100% charge or 90 or 95?

[GreggF1]

Hello, I just bought my wife a new 2020 Model S Performance. Her daily commute is a real 225 miles per day to work and back. The car and our sales people have been telling us to charge to 90%. The problem with that is at 90% she only gets about 300 miles range in the performance model. With her driving at higher speeds generally 80+ MPH in good clear weather she is making it home with about 50 miles range remaining. Our concern is twofold: Range anxiety for her is real... coasting home with less than 50 miles range is just scary as a new owner. When winter sets in we know her range will decrease at least 10%? That means she would be coming home at <25 miles remaining. Seeing as we own this car and intend to keep it, battery life/longevity is a concern.

Do we continue to cut it this close at 90% or do we squeak it up to 95? Another option is based on her driving distance do we simply get that car scheduled to hit 100% an hour or two before she hits the road and do our daily charges to 100% since she's using 80% of the charge?

 

[glide]

Maybe knock it down to 70MPH.

There is a huge loss between 70-80MPH.

 

[GreggF1]

Maybe knock it down to 70MPH.

There is a huge loss between 70-80MPH.

I know this makes sense... but when you are driving 120 miles one way she tends to push it to get their faster. I showed her the difference in time and explained the range shes losing for those 6 mins isn't worth it.

 

[P85_DA]

+1 on speed ..75 on autopilot is good compromise ..years ago when I got my first Tesla I would always try to leave 20% (45-50miles) on the battery now after years of knowing the car I’m not afraid to arrive at home with 2-3%

 

[Haxster]

Can she get her workplace to put in a charging station?...or at least find access to a 110V outlet (and/or maybe use a long extension cord) near where she can park it?

 

[GreggF1]

Can she get her workplace to put in a charging station?...or at least find access to a 110V outlet (and/or maybe use a long extension cord) near where she can park it?

She does have a charger at her garage - a public one.

 

[Haxster]

And in the winter, the Tesla electric heater sucks up a lot of juice.

She could get more range by turning off the climate control and wearing a heavy coat, gloves...

 

[Haxster]

She does have a charger at her garage - a public one.

Well, that should work to avoid range anxiety. She'll most likely have to move the car some time during the day to free up the charger for others to use, though.

 

[cypho]

She does have a charger at her garage - a public one.

Then she is going to be totally fine.

Charge to 90%. (going above 90% on a daily basis is not good for the battery).

If she arrives at work with less than 50%, then she needs to plug in, if more than 50% she'll be fine (but still might want to plug in just to remove any anxiety).

 

[Haxster]

And...the car is pretty smart. It should alert her to charging stations approaching your home if the car doesn't think it can make it there.

Worst case, she'll need to pull into one for enough juice to safely make it home.

Although the car is smart, it's not smart enough to text you that she'll me a little late coming home. She'll need to do that herself.

 

[ucmndd]

You bought the wrong tool for the job.

Best suggestion so far is going to be to charge at work. In the winter in Illinois this is probably going to be mandatory. Your anticipated 10% range loss will easily be more like 20% to even 50% when it’s really cold.

Charging to >90% and deeply discharging the battery every day is going to cause it to degrade quickly, enhancing your woes and eating up your current fair weather 50 mile buffer in less than a year.

 

[maximizese]

It'll take a little getting use to but a 50 mile reserve is plenty. My wife would drive 53 miles to her office with a 2013 Fiat 500e. The car has an average range of 83 miles, but driving freeway speeds with a slight elevation climb and the HVAC on would get her to the office with 8-18 miles of range left. Fortunately with a small 24kWh battery pack, it would take about 2-3 hours to recharge. She now drives a 2013 Tesla MS85 and can go roundtrip without the need to charge at the office.

One thing your wife would benefit from is using the "Energy" display on the MCU to show the "Projected Range" based on the average energy consumption in real-time and the anticipated elevation climb/decent as well as traffic conditions. It lets you know when perhaps you need to keep the speed down to lower your rate of fuel consumption.

 

[cypho]

Although the car is smart, it's not smart enough to text you that she'll me a little late coming home. She'll need to do that herself.

Not true. The Tesla app ( on android at least, I don't know about iphones) has a setting to pop up a notification when you start charging. So you will know if she stops to charge on the way home.

 

[Tam]

...<25 miles remaining...

I am anti-low-state-of-charge so I would say your 225 miles qualify as "road trip" portion for 90 to 100% setting.

The Rules of Model S Road Tripping

 

[TravelFree]

Mistake for others to observe- Don't need performance model MS. LR+ would have been more efficient for her driving needs. But I agree that stopping at a Supercharger for 10 minutes is the way to handle your problem. Is that such a big deal?

 

[GreggF1]

Mistake for others to observe- Don't need performance model MS. LR+ would have been more efficient for her driving needs. But I agree that stopping at a Supercharger for 10 minutes is the way to handle your problem. Is that such a big deal?

No one *Needs* a Tesla either. Could have bought a Diesel 2 seater with 800 mile range. The MSP car makes the trip just fine, the issue is trying to understand the relevance and implications of charging daily >90% when Elon clearly says this is not in the best interests of battery life.

 

[jerry33]

The issue is not charging to 95 or 100%, the issue is leaving it there (or at a low state of charge). Set the leaving time to when she starts her commute. Another possible alternative is workplace charging (if available).

 

[hgmichna]

Just try 90%. If she runs low on her way back, there are several ways out. Drive slowly. Draft behind a truck or bus (on autopilot). If all else fails, recharge along the way for a few minutes. She'll see that on the screen long before she actually runs out of power, so it is easy to recharge a bit.

She will likely find that the charge is plenty for most of the year. As winter comes, she will gradually find out how much that will reduce the range. Then you can find ways to make it.

An important winter hint is to plan the departure on the car's system, directly or via the app. This means that the battery will be charged and car and battery will be pre-heated for maximum comfort and performance.

 

[GreggF1]

The issue is not charging to 95 or 100%, the issue is leaving it there (or at a low state of charge). Set the leaving time to when she starts her commute. Another possible alternative is workplace charging (if available).

How do you plan your trip from the app? I've heard mention of scheduled charging as well and dont see where to do that.

 

[jerry33]

How do you plan your trip from the app? I've heard mention of scheduled charging as well and dont see where to do that.

The scheduled charging is not on the app, it's in the charging screen on the car. Once set, it stays until you cancel it. There is a weekdays only option.