Does the model 3 need to be fettled to be a daily driver?

[plisken]

What I mean is, does it need to be tweaked and tinkered with frequently, be it through reboots, body lubrication or whatever? I'm not meaning in the way an older, come classic car does but just generally, can I expect to charge it every couple of weeks (depending on mileage) and top up washer fluid once in a while or will I need to be restarting apps, lubricating door handles (read about that one), door seals, using special cleaners on glass, cleaning camera's and the likes?

A bit on a tongue in cheek post but you get the idea...

 

[TestPilot]

What I mean is, does it need to be tweaked and tinkered with frequently, be it through reboots, body lubrication or whatever? I'm not meaning in the way an older, come classic car does but just generally, can I expect to charge it every couple of weeks (depending on mileage) and top up washer fluid once in a while or will I need to be restarting apps, lubricating door handles (read about that one), door seals, using special cleaners on glass, cleaning camera's and the likes?

A bit on a tongue in cheek post but you get the idea...

Depends quick you go through screen wash really.

 

[niiru]

It would be an expensive car purchase if you're only needing to charge every couple of weeks.

 

[ACarneiro]

What I mean is, does it need to be tweaked and tinkered with frequently, be it through reboots, body lubrication or whatever? I'm not meaning in the way an older, come classic car does but just generally, can I expect to charge it every couple of weeks (depending on mileage) and top up washer fluid once in a while or will I need to be restarting apps, lubricating door handles (read about that one), door seals, using special cleaners on glass, cleaning camera's and the likes?

A bit on a tongue in cheek post but you get the idea...

Nope. Within the usual “being sensible” and keeping your tyres inflated and have have your brakes checked every couple of years, I’ve found mine to be pretty much just charge and go.

 

[Mr Miserable]

No

 

[Adopado]

What I mean is, does it need to be tweaked and tinkered with frequently, be it through reboots, body lubrication or whatever? I'm not meaning in the way an older, come classic car does but just generally, can I expect to charge it every couple of weeks (depending on mileage) and top up washer fluid once in a while or will I need to be restarting apps, lubricating door handles (read about that one), door seals, using special cleaners on glass, cleaning camera's and the likes?

A bit on a tongue in cheek post but you get the idea...

Probably the least fettling required of any vehicle.

 

[plisken]

It would be an expensive car purchase if you're only needing to charge every couple of weeks.

Currently, I fill up every 3 weeks to the tune of £75 and I generally do about 200 miles so was kind of hoping I could stick to a pattern as close to this as possible (excluding the cost) but have no clue what the loss of charge would be when sitting over a weekend for example.

On my original point, forums are nice and all that but it’s good to be able to just use/drive a car without constantly checking a forum because of an issue.

I don’t use windows cause it’s crap (professional opinion) at home I use a Mac cause it just works, kind of want my Tesla to be like that. At work I use Linux, but I’m always having to tinker with it, fix it, monitor it (them actually), I’m hoping the Tesla won’t be like that.

 

[jjrandorin]

can I expect to charge it every couple of weeks (depending on mileage

No, you will not be "charging every couple of weeks". You wont need to check a forum to drive the car, they are pretty low maintenance, BUT, you will not be plugging in every couple of weeks in general, you will, at a minimum, be plugging in every few days.

If you have a place to park where you can plug it in when you are not using it, thats pretty much all you will need to do. If you DONT have such a place, and are asking "can I own this car and only plug in every couple of weeks", my opinion is "no".

 

[MrT3]

Currently, I fill up every 3 weeks to the tune of £75 and I generally do about 200 miles so was kind of hoping I could stick to a pattern as close to this as possible (excluding the cost) but have no clue what the loss of charge would be when sitting over a weekend for example.

You would probably need to plug in every couple of weeks. You may lose around 0.5 to 1% per day when the vehicle isn't being used as the vehicle will periodically come out of sleep to report back to the mothership and charge up the 12v battery etc.

But in the winter you will probably want to take advantage of the Tesla, pre-heating the interior before you drive off which will use a bit more power - so you could be charging once a week.

 

[Puma2020]

I am assuming 200 miles/week.
You'll want to charge at home at least every 100 miles, mostly because why not?
One advantage to EVs, is every morning you wake up and have a "full" tank... although normally "full" is 75 or 80 or 85% depending on your preference.
Other than that, the tire TPS system works really well, do just check them when you get home each day.
Fill the wiper fluid as needed... which reminds me...
No special cleaning is required. You may want to clean the center screen depending on whether fingerprints bothers you or not.
I keep a bottle of glass cleaner & wipes in the car but that is mainly for the windscreen (some seasons bugs get splattered)

Now for the bad news...
If you fall in love easily, you may end up washing and waxing your baby more than you used to.

 

[Dangerous Fish]

I'd suggest looking at the condition of the brake discs every few weeks and the tyres each month or two at least. An alignmnet check should also be carried out every 12 months. I've seen too many owners who wait until brake corrosion sets in through lack of use and then blames it on Tesla. Same for the tyres. Inside wear especially doesn't get noticed until it's too late and a new tyre is needed. Brakes, tyres, wipers are all consumables and the owner should be responsible for making sure they are in good condition.

Same as any car.

 

[candida]

at home I use a Mac cause it just works, kind of want my Tesla to be like that.

Sadly it doesnt have a mute function like a Mac, and they do bong all the time.
And they do have the occasional baroque meltdown.

As for charging, I get about 160 miles of range 90-10% and tend to charge an Octopus Go chunk of 29kwh if I get to 50%. Except last night as the app only gave me 12kwh because it throttled down the amps... Grrr (see above re baroque meltdowns)

 

[NewbieT]

If you put aside the number of AA batteries you get through, it fine. No tinkering needed.

 

[GRiLLA]

With regards to charging, don't think of it like fueling if you can get a chargepoint fitted at home. There's no reason not to plug in every night, or at least several times per week and top it back up to the sensible limit (80-90% on a LR or P, 100% on a SR+). Then you will never need to think about the charge level, every morning it's going to be the same, this is by far one of the best things about an EV. If you set the timer to start the charge in the early hours of the morning then you can also know that you used electricity that was much more likely to be from wind than gas. If it's worth it there are electricity tariffs that give you a lower price overnight, but might not be worth switching at your mileage.

In terms of the rest, just use it, nothing else is required until the tyres wear out (at about 25K mile intervals). If as per your profile you live in Scotland it might be worth a bit of water repellent WD40 on the door hinges once a year if you are expecting them to regularly freeze, it's never happened to me but it's warmer down here. Using rubber care on the door seals once a year seemed to reduce some wind noise for me, but frankly that's probably wishful thinking after buying the anointed Gummi Pfledge. For some reason I've done 20K miles and never added any screen wash, I guess I don't use it that often, maybe Tesla snuck some more in there after I had a windscreen replaced.

You are required to keen the car clean, sorry that's the Tesla Owners code. This even applies to white cars although we have a lot miscreants that aren't keeping up standards.

 

[plisken]

Charger at home is a bit of a problem unfortunately, due to length of my back garden, where my drive is located relative to the house and how I am forced to position the car when parked. Not to mention my electricity box is also at the front of the house with no reasonable route through to the back without some serious upheaval. I had thought about trying to fit a 13A extension down my back garden to my shed but as I say, there are other difficulties, as in the way I need to face the car, charge port position and so on, so even this would be far from ideal.

All in all, I was hoping to use public chargers, I'm relatively close to a supercharger site, so that was one thought, maybe my main one but I'm now curious if not concerned about the length of time I will have between charges, given my daily commute of say, 15miles per day etc.

The routine normal maintenance and checks, I'm more than fine with, just didn't want to be constantly fiddling with settings and researching issues and workarounds and such.

Its a LR I've got on order btw.

 

[candida]

Charger at home is a bit of a problem unfortunately, due to length of my back garden, where my drive is located relative to the house and how I am forced to position the car when parked. Not to mention my electricity box is also at the front of the house with no reasonable route through to the back without some serious upheaval. I had thought about trying to fit a 13A extension down my back garden to my shed but as I say, there are other difficulties, as in the way I need to face the car, charge port position and so on, so even this would be far from ideal.

All in all, I was hoping to use public chargers, I'm relatively close to a supercharger site, so that was one thought, maybe my main one but I'm now curious if not concerned about the length of time I will have between charges, given my daily commute of say, 15miles per day etc.

The routine normal maintenance and checks, I'm more than fine with, just didn't want to be constantly fiddling with settings and researching issues and workarounds and such.

Its a LR I've got on order btw.

One thing to note about being relatively close to a Supercharger is if you just toddle there to fill up as you might with a petrol car, the battery will be cold and the charge will be slow. I dropped into a Supercharger after about 30m town driving last week (of which 10m preheating) to use up some referral miles, and from 45%-65% never got better than 50kwh. I gave up and went home then.

I'd be very cautious about buying an electric car without a home charger.

 

[GRiLLA]

Charger at home is a bit of a problem unfortunately, due to length of my back garden, where my drive is located relative to the house and how I am forced to position the car when parked. Not to mention my electricity box is also at the front of the house with no reasonable route through to the back without some serious upheaval. I had thought about trying to fit a 13A extension down my back garden to my shed but as I say, there are other difficulties, as in the way I need to face the car, charge port position and so on, so even this would be far from ideal.

All in all, I was hoping to use public chargers, I'm relatively close to a supercharger site, so that was one thought, maybe my main one but I'm now curious if not concerned about the length of time I will have between charges, given my daily commute of say, 15miles per day etc.

The routine normal maintenance and checks, I'm more than fine with, just didn't want to be constantly fiddling with settings and researching issues and workarounds and such.

Its a LR I've got on order btw.

It's certainly doable, just missing out on some of the benefit. I would imagine that you'll be charging weekly for about 30 mins at a SuperCharger. While the real world range is about 300 miles on a LR, lots of short journeys and warming the car in winter will reduce that, combined with typical charging from 20-80%.

 

[Tinca]

Obviously, the basics need to be checked as on any car - but I've not found any 'fiddling' is necessary. You may want to tweak and change setting to suit yourself or a situation, but I drive mine on the same settings all the time with no issues. I clean the glass and camera lenses with Rainex, but I've been doing that for years with all my cars.

You get warnings on tyre pressures (a bit more sensitive than other cars that I've had with TPMS) and washer levels. There is the occasional glitch that needs a reset, but that's happened 2 or 3 times in 6 months and 18K miles.

As most have said - I recommend getting a home charger. So much easier to plug it in overnight and get a few hours of cheaper electricity. It may be worth exploring fully as there is usually a solution with cable runs even if there is a bit of expense up front. Public charging is likely to get more expensive and more in demand. Sitting at a charger may seem OK in the first week or two, but it will become a chore that will spoil your overall EV experience. Try to be independent of that even if it means using a 13A supply.

I was feeling a bit daunted about how to get the best from the car (M3LR) before it arrived, but find the settings you like and keep it there. IMO, the key things are regenerative braking strength and whether to use 'chill' mode. Personal choice for each and I have never changed them once settled.

As with any interest group, there is a tonne of advice, tips and tweaks that you can find. I've not found any that make a lot of difference to the overall driving experience. This forum is great for asking questions and getting advice from experienced owners. Tesla ownership can be a rabbit hole - your choice how far down it you go!

Enjoy the car. It is a great experience, not perfect, but I still catch myself smiling when driving it. Please wave too! Another thread, but no waves this week from about a dozen M3 drivers.

 

[Adopado]

The routine normal maintenance and checks, I'm more than fine with, just didn't want to be constantly fiddling with settings and researching issues and workarounds and such.

Do bear in mind that active forum members are not your average Tesla owner! Every subject related and not related to the cars comes up here ... we pick apart the minutiae because we have a particular interest, not because it's a required aspect of ownership You will certainly be with the majority of "normal" Tesla owners if you just use the car and get on with your life!

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

What I mean is, does it need to be tweaked and tinkered with frequently, be it through reboots, body lubrication or whatever? I'm not meaning in the way an older, come classic car does but just generally, can I expect to charge it every couple of weeks (depending on mileage) and top up washer fluid once in a while or will I need to be restarting apps, lubricating door handles (read about that one), door seals, using special cleaners on glass, cleaning camera's and the likes?

A bit on a tongue in cheek post but you get the idea...

Charging frequency depends on driving pattern. Need more information.