Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

First Trip in The X

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
Three days after I got my gorgeous MC Red Model X I decided to take it on a road trip from Chicago to Peoria. Supposedly I could make it there in one charge without having to stop, but I was going to stop in Normal to supercharge to be safe. I expected energy consumption to be higher because I didn't break in my tires yet, but on the day that I left I was averaging 500 watts per mile! Immediately I knew something was up so I checked the weather and saw that there was a 50 mph headwind and it was raining D: !!! So I rerouted to charge at the Aurora supercharger which is a little bit out of the way but I had no choice, the trip planner said I would arrive at Normal with -15% charge. After I finished up charging at the Aurora supercharger I continued on to Peoria, the car handled winds very nicely, even autopilot was able to compensate for the crazy winds. I arrived in Peoria with 15% and an average watts per mile of about 500.
20160402_220442.jpg


Peoria has no destination chargers so I found a level 2 charger (with the charge point app) in a parking lot of a grocery store where I plugged in for a good 3-4 hours. I was joking to myself that there weren't any Tesla's here because of the lack of charging infrastructure, but right after I said that an S drive by and the driver must of realized that it was an X and gave me a big thumbs up!
20160402_195024.jpg

2016-04-11 10.53.38.jpg

I didn't leave it plugged in all night because the charger was a mile from the hotel and I didn't want anyone to steal my adapter. I went to sleep with about 33% charge and woke up with about 25% Which was interesting... I decided that I couldn't make it to the next supercharger so I stopped at another Level two charger for another hour while I got breakfast. I needed to pay $7 to enter that parking lot and when I was paying the security guard he asked what kind of car I had so I gave him a little tour while it charged. Needless to say he was impressed :)
20160403_110213.jpg

20160403_110204.jpg

I left with 33% from Peoria and arrived at normal with 13%. I charged to 100% just to be safe and planned to head straight home. Thankfully the weather cooperated with me and I rode a tailwind on the way home. However even with this tailwind I averaged 354 watts per mile. I arrived back home with 30% which was fine but I needed to go out that night so I hit up the local supercharger and charged to 60%. Met a guy in some kind of loud GTR who was asking me about the car.
20160403_165648.jpg

This trip was pretty crazy, i'm pretty sure that 95% of trips will NOT be like this. On the way to Peoria the winds were insane and it was raining/ snowing. The trip on the way back was much more smooth and calm.
During the trip the front passenger door was not opening from the outside so the driver had to lean over and pull the handle, It worked when we got the car. I took it in and they just did and update on the car and re calibrated it and now it is working fine. Also, the rear spoiler sometimes squeaked when the winds went crazy, but this is probably only in extreme winds. Overall I think the X performed Xcellent in all the crazy conditions it drove through, I was really impressed how autopilot handled the wind. For all the amazing features this car has to offer the FWD's really show off the technological prowess of this car. If you can afford this car GET IT! You will not be disappointed.
 
Great story. That's probably going to be the route of our first road trip in our X as well.

BTW, I don't think someone else can take your J1772 adaptor while it's plugged in. The car will latch it from one side (which only releases when you unlock the car), and the Chargepoint J1772 connector will latch it from the other side (which can only be unlocked by you upon terminating the charging session). Not 100% sure, but I think that's how it works.
 
Great report, congrats on a beautiful vehicle....certainly, crazy travel weather.

Can you please comment on cabin noise while driving in both conditions.....thanks

The wind was certainly noticeable at high speeds, like when the wind came from the right side it seemed to flow around the car very well but the wind seemed to converge on the other side (left side) and was fairly loud. But when I drove home the wind noise was much less noticeable. This also made me think that Tesla should have a audio system that changes its volume based on the speed you are traveling.
 
J1772 connectors *can* be unlatched from the adapter unless you have a locking device to prevent it (evannex.com sells one) but your adapter *cannot* be stolen if your car is locked.

Question on this - I was charging my X at a J1772 charger the other day on a road trip. The first time, I charged it to full charge, and I was able to just pull out the adapter and charging cable. The second time, it was still charging - I tried to remove it, but it seemed locked in. I think I could have removed the charging cable, but the adapter stayed locked into the car. I had to manually click "stop charging", and then I was able to remove the adapter. Is this typical? I usually charge in my garage, so haven't had to experience this before. Thanks!
 
Question on this - I was charging my X at a J1772 charger the other day on a road trip. The first time, I charged it to full charge, and I was able to just pull out the adapter and charging cable. The second time, it was still charging - I tried to remove it, but it seemed locked in. I think I could have removed the charging cable, but the adapter stayed locked into the car. I had to manually click "stop charging", and then I was able to remove the adapter. Is this typical? I usually charge in my garage, so haven't had to experience this before. Thanks!

I think it is locked based on the status of the car. If the car is locked the port is locked if the car is unlocked the port is unlocked.
 
I think it is locked based on the status of the car. If the car is locked the port is locked if the car is unlocked the port is unlocked.

That makes sense, but I had my key fob with me both times, and the car should automatically unlock when I'm holding the keys and standing next to it. So it is strange that I could pull out the charger one time, but not the next time!
 
That makes sense, but I had my key fob with me both times, and the car should automatically unlock when I'm holding the keys and standing next to it. So it is strange that I could pull out the charger one time, but not the next time!
Does the key fob know whether your are "holding it" vs "in your pocket". Why would the car unlock just because you are next to it? Auto present driver door would unlock and open. I'm not familiar with the functionality you are describing.
 
it can be a little tricky to get it right.

Have gotten into the habit of manually unlocking the doors of my Model S (by double pressing the main button on the fob) to make sure the car is unlocked before trying to remove the J1772 plug and adapter. if you press the button on the J1772 plug and wait one second until the charging ring on the charge port turns white, you can unplug the J1772 plug along with the adapter in one motion. (it helps to hold the J1772 adapter with your other hand while you pull both pieces out together.)

it takes some practice, but once you get it it will become second nature.
 
it can be a little tricky to get it right.

Have gotten into the habit of manually unlocking the doors of my Model S (by double pressing the main button on the fob) to make sure the car is unlocked before trying to remove the J1772 plug and adapter. if you press the button on the J1772 plug and wait one second until the charging ring on the charge port turns white, you can unplug the J1772 plug along with the adapter in one motion. (it helps to hold the J1772 adapter with your other hand while you pull both pieces out together.)

it takes some practice, but once you get it it will become second nature.

It's kinda like learning how to fill up your car with gasoline for the first time, but without that killing the planet thing.