Have never charged to 100%. Should I?

[Rockster]

Our 3 has about 4,000 miles on it and we've never had the need to charge to 100%, either for local driving or for the few trips we've taken within Texas.

We're taking a road trip soon that's about 200 miles and we could charge to 100% and make it all the way or charge to 80% of so and make a quick stop to Supercharge in the middle.

Basically, is there a compelling reason to charge to 100% every now and then, even if we don't really have to?

 

[TexasEV]

No compelling reason, but there's no reason not to every now and then if it will get you to your destination faster. Why stop for supercharging if you don't need to?

 

[Rockster]

No compelling reason, but there's no reason not to every now and then if it will get you to your destination faster. Why stop for supercharging if you don't need to?

Collin Street Bakery...

 

[thecloud]

Assuming battery management algorithms are similar between the 3 and S, I'd think you'd want to occasionally charge to 100% so that the software has a more accurate view of what 80% actually means.

I usually charge my S to 80% or 90%, and I've noticed that after charging to 100% on a trip, I will get a mile or two of rated range back at the lower charge levels.

 

[TexasEV]

Assuming battery management algorithms are similar between the 3 and S, I'd think you'd want to occasionally charge to 100% so that the software has a more accurate view of what 80% actually means.

I usually charge my S to 80% or 90%, and I've noticed that after charging to 100% on a trip, I will get a mile or two of rated range back at the lower charge levels.

Of course you realize you’re not getting range back, it’s just reporting more accurately.

With 310 mile range of the Model 3, who cares if the range shown is a off by a few miles? Coming from a 200 mile range S60, I never even think about range any more.

 

[CaptainAwesome]

Our 3 has about 4,000 miles on it and we've never had the need to charge to 100%, either for local driving or for the few trips we've taken within Texas.

We're taking a road trip soon that's about 200 miles and we could charge to 100% and make it all the way or charge to 80% of so and make a quick stop to Supercharge in the middle.

Basically, is there a compelling reason to charge to 100% every now and then, even if we don't really have to?

I did it just to see what would happen. It's obvious now, but at the time hadn't occurred to me that you wouldn't be able to use regen braking. That was the only thing that I really noticed.

 

[gilscales]

Charging at superchargers regularly is harmful to the health of the battery as is charging to 100% and staying at that charge rate so I would guess the best thing is to charge at home to 100% and try to time it so that the battery is not sitting for many hours at this high charge state, my guess is this would be a healthier situation for the battery than supercharging even to a lower percentage (others with more knowledge would be better suited to answer this)

As for myself, I racked up 6,200 miles in 2 months of ownership and have charged to 100% at superchargers and home several times, when I am on a long trip I always charge to 100% and when at home to 90% Im sure that I run the risk of higher battery degradation than what is considered normal but somebody needs to test out these new bad boy 2170's!

 

[timk225]

I took a 1500 mile road trip in my 3 recently, and I wondered how hard it was on the battery to be run down to 10% or 20%, SLAM it full (or nearly so), run it down, repeat. Battery never gets a break. But I figured Tesla has built it and tested it under these conditions. And while I wouldn't want to do it constantly, now and then shouldn't hurt it.

At home in daily driving use, I charge to 90% and run it down to 10% to 20%, mostly. That might only be 1 or 2 charges per week.

 

[dhrivnak]

Our 3 has about 4,000 miles on it and we've never had the need to charge to 100%, either for local driving or for the few trips we've taken within Texas.

We're taking a road trip soon that's about 200 miles and we could charge to 100% and make it all the way or charge to 80% of so and make a quick stop to Supercharge in the middle.

Basically, is there a compelling reason to charge to 100% every now and then, even if we don't really have to?

I have had a Roadster for 7+ years now and we are told, and data seems to indicate that occasional range charges are good allows better battery balancing. But that said frequent range charges seem to be bad. I realise that is not a very clear answer unfortunately.

 

[eprosenx]

At home in daily driving use, I charge to 90% and run it down to 10% to 20%, mostly. That might only be 1 or 2 charges per week.

Question: Why do you not charge it every day to keep from getting down to 10-20%? Plugging in all the time is the Tesla recommendation. Or do you have some days where you drive a TON and you need that entire range to complete your tasks?

 

[Mobius484]

Good question... I charge my S to 90% every night, honestly because it seems more peppy at a higher SOC. I like pep, I only charge to 100% for times I’m going “off grid”, When I’m on a supercharger route, I try to arrive at a lower state of charge so it charges faster... however not sure about those new fangled 2170’s. I think in general it’s not good to fully charge to much, but every now and then it’s probably good to fully charge and also let it get down to a low SOC, for both chemistry and software reasons. Iliving in cold climate I like to plug in all the time anyhow in winter so as to preheat/charge to warm pack while on shore power, and got into habit.. Glad some are doing the testing...

 

[MyJoule]

I can't be 100% sure of this, so YMMV, but I think cycling the battery over a small range ( say 90% to75%) on a daily basis will not be as harmful as cycling the battery from 90% to 20% and not charging every day. My reasoning, is that when doing a small charge you are only cycling the battery in a narrow range, and the depth of discharge is one of the factors on how many cycles a battery can sustain before it's no longer viable. We've had our older Model S85 for 4 years and the 90% is still 233 miles -new was 236. I charge to 90% every night and usually drive between 10 and 40 miles a day. We've also done quite a few road trips where the battery gets down to 20% before a supercharger and we regularly see the charge rate approach 120KW- I think the last time we supercharged we had 50 miles of range left and the peak charge rate was 117KW.

I believe in the motto : " A plugged in Tesla is a happy Tesla"

 

[artsci]

It’s ok to charge to 100% provided you don’t let the car sit with that SOC for long. Ideally when it gets to 100% you should drive off as soon as you can. I’ve charged my S to 100 percent probably 6 times and the battery degradation over five years is under 5%. On a daily basis I charge to 60-70 percent.

 

[jamnmon66]

The closer to 50% charge the better for longevity of the battery... over the long haul. So, if you use 40% of the battery daily, then you should charge to 70%, so that it runs down to 30% and then charge it back to 70% every night. The closer you get to 0% or 100% FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME, the faster you'll wear out the battery. So, day-to-day, charge just what you need to keep it as close to 50% as possible (plus consider a little buffer just in case you need it). BUT, there's very little risk of charging to 90-100% occasionally as long as you drive it soon thereafter. The big risk comes when you charge to 100% and then let it sit for an extended time. Heat is the other enemy of lithium batteries so this is even more of a problem in the summer. That being said, the new batteries in the 3 with the thermal management system should, in theory, minimize all of the above risks.

I've done a lot of research on lithium batteries in general so I feel very good about the above advice. I have less confidence in the following recommendation (since I haven't done as much research on it) so maybe someone else could elaborate.

I've read in this forum (mentioned again in this thread above) that the software will re-balance the batteries and recalibrate the percentage/mileage if you run the battery as low as you dare and then immediately charge to 100%. I've only had the car for 7 weeks and I've done this once. The indicated mileage at 100% went from 311 to 315. I don't think I'll do this more than a couple of times per year because of the potential wear on the battery until/unless I get more information.

 

[TexasEV]

I've done a lot of research on lithium batteries in general so I feel very good about the above advice. I have less confidence in the following recommendation (since I haven't done as much research on it) so maybe someone else could elaborate.

You may have done a lot of research but probably not as much as Tesla has. Trying to keep the battery near 50% is both impractical and unnecessary. Ten years of data from Tesla EVs shows there isn't substantial degradation of the battery no matter how you charge it. While there may be a statistically significant difference, the magnitude is not of practical importance. If a difference of few miles of range after many years really matters to you, then you probably bought the wrong car.

 

[roblab]

I took a 1500 mile road trip in my 3 recently, and I wondered how hard it was on the battery to be run down to 10% or 20%, SLAM it full (or nearly so), run it down, repeat. Battery never gets a break. But I figured Tesla has built it and tested it under these conditions. And while I wouldn't want to do it constantly, now and then shouldn't hurt it.

At home in daily driving use, I charge to 90% and run it down to 10% to 20%, mostly. That might only be 1 or 2 charges per week.

Nope. Shouldn't hurt. But why would you let your battery drop to near 10%? I charge every night, simply because I never know when someone might want to go to Costco forty miles away. We lived with ONLY the Model S for nearly six years with never a problem, because it was always full every morning. That, and Tesla recommends you plug it in when you're home. And coming out to your car ONCE and finding it near empty when you need to go somewhere a little more distant is reason enough to keep it charged. Or maybe you don't have a charger and need to go find an outlet. I suppose....

 

[jerry33]

The closer to 50% charge the better for longevity of the battery... over the long haul. So, if you use 40% of the battery daily, then you should charge to 70%, so that it runs down to 30% and then charge it back to 70% every night.

Just bear in mind that when the battery is below 50% it creates more heat to get the same amount of energy, so it's easier on the battery to do driving above 50%. 50% is the best for long term storage. Charging to 93% or more activates the battery balance circuits. Once activated they work until done (doesn't have to be the same trip). What I found is that when I charged to only 80%, the displayed range went down, charging at 90% with the odd 93+% charge when going on a trip brought the display number back up. At almost 110K miles, the display shows less than 4% loss. Note also that when the Model S first came out there was only 92% and 100% (and I think also 50% for storage--it's been over five years and I've slept since then). The slider only came in because the EPA changed the rules about range advertising.

 

[Shock-On-T]

You may have done a lot of research but probably not as much as Tesla has. Trying to keep the battery near 50% is both impractical and unnecessary. Ten years of data from Tesla EVs shows there isn't substantial degradation of the battery no matter how you charge it. While there may be a statistically significant difference, the magnitude is not of practical importance. If a difference of few miles of range after many years really matters to you, then you probably bought the wrong car.

The results of both their research indicate what he posted.
Keeping as near as possible to 50% minimises degradation.

 

[03DSG]

I charged mine to 100% for the first time early this morning. Finished at exactly 500km (310.7 miles). Drove it immediately on the highway for an hour. It will be at the shop for 8 to 10 days getting PPF, Ceramic and tint. My vampire drain when it sat over a recent 10 day period was 1.5% or 7.5 km/day.

 

[Canuck]

Basically, is there a compelling reason to charge to 100% every now and then, even if we don't really have to?

To see the full range, then do it again in a year, and every year following, to see the degradation? That might be a good reason.