Charging Help - light usage days

[GetzEverything]

My car gave me a message yesterday something about “try to charge only to the level you will need” (I’m sure it was written better but that is what I perceived).

I have my limit set to 80% and keep it plugged in while in the garage, and it is set to charge every night. Since I’m not working and using a lot of battery, I’ve only been driving it around town, using 30 or 40 miles of battery. So in reality each night my charger is topping up my battery to 80%.
Then my car gave me the above message.

I like to keep the charge up high in case I need to go somewhere.
Any thoughts on if I should not be charging it nightly when I don’t use much battery?

 

[jmaddr]

I'd love to see a photo of that message to give you a better opinion. I've never heard of an 80% charge triggering a message like that.

 

[boaterva]

Never happened on my X (80%) and 3 (90%). Ever. After a year for the 3 and two for the X.

Love to hear details of this also.

Now if it gets set to 100, sure, you might get a complaint from the BMS but not after one time, either.

 

[GetzEverything]

I thought it was odd also. I just set it to top off now and will see if it triggers the message again.

 

[GetzEverything]

I just topped off and didn’t get the message today.

 

[jjrandorin]

My car gave me a message yesterday something about “try to charge only to the level you will need” (I’m sure it was written better but that is what I perceived).

I have my limit set to 80% and keep it plugged in while in the garage, and it is set to charge every night. Since I’m not working and using a lot of battery, I’ve only been driving it around town, using 30 or 40 miles of battery. So in reality each night my charger is topping up my battery to 80%.
Then my car gave me the above message.

I like to keep the charge up high in case I need to go somewhere.
Any thoughts on if I should not be charging it nightly when I don’t use much battery?

Like the other responders in this thread, I have never seen (or read of) anyone ever getting any message like that when they charge ANYWHERE in the "daily use" zone. If you charge twice in the "trip" zone you will get a message like that. The trip zone on a model 3 is anything above 90%. I think its far more likely that somehow the charge got set to 90%+ twice in your car to trigger that message, but since all of that is software based its not unheard of for a glitch to happen.

I have been charging to 90% (only 90%, not lower) for the year that I have had my model 3, and I plug in every single time my car hits my garage... not once a day, but if I go out to the store thats 2 miles away, I unplug, drive to the store, come back and plug in, and I have never seen any sort of message unless the charge level if set to higher than 90%.

 

[TheTonester]

When I know I won't be driving much I usually set it in the 50-60% range. And then even if I do drive more than expected I still have plenty of range. Whether or not this is "better" than charging to I higher percentage I don't know for sure, but I have read some things that suggest it is.

 

[ewoodrick]

My car gave me a message yesterday something about “try to charge only to the level you will need” (I’m sure it was written better but that is what I perceived).

I have my limit set to 80% and keep it plugged in while in the garage, and it is set to charge every night. Since I’m not working and using a lot of battery, I’ve only been driving it around town, using 30 or 40 miles of battery. So in reality each night my charger is topping up my battery to 80%.
Then my car gave me the above message.

I like to keep the charge up high in case I need to go somewhere.
Any thoughts on if I should not be charging it nightly when I don’t use much battery?

You'll get a message if you try to repeatedly charge to 100%, but getting a message for 80% is unusual.