Best to charge to 60%?

[Pianewman]

ICE does not equal EV. Period. Parameters are changing.

Clearly, there's no way to detail an ICE engine or transmission and predict its longevity.

An EV HV battery can be easily checked and its lifespan roughly predicted.

 

[804son]

I'm not saying ICE = EV, I am saying the concepts of inspection are similar.

 

[Pianewman]

Check out post #62 above...we posted simultaneously.

 

[spokey]

I think I see this the same as a Engine or transmission. Can you provide me with a report that shows the healthy state of your ICE engine or transmission? Now If I were to agree to have the vehicle inspected at the buyers expense with Tesla. That might be different. The same as I would do if someone wanted to have my ICE vehicle inspected by a mechanic at the buyers expense.

Last car I sold privately was my 16 yo 300zx convertible. The guy who bought it did want a mechanic go over. I took it there and don't remember the details (this was 2009) but he did focus on the engine. I know he did compression tests.

There is already some of this for EVs. Recurrent Auto - Electric Vehicle Battery Reports I'm sure this will get much more sophisticated over time

 

[nate704]

80% to 90% charge daily will be just fine. Occasional charge to 100% will also be fine. Trying to maintain the battery SoC to 50-60% will do no good or no harm in terms of day to day driving. Instead, just charge to whatever and drive daily. Avoiding supercharging/fast charging will help more for your battery health.

 

[Whatstreet]

80% to 90% charge daily will be just fine. Occasional charge to 100% will also be fine. Trying to maintain the battery SoC to 50-60% will do no good or no harm in terms of day to day driving. Instead, just charge to whatever and drive daily. Avoiding supercharging/fast charging will help more for your battery health.

This is a good one. There are used Tesla's that are only supercharged as the owner does not have access to level 2 for overnight charging. These are the cars to avoid when buying a used car. However, a battery that has a very high SOC will degrade faster than a battery at a moderate SOC. A high SOC promotes dendrite growth.

 

[Billmister]

80% to 90% charge daily will be just fine. Occasional charge to 100% will also be fine. Trying to maintain the battery SoC to 50-60% will do no good or no harm in terms of day to day driving. Instead, just charge to whatever and drive daily. Avoiding supercharging/fast charging will help more for your battery health.

That’s a good summery. To be clear, I’m sure you can charge anywhere within the “daily” percent every single day for months and you car will be great concidering the fact that you stuck to charging with the daily range.

Taking a road trip? Charging to “trip” (100%) if perfectly acceptable to use when going on a trip. Say you take long road trips 4, 5 maybe 6 times a year. That will be great as your car has the setting trip
Specifically for this purpose and it will not harm your battery.

Now if you drive 20 miles a day almost every day, do you NEED to charge to 90% everyday? No… you surely can and it won’t cause harm but you don’t NEED to. If you drive around 230 miles on many days a week do you NEED to charge to 90%? most likely yes, to be better prepared for extra destinations that were not planned.

If you charge to 50% everyday in hopes that your cars battery will be in a better place in the future, it very well may be. But in this case it’s okay because you are benefiting from getting more than enough daily range and perhaps you look to keep the car for a long time. But forcing yourself to chargers closer to 50% daily risking range just to reap the benefits of longevity is foolish I believe. The battery health benefits will be washed away by close attempts to make it to your destination or added supercharging (which in time using this a lot can be a negative for longevity of your battery).


In my case, I own my cars for around 8 years. Have for the part 3 cars. My goal is to hand my daughter my car as she will be able to drive in 8 years. I work close enough that 50% daily is more than enough for me. Two things can happen when the times comes and she wants to keep it; drives it until she is ready to purchase her own and the battery is able to get her to where she needs to go without worries. OR I pay for a new battery pack and wrap the car her preferred color and done. Or 3… she doesn’t want a Tesla, I buy her a new EV and upgrade my car.

My sister can drive 30 miles one day and next day 280 miles. No set time. At any given day. For her, 90% charge daily is what her car is set to.

In recap, enjoy your car, stay within “daily” range. Use “trip” if you need the added range for a long trip. And you will be golden!

 

[pepperoni]

Charging it to 85% and then letting it fall to 30% to charge again isn't some kind of battery neglect. I'm saying whatever you are doing, it's probably fine unless you go and do something extreme.

I agree, and sorry to single your post out as an example of what not to do, because I actually think your charging strategy is perfectly reasonable and in line with what Tesla recommends. I was actually reacting more to post 41 which implied charging to 100% every day was perfectly acceptable! In fact, I had posted a joking reply to that one just before I responded to yours, comparing the YouTube clip to the movie “Supersize Me.” I guess the mods must have removed it because it included a YouTube link to the film, so my reply to your post ended up losing some context. Anyway, in my view, charging to 85% every day, perfectly reasonable. 100% every day, no.

 

[pepperoni]

Absolutely. I would also like to think that there is a silent majority that do not treat their fellow citizens with contempt

I certainly did not intend my reply to come off as contemptuous, but if you read it that way I will accept your critique. Also, it wasn’t my intent to imply @bobbyjae was neglecting his battery because I don’t think he is, so I regret that my reply came off as critical of his post. I do, however, think most of us would be smart to take care of their batteries even if we think we’ll sell the car before the impacts are noticed. That was the purpose of my post. So, sorry for that.

 

[SageBrush]

I certainly did not intend my reply to come off as contemptuous

I was writing about those people who do not care if the next owner of their cars gets a degraded battery. Whatever your opinion of that behavior in others, it was not expressed in your post.

 

[pepperoni]

I was writing about those people who do not care if the next owner of their cars gets a degraded battery. Whatever your opinion of that behavior in others, it was not expressed in your post.

Phew! I’m glad you said that, because I genuinely thought your post was directed at me and was struggling to see how it offended you so much!

 

[DavidJH]

80% to 90% charge daily will be just fine. Occasional charge to 100% will also be fine. Trying to maintain the battery SoC to 50-60% will do no good or no harm in terms of day to day driving. Instead, just charge to whatever and drive daily. Avoiding supercharging/fast charging will help more for your battery health.

Absolutely. We are not slaves to our cars. In my case I never have to go out of my way to keep SOC low. It just suits my usage. If your situation requires you to charge full or use fast charge more frequently, no need to try too hard to avoid it to the point of making your life more miserable. It’s all about convenience.

 

[SageBrush]

If your situation requires you to charge full or use fast charge more frequently, no need to try too hard to avoid it to the point of making your life more miserable

Battery degradation is not in tune with your feelings -- it happens based on physical processes.
As for the decision whether to use the car in a manner that increases degradation in order to have more convenience, that is a trade-off each person decides for themselves.

Use of 'slavery' and 'misery' are hyperbole that turn reasoning into mush. Should it always be about convenience for you, all that is left is to crawl to a corner and die.

 

[Darmie]

ICE does not equal EV. Period. Parameters are changing.

Clearly, there's no way to detail an ICE engine or transmission and predict its longevity.

An EV HV battery can be easily checked and its lifespan roughly predicted.

I would have thought so but our 2018 Model X has already had an HV battery replaced. Normal charging between 70 or 90 unless we were on trips. Very very few times below 10 % on the highway. Oh sure we have some mileage on it, 80K. When not out of state, always charging on AC. So, who knows what happen.

There are other reports that the 3/Y BMS would want to see different SOC for more accurate range reporting.
There are also a lot of discussion that mention charging to 90 % will allow the pack to better blead off any high cells so to have a better balanced pack.

I wouldn't fret over it and charge to what you need. The charts do show hovering around 50% will be best for battery life but we still want to drive them.

 

[DavidJH]

Battery degradation is not in tune with your feelings -- it happens based on physical processes.
As for the decision whether to use the car in a manner that increases degradation in order to have more convenience, that is a trade-off each person decides for themselves.

Use of 'slavery' and 'misery' are hyperbole that turn reasoning into mush. Should it always be about convenience for you, all that is left is to crawl to a corner and die.

I admire your optimism in the face of slavery and miserable. Feel free to seek such excitement if you see fit

 

[spokey]

Battery degradation is not in tune with your feelings -- it happens based on physical processes.
As for the decision whether to use the car in a manner that increases degradation in order to have more convenience, that is a trade-off each person decides for themselves.

Use of 'slavery' and 'misery' are hyperbole that turn reasoning into mush. Should it always be about convenience for you, all that is left is to crawl to a corner and die.

Hyperbole and absolutes are usually just tools to shut down arguments you don't like but don't have a logical defense against.

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edited to add usually to avoid this argument being seen as an absolute<g>

 

[Eugene Ash]

I charge my M3 Long range to 60%. most days it lives between 40 and 60, except road trips and days where I have to do more than 100 miles of driving. I've been doing it for 13k miles. So far so good, no problems at all. If you don't drive much - I see no downsides. Just remember to charge before a winter storm or a predicted outage...

 

[nate704]

I charge to 85% to 90% daily. I mean everyday because I want to use the full power of the car. if the SoC gets to below 50%, 40%, 30%, etc. I can definitely feel the power loss.

 

[2101Guy]

I charge to 85% to 90% daily. I mean everyday because I want to use the full power of the car. if the SoC gets to below 50%, 40%, 30%, etc. I can definitely feel the power loss.

I've not seen any reports that show noticeable power drop at those levels or below. In fact, Im pretty sure there are Youtube videos that test this theory onthe drag strip as well.

That said? Your car. Charge however you want!

 

[2101Guy]

I charge my M3 Long range to 60%. most days it lives between 40 and 60, except road trips and days where I have to do more than 100 miles of driving. I've been doing it for 13k miles. So far so good, no problems at all. If you don't drive much - I see no downsides. Just remember to charge before a winter storm or a predicted outage...

I do exact same