Could someone answer my question on my MYLR’s range please?

[yunoukk]

So I recently got a long range mode Y and my commute is from around riverside to barstow, 75 miles one way. One the way to work, its mostly uphill and it consumes lot of energy and my range goes from 265 mi to 160 mi, when I arrive to work. And when I come back home I am left with around 7mi. It seems like The battery is draining a lot more than it should?
I drive around the speed limit, 5-10 mph over max, mostly on autopilot. Should I be concerned about this issue?

 

[dino007]

I 2nd turning off cabin overheat protection, its killer i was losing like 8% with that first couple of days i left it on here in the desert

Turned it off no regrets

 

[Fourdoor]

Nope, you shouldnt, all sounds very normal.

If you are driving the speed of traffic, when there is no traffic you are likely driving around 80MPH (10 over) and the difference between 70 and 80MPH is not a "little bit extra" on the battery, its a LOT LOT LOT extra. it is in an ICE vehicle too, but people dont pay attention to "range" in an ICE vehicle.

Anyway, the EPA testing (your 326 mile range) is based on EPA tests, which are around 45 miles per hour. The very fact that you are saying "range goes from 265" tells me that you likely have gone down the battery rabbit hole and think something like "I need to only charge to 75-80% to prolong my battery!" Stop doing that (charging to 80%) and charge to 90% because you are driving 150 miles round trip, with elevation changes.

I charge daily to 90% in my model 3, and have more "range left" than other people who micromanage theirs. dont charge to 100% every day, but there is absolutely positively 100% nothing wrong with charging to 90%, and you should, because your commute is so long.

I agree with 90% of what you said (hehehe) but if the OP is arriving at home with 22% SOC left (70 miles of range) then I see no reason to charge over 80% in the summer. Perhaps in winter he will need to switch it up to 90%.

Personally, I change up my charge % on a daily basis so that when the car sleeps it does so at different SOC levels so the BMS system can get a good read on battery capacity. I know that this isn't critical in any way, I just like mine to be accurate. With my 50 mile round trip commute I can do this... with a long commute like the OP it would not be possible on work days but may be an option on days off.

Keith

 

[jjrandorin]

I agree with 90% of what you said (hehehe) but if the OP is arriving at home with 22% SOC left (70 miles of range) then I see no reason to charge over 80% in the summer. Perhaps in winter he will need to switch it up to 90%.

Personally, I change up my charge % on a daily basis so that when the car sleeps it does so at different SOC levels so the BMS system can get a good read on battery capacity. I know that this isn't critical in any way, I just like mine to be accurate. With my 50 mile round trip commute I can do this... with a long commute like the OP it would not be possible on work days but may be an option on days off.

Keith

I made that suggestion, because, while at a macro level, we know that "80% is better than 90%" we have no clue what that looks like. Is it "3 miles better after 5 years?" 5? 8? 12? We dont know. What I can say, from my own experience, is that charging to 90% every day is not a huge contributor to "extra degradation" like some would have people think.

This OP is driving 150 real miles, which, at 75-80MPH will likely be 200-220 tesla miles and may be even more when it gets colder. Contrary to what this OP may think, even in southern california, which doesnt have "real" winter, the car WILL get less range during the winter, absolutely.

Being above 90% is probably the same impact as being under 15% as far as the battery goes, so because of this OPs commute, and the fact that, as it gets colder, they will use more range, I made the suggestion that they should charge to 90% and just stop worrying about it. They are using enough of their battery that their car will be sitting at various states of charge without them doing anything. When they charge to 90% and then drive that 70 mile drive (that takes 100-120 tesla miles due to elevation changes), then park and work, the car will sit at that state of charge for a while. Same thing when they get home.

For them, if they dont want to "worry about it" then they should charge to 90% and stop thinking about it. Alternatively, they can micro manage it, and most likely end up with the same result.

 

[Bogo]

It's absolutely normal. Yes, there's a lot of downhill once you get back to the Cajon pass, but there's quite an uphill from about Adelanto up through Victorville on your way back. Not to mention the longish uphill portion as you are leaving Barstow heading south.

I wouldn't worry too much about "when it gets colder." You know, and I know, that it doesn't really get that cold (apart from a few days in Victorville that might see snow every couple of years) but you're making it home with about 25% at this point, and you won't lose that much due to the colder weather.

I've personally driven to Barstow and back (also live in Riverside) and have experienced about what you're seeing.

Check out www.abetterrouteplanner.com -- I think you'll find it to be pretty accurate. I also plugged Riverside to Barstow into it and got this cool cross-section showing estimated battery charge and the elevation change for Riverside to Barstow. You can see that it isn't exactly downhill the whole way back.View attachment 718178

Tried the website but it didn’t have Tesla as a vehicle selection??

 

[MorrisonHiker]

Tried the website but it didn’t have Tesla as a vehicle selection??

Look at the top of the list. ABRP started out as Tesla only but as they added other EVs, they kept Tesla listed at the top of the list.

 

[Cobe]

Not sure if this thread is the best spot, but since we are discussing range degradation, I would appreciate your thoughts. I have two questions:

1) MYLR has just hit 7k miles (delivered June 21) and max range has decreased to 302 miles. Should I be concerned about this? (Usually home charge to 85%)

2) My recent records for charge efficiency feels "all over the place". Is this normal? My wife is the sole driver, and she drives to my two daughters' homes and a local mall about 90% of the time. Being Texas, I think our highest mountain is about 200 feet. She uses the same roads, same speeds, same acceleration, typically by herself in the car, same AC/heat settings, etc.

I mapped "actual miles" compared to "range miles used" and plotted against temperature. (I sorted data by temperature for easy comparison) I get an average of 76%, and that feels "OK" compared to what I have read on other threads. But if you look at the data and graph attached, I am surprised at the huge variability. For example, at around 55 degree temps, I can get between 75 and 90% efficiency, and in the 30 degrees, I get a spread between 60 and 80% efficiency. I always precondition. Should I consider these "wide efficiency spreads" normal given the "very similar" driving conditions?

 

[jcanoe]

Suggest that if you are going to track efficiency then watt hours per mile (Wh/mi) would be a better gauge of driving efficiency (a lower number indicates better efficiency). The Tesla Model Y energy screen can display this for the most recent 5/15/30 miles.

Using the Trips display you can view your efficiency for the current trip, since the last charge, Trip A and Trip B. Suggest renaming Trip B to Lifetime and not resetting this one.

Tracking miles driven is fine but there is no indication of what percentage was local driving, local driving speed and what percentage was highway driving, highway speed.

You will find that preconditioning while plugged in before driving can significantly improve driving efficiency. Suggest 5 to 10 minutes, even up to 15 minutes before leaving home.

No matter what you do your efficiency will be worse in winter, better in spring and early summer and fall. Expect at least 25% increased consumption (lower efficiency) in winter.

The displayed range (302 miles) is nothing to be concerned about. It is only an estimate. You would never take a trip, attempt to drive 300 miles without stopping at least once to charge. If you did find yourself with a longer leg with no charging options you can add almost 10% to your range by dropping your speed by 5 MPH. Slowing down 10 MPH would add almost 20% to your range.

Most of the trips shown were under 100 miles. If you plan to take a longer trip then get A Better Route Planner (ABRP) installed on your phone, tablet or laptop. ABRP will help you plan longer trips, show recommended charging stops along a route. ABRP will take into account vehicle, average speed, temperature, wind, road conditions (wet/dry) in addition to elevation changes.

 

[Empiro]

The range estimate can vary quite a bit. I think the standard advice is to let your car sit for at least several hours at varying states of charge with everything off (including sentry mode and overheat protection, and you don't check the app at all). That will recalibrate your battery state and may get some displayed range back.

Still, 10% for the first 10k miles is pretty normal, and battery degradation will slow down significantly after that.

Instead of tracking % of rated range (because the rated range is an estimate of the battery state), tracking wh/mile is more helpful to us. It is an objective measure that is easy to compare.

Anything below 280 is pretty decent. The rated consumption is about 245 wh/mile. You'll need to achieve that if you want to get the EPA-rated number of miles. After driving my car for a while, I think the number is entirely achievable in good weather (50-70 degrees) if you drive 55 miles an hour. Consumption dramatically increases if you drive above 65.

 

[Cobe]

Thanks everyone. I will track watt hours per mile and see if it makes better sense. Appreciate the updated information....still learning on this amazing machine!

 

[Dennisis]

jcanoe nailed it, as usual. You'll read a lot about this subject but these are the basics I've learned:

1) Display percent not miles.
2) Watch wh/mi on "trips" menu - lower is better. Mitigate poor weather and elevation changes by controlling speed and acceleration.
3) Range info is based on the BMS having lots of data points. Longer trips and variable charging levels help make it more accurate. Over time mine went from around 300 (20" wheels) to 275 and is now back up to 292. It doesn't just keep going down - more data will give it more accurate projections is my point. (Lifetime 265 wh/mi over 18K, 60/40 city/highway) To clarify, your actual range is what it is, the accuracy of the measurement will change based on the quality of the data gathered.

There's more but I've gone on too long, enjoy!!! You'll find you're generally over-thinking things .