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Charging Completes @ 99% for 5 months. Tesla Says it’s normal. What do I do next?

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I’m reaching out to the forum for advice on what to do next. I’ve been working with the Service center for 5 months now and I still continue to have charging problems. They have been nothing but great but I need a way to get my car fixed.


Car Details:
2015 Model S 85 D
Dual Chargers​


Problem:

Charging completes at 99% or less when Level is set to 100%​


Symptoms:

The problems seems to show up when the Ambient temperature is cold under 50 degrees F.
Charging is much slower than normal for the top 5% (over 95%)
Supercharging can take up to 2+ hours for a full charge​


Service Record for Charging Problem:

Found 16 Dec 2016
Charger Recalibrated 10 Jan 2016 @ 36,600 miles
Battery swap 27 Feb 2017 @ 42,400
Tesla Claims Normal 5 Apr 2017 & again today 8 May 2017
Current Mileage: 47,000​


Now before people ask, the car is not completing charging at 100% and then goes down to 99% or less with the car sitting. I am fully aware of the car using battery power to keep the battery warm or for cooling the cabin. The car completes charging at 99% or less. I get notifications that the car completed charging at 99%.

I also have seen the video from Bjorn where Optimus prime had a similar issue. But his had it temporarily (1 or 2 attempts) and then went away. He explained it as the car attempting to balance the cells. Mine continues to charge slowly & complete at 99% over 5 months and counting. 99% completing only happens when its cold.

I’ve creating a charging logs to track date, time, charge states, & ambient temperature since the issues started happening and regularly provide Tesla to review logs.

I’ve been in 3 times to have the problem fixed at the Service Center.

1. First time out they recalibrated the charger and made things worse. Charging would complete as low as 96% when set to 100%

2. 2nd time, the battery was replaced as a good will service because engineering states there is nothing wrong with the car when there obviously was.​

After the battery swap I continue to have charging complete at 99% when set to 100% if the temperature was cold. While a new battery is great. I would prefer the issues solved as the slow charging has made long distance travel more tedious and annoying.

3. 3rd time at the service center; now Tesla states charging completed at 99% is normal Car is functioning correctly.​


So I attempt to get another case started thru Tesla support number. After 1 months without any response I contact the service center for an update and get the following message:

“We have had your vehicle logs reviewed and find no faults. Your Model S is operating as designed. Colder ambient temperatures may require the battery coolant heater to operate, this can use energy.”


The last response is very confusing. Makes me think they just want me to go away. Charge going down after completing charging is normal. Charging consistenly completing at anything under 100% when set to charge to 100% is not normal. Even with battery degradation the battery should always complete at 100%. Now I have a brand new battery and should not even have the problem anymore. From looking at the forum others have started having the problem as well within the last 6-8 months.

So what do I do next?

Tesla Service won’t let me schedule an appointment for the issue anymore. They just look at the logs remotely, check with engineer and state everything is normal. I think they are trying to avoid the 4th visit that kicks off lemon law protection. But obviously, there is a problem if the 2nd service visit warranted a battery replacement.

The car is closely approaching the end of the warranty. I’ll be at 50k miles in 2 months.

I drive my car a lot. I’ve only had her for 20 months and she has 47,000 miles. I mainly drive on the weekends for long trips. I’ve had a lot of issues with her from door handles failing, autopilot cameras shorting out, GPS antenna harness coming loose, front end sagging, and loose seats that took 4 months to replace.


I’m thinking I only have a couple options.

1. Deal with it and dump more money into the car to get the extended warranty that I will need. Does the 8 yr warranty cover the chargers?

2. Find a way to escalate within Tesla to get her fixed. Anyone know how to do this?

3. File for Lemon Law protection & request a replacement. Any advice here?​


I really would appreciate the forums feedback on what I should do next. Really don’t like the response from Tesla since the battery replacement. I love my car and really just want her fixed.
 
  • Funny
Reactions: xyeahtony
I wouldn't get so obsessed over that number - its just the algorithm telling you a number. In practical terms what matters is, how many electrons can your battery push ~ and that is dependent on SO MANY factors. Realistically speaking 99% vs 100%, has no practical meaning.

As far as ESA, I got one. I think it is wise to get one if you want to keep the car in the 4-8 year period. Plus its transferable to the next owner, just in case you decide to sell your car.
 
So what do I do next?

Nothing to fix. The 100% charge is a guess. The SoC of any battery is always a guess, and the 100% level is even more of a guess. It's a cosmetic issue.

I can't believe you wasted Tesla's time with this, and they even accommodated you with a pack replacement and you still are complaining. This is where the software engineer that makes the display software needs to just round a bit more.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: croman
Most certainly not. Especially given that it is reproducible. My car always charges to 100% when I request it.
My car only ever charges to 99%. Over the past two years, my projected 100% rated miles has gone up at least 2 miles. Maybe I'm just a cynical old programmer who no longer expects others to understand the vagaries of floating point, but I'm not losing sleep over this one.
 
  • Like
Reactions: croman
I won't fuss over it.
I know it can be annoying to not get that perfect 100%, but in reality it does matter. Especially if you have received a brand new battery back and still get 99% when it is cold. I set my charge to 80% and some morning it is only at 79%, no bid deal.
 
How low of a SOC do you drive your car? Try to get it under 5%

Varies on the trip. I've gotten her down all the way to 3% while testing and still had charging complete at 99.

As part of the testing, I did perform several charge cycles from High to low. Tesla requested under 20% but I went down under 10% and back up to 90 before attempting another charge to 100.
 
My car only ever charges to 99%. Over the past two years, my projected 100% rated miles has gone up at least 2 miles. Maybe I'm just a cynical old programmer who no longer expects others to understand the vagaries of floating point, but I'm not losing sleep over this one.

Have you also noticed slower charging at the top?

Charging at home (80 amps) is 30-45 min slower when the issue is present.
At a supercharger i've gone from 1.5 hrs to 2 hr for a full charge.

I've gone to some remote places with my Model S where there is no charging and I needed the full 100% just to get back. Having to wait extra time sucks when for the first year and a half of owning the car I never had problems.
 
@m2140 New battery didn't change the behavior, so you know it's not the battery. Battery has an 8 year warranty too, so really nothing to worry about. If you want to speculate about what is happening, how about this:
Your car charges to 100.00%, then charger disconnects and because heater is on (cabin and/or battery) the load causes the voltage to drop slightly, resulting in 99.44% SoC estimate (which is voltage based).
 
  • Informative
Reactions: doctorwho
When I see 100% charge notification, then unplug, go in the car, not driving but only heater and music, the is just a few minutes the indicator shows 99%

Remember there is no 100,1% or 100,8%. It just goes quickly to 99.9%

Visually explained ; how do you get a bucket of water full. The last drup I the hardest to keep in, and leaves even with a blow of wind

I'm not native English speaker, that's 100%