Do you know that you must keep your battery charged?

[dpeilow]

I think this reinforces the need for some kind of smartphone app.

We know there is a data link from the car to Tesla's servers. They need an app or SMS service that says "your battery will be irreversibly trashed if you don't plug in within 2 hours" or whatever.

 

[strider]

Is this true? Did they really track the car without the owner's consent and dispatch somebody to charge the car? (With a big generator, presumably, or, did they tow the car somewhere to be charged?) Seem kind of far-fetched to me.

You have to enable the GSM modem to allow Tesla to monitor it. There are 3 settings: On/Off/On for 6 hours. So if the owner enabled remote access via the GSM modem then Tesla had his permission to access the car.

 

[JRod0802]

When I bought my Roadster I WAS clearly informed that I needed to keep the car plugged in at all times. My concern is about people buying the car used.

You would think it would trivial for Tesla to shut everything down once the battery hit a certain level of charge - leave enough juice in there to keep the batteries from dying and make it so that you have to have the vehicle towed or a Ranger show up and connect to the diag port to wake it up and start charging. This just can't be that hard. Tesla's "response" on Jalopnik was terrible IMO.

Yeah, I guess I wasn't thinking of the used cars. You've got a good point.

 

[HawaNY]

The Roadster was at 68% when we left and at 55% (range mode, so relative to full usable battery capacity) when we returned. That's a nice even 0.5% loss per day. This means I could drive the Roadster down to 50%, and leave it sitting for nearly 80 days and still be above 10%.


Interesting, thanks. Why did it draw down at all if it was plugged in. Sorry if stupid question!

 

[strider]

Interesting, thanks. Why did it draw down at all if it was plugged in. Sorry if stupid question!

Storage mode on the Roadster targets 50% state of charge as this is the best level for the batteries to sit at long term. So since it never dropped below 50% it never charged.

 

[dpeilow]

The "blogger" Michael DeGusta actually writes for Business Insider - e.g. The REAL Death Of The Music Industry

Hasn't that site been consistently anti-Tesla over the years?

 

[doug]

I don't think these PR responses are particularly helpful.

Tesla Battery 'Bricking': The Real Story Behind The Scare

Q: Will a Tesla Roadster warn its owners if the pack is dangerously low?
A: Yes. And owners of Roadster 2.0 and 2.5 vehicles (the vast majority of the total) can set their cars up to send alerts to the owner as well. Tesla said:

Tesla avoids this problem in virtually all instances with numerous counter-measures. Tesla batteries can remain unplugged for weeks (even months), without reaching zero state of charge. Owners of Roadster 2.0 and all subsequent Tesla products can request that their vehicle alert Tesla if battery state of charge falls to a low level.

All Tesla vehicles emit various visual and audible warnings if the battery pack falls below 5 percent state of charge.

The Roadster has potentially had this ability since June 2009 with the 2.0 because it has some cellular connectivity, but as far as I know Tesla has yet to do anything (visible to the customers) with it.

Q: What about other electric cars? Will the battery pack of a Nissan Leaf 'brick' as well?
A: Not according to Nissan. The company sent a statement, saying:

The Nissan LEAF battery pack will never discharge completely, thanks to an advanced battery management system designed to protect the battery from damage. One element of the battery management system is a failsafe wall that stops the battery from reaching zero state-of-charge, even after a period of unplugged storage.

Define "never." I'm sure you could "brick" a Leaf too.

 

[dpeilow]

More Twitter

Seems like a pretty deliberate attempt to stoke it up to me.

 

[tomsax]

Welcome to the forum!

Why did it draw down at all if it was plugged in.

In storage mode, it only charges when needed to keep the battery at 20% (or something in that area). Because the battery didn't get that low, it never charged.

The best way to preserve the Roadster's battery capacity when the car isn't being used is to maintain this lowish state of charge. (It's also best to store at cool temperatures.)

Note that if you use the "Reply With Quote" button it will quote that message in your post. You can them trim to just the part you want to follow up. Doing this makes it clearer what's your text and what text you're referring to, and gives readers a way to jump to the full original post (by clicking on the little arrows button).

 

[qwk]

When I bought my Roadster I WAS clearly informed that I needed to keep the car plugged in at all times. My concern is about people buying the car used.

You would think it would trivial for Tesla to shut everything down once the battery hit a certain level of charge - leave enough juice in there to keep the batteries from dying and make it so that you have to have the vehicle towed or a Ranger show up and connect to the diag port to wake it up and start charging. This just can't be that hard. Tesla's "response" on Jalopnik was terrible IMO.

Yes, Tesla's PR department is severely handicapped, kind of like whoever is in charge of their website.

 

[AnOutsider]

The "blogger" Michael DeGusta actually writes for Business Insider - e.g. The REAL Death Of The Music Industry

Hasn't that site been consistently anti-Tesla over the years?

Even trolls can stumble on something now and then. Let's not pretend this isn't an issue because the one who raised it is anti-Tesla.

Re: the FAQ, Sounds like Nissan might be doing what everyone is thinking Tesla should be (killing all power draw at a certain SoC).

 

[NigelM]

Now, if I live say 20 miles from the airport, am running late, get there with 30 miles range left and park it (thinking, rightfully, that I have enough to get back home when I return)....

In the real world EV owners never do that. We calculate out our routes with enough juice to get to the next charging opportunity. My point in reply to this whole thread is that owners who use their cars don't encounter the bricking problem. The idea that it's a risk for all of us is quite frankly, well...nonsense.

 

[AnOutsider]

In the real world EV owners never do that. We calculate out our routes with enough juice to get to the next charging opportunity. My point in reply to this whole thread is that owners who use their cars don't encounter the bricking problem. The idea that it's a risk for all of us is quite frankly, well...nonsense.

Ah forgive me, I didn't realize that as soon as one purchased an EV their life became a perfectly planned out existence with nary a surprise in sight. Why isn't this in Tesla's marketing?

 

[ckessel]

In the real world EV owners never do that.

There are gas stations everywhere and people still run out of gas. Someone here did a Life with Tesla or some such and mentioned running out of charge once in his Roadster. This stuff happens sometimes in the real world.

 

[NigelM]

The Tesla Bricking Story? It’s Nonsense

Refreshing article from Techcrunch.

Here's a taste:

Here’s a fun fact: Batteries and cars require maintenance......

This is not unique to the $100k Tesla Roadster. Batteries stop working without a charge. It just so happens that the battery pack in question isn’t a $100 laptop battery.....

Car and bike enthusiasts will attest that batteries die when not maintained....

Trickle chargers are often employed to prevent batteries from dying while vehicles are in storage....

The Tesla Roadster is an intelligent vehicle. It warns the owner when the battery is low. The latest version of the Roadster can even alert Tesla itself if the battery level is too low. But apparently these owners decided to ignore those warnings and park their expensive electric cars for extended periods of time.

And the positive coup de grâce:

The Roadster is a first generation electric vehicle. Since its introduction in 2008 it has enjoyed a life free from many public controversies. This battery nonsense will blow over and the Roadster can get back to causing real drama by embarrassing Porsche 911s everywhere.

(I added the bold!)

 

[NigelM]

Ah forgive me, I didn't realize that as soon as one purchased an EV their life became a perfectly planned out existence with nary a surprise in sight. Why isn't this in Tesla's marketing?

Seriously, ask any Roadster owner and I'd warrant that Leaf owners will tell you the same thing: Once you're driving an EV you do plan your driving differently; it's not a chore and it's not negative.

There are gas stations everywhere and people still run out of gas. Someone here did a Life with Tesla or some such and mentioned running out of charge once in his Roadster. This stuff happens sometimes in the real world.

Running out of charge with your car is totally different to the bricking problem. In the case of running out there is always a residual charge to keep systems working; after all if you stop at the roadside you're not likely to leave your car sitting there for a week before you call AAA are you?

 

[smoothoperator]

Ah forgive me, I didn't realize that as soon as one purchased an EV their life became a perfectly planned out existence with nary a surprise in sight. Why isn't this in Tesla's marketing?

lol

All jokes aside I think this is a huge problem...There are times when life gets in the way of charging your EV and it may be impossible to ensure that the car is plugged in. Under no circumstances should not plugging the car in for a few months cause 40k worth of damage. That is plain ridiculous. There should be countermeasures which allow for the car be stored without plugging it in, perhaps Tesla should offer a service where they can store/charge your car and for a monthly fee.

 

[TEG]

The majority of cars being sold will be electric by 2030. Not everyone will read the manual...

By 2030 we might have cars that drive themselves to the nearest charging station when they are low on charge.
It does seem like self driving vehicles are "just around the corner."

 

[TEG]

It has been said that pilots make good EV owners. They are experienced at planning trips not to exceed their "one tank" range, and making sure their vehicles are maintained and stored properly for extended periods between trips.

 

[NigelM]

There are times when life gets in the way of charging your EV and it may be impossible to ensure that the car is plugged in. Under no circumstances should not plugging the car in for a few months cause 40k worth of damage. That is plain ridiculous. There should be countermeasures which allow for the car be stored without plugging it in, perhaps Tesla should offer a service where they can store/charge your car and for a monthly fee.

Huh? Under what circumstances would it be "impossible" for you to plug in your car, but quite possible to arrange to get it into a Tesla storage facility?

"Countermeasures" allowing a car to be stored without plugging it in? Wow, some sort of new technology!?! Batteries that last forever?