Airport Parking for 6 days - Advice/Recommendations

[carpendj]

For those that have parked their Model Y's at an airport, how much battery drain per day have you experienced?

I do understand that Sentry Model, the overheating protection and the outside temps mean it will not be the same for everyone.

I would still love to hear everyone's experiences.

I will be picking up my first Tesla (Model Y Performance) a week from today and have to get on a plane just days later.

Thanks.

 

[jcanoe]

Cabin Overheat Protection only remains active for 12 hours after you park the Tesla Model Y. To extend the 12 hour cycle you can unlock and then lock the doors using the Tesla phone app. To reduce the battery drain while Cabin Overheat Protection is operating you can select No AC (fan only), this will significantly reduce the power drain but the cabin temperature may rise above 105F.

In my limited experience using Cabin Overheat Protection with AC active (in July temperatures) during the daylight hours Cabin Overheat Protection will use 3/4 of a kWh per hour of daylight. That can add up to 7kWh or approximately ~10% of the battery charge per 12 hour cycle. That is a lot just to keep the cabin temperature at or under 105F. I have not run a similar test with the No AC (fan only setting) but it uses much less power than when the AC is active.)

Sentry Mode will use 7% of the battery over 24 hours, not because it is recording (only records when there is a Sentry mode event) but because the Tesla Model Y does not enter sleep mode when Sentry Mode is active. 7% X 6 days = 42% of the battery charge. If the battery charge falls to 20% the Sentry Mode is automatically disabled. Do you want to return to your Tesla vehicle and find it has less than 20% state of charge? If not, then consider disabling Sentry mode while parked at the airport. Even with Sentry Mode disabled the Tesla vehicle alarm is active.

 

[drtimhill]

For those that have parked their Model Y's at an airport, how much battery drain per day have you experienced?

I do understand that Sentry Model, the overheating protection and the outside temps mean it will not be the same for everyone.

I would still love to hear everyone's experiences.

I will be picking up my first Tesla (Model Y Performance) a week from today and have to get on a plane just days later.

Thanks.

In addition to Sentry Mode, Smart Summon Standby will also cause the same extra battery drain, and (unlike Sentry Mode) you cannot toggle this on or off from the app, so make sure this is off before you park and leave the car.

Generally, with Sentry Mode etc off, you will see very little battery drain (1-2% a day) .. with Sentry Mode on that goes up (last time I parked it was about 6%.a day for my M3).

If you can leave the car with a decent SOC at the airport, and have access to chargers close by for when you get back, then I would just have Sentry Mode on (for peace of mind), and check the SOC *once* a day on your phone. If you get concerned, just turn it off from your phone. But for 6 days you should be fine, as long as you're ok getting back to car with a lower SOC.

 

[LoudMusic]

There's a lot of discussion on this already, but with those features enabled it's a couple percent per day. You could also turn all that off and it's nearly no drain.

Also, you're in luck. Apparently there is long term slow EV charging at the Austin airport.

Austin Airport Parking - Discount AUS / ABIA Parking Rates

You'll want to check with them for details because I'm working from very old information.

 

[carpendj]

There's a lot of discussion on this already, but with those features enabled it's a couple percent per day. You could also turn all that off and it's nearly no drain.

Also, you're in luck. Apparently there is long term slow EV charging at the Austin airport.

Austin Airport Parking - Discount AUS / ABIA Parking Rates

You'll want to check with them for details because I'm working from very old information.

Thanks. I use Park and Zoom at Austin. They do have chargers according to their web site. If I pay for Valet parking, they will keep it charged. But that means someone is driving while I am gone. I do not want that. I can though use any charger when I land if it was an emergency.

I live about 30 miles from the airport and to it sounds like as long as I fully charge it that travel day, it will be safe to leave and should still have plenty of battery left when I get back.

Thanks to those that have responded thus far.

 

[fmm]

my recommendation would be to just Uber back and forth to the airport and leave your car at home. granted I fly out of PHL regularly where its near impossible to park at the airport now - but it also saves on all the planning and hassle as you're dropped and picked up right near checkin / baggage claim. I'm about 50 miles from the airport.

 

[ucmndd]

Step 1) Turn off sentry mode.

Step 2) Take trip.

 

[carpendj]

my recommendation would be to just Uber back and forth to the airport and leave your car at home. granted I fly out of PHL regularly where its near impossible to park at the airport now - but it also saves on all the planning and hassle as you're dropped and picked up right near checkin / baggage claim. I'm about 50 miles from the airport.

Uber/Lyft are impossible to get where I live. Too far out of Austin. Its also a ton of hassle trying to get one with so many others also trying. Everyone is moving to Austin and its crazy. Pre-Covid I traveled a lot.

I also switched to Park and Zoom instead of the typical Austin airport parking as they have less customers. Always room on the shuttle.

I will be parking a car. Its either the Tesla or my Jeep Wrangler. Sounds like the Tesla will be just fine.

 

[Cyberspeed]

Step 1) Turn off sentry mode.

Step 2) Take trip.

yep

stop worrying and relax. I left mine for 14 days in the cold. lost 10 miles at most....

 

[drtimhill]

For those that have parked their Model Y's at an airport, how much battery drain per day have you experienced?

I do understand that Sentry Model, the overheating protection and the outside temps mean it will not be the same for everyone.

I would still love to hear everyone's experiences.

I will be picking up my first Tesla (Model Y Performance) a week from today and have to get on a plane just days later.

Thanks.

Actually the most obvious advice (not related to charging) .. leave NOTHING visible in the car interior, and lock anything valuable you have to leave in the frunk (not the trunk), as that is the hardest part of the car to access for a thief. I'm sure you know this already, but never any harm in repeating.

 

[kavyboy]

yep

stop worrying and relax. I left mine for 14 days in the cold. lost 10 miles at most....

Seconded. Six days? That's nothing, especially with superchargers nearby you can use before or after parking. Just park way out where you won't get door dinged.

 

[jcanoe]

yep

stop worrying and relax. I left mine for 14 days in the cold. lost 10 miles at most....

Not with Sentry Mode active. If Sentry Mode is left on then you lose ~23 miles of driving range per 24 hours.

 

[loan-potato]

They just opened a Supercharger about 5 minutes down the road from the airport. So if you find you are low on charge you can top off before heading home.

 

[carpendj]

They just opened a Supercharger about 5 minutes down the road from the airport. So if you find you are low on charge you can top off before heading home.

The new one at Target? Yes, I noted that that other week.

Another one outside Cost Plus World Market on Brodie Lane looks close to being finished too.

 

[T.J.]

I’ve parked at the airport multiple times in cold weather at Minneapolis/St Paul Intl. I also turn off sentry mode. Over the span of three or four days I see no more than a 1-2% drop. So really nothing. No experience with hot weather.

 

[LoudMusic]

I wish airports would put in a row of parking spaces with a few dozen 120V15A outlets. That's all we need/want.

 

[jjrandorin]

I’ve parked at the airport multiple times in cold weather at Minneapolis/St Paul Intl. I also turn off sentry mode. Over the span of three or four days I see no more than a 1-2% drop. So really nothing. No experience with hot weather.

The key, as has been mentioned a few times in this thread, is parking for extended period of time is not an issue at all WITHOUT SENTRY MODE (and cabin overheat protection but most people dont stress about that one). Unfortunately, "parking at the airport" is the type of thing that a new tesla owner is going to think "oh, yeah, sentry mode was made for exactly this".

If the OP doesnt use sentry or cabin overheat protection, they likely would lose no more than 18 miles for a 6 day trip. If they do use sentry mode, they are likely going to lose 100-120 miles or maybe a bit more (yes, OP its "that much" different).

 

[loan-potato]

The new one at Target? Yes, I noted that that other week.

Another one outside Cost Plus World Market on Brodie Lane looks close to being finished too.

No, I’m talking about this one.

Del Valle, TX | Tesla

Schedule a Tesla test drive at a time and date that is convenient for you.

www.tesla.com

 

[drtimhill]

For those that have parked their Model Y's at an airport, how much battery drain per day have you experienced?

I do understand that Sentry Model, the overheating protection and the outside temps mean it will not be the same for everyone.

I would still love to hear everyone's experiences.

I will be picking up my first Tesla (Model Y Performance) a week from today and have to get on a plane just days later.

Thanks.

it's probably worth summarizing stuff after all the back-and-forth...

When the car is asleep, it consumes very little energy. It loses perhaps a few miles of range per day, at most. The percentage loss is of course dependent on your battery size/model, but it will typically be 1% of SoC every 1-2 days. So while asleep, the car can safely be left for a couple of months assuming it starts with a 90% SOC.

Unless something is preventing it from doing so, the car will go to sleep by itself after its been parked and locked for a short time. So you just lock the car, walk away, and the car will take care of itself.

Some settings/options stop the car from sleeping. This includes the following:
-- Sentry Mode This keeps the car awake since it has to monitor its surroundings via the cameras/computer.
-- Smart Summon Standby This keeps the car awake so that it is more responsive to smart summon requests from the phone app.
-- Cabin Overheat Protection This wakes the car up to cool down the interior should the car overheat in the sun.

When the car cannot sleep it consumes much more energy. When awake, the computers etc consume about 10-15 miles of range per day, or something like 5% of battery per day. So if you start at 90% SOC, you will be down to 20% after about two weeks.

The car will always sleep when the battery reaches 20% SOC. Regardless of your settings/options, once the car reaches 20% SOC it will go to sleep to conserve the battery, so that last 20% will only be used up at the (much slower) sleeping rate.

So, here are the general rules I follow:
1. Always disable Smart Summon Standby. Many people never use this anyway, but if you do be sure to disable this when you leave the car for any length of time. This is important, since you cannot turn this setting on/off from the phone app. So if you forget before you leave, you are hosed.
2. Enable Sentry Mode for 1 Week Trips. If you can get the car parked with a decent SOC and your trip is one week or less, leave Sentry Mode on. it's good for peace of mind.
3. Disable Sentry Mode for Longer Trips. If the trip is longer than 1 week, make sure the car has a decent SOC and disable Sentry Mode so you are not worried about the SOC when you return.

What happens if your short trip gets extended? Simple, just disable Sentry Mode from the app. And dont check the SOC 10 times a day .. you will wake the car up, making it consume even more energy. Just check it once a day for peace of mind.

Note that the various combinations of settings make very little difference to overall energy consumption. Any combination of settings that stop the car from sleeping will end up consuming energy at the higher "awake" rate (though overheat will take more energy if its used heavily).

HTH

 

[Prodock]

I just returned from 8 days in the Dominican Republic. Supercharged to 85 percent before parking and had 84 percent charge when I got back last night. Turned off Sentry mode and only checked on it a couple times while away.