Experiencing regenerative braking issues after 1 year

[Johnstac]

So yes, once in a while I would get the message, “Regenerative braking limited”. Within a few minutes of driving, the message would go away and braking was restored. Now though, sometimes I get the message but often I don’t and I COMPLETELY lose regenerative braking. With the weight of the car it really strains the brakes. I just don’t know why it’s happening and how to stop it. I live in So Cal and it’s garaged so seldom gets cold as I had read this can sometimes affect braking. The car is always above 60 F. The only other thing that may or may not be an issue is that recently I have been charging it to 100%. I read of isolated incidents of this braking being an issue on a full charge. I just don’t like it and when I see Tesla this Wed for the a/c cabin filter replacement, I’m going to also ask them about this. Thoughts at all?

 

[TheLocNar]

There’s nothing to regenerate when you charge the battery to 100%. Charge it to 90% at most unless you’re leaving right away for a road trip, then 100% is ok. Do not let the car sit for any extended length of time fully charged.

 

[Asterix187]

To put simply, if the battery is completely full where is the regen energy going to go? It can’t go to the battery as it’s full, so it’s turned off until the battery has dropped a few %.

 

[jjrandorin]

S The only other thing that may or may not be an issue is that recently I have been charging it to 100%.

That is your answer. Charging to 100% means there is no where for the regeneration energy to go. If you charge to 100% you will have almost no regen until it gets down to 90% AND the battery warms up. If you dont like the feeling of no regen, dont charge the car to 100%. No reason to charge to 100% unless you are going on a long trip anyway, so you can just charge to 90% and stop at a slightly closer supercharger on your trip (since you are in california).

If your NOT on a trip, there isnt any real reason to charge to 100%, especially since you dont like the car with no regen.

 

[ajdelange]

Energy from regen can and will go to a fully charged battery. The problem is that the battery can't store it without becoming damaged. Therefore regen is turned off when the battery is "full".

 

[destructure00]

With the weight of the car it really strains the brakes.

It may feel like it to you but in no way does using the brakes to stop the car actually strain anything.

 

[Teedub21]

As everyone else has said, completely normal at a high level of charge. I'm getting the message now that my garage temps have dropped into the 50's at night and I charge to 90%.

 

[Bill Foster]

lol the weight of the car does not strain the brakes

 

[Johnstac]

That is your answer. Charging to 100% means there is no where for the regeneration energy to go. If you charge to 100% you will have almost no regen until it gets down to 90% AND the battery warms up. If you dont like the feeling of no regen, dont charge the car to 100%. No reason to charge to 100% unless you are going on a long trip anyway, so you can just charge to 90% and stop at a slightly closer supercharger on your trip (since you are in california).

If your NOT on a trip, there isnt any real reason to charge to 100%, especially since you dont like the car with no regen.

Correct, I normally only charge to 90% but recent long trips have been made easier by charging to 100%. I would honestly rather have the regenerative braking even if that charge was wasted doing nothing. I depend on the regenerative braking to help reduce speed. Maybe someday they will figure that out.

 

[jjrandorin]

Correct, I normally only charge to 90% but recent long trips have been made easier by charging to 100%. I would honestly rather have the regenerative braking even if that charge was wasted doing nothing. I depend on the regenerative braking to help reduce speed. Maybe someday they will figure that out.

Figure what out? If they enable regen on a battery that is full it will damage the battery. There is nothing to figure out on their end.

 

[Johnstac]

One more point. When I say, “strain the brakes” I obviously don’t mean somethings going to be damaged or fail. It only feels like it LOL. When you use regenerative braking all the time and then it’s not there, it is so very noticeable. No doubt in my mind that brake pads would wear faster without regenerative braking. That’s all I meant.

 

[Johnstac]

Figure what out? If they enable regen on a battery that is full it will damage the battery. There is nothing to figure out on their end.

OK one more time. It would be great to have regenerative braking available simply for use in slowing down the vehicle. Figure out meaning, would be great if regenerative braking could be available above 90% and if that energy produced isn’t needed, they find a way to release the energy elsewhere. Hey, I just love regenerative braking to slow the car. That’s all.

 

[Arpe]

OK one more time. It would be great to have regenerative braking available simply for use in slowing down the vehicle. Figure out meaning, would be great if regenerative braking could be available above 90% and if that energy produced isn’t needed, they find a way to release the energy elsewhere. Hey, I just love regenerative braking to slow the car. That’s all.

It is called BRAKES.

Regen changes energy from the speed into energy for the battery.
Brakes changes energy from the speed into heat.

Thus they will need to apply the brakes to make you feel like you are regen'ing above 90% change .

 

[derotam]

OK one more time. It would be great to have regenerative braking available simply for use in slowing down the vehicle. Figure out meaning, would be great if regenerative braking could be available above 90% and if that energy produced isn’t needed, they find a way to release the energy elsewhere. Hey, I just love regenerative braking to slow the car. That’s all.

I understand where you are coming from but I don't really see any reason for them to find a way to dump that excess energy, it just complicates things. As it is now, so you lose regen braking for what, 32 miles? I think you are just going to live with it...with you now understanding why it is happening, and that it is not an error of the car.

 

[Eagledon]

Charge to 96 or 97%

 

[ACofNY]

I got the same message twice this morning, and I only charged the battery to 80%. I thought it might have been because the temperature was in the 50’s and the battery was cold? This my first fall weather with my M3 standard plus. After a few blocks, the Regen came back, until I turned off the car after driving a couple of miles and in a few minutes restarted the car and I got the message again.

 

[traxila]

Don’t charge the battery to 100% and this will not happen. Or just understand that regen will not kick in until battery drops enough to allow regen again

@ACofNY: Regen can be limited if the battery is not at the right temperature. When the BMS is happy with the battery temp the regen is normal again.

 

[Magnets!]

I'd say don't charge so high, but if you need to just realize that 'using' the brakes once in a while in the Model 3 is a good thing.

 

[ajayL]

I am having intermittent loss of regenerative braking with my June 2019 Tesla X after software recent software upgrade which has the hold feature. This morning the battery was charged to only 60% and outside temp . was in the 50s. So battery is not an issue. I dont think it should be an issue even if the battery is charged to over 90% as it only gets harder to push charge into the battery and the charging efficiency falls. Moreover there is excess room in the battery beyond 100% that tesla supposedly does not show. At any rate the excess charge would be wasted as heat until the battery gets a little more depleted while travelling and starts accepting charge more readily.
I've put in for a service appointment but nothing available for next couple weeks.

 

[ajayL]

BTW before the latest software update I had charged the car to 100% for a trip--there was no appreciable loss of regen. braking.