Battery and range issues

[sairamtim]

Hi everyone,
First time poster.
I recently ordered a Tesla, slightly on a whim and it was delivered a week later.
Unfortunately I probably didn’t do my research. I’ve had the car a month and I have sone concerns.

I predominantly drive around town doing less than 30mph and occasionally go on dual carriage ways doing around 70mph.
I’ve just crunched the numbers and I used 65% of the battery for approx 100 miles travelled!
So doing the maths on that means 170 miles for the full charge. This seems exceptionally low. I’ve turned off sentry, don’t use air con and I’m in the Uk with temperatures ranging between 10 degrees Celsius and 20 degrees.

My usage is showing 272wh/mi for the 1000 miles I’ve had it.

I’m charging up to 85%. Last night I put it up to 100% so i could record efficiency, range etc and it only charged to 82% before stopping. It has stopped at 82% before.

I have concerns I have a serious issue with my battery as I’m charging a couple of times a week.

Would love to hear peoples thoughts. Thanks

 

[sairamtim]

Sorry for clarity is a model y long range. Thanks

 

[cgell]

There are lots of posts on this topic by new owners, so searching will help you find a lot of detailed answers. But here is the basic info-

The advertised range is pretty much in ideal conditions and will vary based on how you use it. You can absolutely get the full range assuming you are driving about 55mph on a highway in decent weather.

Efficiency is based on several factors including temperature, wind, speed, driving style, etc. Most likely you are doing a bunch of short drives or fast highway driving so the efficiency is not as good. If your battery was cold then subtract for that too. HVAC use, acceleration/speed, stop and go, brake use, and anything else that uses up energy will reduce range.

I recommend that you set up charging so that it ends around when you plan on leaving. Also turn on preconditioning. If you need to estimate range for a trip you can use “a better route planner” (ABRP). This will give you a very good idea of range, charge stops, etc for your trips.

 

[DanDi58]

Please spend some time scanning posts here, as @cgell noted, there is a lot of info here. Much of it is good.

 

[MY-Y]

You have about 82 kWh of battery capacity. For your driving, your max range, in theory, will be 82000/272=301 miles.

More realistically, your 90% to 10% range will be .755*301=227 miles. If you charge to 100% and end at a reported 10%, you'll have .855*301=262 miles.

Note, these calculations account for the 4.5% reserve capacity that is hidden. Also note that these numbers will be ~10% lower in 2 years as your battery degrades and ~15% lower in 5 - 10 years.

 

[cgell]

You have about 82 kWh of battery capacity. For your driving, your max range, in theory, will be 82000/272=301 miles.

The full 82kWh is not usable, so I believe it’s actually a few kWh lower.

Edit: sorry, missed the last bit you said about the reserve which is the same thing.

 

[Ampster]

I have concerns I have a serious issue with my battery as I’m charging a couple of times a week.

What does you car say the range is when you charge it to 100%? You can toggle the display by tapping the icon to see range in miles or percentage.

 

[jjrandorin]

In addition to the normal questions we would normally have in this situation, I notice that the OP states they ordered a tesla "on a whim" and it was delivered a week later. Their location states somewhere in the UK. I was not aware that the wait time for a brand new model Y was only a week, in the UK.

Or, said another way, is this a new car, delivered from Tesla?

The other thing that sounds strange is "I set the charge to 100% but it stopped at 82%." Unless the OP has some sort of scheduled charging with their charging station, that would be the concern I had. As for the "I am not getting my rated range", for the OP I have probably 1000+ posts saying exactly the same thing I could link to you, probably more in fact.

No amount of "doing the maths" / "crunching the numbers" is going to change the fact that you will not get anywhere near your rated range with multiple trips, nor will you get anywhere near there driving 70MPH.

The only thing that might indicate an issue is the "I set it to 100% and it only charged to 82%". If you have ANY sort of scheduled charging on your charger, turn that off. If you have ANY third party tools you downloaded, turn those off. If it still wont charge to 100% when you set it there, then you need to take it back to tesla.

If you do, DO NOT under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES WHATSOEVER try to talk to them about "I did the math and I am only getting XXX per charge" as they will completely ignore everything else that comes out of your mouth, tell you "the car is fine" and send you on your way. Talk ONLY about "i set it to 100% and it wont charge to that".

 

[DanDi58]

The only thing that might indicate an issue is the "I set it to 100% and it only charged to 82%". If you have ANY sort of scheduled charging on your charger, turn that off. If you have ANY third party tools you downloaded, turn those off. If it still wont charge to 100% when you set it there, then you need to take it back to tesla.

Good points, as always. And just to note that turning off a charging schedule if you have it set to Scheduled Departure is not as simple as flipping the toggle to Scheduled Charging. You also have to turn off Off Peak Charge and Precondition - in other words, set EVERYTHING on the Departure Schedule screen to 'off', otherwise that could impact what you have set for Scheduled Charging (if, indeed, you are using that option).

 

[sairamtim]

Thanks very much for all of the advice everyone.
I will play around with the charging, check settings etc this weekend and go back to Tesla if there is still an issue.
Really appreciate people taking the time to reply.

 

[sairamtim]

Also in answer to your question.
I ordered the Tesla via a lease company. It was in ‘stock’ so waiting for someone to order it.
It arrived end of September. I did notice it was registered a few months previously and arrived with 200 plus miles on the clock.

 

[TheLex]

Hi everyone,
First time poster.
I recently ordered a Tesla, slightly on a whim and it was delivered a week later.
Unfortunately I probably didn’t do my research. I’ve had the car a month and I have sone concerns.

I predominantly drive around town doing less than 30mph and occasionally go on dual carriage ways doing around 70mph.
I’ve just crunched the numbers and I used 65% of the battery for approx 100 miles travelled!
So doing the maths on that means 170 miles for the full charge. This seems exceptionally low. I’ve turned off sentry, don’t use air con and I’m in the Uk with temperatures ranging between 10 degrees Celsius and 20 degrees.

My usage is showing 272wh/mi for the 1000 miles I’ve had it.

I’m charging up to 85%. Last night I put it up to 100% so i could record efficiency, range etc and it only charged to 82% before stopping. It has stopped at 82% before.

I have concerns I have a serious issue with my battery as I’m charging a couple of times a week.

Would love to hear peoples thoughts. Thanks

272 Wh/mi seems to be about average. Our average sits at 268 Wh/mi right now. But if you run the heater the consumption rises dramatically. Yesterday I ran the heater to 72° on a 59° day, and over a 15 mile trip, my consumption was 324 Wh/mi. This was a mix of 65 mph and 40 mph driving.

 

[rickybobbee]

Also in answer to your question.
I ordered the Tesla via a lease company. It was in ‘stock’ so waiting for someone to order it.
It arrived end of September. I did notice it was registered a few months previously and arrived with 200 plus miles on the clock.

I would check it VERY closely then. Likely a rejected car from another customer if it has 200 miles already on it. Not considered a new car at that point

 

[OHM-Y]

Hi everyone,
First time poster.
I recently ordered a Tesla, slightly on a whim and it was delivered a week later.
Unfortunately I probably didn’t do my research. I’ve had the car a month and I have sone concerns.

I predominantly drive around town doing less than 30mph and occasionally go on dual carriage ways doing around 70mph.
I’ve just crunched the numbers and I used 65% of the battery for approx 100 miles travelled!
So doing the maths on that means 170 miles for the full charge. This seems exceptionally low. I’ve turned off sentry, don’t use air con and I’m in the Uk with temperatures ranging between 10 degrees Celsius and 20 degrees.

My usage is showing 272wh/mi for the 1000 miles I’ve had it.

I’m charging up to 85%. Last night I put it up to 100% so i could record efficiency, range etc and it only charged to 82% before stopping. It has stopped at 82% before.

I have concerns I have a serious issue with my battery as I’m charging a couple of times a week.

Would love to hear peoples thoughts. Thanks

As a relatively new owner with <3,000 miles on my 2022 long range MY (Austin, TX build), I've been pretty unimpressed with the range I'm getting. Not that I have any solutions here, but just to commiserate, I bought the long range model in hopes of getting to Boston without having to charge, which is ~200 miles for me. Sadly, after charging up to ~95% I still need to stop at a supercharger when I'm about ~150 miles into my trip because the battery will be at ~15% SOC at that point. The route has some hills and I'm generally doing 65 MPH and never more than 70 (trying my best to maximize range without going too slow).

Attached is a picture of where things were at on another recent 143 mile trip from the Cape up to a supercharger in NH. I left with 93% on the battery and arrived at the supercharger with 16% left. The entire route is quite flat, I drove my usual 65 MPG, encountered no traffic that caused a speed change below 50 or above 65, and as the picture shows it was a sunny 43F degree day. So, basically it took 79% of the battery's charge to drive 143 miles, which represents ~43% of the 330 miles I should get under the most ideal driving conditions (my conditions were pretty good aside from the chilly but not frigid temps).

I've run the battery diagnostics and have a little over ~3% degradation already, which seems fairly typical at this point (I mostly charge at home to 80% SOC each night, but 25% of the total charging I've done has been on superchargers because of these trips).

To add insult to injury, it's IMPOSSIBLE for me to make it 200 miles to Boston without charging, but my neighbor with a Chevy Bolt makes that trip routinely and has NEVER had to stop and charge before reaching his destination.

All things considered, I'm incredibly disappointed given that the primary reason I went with the Tesla was for the range, and it simply can't deliver on its promise. Alternatively, I can get a car that actually delivers on the range I need for half the price and almost zero wait (I waited 7.5 months for my MY!).

 

[jcanoe]

As a relatively new owner with <3,000 miles on my 2022 long range MY (Austin, TX build), I've been pretty unimpressed with the range I'm getting. Not that I have any solutions here, but just to commiserate, I bought the long range model in hopes of getting to Boston without having to charge, which is ~200 miles for me. Sadly, after charging up to ~95% I still need to stop at a supercharger when I'm about ~150 miles into my trip because the battery will be at ~15% SOC at that point. The route has some hills and I'm generally doing 65 MPH and never more than 70 (trying my best to maximize range without going too slow).

Attached is a picture of where things were at on another recent 143 mile trip from the Cape up to a supercharger in NH. I left with 93% on the battery and arrived at the supercharger with 16% left. The entire route is quite flat, I drove my usual 65 MPG, encountered no traffic that caused a speed change below 50 or above 65, and as the picture shows it was a sunny 43F degree day. So, basically it took 79% of the battery's charge to drive 143 miles, which represents ~43% of the 330 miles I should get under the most ideal driving conditions (my conditions were pretty good aside from the chilly but not frigid temps).

I've run the battery diagnostics and have a little over ~3% degradation already, which seems fairly typical at this point (I mostly charge at home to 80% SOC each night, but 25% of the total charging I've done has been on superchargers because of these trips).

To add insult to injury, it's IMPOSSIBLE for me to make it 200 miles to Boston without charging, but my neighbor with a Chevy Bolt makes that trip routinely and has NEVER had to stop and charge before reaching his destination.

All things considered, I'm incredibly disappointed given that the primary reason I went with the Tesla was for the range, and it simply can't deliver on its promise. Alternatively, I can get a car that actually delivers on the range I need for half the price and almost zero wait (I waited 7.5 months for my MY!).

Your experience with the Tesla Long Range Model Y is not unusual. First time Tesla owners, owners of other brands of EV, often have years, even decades, of experience driving internal combustion engine vehicles. It can be hard to change old habits. The practice of filling the fuel tank and driving the whole way without stopping may not work when driving an EV. With experience Tesla owners learn to use the Tesla Supercharger network as an important part of the Tesla ownership experience when taking road trips.

If you really want to push the Tesla Model Y to the limit of its range then charge to 100% before you leave. Precondition the passenger cabin and the battery pack for at least 30 minutes before you unplug, start driving. Your speed will have the greatest impact on the efficiency and range you achieve. Lowering your highway speed by 5 MPH will net you almost a 10% improvement; 10 MPH will provide almost a 20% improvement. You can limit use of the climate control and rely more on dressing warmly and using the heated seats and steering wheel (every person has their own tolerance for being cold, some shun the climate control heat in favor of maximizing efficiency.)

For everyone else, just drive the Tesla Model Y at your preferred highway speed. Use the Tesla Autopilot or Full Self Driving (if equipped) and don't worry about your driving efficiency. The Telsa Model Y's Navigation System will show you where and when you should stop and charge. Most Supercharger charging sessions are well under 30 minutes. It is good to take a break every couple of hours, safer too as you will be more alert while driving.

Experienced Tesla owners, other EV owners use tools such as A Better Route Planner (ABRP) to plan their trips. ABRP is available on the web and as a phone app. ABRP enables you to customize your preferences and driving variables including EV make and model, cruising speed and maximum speed, traffic, weather, route and payload. You can also tune ABRP to recommend either fewer (longer duration) or more frequent charging stops (shorter duration.)

You may find that you can leave home with just 80% or 90% state of charge and drive for 1 to 2 hours before stopping at a Supercharger for ~25 minutes. You can use this time however you wish. You can remain seated in the Tesla Model Y and run the climate control and watch Netflix etc. while the Tesla vehicle is Supercharging. Fastest Supercharging is achieved when you enter the Tesla Supercharger location where you plan to charge as the destination in the Tesla Navigation System. The Tesla Model Y will begin preconditioning (warming) the battery pack for optimal Supercharging starting about 30 miles from the Supercharger.

Experienced Tesla owners know that the fastest Supercharger session will be using a V3 Supercharger (up to 250kW charging), followed by a V2 Supercharger (up to 150kW). Reserve charging at an Urban Supercharger (up to 72kW) charging rate) for longer stops such as sit down meals. Optimal Supercharging will have you arrive with a fully preconditioned battery and a state of charge below 15%. Fastest Supercharging will mean never charging beyond 80% (even beyond 70%) when using a Supercharger as charging beyond 80% to ~90% or beyond takes much longer than it took to charge from 15% to 80%. Plan to stop at a Supercharger every 140 miles, perhaps stopping only once to use a Supercharger or at the most twice in 200 miles instead of attempting to drive straight through.

(You could not perform the same degree of fast charging in the Chevy Bolt. A recent review of the 2022 Chevy Bolt showed that a 60% charge at a DC Fast Charge station took almost 1 hour to complete. On a trip those long charging sessions would be a buzz kill.)

 

[Mjrotor]

As a relatively new owner with <3,000 miles on my 2022 long range MY (Austin, TX build), I've been pretty unimpressed with the range I'm getting. Not that I have any solutions here, but just to commiserate, I bought the long range model in hopes of getting to Boston without having to charge, which is ~200 miles for me. Sadly, after charging up to ~95% I still need to stop at a supercharger when I'm about ~150 miles into my trip because the battery will be at ~15% SOC at that point. The route has some hills and I'm generally doing 65 MPH and never more than 70 (trying my best to maximize range without going too slow).

Attached is a picture of where things were at on another recent 143 mile trip from the Cape up to a supercharger in NH. I left with 93% on the battery and arrived at the supercharger with 16% left. The entire route is quite flat, I drove my usual 65 MPG, encountered no traffic that caused a speed change below 50 or above 65, and as the picture shows it was a sunny 43F degree day. So, basically it took 79% of the battery's charge to drive 143 miles, which represents ~43% of the 330 miles I should get under the most ideal driving conditions (my conditions were pretty good aside from the chilly but not frigid temps).

I've run the battery diagnostics and have a little over ~3% degradation already, which seems fairly typical at this point (I mostly charge at home to 80% SOC each night, but 25% of the total charging I've done has been on superchargers because of these trips).

To add insult to injury, it's IMPOSSIBLE for me to make it 200 miles to Boston without charging, but my neighbor with a Chevy Bolt makes that trip routinely and has NEVER had to stop and charge before reaching his destination.

All things considered, I'm incredibly disappointed given that the primary reason I went with the Tesla was for the range, and it simply can't deliver on its promise. Alternatively, I can get a car that actually delivers on the range I need for half the price and almost zero wait (I waited 7.5 months for my MY!).

I disagree with what you posted. I was able to go 231 miles from CT to Boston to CT. it was not near the advertised rate, but I can go 200+ Miles without charging. The EPA rate should be clearer. It should mention that these are in optimal driving conditions and only driving 55 mph or less. I live in Connecticut. I live 140 miles from Boston. I drove there today and back. Below are my trip details. I have driven this trip several times and my results are usually similar to the below.

2022 Model Y 9,000 miles
Charged to 100%
Seymour, CT to Boston, MA ( 140 miles, 52% at destination, average speed 65 mph)

Boston to Manchester , CT Tesla supercharger ( 91 miles, 19% , charged 20 minutes to 61%, average speed 65 mph )
Manchester, CT to Seymour, CT ( 42% , 49 miles )

 

[Hydrocarbon302]

My MYs real world range compared to rated range is pretty bad, but understandable. It’s basically a MX75D. My MYP gets just under 200 miles of range while cruising at TX highway speeds, while my M3LR gets almost 300 miles in the same conditions. Range is most effected by speed and the size of the car.

 

[OHM-Y]

Your experience with the Tesla Long Range Model Y is not unusual. First time Tesla owners, owners of other brands of EV, often have years, even decades, of experience driving internal combustion engine vehicles. It can be hard to change old habits. The practice of filling the fuel tank and driving the whole way without stopping may not work when driving an EV. With experience Tesla owners learn to use the Tesla Supercharger network as an important part of the Tesla ownership experience when taking road trips.

If you really want to push the Tesla Model Y to the limit of its range then charge to 100% before you leave. Precondition the passenger cabin and the battery pack for at least 30 minutes before you unplug, start driving. Your speed will have the greatest impact on the efficiency and range you achieve. Lowering your highway speed by 5 MPH will net you almost a 10% improvement; 10 MPH will provide almost a 20% improvement. You can limit use of the climate control and rely more on dressing warmly and using the heated seats and steering wheel (every person has their own tolerance for being cold, some shun the climate control heat in favor of maximizing efficiency.)

For everyone else, just drive the Tesla Model Y at your preferred highway speed. Use the Tesla Autopilot or Full Self Driving (if equipped) and don't worry about your driving efficiency. The Telsa Model Y's Navigation System will show you where and when you should stop and charge. Most Supercharger charging sessions are well under 30 minutes. It is good to take a break every couple of hours, safer too as you will be more alert while driving.

Experienced Tesla owners, other EV owners use tools such as A Better Route Planner (ABRP) to plan their trips. ABRP is available on the web and as a phone app. ABRP enables you to customize your preferences and driving variables including EV make and model, cruising speed and maximum speed, traffic, weather, route and payload. You can also tune ABRP to recommend either fewer (longer duration) or more frequent charging stops (shorter duration.)

You may find that you can leave home with just 80% or 90% state of charge and drive for 1 to 2 hours before stopping at a Supercharger for ~25 minutes. You can use this time however you wish. You can remain seated in the Tesla Model Y and run the climate control and watch Netflix etc. while the Tesla vehicle is Supercharging. Fastest Supercharging is achieved when you enter the Tesla Supercharger location where you plan to charge as the destination in the Tesla Navigation System. The Tesla Model Y will begin preconditioning (warming) the battery pack for optimal Supercharging starting about 30 miles from the Supercharger.

Experienced Tesla owners know that the fastest Supercharger session will be using a V3 Supercharger (up to 250kW charging), followed by a V2 Supercharger (up to 150kW). Reserve charging at an Urban Supercharger (up to 72kW) charging rate) for longer stops such as sit down meals. Optimal Supercharging will have you arrive with a fully preconditioned battery and a state of charge below 15%. Fastest Supercharging will mean never charging beyond 80% (even beyond 70%) when using a Supercharger as charging beyond 80% to ~90% or beyond takes much longer than it took to charge from 15% to 80%. Plan to stop at a Supercharger every 140 miles, perhaps stopping only once to use a Supercharger or at the most twice in 200 miles instead of attempting to drive straight through.

(You could not perform the same degree of fast charging in the Chevy Bolt. A recent review of the 2022 Chevy Bolt showed that a 60% charge at a DC Fast Charge station took almost 1 hour to complete. On a trip those long charging sessions would be a buzz kill.)

To be clear, I'm not discounting the value of the supercharging network (it's awesome, unrivaled, and will be for a while), or saying the Bolt has many advantages (road trips aren't feasible in a Bolt, but it is half the price and has noticeably better build quality, which also surprised me!).

All I'm saying is that it's quite shocking to get far less distance on the exact same route in a new '22 MY than my neighbor gets out of his 2018 Bolt, which has an EPA range of ~250 miles vs. the 330 miles for the MY. Rest assured, changing old habits isn't a problem here, it's a delight; visiting a gas station is about as delightful as getting a speeding ticket for me.

The shock comes from the fact that it takes a whopping ~80% of the battery to cover ~45% of the max listed range. Now, I definitely don't expect the max range doing 65 MPH in 45 degree weather, but I do expect a Model Y to outdistance a Chevy Bolt, especially when I'm doing an average speed of 60-65 MPH on flat roads in clear sunny weather, with just me in the car, and no climate control, phone charging, heated seats or steering wheel, or other power draws aside from the occasional use of the radio. I've made a couple similar trips at slightly slower speeds (~5-7 MPH) in similar conditions and it's certainly improved the range, but only by ~3-5% by the time I roll into the supercharger or my garage.

Overall, I think a lot of new Tesla owners are going to be a bit surprised by this, and many other would-be Tesla owners will increasingly shop the alternatives as more of them become available with improved range, charging speeds, and battery tech that rival or beat Tesla on paper. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy the MY, but given what I've learned thus far I know my next EV won't be a Tesla.

 

[OHM-Y]

I disagree with what you posted. I was able to go 231 miles from CT to Boston to CT. it was not near the advertised rate, but I can go 200+ Miles without charging. The EPA rate should be clearer. It should mention that these are in optimal driving conditions and only driving 55 mph or less. I live in Connecticut. I live 140 miles from Boston. I drove there today and back. Below are my trip details. I have driven this trip several times and my results are usually similar to the below.

2022 Model Y 9,000 miles
Charged to 100%
Seymour, CT to Boston, MA ( 140 miles, 52% at destination, average speed 65 mph)

Boston to Manchester , CT Tesla supercharger ( 91 miles, 19% , charged 20 minutes to 61%, average speed 65 mph )
Manchester, CT to Seymour, CT ( 42% , 49 miles )

Lucky you! I posted the picture in my original post so you can see for yourself - I'm not sure what there is to disagree with there. It exemplifies what I've experienced from Day 1.

 

[jcanoe]

To be clear, I'm not discounting the value of the supercharging network (it's awesome, unrivaled, and will be for a while), or saying the Bolt has many advantages (road trips aren't feasible in a Bolt, but it is half the price and has noticeably better build quality, which also surprised me!).

All I'm saying is that it's quite shocking to get far less distance on the exact same route in a new '22 MY than my neighbor gets out of his 2018 Bolt, which has an EPA range of ~250 miles vs. the 330 miles for the MY. Rest assured, changing old habits isn't a problem here, it's a delight; visiting a gas station is about as delightful as getting a speeding ticket for me.

The shock comes from the fact that it takes a whopping ~80% of the battery to cover ~45% of the max listed range. Now, I definitely don't expect the max range doing 65 MPH in 45 degree weather, but I do expect a Model Y to outdistance a Chevy Bolt, especially when I'm doing an average speed of 60-65 MPH on flat roads in clear sunny weather, with just me in the car, and no climate control, phone charging, heated seats or steering wheel, or other power draws aside from the occasional use of the radio. I've made a couple similar trips at slightly slower speeds (~5-7 MPH) in similar conditions and it's certainly improved the range, but only by ~3-5% by the time I roll into the supercharger or my garage.

Overall, I think a lot of new Tesla owners are going to be a bit surprised by this, and many other would-be Tesla owners will increasingly shop the alternatives as more of them become available with improved range, charging speeds, and battery tech that rival or beat Tesla on paper. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy the MY, but given what I've learned thus far I know my next EV won't be a Tesla.

It is true that GM's estimated combined city/highway range for the Chevy Bolt is much closer to real world results for many drivers than the Tesla Model Y's EPA combined city/highway range estimate. Tesla's EPA results for the Model Y are best used when comparing different versions of the Model Y and to other Tesla vehicles.

The Bolt is a fine EV after almost 5 years and an updated interior, added adaptive cruise control and Super Cruise (available on the Bolt EUV.) GM chose to not update the Bolt's drive train or the battery pack capacity (after an initial modest bump to the original Bolt battery.) The DC Fast Charge limit of 55kW (maximum) remains the Bolt's weakest link. The Tesla Model Y is much larger, more powerful EV than the Chevy Bolt. For it's shape, size and weight the Tesla Model Y is fairly efficient design. The Tesla Long Range Model 3 offers more range than the Tesla Long Range Model Y due to improved aerodynamics, lower weight.