2018 Model 3 Battery Degradation

[arees0921]

Hi Community!

I am aware of Tesla's 70% battery degradation warranty but have 2 questions. First, what would Tesla consider the full and 80% range on a new 2018 Performance Model 3? Second, how do I address this with Tesla if it falls below 70%?

Background... We have one of the first Model 3 Performance 3s - were on the original wait list. Love the car! We now have about 46k miles on it and have only charged it beyond 80% a few times, for lengthy road trips. We also use a home charger - 240v, 48 Amp - 95%+ of the time and rarely super charge (even though it's free for this car). I have read that those two factors help preserve the battery. As of today, an 80% charge will provide a shown range of 218 miles. I seem to recall the 80% charge, when new, over 300 miles and now find myself very disappointed with the range after only 4 years.

I am very interested in the opinions and reactions of this community. Thanks!

 

[EVEnergy]

The first thing I'd try is recalibration of the BMS to make sure it's working correctly. Drain the battery to below 20%, charge above 90% and repeat 3 or 4 times. When your battery is below 20%, let it sit for at least 3-4 hours so pack voltages are stable (that's when BMS will be re-calculating your low end). Same for high end - let it sit for a few hours at or above 90% so the BMS can better calculate your top end.

Mine is a mid-2019 M3 LR and I've got about 5-7% degradation. If I remember correctly our packs were rated for around 310 miles (little less for the P) so I'd guess you should be in the upper 200's for estimated range.

 

[Jeremy3292]

The EPA rating for the 2018 Model 3 Performance was 310 miles per epa.gov. 218 miles at 80% charge is 273 miles at 100%, which is 11.9% degradation and is not super unusual. How many miles have you put on the car after 4 years?

I would suggest a BMS recalibration as the user above noted first as well. Drain the battery to under 20%, charge to 90%, and let the car sit overnight so the BMS can take readings at a higher state of charge. Do not open the Tesla app or mess with the car at all. I don't think you need to do it 3 or 4 times, usually once or maybe twice will suffice. Report back with your findings.

 

[RTPEV]

Agree with @EVEnergy 's recommendation. yes, 218 miles on an 80% charge seems quite low. But 300 miles on on 80% charge seems really high! That would indicate a 100% range of 375 miles, which would have been amazing for an M3P in 2018! Are you sure that the 300 miles was not for a 100% charge?

My 2018 M3 LR is currently at a 6% loss, but that's kind of typical for early summer...it usually gets a little bit better over the course of the summer. Last July my estimated 100% range was over 325 miles, from a starting range of 310, later increased to 325 after a software update.

 

[ChrisC]

Since this isn't a topic limited to just the Southeast region, I recommend that you check out the entire section of TMC devoted to Tesla's battery technology (including degradation and warranty discussions): Battery Discussion

You can search there for your terms of interest. However, I've found that using the power of Google, limiting to TMC results, works fantastically well. Check out these threads: battery degradation warranty site:teslamotorsclub.com - Google Search

 

[jjrandorin]

Hi Community!

I am aware of Tesla's 70% battery degradation warranty but have 2 questions. First, what would Tesla consider the full and 80% range on a new 2018 Performance Model 3? Second, how do I address this with Tesla if it falls below 70%?

Background... We have one of the first Model 3 Performance 3s - were on the original wait list. Love the car! We now have about 46k miles on it and have only charged it beyond 80% a few times, for lengthy road trips. We also use a home charger - 240v, 48 Amp - 95%+ of the time and rarely super charge (even though it's free for this car). I have read that those two factors help preserve the battery. As of today, an 80% charge will provide a shown range of 218 miles. I seem to recall the 80% charge, when new, over 300 miles and now find myself very disappointed with the range after only 4 years.

I am very interested in the opinions and reactions of this community. Thanks!

A 2018 model 3 was sold with a range of 310 miles.

When your 100% charge falls below 70% of that number (217 miles) you will have a degradation claim. Also, your memory is not correct, there was never a time (ever) when a 2018 model 3 80% charge was over 300 miles.

Source me, not only an owner of a 2018 model 3 performance, but also the moderator for the model 3 subforum. I have seen basically every discussion on TMC about this topic as it relates to model 3s, and I can assure you 100000000000% that a 2018 model 3 Performance Never (ever ever ever) had a 80% charge over 300 miles.

A 90% charge when new on a model 3 performance was 279 - 280 miles, and this is before tesla started accounting for the fact that the 20 inch wheels didnt get the same rated range and lowered the rated range on the 2019 model 3s with 20 inch wheels to 299 miles ( at 100%).

There is a 250 page thread on the topic of battery degradation in the model 3 subforum, where this post likely belongs, which is here:

Range Loss Over Time, What Can Be Expected, Efficiency, How to Maintain Battery Health

i bought my model 3 in aug 2018. After the software upgrade I only got 316 miles when charged to 100%. Last night I got only 312 miles from 5% SOC to 100%. A 4% degradation within 10 months? Have others degraded similarly?

teslamotorsclub.com

There are more "opinions and reactions" than you likely will want to read on this topic in that 250 page thread.

 

[arees0921]

The first thing I'd try is recalibration of the BMS to make sure it's working correctly. Drain the battery to below 20%, charge above 90% and repeat 3 or 4 times. When your battery is below 20%, let it sit for at least 3-4 hours so pack voltages are stable (that's when BMS will be re-calculating your low end). Same for high end - let it sit for a few hours at or above 90% so the BMS can better calculate your top end.

Mine is a mid-2019 M3 LR and I've got about 5-7% degradation. If I remember correctly our packs were rated for around 310 miles (little less for the P) so I'd guess you should be in the upper 200's for estimated range.

Great suggestion and data points. Thanks!

 

[arees0921]

The EPA rating for the 2018 Model 3 Performance was 310 miles per epa.gov. 218 miles at 80% charge is 273 miles at 100%, which is 11.9% degradation and is not super unusual. How many miles have you put on the car after 4 years?

I would suggest a BMS recalibration as the user above noted first as well. Drain the battery to under 20%, charge to 90%, and let the car sit overnight so the BMS can take readings at a higher state of charge. Do not open the Tesla app or mess with the car at all. I don't think you need to do it 3 or 4 times, usually once or maybe twice will suffice. Report back with your findings.

Thanks! Mileage is around 46,000 miles

 

[Candleflame]

you cant use miles as a form of degradation measurement as the car hides some of the degradation initially. You need to look at the starting kwh and the current recorded kwh.

 

[theothertom]

you cant use miles as a form of degradation measurement as the car hides some of the degradation initially. You need to look at the starting kwh and the current recorded kwh.

Correct. I imagine Tesla has a "battery test" to measure degradation. We might get close by using a third-party app, or measuring the kWh added from 0-100%, but Tesla will have the final word.

 

[JulienW]

My range stayed steady for about 8000 miles and then it started cliff diving. I decided to try a full rebalancing before contacting Tesla. Yesterday I ran it down to 0%/0 Miles. Talk about a pucker up and anxious drive. It didn't give any warnings or seem to be effected. While I was gentle on the accelerator (bad to discharge at a high rate when nearly depleted) I didn't notice any throttling or reduction in power. I live at Atlantic Station and SCed to about 65%. I have free L2 at work and will now charge to a full 100% and see where I stand.

 

[Candleflame]

Correct. I imagine Tesla has a "battery test" to measure degradation. We might get close by using a third-party app, or measuring the kWh added from 0-100%, but Tesla will have the final word.

no need, you can read out the current bms calculated kwh capacity with i.e. scanmytesla.
I.e. im on 67.4kwh at the moment and start is around 77.8kwh - though the car only measures rated range degradation below 75kwh or so. I think some AWDs and the RWD did get the entire rated range unlocked where the range increased from 499 km to... 522km or whatever it was which uses 77.8kwh.

There was also this update glitch last year where you had access to the debug menu where you could read out similar stats.
Interestingly the internal code for the 2019 performance Model 3 is P74D. Go figure.

 

[Candleflame]

My range stayed steady for about 8000 miles and then it started cliff diving. I decided to try a full rebalancing before contacting Tesla. Yesterday I ran it down to 0%/0 Miles. Talk about a pucker up and anxious drive. It didn't give any warnings or seem to be effected. While I was gentle on the accelerator (bad to discharge at a high rate when nearly depleted) I didn't notice any throttling or reduction in power. I live at Atlantic Station and SCed to about 65%. I have free L2 at work and will now charge to a full 100% and see where I stand.

View attachment 828028View attachment 828029

calibration is largely a myth heavily perpetuated by some youtube gurus and forum posters here.
You dont get massive throtteling as there is a 4.5% buffer. This buffer itself guards against BMS errors and the error does get displayed by the BMS as well and can be read out with scan my tesla as SOC min and SOC average and SOC max. the car never really drifts more than 4.5% between those values so therefore it can guarantee you that you wont get left stranded driving to displayed 0% (true 4.5%). With a well calibrated pack you can then drive a bit below 0%..

the car will not do a recalibration because you discharge it 0%. Now, if your BMS has some poor reads it might be that after a few drives (over 1-3 months) you can then get a a recalibration randomly. However, this seldom restores range (lets not fight over <2-3km here) and just takes it away if anything.

There used to be a time when Model 3 BMS could get confused by the battery staying at 50-60% for too long and not seeing either extreme of the charging spectrum - similar to iron batteries which have a flat voltage curve from 20-90%, the NCA batteries have flat curve from 40-60%. However, this has been patched and the car is much better at getting voltage readings now and doesnt eat away rated range if the car sits at 50% for too long.

Going to 100% doesnt add much either as 90% gives enough of a voltage spike that the car can EASILY update its voltage to SOC to Ah table.

 

[arees0921]

Okay - I ran the test suggested early on in the thread. Charged the battery to 95% and then down under 20%, 4 consecutive times. Had to start over once because 17-year-old was not part of the plan and decided to charge at 33% on the 3rd run.

Recharging now back to 80% has 'improved' from 218 miles to 223 miles. In my book, that's immaterial. For those who have since lost the plot, I have one of the first Performance Tesla 3s - even came with free super-charging - and it will turn 4-years next month. Like many, I have been concerned with the battery degradation. Love the car though and from a TCO perspective, it has been a great investment. The car is rarely supercharged since we charge in our garage on a 240v, 48 Amp power supply and almost never over 80%. Was told from the onset that this would preserve the battery.

Thanks again to everyone who has contributed to this!

 

[nuts]

just to chime in here, though its an older thread, my current 80% SOC on a 2018 m3 AWD (purchased SEPT 2018) is at 218mi. Current ODO reads 13,555.

99% at home charger using the tesla wall charger, 1% supercharger use over the last 13k miles.

 

[theothertom]

just to chime in here, though its an older thread, my current 80% SOC on a 2018 m3 AWD (purchased SEPT 2018) is at 218mi. Current ODO reads 13,555.

99% at home charger using the tesla wall charger, 1% supercharger use over the last 13k miles.

So what was your range at 80% when new? IOW, how much has the battery degraded?

 

[gt2690b]

just to chime in here, though its an older thread, my current 80% SOC on a 2018 m3 AWD (purchased SEPT 2018) is at 218mi. Current ODO reads 13,555.

99% at home charger using the tesla wall charger, 1% supercharger use over the last 13k miles.

good lord brother get out there and drive somewhere!