Day 5 with my MS 70KW and feeling underwhelmed.

[Cooksomerice]

I have put approximately 1100 miles on the car since Saturday.

2016 model S 70 KW with 7250 miles on odometer.

First issue: 100% charge at 220 miles.
This was disappointing as I was sure I would see 100% charge in the mid 230's.
Second:
Seem I'm driving too heavy footed, 338 wh/mile. Last night it working out to be about 70% efficient of battery. I left the SC with 160 miles range, traveled 35 miles in town up till now and I have 110 miles range.
Pretty frustrating.
Lastly:
I'm off work. Sitting at the Shreveport SC topping off before making the 120 mile return home.
SC had a rate of charge at a whopping 38-40 kw.
Stark contrast from last night when it hit 90kw. Is tesla punitimg me here for using SC exclusively while out of town?
Pretty discouraging to see :
Low total range
Low efficiency during reasonable driving.
Sluggish ROC at my regional SC( no other vehicles charging)

 

[Max*]

First issue: 100% charge at 220 miles.
This was disappointing as I was sure I would see 100% charge in the mid 230's.

Mid-230s? How? The 70 (not 70D) has an EPA rating of 230 miles.

220 miles is a little low, but somewhere in the mid-220s would be reasonable for a 70kwh battery.

Second:
Seem I'm driving too heavy footed, 338 wh/mile. Last night it working out to be about 70% efficient of battery. I left the SC with 160 miles range, traveled 35 miles in town up till now and I have 110 miles range.
Pretty frustrating.

This is highly dependent on weather too. The colder it is, the more power you use.

How fast were you driving? How cold was it?

Lastly:
I'm off work. Sitting at the Shreveport SC topping off before making the 120 mile return home.
SC had a rate of charge at a whopping 38-40 kw.
Stark contrast from last night when it hit 90kw. Is tesla punitimg me here for using SC exclusively while out of town?

1. The Superchargers taper at higher state of charge rates. So if you're charging from 80% up, you'll have slow speeds
2. There have also been several reports of various superchargers working slowly, try a different stall see if it goes up.

 

[AndreSF]

Pretty discouraging to see :
Low total range
Low efficiency during reasonable driving.
Sluggish ROC at my regional SC( no other vehicles charging)

"Reasonable driving" is a pretty subjective thing... Your posted wh/mile number suggests otherwise. Heavy foot has the same effect on EV or ICE. Try slowing down a bit for better range, or better yet, just don't worry about the little things and enjoy your car!

Good luck!

 

[Cooksomerice]

Mid-230s? How? The 70 (not 70D) has an EPA rating of 230 miles.

220 miles is a little low, but somewhere in the mid-220s would be reasonable for a 70kwh battery.

I guess I had that wrong. Even so, 220 seems a bit low and every
Miles seems to matter at the moment.

This is highly dependent on weather too. The colder it is, the more power you use.

How fast were you driving? How cold was it?

Last night was 65'. I was driving my normal. With the occasional sprint off a light or turn. I suppose I can save some range there, but not much.


1. The Superchargers taper at higher state of charge rates. So if you're charging from 80% up, you'll have slow speeds
2. There have also been several reports of various superchargers working slowly, try a different stall see if it goes up.

I tried different chargers each time. The Roc was consistent across different chargers.

 

[Max*]

I agree that miles matter. I'm a little surprised it's at 220, instead of mid/high 220s after only 7500 miles.

As for speed, 65mph is a decent speed, but if that included stop and go traffic (you said with the occasional sprint of a light or turn), then it's understandable. If you were on the highway doing 65mph, your wh/mi would be lower than if you're in the city with lights and turns. Each time you slow down and speed up, it eats into your range.

But you didn't answer what your state of charge was? If you had a lot of energy in the battery, it would taper more. You should also call Tesla next time, if there's a problem with the supercharger, they'd know.

 

[Cooksomerice]

I agree that miles matter. I'm a little surprised it's at 220, instead of mid/high 220s after only 7500 miles.

As for speed, 65mph is a decent speed, but if that included stop and go traffic (you said with the occasional sprint of a light or turn), then it's understandable. If you were on the highway doing 65mph, your wh/mi would be lower than if you're in the city with lights and turns. Each time you slow down and speed up, it eats into your range.

But you didn't answer what your state of charge was? If you had a lot of energy in the battery, it would taper more. You should also call Tesla next time, if there's a problem with the supercharger, they'd know.

I took this photo about 15 or 20 minutes into my charge. Started the charge with 110 miles of range.

 

[Cooksomerice]

I agree that miles matter. I'm a little surprised it's at 220, instead of mid/high 220s after only 7500 miles.

As for speed, 65mph is a decent speed, but if that included stop and go traffic (you said with the occasional sprint of a light or turn), then it's understandable. If you were on the highway doing 65mph, your wh/mi would be lower than if you're in the city with lights and turns. Each time you slow down and speed up, it eats into your range.

But you didn't answer what your state of charge was? If you had a lot of energy in the battery, it would taper more. You should also call Tesla next time, if there's a problem with the supercharger, they'd know.

Also, the 65 I referred to was the temperature. Sorry.
The miles burned was in city traffic.

 

[Cooksomerice]

"Reasonable driving" is a pretty subjective thing... Your posted wh/mile number suggests otherwise. Heavy foot has the same effect on EV or ICE. Try slowing down a bit for better range, or better yet, just don't worry about the little things and enjoy your car!

Good luck!

Good advic, I am sure.
I am likely over thinking things a bit.
I've had some nice cars over the years, but this is an entirely different experience.
Lots to learn.
Sensory overload at times.

 

[AndreSF]

Good advic, I am sure.
I am likely over thinking things a bit.
I've had some nice cars over the years, but this is an entirely different experience.
Lots to learn.
Sensory overload at times.

Just for your reference, I have a similar MS70 in terms of mileage. My 100% is 231 I think, last time I did 100%. 90% (daily) varies between 204 - 207. The Supercharger issue is indeed unpleasant, so I would call Tesla as it is happening next time, as it was suggested.
Some folks BTW simply switch their preferences to show percentage vs miles on the dash, not sure that would help in your case

PS. I would check tires pressure too, as that contributes to range variables

 

[Btrflyl8e]

Your pack could just be out of balance. My old 60 dropped to only 182 miles at 100% consistently for a period. I charged it to around 92% once, then daily to 90%. After a couple weeks it had climbed back to 199 miles at 100% with nearly 40,000 miles on odometer

 

[Cooksomerice]

Your pack could just be out of balance. My old 60 dropped to only 182 miles at 100% consistently for a period. I charged it to around 92% once, then daily to 90%. After a couple weeks it had climbed back to 199 miles at 100% with nearly 40,000 miles on odometer

I have a few days off between now and Monday. I think I will try that. I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

[Cooksomerice]

Wondering too, if I have any recourse with Tesla. After all, 220 is about an 8 to 10 drop mile drop in range from what is expected.
Perhaps a discount on the range extension? I do have a 75 kw battery after all.

 

[Cooksomerice]

What to hear something odd?
I posted this thread. Finished charging and immediately got on the interstate.
Charged to 202 miles range.
Put AP on 80 mph and never wavered.
72 degrees outside.
Average Wh/mile?
278!?!
It is an exact 120 mile trip. Got home with 80 miles range. Crazy good use of battery considering my speed.

 

[Rocky_H]

I don't see anything out of the ordinary here, and it's just learning new things.

Seem I'm driving too heavy footed, 338 wh/mile. Last night it working out to be about 70% efficient of battery. I left the SC with 160 miles range, traveled 35 miles in town up till now and I have 110 miles range.

That's not even heavy footed. Mid 330's wh/mi is really normal for new owners. Most people most of the time are probably going to be around 315 to 330. Also, here is a big one. I notice you said, "traveled 35 miles in town up til now". Is that in several separate driving trips with some hours of stops in between? Because that is a big surprise for new owners, where the car has sat for a few hours and gotten cold, the first five minutes of driving are probably going through rated miles about 2 for 1 versus real miles while it warms up the battery some. When I first start my drive to work, it's very common to see 400-600 wh/mi for a few minutes. So if you do several short separate drives around town, it's not surprising to see that have low efficiency versus long steady highway driving.

Wondering too, if I have any recourse with Tesla. After all, 220 is about an 8 to 10 drop mile drop in range from what is expected.
Perhaps a discount on the range extension? I do have a 75 kw battery after all.

That is also totally normal, isn't anything wrong with your battery, so there is no "recourse" needed from Tesla, but it usually freaks new owners out. We see another new thread on this every few weeks on the forum at the Tesla website. Every one of these cars--every.single.one--shows a reduction of about 5-10 miles on the display of a supposedly full charge within the first 6 months, and then it levels out and stays really steady for a much longer time. It seems to be the estimating algorithm getting a little off.

 

[hmmm]

Some folks BTW simply switch their preferences to show percentage vs miles on the dash, not sure that would help in your case

+1

I got tired of juggling between real miles, rated miles, "flavor du jour" miles and switched to displaying %. Much more relaxing for me.

I also like to display the real time ernergy usage in the dash and see how I can get into the "green zone" (ie generating energy overall) on my daily commute. Good way to kill time, But yes, a little nerdy.

I think your "new owner jitters" are normal, the MS is a very unique animal that requires special taming. But after a short period of adjustment, I think you'll love it.

 

[MP3Mike]

Wondering too, if I have any recourse with Tesla. After all, 220 is about an 8 to 10 drop mile drop in range from what is expected.
Perhaps a discount on the range extension? I do have a 75 kw battery after all.

I wonder if that is part of the problem, that the estimate is just off. Normally the balancing doesn't happen until you charge to ~93% which if the pack is top limited you would barely be getting to an actual 93% when you charge to 100%.

I wonder if the new software limited cars can be handled the same way the old 40s are. You can go to the service center occasionally and they can charge it to a real 100% so that it gets properly balanced. (Or if that is even necessary with the new cars.)

 

[Btrflyl8e]

I wonder if that is part of the problem, that the estimate is just off. Normally the balancing doesn't happen until you charge to ~93% which if the pack is top limited you would barely be getting to an actual 93% when you charge to 100%.

I wonder if the new software limited cars can be handled the same way the old 40s are. You can go to the service center occasionally and they can charge it to a real 100% so that it gets properly balanced. (Or if that is even necessary with the new cars.)

Ah, I hadn't even thought about that... How would pack balancing ever be triggered in these software-limited packs? Good catch

 

[Cooksomerice]

You can go to the service center occasionally and they can charge it to a real 100% so that it gets properly balanced. (Or if that is even necessary with the new cars.)

I was not aware they could charge to a higher SOC. It makes sense now as my wife insists that when we picked the car up at the service center Saturday, the car was charged to 228 miles.
Yet, once home, I have charged to 100% twice and each time get 220. I have argued that she was mistaken, but clearly she may have been correct.

 

[ig_epower]

I am entering into my 3rd month of ownership. I put over 14K KM on the car. I don't worry too much about the rated miles and battery capacity as there are so many different factors at play - your driving style, the type to trips you make, the terrain and environmental conditions. I am amazed the Tesla does such a good job of estimating the range despite all these variables - plus the unknown future usage on the next tank of electricity. Up in Canada we are entering into winter driving mode and range is hugely affected but gladly the size of this amazing battery pack allows you to factor in the inefficiency of cold weather driving and still go where I need to go without changing my route planning - I simply raise my charge target by 30% and all is great.

It was pretty cold out last night and I was waiting (like 15 minutes) to pick up one of my kids. My car was off but heater was keeping me warm. The other parents were idling their big SUVs wasting a lot of fuel to stay warm. Ha! Of course I use up range when I sit in the car like this but looking at the alternatives (freezing or idling in an ICE vehicle) the Tesla wins out again.

As you get to use your car for whatever you need in addressing your transportation needs you will find that the adjustments for managing SOC is minimal compared to the overall enjoyment and benefit that you will receive from the experience.

And if/when you may run into a service issue - be patient but pleasantly surprised that you have a well-intentioned company behind the product to put you back on course.

 

[sorka]

That is also totally normal, isn't anything wrong with your battery, so there is no "recourse" needed from Tesla, but it usually freaks new owners out. We see another new thread on this every few weeks on the forum at the Tesla website. Every one of these cars--every.single.one--shows a reduction of about 5-10 miles on the display of a supposedly full charge within the first 6 months, and then it levels out and stays really steady for a much longer time. It seems to be the estimating algorithm getting a little off.

My P85D is 253 EPA rated miles and that's what it showed when it was brand new. A 100% charge now shows 251 rated miles with 31K miles on the odometer. I'd be furious if I saw 242 rated miles after a 1000 miles of driving.