2021 Plaid is very slow

[m73b54]

Hello!
I test-drove used Plaid today; the car was very slow for some reason. I switched acceleration into sport or plaid mode but nothing changed. It was slower than my model 3 RWD. What is wrong? There are no warning messages. Maybe that’s because the remaining range was only 20mi?

 

[Tes3P]

Needs charging! It probably has less than 10% battery with only 20 miles left.

 

[m73b54]

as less than 10% battery with onl

Really? But I never noticed any power loss on my Model 3 even when just a few miles of range left.

 

[ucmndd]

Maybe that’s because the remaining range was only 20mi?

You think? That's ~5% state of charge on what I'm assuming was a completely cold battery.

 

[m73b54]

You think? That's ~5% state of charge on what I'm assuming was a completely cold battery.

So, you want to say that it is normal? It was really slow. Much slower than my model 3 RWD.

 

[ucmndd]

So, you want to say that it is normal? It was really slow. Much slower than my model 3 RWD.

I'm saying start with the obvious if you think something is wrong with the car. Charge it to an acceptable level and try again. Plaid performance is still very good down to ~20% if the battery is warm but 5% is a completely different beast. Cell voltage starts to drop precipitously below ~20%.

A cold battery at a very low state of charge is not going to provide anywhere near full power.

 

[uscbucsfan]

So, you want to say that it is normal? It was really slow. Much slower than my model 3 RWD.

The Plaid holds acceleration better than any model through low state of charge, but there's a point where you lose power to protect the car and you to get to the next charger. Roll your car out with 5%. cold, and see how it feels. The Plaid is one of the quickest cars in the world.

 

[m73b54]

Ok, thank you! I never tried to drive my car with a low SOC and cold battery, and it was very surprising to me.

 

[Muzzman1]

Im not sure about the exact numbers when cold, but it has been tested that the car is sill a 10sec car in the 1/4mi at 20%, which is significantly quicker than a performance model 3

 

[Unclepaul]

Early Plaids power dropped off much more than the newer ones. Probably the reason.

 

[phantasms]

Early Plaids power dropped off much more than the newer ones. Probably the reason.

Interesting. What’s different about them? I thought only minor changes and the battery etc was all the same.

 

[Muzzman1]

Early Plaids power dropped off much more than the newer ones. Probably the reason.

This is not true.
The driveline on plaid remains unchanged since inception.
If you want to make bold statements as such, back them up with some proof.

 

[gsmith123]

But I never noticed any power loss on my Model 3 even when just a few miles of range left.

There's absolutely a lot of power loss on Model 3. If you have a RWD trim it's probably less noticeable due to lower max acceleration to start with.

Anecdotally I can feel the difference below 25% or so in a Model 3 AWD acceleration boost, if I'm really getting after it (full throttle, especially uphill). 5% and it's slooooow. Toss in a frozen battery and it's more or less down to Chill mode level of acceleration.

 

[m73b54]

There's absolutely a lot of power loss on Model 3. If you have a RWD trim it's probably less noticeable due to lower max acceleration to start with.

Anecdotally I can feel the difference below 25% or so in a Model 3 AWD acceleration boost, if I'm really getting after it (full throttle, especially uphill). 5% and it's slooooow. Toss in a frozen battery and it's more or less down to Chill mode level of acceleration.

Yes, it felt like a Chill mode.

 

[WilliamG]

Hello!
I test-drove used Plaid today; the car was very slow for some reason. I switched acceleration into sport or plaid mode but nothing changed. It was slower than my model 3 RWD. What is wrong? There are no warning messages. Maybe that’s because the remaining range was only 20mi?

I can tell you for a fact that if that car was at 20 miles remaining it’s basically a two-legged dog. I’ve been there and it’s not pleasant.

 

[Jameslook]

You muppet. LOL

 

[MidBaz]

Could it have been a settings issue? Was the car in valet mode for example? Or, when setting up my car initially I switched on 'speed limit' thinking it would prevent me from going into 'immediate ban from driving' territory. What I noticed though is that it also seemed to seriously limit acceleration. I switched it off and have never tried it again.

 

[phantasms]

This is the most ridiculous thread I’ve seen in a while.

Changing the topic, I used one of those big flashlights with D batteries the other day. It wasn’t very bright. I thought it would be much brighter. I heard all these good things about them. Probably has nothing to do with the fact I used batteries I found under some leaves on a trail I was running earlier in the day. Maybe I should ask some people about this.

 

[MidBaz]

This is the most ridiculous thread I’ve seen in a while.

Changing the topic, I used one of those big flashlights with D batteries the other day. It wasn’t very bright. I thought it would be much brighter. I heard all these good things about them. Probably has nothing to do with the fact I used batteries I found under some leaves on a trail I was running earlier in the day. Maybe I should ask some people about this.

It's a good thing then that you can choose whether or not to get involved

 

[Olle]

As a battery engineer my eyes hurt when I read this thread lol. Reminds me of a TV show I saw where a comedian rested his foot on the gas pedal instead of on the brake in neutral gear for two minutes and yelled "the idle seems high, 7000 rpm, is that normal"?

Even if OP posted this as a joke(?), maybe we should state the obvious before somebody goes out and floors their Plaid to see how slow it is at 5% SOC: Not only is it terrible for the battery to do this but it can also trigger sudden shut down so that you need to have the car towed to a charger.