I don't really have range anxiety (have an M3 LR on order) just curious if anyone has ever had the experience of getting stuck somewhere after running out of charge, and what did you do? I've never run out of gas in my life but I know if I ever did, I'd have a lot of options. What happens in a Tesla? I assume towing by someone... somewhere?
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Anyone ever run out?
- Thread starter Jambi
- Start date
Black306
Active Member
Just tow to charge the Tesla. 
J/K
No, haven’t run out of charge on a trip. But then again, I have only gone on one trip. On that trip, I used ABRP to plan stopping at a Supercharger at >20% SoC, IIRC. So that if something did go wrong and I couldn’t charge, I could at least drive somewhere.
J/K
No, haven’t run out of charge on a trip. But then again, I have only gone on one trip.
On that trip, I used ABRP to plan stopping at a Supercharger at >20% SoC, IIRC. So that if something did go wrong and I couldn’t charge, I could at least drive somewhere.You are much more likely for the car to break down somewhere and leave you stuck, than to "run out" of electricity. The car will warn you with information to slow down, etc. If it DID happen you would do the same thing you do with any other stuck car, get it towed someplace, just in this case, either towed to a destination charger or super charger.
BTW, starting off your post with "I dont have range anxiety" then putting out a specific scenario that basically only people who have range anxiety have" (what do I do if i run out??), is kind of funny.
JCtx
Member
I charged my new 2021 M3 LR enough to arrive with 30% charge, in case of any accidents (it happened on the other side of the highway, with miles of stopped cars), or unexpected conditions. On a couple of legs, I arrived in the low 20s due to high winds, and colder than expected temperatures. The best news is we basically didn't have to wait for the car except one time, and hardly any. Well worth the extra 10 minutes total to arrive from 20 to 30%. If you get stuck for whatever reason, it wouldn't be fun to be freezing (or sweating like a pig in summer) inside your car .
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Candleflame
Active Member
its not really possible to run out as you still have a 4.5%% buffer below 0 and then the cars range gauge is very accurate. If you have 35 km left to drive and only 30km rated range left then you have to slow down. it is that simple.
The reality is that if you have 30km true range left at 120km/h you get a 50% range boost by slowing down to 80kmh. And you can still rely on your 4.5% buffer on top of that.
In Australia we often arrive with <5% as we have a lack of charging stations here. Sometimes just AC charging.
When the wife and I went to Monument Valley last year, we had to be very careful to use as little as possible battery.
The trip between Farmington NM and Blanding UT was our first step. We missed one of the turns going there as they are pretty east to miss, and suddently we were on Rt 666, with -3% battery arriving showing!
Luckily we noticed right away and made a u turn on the highway. The only reason it showed -3% was because the next intersection was like 10 miles away. We made it to a very pleasant supercharger in Blanding UT with about 10 miles left and charged to 100% I think it was 298 miles. We made it through monument valley, had dinner in Kayenta and arrived back at Farmington with 8 miles left. That was a bit of range anxiety I hear there is a Supercharger in Kayenta, which would have made the trip super easy.
If worse came to worse, I'd try to tow to charge trick, or just find a 110V outlet.
The trip between Farmington NM and Blanding UT was our first step. We missed one of the turns going there as they are pretty east to miss, and suddently we were on Rt 666, with -3% battery arriving showing!
Luckily we noticed right away and made a u turn on the highway. The only reason it showed -3% was because the next intersection was like 10 miles away. We made it to a very pleasant supercharger in Blanding UT with about 10 miles left and charged to 100% I think it was 298 miles. We made it through monument valley, had dinner in Kayenta and arrived back at Farmington with 8 miles left. That was a bit of range anxiety
I hear there is a Supercharger in Kayenta, which would have made the trip super easy.If worse came to worse, I'd try to tow to charge trick, or just find a 110V outlet.
Uncle Paul
Well-Known Member
I imagine lots more people run out of gas than run out of electricity.
Almost any place with even a 120V outlet can get you enough extra miles to get to a stronger charger.
Seems like there are most always charging options near enough for a savy driver, low on juice.
Car will give you lots of warning before stopping.
Almost any place with even a 120V outlet can get you enough extra miles to get to a stronger charger.
Seems like there are most always charging options near enough for a savy driver, low on juice.
Car will give you lots of warning before stopping.
I did not actually ran out of charge but came very close one time. I made it 5 miles beyond 0% charge. I pulled into the garage and it died as soon as I came to a complete stop.
what happen is I parked the car for an hour in winter at a SOC just below 20%. When I came out it had dropped to 15% in that short time. It usually takes about 18% charge for me to get home from this location. This was the day I learned to believe the warning on the car that says the car may rapidly loss charge when parked at a low SOC.
what happen is I parked the car for an hour in winter at a SOC just below 20%. When I came out it had dropped to 15% in that short time. It usually takes about 18% charge for me to get home from this location. This was the day I learned to believe the warning on the car that says the car may rapidly loss charge when parked at a low SOC.
Candleflame
Active Member
When the wife and I went to Monument Valley last year, we had to be very careful to use as little as possible battery.
The trip between Farmington NM and Blanding UT was our first step. We missed one of the turns going there as they are pretty east to miss, and suddently we were on Rt 666, with -3% battery arriving showing!
Luckily we noticed right away and made a u turn on the highway. The only reason it showed -3% was because the next intersection was like 10 miles away. We made it to a very pleasant supercharger in Blanding UT with about 10 miles left and charged to 100% I think it was 298 miles. We made it through monument valley, had dinner in Kayenta and arrived back at Farmington with 8 miles left. That was a bit of range anxiety
If worse came to worse, I'd try to tow to charge trick, or just find a 110V outlet.
10 miles left is plenty. 16km + another 4.5% of your max range in reserve.
How about we just give links to the previous threads where this question has been asked and answered over the years?
Anyone run out of gas yet?
What happens when you run out of energy ?
Has anyone ever been stranded with an empty battery?
Anyone have a stranded experience? What did your do?
What do you do if you run out of juice?
Sincerely,
Your friendly neighborhood search guru
Really, just don't let it happen. The car gives you tons of information, so if you are paying any attention, you will be able to notice long before there is a problem. I had already made up my mind when I was getting the car that I was NEVER going to be "that guy" who ran out of energy and had his Tesla by the side of the road, giving haters the opportunity to point and laugh at electric cars. So just don't do it. And I go carefully and conservatively in some trips where things are questionable until I am sure there will not be a problem. I have even departed my house with a 100% full battery, showing a -4% arrival, but drove cautiously enough to make it work.
Anyone run out of gas yet?
What happens when you run out of energy ?
Has anyone ever been stranded with an empty battery?
Anyone have a stranded experience? What did your do?
What do you do if you run out of juice?
Sincerely,
Your friendly neighborhood search guru
Really, just don't let it happen. The car gives you tons of information, so if you are paying any attention, you will be able to notice long before there is a problem. I had already made up my mind when I was getting the car that I was NEVER going to be "that guy" who ran out of energy and had his Tesla by the side of the road, giving haters the opportunity to point and laugh at electric cars. So just don't do it. And I go carefully and conservatively in some trips where things are questionable until I am sure there will not be a problem. I have even departed my house with a 100% full battery, showing a -4% arrival, but drove cautiously enough to make it work.
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Just tow to charge the Tesla.
J/K
No, haven’t run out of charge on a trip. But then again, I have only gone on one trip.
With the right drivers in both the vehicle doing the towing and one being towed (the Tesla), it could be an option in some cases. I would not want to use a tow rope at speeds over around 40MPH so on an interstate this would be a no go. Keeping the tow rope taunt should be easy due to regen. If a tow bar existed, that would probably be better than using a good tow strap (using a chain should only be used in extreme circumstances). It appears you gain about four miles in range for every mile towed (I assume this would require full regen ie,, no dots) so if you are close to a charging location this could be the quickest way out of a fix. Should not do any harm to the Tesla (assuming both drivers know what they are doing) because it would appear to the Tesla that it is rolling down a fairly steep continuous sloop. Using the flatbed towing option would be costly and might require a long wait for the tow company. Tow charging would require that you did not run the cars charge level down to where it shutdown and a traction battery warm enough to accept reasonable regen levels. Tow charging should probably be limited to 25 miles from a charging location (ie.. 5 towed miles then using the approx 20 regen miles gained after the tow session) so it you are stranded in the boon docks call a flatbed.
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you mean, except for the fact that the manual for the model 3 specifically says NOT to tow the vehicle at all with wheels on the ground?
(this is page 198 of the tesla model 3 manual from October. Might be on a slightly different page in newer or older manuals but it will be there, under "towing"
That is a different situation where there would not be anyone in the car, so the car would be off, and the auto parking brake kinds of things would be kicked in, so certainly potential for problems there.
Because as was mentioned, if you have the car on and in drive and someone sitting in there driving it, being pulled really would be transparent to the car as being no different than going down a hill.
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The reason for that is that the car's cooling systems are not operating while the car is being towed without a driver.
It is a dumb idea for anything other than a youtube video, for obvious reasons.
WHY? Why people? Wherever you're going, you should always be navigating unless it under 30 mins.
Just so the computer can tell you your state of charge when you arrive.
jchag
Member
1st EV was a Nissan Leaf with a range of approx 75 miles in good conditions. After owning that for a few years you will never have range anxiety in a Tesla
A lot more are probably wrong turns and missed exits. In a lot of places, a missed exit or wrong turn can cost your 20 miles. If 20 miles was your buffer (10% on some cars), then you are stuck. Many rural highways have 10+ miles between exits, and leaving too large of a buffer affects supercharging speed. Quite a few "large gaps" in the SC network, and I'm not referring to the areas that are impassible, but those 100-130 mile gaps.
M3BlueGeorgia
Active Member
Make the display show percent not EPA miles. Relying on that for range is dangerously misleading in cold and heavy rain.
Also use the Navigator, which shows expected arrival percentage, and will update it dynamically as you drive.
The car tries very hard to prevent you running out of battery, so please take advantage of it's assistance.
