dropped from 309/310 to 300. Again this is from the Stats App). On the plus side one-pedal driving has been fun and consistent. The so-called power increase may have come at a cost - Range!

Something has to give in the math. More power = greater consumption. If range is the ultimate goal, set up a profile for long range - Chill Mode + Max Regen + low heat settings.

 

[RickW]

Something has to give in the math. More power = greater consumption. If range is the ultimate goal, set up a profile for long range - Chill Mode + Max Regen + low heat settings.

Although I like your idea, I still don't see how this affects the range of the battery. I see it affecting the percentage use of the battery, but not the actual range, which is intrinsic and related to some constant. I'm no expert here but are we not talking about two different things?