Full Charge Not Recommended by Tesla on Regular Basis

[TEG]

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my advice: keep the 60. Get an inexpensive high MPG car for the 240 miles and enjoy the Tesla the rest of the time.
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Or just rent a hybrid for those times when you have to drive stretches longer than the range of your EV (assuming no convenient way to charge en-route).

 

[Ben W]

I was thinking about it, and wondered why "Standard" 90% charging is even an option (let alone the default) at supercharging stations? The typical reason to avoid a range charge (because you don't want the battery to sit at 100%) doesn't apply at superchargers; the excess charge is always driven off right away. In my view, it's far worse to have an endless string of reviewers (NYT, Consumer Reports) incorrectly assuming that 90% = "Full", and/or to have ordinary drivers forget to set Range mode, come back to the car after lunch, and have to wait an extra 15 minutes to top up. Or am I missing something here?

 

[ElSupreme]

I was thinking about it, and wondered why "Standard" 90% charging is even an option (let alone the default) at supercharging stations? The typical reason to avoid a range charge (because you don't want the battery to sit at 100%) doesn't apply at superchargers; the excess charge is always driven off right away. In my view, it's far worse to have an endless string of reviewers (NYT, Consumer Reports) incorrectly assuming that 90% = "Full", and/or to have ordinary drivers forget to set Range mode, come back to the car after lunch, and have to wait an extra 15 minutes to top up. Or am I missing something here?

I was kind of thinking 'range' should be default for superchargers also. But with the density they have in California it isn't really necessary to range charge. And charging that last 10% probably takes a good long while, and unless you need it you probably wouldn't be charging all the way up.

 

[Ben W]

I was kind of thinking 'range' should be default for superchargers also. But with the density they have in California it isn't really necessary to range charge. And charging that last 10% probably takes a good long while, and unless you need it you probably wouldn't be charging all the way up.

Sure, but nothing prevents you from disconnecting early. It's just that, for however long the car stays connected, there's no reason not to keep topping up.

 

[markb1]

The typical reason to avoid a range charge (because you don't want the battery to sit at 100%) doesn't apply at superchargers; the excess charge is always driven off right away.

Is that known for sure? The manual only says this:

Although this setting charges the Battery to full capacity, using it frequently reduces Battery life.

 

[Ben W]

Is that known for sure? The manual only says this: Although this setting charges the Battery to full capacity, using it frequently reduces Battery life.

I've heard from Tesla and other sources that charging to 100% and immediately driving down to 90% has negligible impact on the battery. I did this all the time with my Roadster, which I used regularly for 160+ mile roundtrips without recharging, and after 4+ years and 33k miles its battery capacity is reduced 8% (to 226 from 244 ideal miles), better than even Tesla's projections. Besides, very few people are likely to use the superchargers more than occasionally. (Though Tesla would love it if they did.) I think that in the real world, having the superchargers default to "Standard" 90% creates more problems than it solves, especially with ill-informed or dubiously-intentioned reviewers.