First max charge

[kendallpb]

I've had my car just over three months and have firmware 4.4, IIRC. I normally plug in each night and leave it thus till morning, as Tesla trained me (though I see the 4.5 release notes say different...sigh).

My first range charge was three days ago and the car claimed claimed 257 rated miles, though I expected 265 (roughly 3% off). Since I've never done one (no idea whether Tesla did, at the factory), I don't know how if this is a drop or not. I seem to recall from various posts here that there's a slight variation from car to car, so I'm guessing I shouldn't be concerned . . . ??? :scared:

I'll be going DC area to just north of Boston in early June and I forget the recommendation, but I seem to recall there's only one of those legs that I may need a range charge for. I guess I'll compare then and see if it's similar or lower.

Any thoughts? Freak out? Or just chillax, thinking back to the two or three thumbs ups I got on my road trip this weekend?

 

[Jason S]

I'm not clear on why, but there is a small variance even day to day on standard charge. Just in the last few days I've seen 240-245 on standard.

Mostly I suspect that some significant part of the vampire drain happens in chunks, and we just catch some of it at times like these.

 

[kendallpb]

I'm not clear on why, but there is a small variance even day to day on standard charge. Just in the last few days I've seen 240-245 on standard.

Mostly I suspect that some significant part of the vampire drain happens in chunks, and we just catch some of it at times like these.

Oh, I hadn't even thought of that. I know it's supposed to balance the batteries but maybe I caught it on an "off" day. ;-) It would be amusing if I had a higher charge in June on Max....

 

[ChadS]

I wouldn't worry. My Roadster's range has always varied day-to-day. Even when I charge at the same rate and time, check it at the same time, and the weather seems the same...

Temperature, charging speed, how low you discharged the battery, and even how aggressively you discharged the battery all seem to have an effect. Numbers often go up and down a few miles. My miles this morning were 6 miles higher than yesterday - that's a bigger jump than normal, but I discharged the car more than normal yesterday.

My understanding (not a deep understanding, mind you) is that they stop charging when the pack hits a certain voltage, as opposed to when a set amount of energy is put in to it. The energy to get to that voltage can vary, as can the estimation of how much energy is really in there total. The number of miles is really kind of a guess. Tesla does a really good job of getting close, but small variations are to be expected.