How I Recovered Half of my Battery's Lost Capacity

[BrownOuttaSpec]

"If the battery has a large depth of discharge to a low state of charge (Red zone), allowing the battery to rest for a few hours before recharging will minimize stress on the cells..."

That is new information for me, I'll have to try that next time. I just got back home from a trip and was at 19% and plugged it in and charged right away because I didn't want it sitting at a low SoC. Next time I will let it rest like pulling steaks off the grill before eating them

Thanks for the info!

 

[mviens]

Elon! Here’s a demographic that you might not reach until you design a simple ecar: The really senior cohort that really doesn’t need 0 – 60 in 3 seconds. (I tried to think of a name for a senior-appropriate Tesla that could be added to the S3XY lineup, but I nodded off. Maybe after my nap.)

Hey WattBeatsGas - I have also reluctantly joined you in this demographic. I am still an engineer, though my ability (and desire) to continue doing so is cut in half each and every day. There is very little left in my (human) gas tank for this type of work.

As for the name of the car you are asking for, you were practically giving it away with your description! If we (older) people need a nap, than surely the model Elon should be making for us is the Model Zzzzzzzzzz.

 

[Firebird 2.0]

Like many others, I have been concerned with loss of 100% indicated battery range on one of my Model 3s. My P3D (build date 9/13/2018, delivery date 10/8/2018) had gotten down to 270.3 miles at 100% charge on January 20, 2020, at about 30,700 miles, which is a loss of 40.8 miles since the car was new.

I posted about going to the service center to talk with them about battery degradation, which I did on March 9, 2020. It was a great service appointment and the techs at the Houston Westchase service center paid attention to my concerns and promised to follow up with a call from the lead virtual tech team technician. I detailed this service visit in the following post:

Reduced Range - Tesla Issued a Service Bulletin for possible fix

While that service visit was great, the real meat of addressing the problem came when I spoke to the virtual tech team lead. He told me some great things about the Model 3 battery and BMS. With the knowledge of what he told me, I formulated a plan to address it myself.

So here is the deal on the Model 3 battery and why many of us might be seeing this capacity degradation.

The BMS system is not only responsible for charging and monitoring of the battery, but computing the estimated range. The way it does this is to correlate the battery's terminal voltage (and the terminal voltage of each group of parallel cells) to the capacity. The BMS tries to constantly refine and calibrate that relationship between terminal voltage and capacity to display the remaining miles.

For the BMS to execute a calibration computation, it needs data. The primary data it needs to to this is what is called the Open Circuit Voltage (OCV) of the battery and each parallel group of cells. The BMS takes these OCV readings whenever it can, and when it has enough of them, it runs a calibration computation. This lets the BMS now estimate capacity vs the battery voltage. If the BMS goes for a long time without running calibration computations, then the BMS's estimate of the battery's capacity can drift away from the battery's actual capacity. The BMS is conservative in its estimates so that people will not run out of battery before the indicator reads 0 miles, so the drift is almost always in the direction of estimated capacity < actual capacity.

So, when does the BMS take OCV readings? To take a set of OCV readings, the main HV contactor must be open, and the voltages inside the pack for every group of parallel cells must stabilize. How long does that take? Well, interestingly enough, the Model 3 takes a lot longer for the voltages to stabilize than the Model S or X. The reason is because of the battery construction. All Tesla batteries have a resistor in parallel with every parallel group of cells. The purpose of these resistors is for pack balancing. When charging to 100%, these resistors allow the low cells in the parallel group to charge more than the high cells in the group, bringing all the cells closer together in terms of their state of charge. However, the drawback to these resistors is that they are the primary cause of vampire drain.

Because Tesla wanted the Model 3 battery to be the most efficient it could be, Tesla decided to decrease the vampire drain as much as possible. One step they took to accomplish this was to increase the value of all of these resistors so that the vampire drain is minimized. The resistors in the Model 3 packs are apparently around 10x the value of the ones in the Model S/X packs. So what does this do to the BMS? Well, it makes the BMS wait a lot longer to take OCV readings, because the voltages take 10x longer to stabilize. Apparently, the voltages can stabilize enough to take OCV readings in the S/X packs within 15-20 minutes, but the Model 3 can take 3+ hours.

This means that the S/X BMS can run the calibration computations a lot easier and lot more often than the Model 3. 15-20 minutes with the contactor open is enough to get a set of OCV readings. This can happen while you're out shopping or at work, allowing the BMS to get OCV readings while the battery is at various states of charge, both high and low. This is great data for the BMS, and lets it run a good calibration fairly often.

On the Model 3, this doesn't happen. With frequent small trips, no OCV readings ever get taken because the voltage doesn't stabilize before you drive the car again. Also, many of us continuously run Sentry mode whenever we're not at home, and Sentry mode keeps the contactor engaged, thus no OCV readings can be taken no matter how long you wait. For many Model 3's, the only time OCV readings get taken is at home after a battery charge is completed, as that is the only time the car gets to open the contactor and sleep. Finally, 3 hours later, OCV readings get taken.

But that means that the OCV readings are ALWAYS at your battery charge level. If you always charge to 80%, then the only data the BMS is repeatedly collecting is 80% OCV readings. This isn't enough data to make the calibration computation accurate. So even though the readings are getting taken, and the calibration computation is being periodically run, the accuracy of the BMS never improves, and the estimated capacity vs. actual capacity continues to drift apart.

So, knowing all of this, here's what I did:

1. I made it a habit to make sure that the BMS got to take OCV readings whenever possible. I turned off Sentry mode at work so that OCV readings could be taken there. I made sure that TeslaFi was set to allow the car to sleep, because if it isn't asleep, OCV readings can't get taken.

2. I quit charging every day. Round-trip to work and back for me is about 20% of the battery's capacity, and I used to normally charge to 90%. I changed my standard charge to 80%, and then I began charging the car at night only every 3 days. So day 1 gets OCV readings at 80% (after the charge is complete), day 2 at about 60% (after 1 work trip), and day 3 at about 40% (2 work trips). I arrive back home from work with about 20% charge on that last day, and if the next day isn't Saturday, then I charge. If the next day is Saturday (I normally don't go anywhere far on Saturday), then I delay the charge for a 4th day, allowing the BMS to get OCV readings at 20%. So now my BMS is getting data from various states of charge throughout the range of the battery.

3. I periodically (once a month or so) charge to 95%, then let the car sleep for 6 hours, getting OCV readings at 95%. Don't do this at 100%, as it's not good for the battery to sit with 100% charge.

4. If I'm going to take a long drive i.e. road trip, then I charge to 100% to balance the battery, then drive. I also try to time it so that I get back home with around 10% charge, and if I can do that, then I don't charge at that time. Instead, let the car sleep 6 hours so it gets OCV readings at 10%.

These steps allowed the BMS to get many OCV readings that span the entire state of charge of the battery. This gets it good data to run an accurate calibration computation.

So what's the results?

On 1/20/2020 at 30,700 miles, I was down to 270 miles full range, which is 40.8 miles lost (15.1 %). The first good, accurate recalibration occurred 4/16/2020 at 35,600 miles and brought the full range up to 286 miles. Then another one occurred on 8/23/2020 at 41,400 miles and brought the range up to 290 miles, now only a 20 mile loss (6.9 %).

Note that to get just two accurate calibration computations by the BMS took 7 months and 11,000 miles.

So, to summarize:

1. This issue is primarily an indication/estimation problem, not real battery capacity loss.
2. Constant Sentry mode use contributes to this problem, because the car never sleeps, so no OCV readings get taken.
3. Long voltage stabilization times in the Model 3 prevent OCV readings from getting taken frequently, contributing to BMS estimation drift.
4. Constantly charging every day means that those OCV readings that do get taken are always at the same charge level, which makes the BMS calibration inaccurate.
5. Multiple accurate calibration cycles may need to happen before the BMS accuracy improves.
6. It takes a long time (a lot of OCV readings) to cause the BMS to run a calibration computation, and therefore the procedure can take months.

I would love if someone else can perform this procedure and confirm that it works for you, especially if your Model 3 is one that has a lot of apparent degradation. It will take months, but I think we can prove that this procedure will work.

Very good discussion. I spoke with several Tesla people and got slightly different reply’s each time so the best I found is to go down to about 20% often and let 3 sit for at least an hour before charging to 90%. It will take months to see improvement but this seems to be common solution approach. I have just started and hope to see improvement by year’s end.

 

[erb2000]

I am impressed with the technical acumen detailed here. It saddens me, though, because it is just one more piece of evidence to me that Tesla autos are not for the senior set (of which I am a reluctant member).

I own a Model 3 and drive it only infrequently ... especially now during the Covid-19 crimp on places to go. Now I'm sure all you young'uns out there will puzzle over how I could possibly lose some sharpness in my senior years; after all, you (and I, too, when I was a young'un) are bright, quick on your feet, sharp memory, and all the rest of the admirable characteristics of not-old humans, AND YOU'LL NEVER GIVE IN TO THE RAVAGES OF AGE, EITHER. Am I not right?

The Tesla autos have sometimes been called, with pride, "a computer on wheels." However, when I describe my M3 that way to others, it's with an inward groan. Why? It is so difficult to do anything, even simple things like open the glove box. In all the ICE cars I've ever driven, it's been easy. A/C? Sure, just reach over WITHOUT HAVING TO TAKE MY EYES OFF THE ROAD and make the adjustments by touch. No way to do that in my computer on wheels.

(btw, I fully expect there will be many crash descriptions of seniors taking their eyes off the road too long and crashing into some innocent car, guard rail at the edge of a cliff, or oncoming fully loaded semi.)

Or, say you want to flip on the windshield wipers to wash off a bug flattened right in your line of vision. If you’re like me, you’ll have to pull over to the side of the road and browse through the logical decision tree on the touch screen (that saves a lot of weight, I’m sure) before you can home in, minutes later, on the part of the algorithm that gives you several choices for windshield wiper activation.

This retired aerospace engineer, who helped design the control system of the GPS satellite decades ago, longs for the simplicity of an old ICE car! Same for my wife, who refuses to drive the M3 because it is “Too complicated.”

Elon! Here’s a demographic that you might not reach until you design a simple ecar: The really senior cohort that really doesn’t need 0 – 60 in 3 seconds. (I tried to think of a name for a senior-appropriate Tesla that could be added to the S3XY lineup, but I nodded off. Maybe after my nap.)

Pro tips:
1. Press the button on the turn signal stalk to run the wipers to wash off a bug on the windshield
2. Press the right steering wheel button to activate voice command and say "open glove box" to open the glove box
3. If you're not driving very much set the charge limit to 50% to increase battery life
I'm only 63 but my engineering skills have declined. Yet they still pay me the same!

 

[john1gross]

I am impressed with the technical acumen detailed here. It saddens me, though, because it is just one more piece of evidence to me that Tesla autos are not for the senior set (of which I am a reluctant member).

I own a Model 3 and drive it only infrequently ... especially now during the Covid-19 crimp on places to go. Now I'm sure all you young'uns out there will puzzle over how I could possibly lose some sharpness in my senior years; after all, you (and I, too, when I was a young'un) are bright, quick on your feet, sharp memory, and all the rest of the admirable characteristics of not-old humans, AND YOU'LL NEVER GIVE IN TO THE RAVAGES OF AGE, EITHER. Am I not right?

The Tesla autos have sometimes been called, with pride, "a computer on wheels." However, when I describe my M3 that way to others, it's with an inward groan. Why? It is so difficult to do anything, even simple things like open the glove box. In all the ICE cars I've ever driven, it's been easy. A/C? Sure, just reach over WITHOUT HAVING TO TAKE MY EYES OFF THE ROAD and make the adjustments by touch. No way to do that in my computer on wheels.

(btw, I fully expect there will be many crash descriptions of seniors taking their eyes off the road too long and crashing into some innocent car, guard rail at the edge of a cliff, or oncoming fully loaded semi.)

Or, say you want to flip on the windshield wipers to wash off a bug flattened right in your line of vision. If you’re like me, you’ll have to pull over to the side of the road and browse through the logical decision tree on the touch screen (that saves a lot of weight, I’m sure) before you can home in, minutes later, on the part of the algorithm that gives you several choices for windshield wiper activation.

This retired aerospace engineer, who helped design the control system of the GPS satellite decades ago, longs for the simplicity of an old ICE car! Same for my wife, who refuses to drive the M3 because it is “Too complicated.”

Elon! Here’s a demographic that you might not reach until you design a simple ecar: The really senior cohort that really doesn’t need 0 – 60 in 3 seconds. (I tried to think of a name for a senior-appropriate Tesla that could be added to the S3XY lineup, but I nodded off. Maybe after my nap.)

Ummmm. You know that you can use voice commands without taking your eyes off the road, right? (Press Right Steering wheel button)

 

[jweichel]

I am impressed with the technical acumen detailed here. It saddens me, though, because it is just one more piece of evidence to me that Tesla autos are not for the senior set (of which I am a reluctant member).

I own a Model 3 and drive it only infrequently ... especially now during the Covid-19 crimp on places to go. Now I'm sure all you young'uns out there will puzzle over how I could possibly lose some sharpness in my senior years; after all, you (and I, too, when I was a young'un) are bright, quick on your feet, sharp memory, and all the rest of the admirable characteristics of not-old humans, AND YOU'LL NEVER GIVE IN TO THE RAVAGES OF AGE, EITHER. Am I not right?

The Tesla autos have sometimes been called, with pride, "a computer on wheels." However, when I describe my M3 that way to others, it's with an inward groan. Why? It is so difficult to do anything, even simple things like open the glove box. In all the ICE cars I've ever driven, it's been easy. A/C? Sure, just reach over WITHOUT HAVING TO TAKE MY EYES OFF THE ROAD and make the adjustments by touch. No way to do that in my computer on wheels.

(btw, I fully expect there will be many crash descriptions of seniors taking their eyes off the road too long and crashing into some innocent car, guard rail at the edge of a cliff, or oncoming fully loaded semi.)

Or, say you want to flip on the windshield wipers to wash off a bug flattened right in your line of vision. If you’re like me, you’ll have to pull over to the side of the road and browse through the logical decision tree on the touch screen (that saves a lot of weight, I’m sure) before you can home in, minutes later, on the part of the algorithm that gives you several choices for windshield wiper activation.

This retired aerospace engineer, who helped design the control system of the GPS satellite decades ago, longs for the simplicity of an old ICE car! Same for my wife, who refuses to drive the M3 because it is “Too complicated.”

Elon! Here’s a demographic that you might not reach until you design a simple ecar: The really senior cohort that really doesn’t need 0 – 60 in 3 seconds. (I tried to think of a name for a senior-appropriate Tesla that could be added to the S3XY lineup, but I nodded off. Maybe after my nap.)

I am also in your age group but am not really having a problem with the Tesla. For example, if you want to get a bug off the windshield, just press the button at the end of the left steering wheel stalk. Press it harder, and it will also wash the windshield very similar to cars that you may be used to. No menus or screens need to be used. For the glovebox, you can press the right scroll wheel (like you want to tell the navigations system where you want to go) and say "Open the Glovebox". So that is way less distracting leaning over to press the glovebox button on any other car I have ever owned. By the way, there are many things you can just tell it to do, like change the temperature.

 

[ewoodrick]

Lot's of decent information here, but I'm pretty sure that it is not all quite correct.
While I question the impact of levelling resistors on Vampire drain, I can definitely say that it isn't the biggest impact on phantom drain, especially in the past. For if it was, how could Tesla have made it better with a software update. Phantom drain's biggest impact comes from the computers. If you let them go into deep sleep, drain becomes really low. < 1mile per day.

I still highly disagree with the sitting at 100% is bad, it's bad ONLY if you leave if there for a long time, like months, or years.

And I still question how you would expect the OCV to be correct when the battery isn't fully charged? What you are effectively doing, instead of measuring it at 80%, (which doesn't allow the best calibration) you have it 95% (which is better, but not 100%).

As an Electrical Engineer, 100% battery charge can only be measured when the battery has been accepting effectively no charge and then let the battery temperature settle down and then measure the OCV.

BUT, the biggest thing is that you don't gain any battery charge. Nothing in this makes the battery 30%, 50% better. It is ONLY setting the guess-o-meter values.

What you read on the guess-o-meter is pretty much only guaranteed to be wrong. Maybe better put, as accurate as a stopped watch, which is accurate for 2 seconds a day.

There was no capacity gained

 

[SonicF9]

Does leaving climate controls on cause the battery not to sleep and any thoughts on what to do when I have to park outside with no shade and a month straight of temps near or over 100 degrees.

I have seen a significant loss in displayed range and I can’t help but feel like it is from my vehicle running the air to keep the computers cool. Any thoughts or input on this?

 

[TLLMRRJ]

Uh, too much to read and do. Not the Tesla way. Need to send this thread to Tesla so they can fix their software instead.

 

[Brock-WI]

I was going to ask this, but really this is just to let the car recalibrate what it thinks it has capacity wise. It has no actual effect on capacity or health of the pack, just how it is reported, is that correct?

 

[Tintin825]

I am impressed with the technical acumen detailed here. It saddens me, though, because it is just one more piece of evidence to me that Tesla autos are not for the senior set (of which I am a reluctant member).

I own a Model 3 and drive it only infrequently ... especially now during the Covid-19 crimp on places to go. Now I'm sure all you young'uns out there will puzzle over how I could possibly lose some sharpness in my senior years; after all, you (and I, too, when I was a young'un) are bright, quick on your feet, sharp memory, and all the rest of the admirable characteristics of not-old humans, AND YOU'LL NEVER GIVE IN TO THE RAVAGES OF AGE, EITHER. Am I not right?

The Tesla autos have sometimes been called, with pride, "a computer on wheels." However, when I describe my M3 that way to others, it's with an inward groan. Why? It is so difficult to do anything, even simple things like open the glove box. In all the ICE cars I've ever driven, it's been easy. A/C? Sure, just reach over WITHOUT HAVING TO TAKE MY EYES OFF THE ROAD and make the adjustments by touch. No way to do that in my computer on wheels.

(btw, I fully expect there will be many crash descriptions of seniors taking their eyes off the road too long and crashing into some innocent car, guard rail at the edge of a cliff, or oncoming fully loaded semi.)

Or, say you want to flip on the windshield wipers to wash off a bug flattened right in your line of vision. If you’re like me, you’ll have to pull over to the side of the road and browse through the logical decision tree on the touch screen (that saves a lot of weight, I’m sure) before you can home in, minutes later, on the part of the algorithm that gives you several choices for windshield wiper activation.

This retired aerospace engineer, who helped design the control system of the GPS satellite decades ago, longs for the simplicity of an old ICE car! Same for my wife, who refuses to drive the M3 because it is “Too complicated.”

Elon! Here’s a demographic that you might not reach until you design a simple ecar: The really senior cohort that really doesn’t need 0 – 60 in 3 seconds. (I tried to think of a name for a senior-appropriate Tesla that could be added to the S3XY lineup, but I nodded off. Maybe after my nap.)

One option would be to use the voice activation to do the air con and glove box opening. For the bug on the windscreen issue, can you not tap the button at the end of the left stick - hold down if you need fluid to help clear it?

 

[Battpower]

I still highly disagree with the sitting at 100% is bad, it's bad ONLY if you leave if there for a long time, like months, or years.

And I still question how you would expect the OCV to be correct when the battery isn't fully charged?

I'm sure that while battery chemistry can go some way to reducing problems from high SOC, it undoubtedly pushes cells and causes stress that can have long term consequences. So why not avoid when ever possible?

While batteries are older design, S85 owners don't get the choice if Tesla decides to limit their max brick voltage. So sooner or later your car could (likely to) need its max charging voltage (and therfore charge capacity) limited / revised.

Remember that balancing is happening all the time (well, most of the time) based on historic performance of bricks. The energy needs to be evenly balanced between bricks at any SOC otherwise one low energy brick would halt discharging with unused energy sitting in all the others.

So when the battery is at rest (oc) the parallel cells continue to even out charge based on what balancing / charging duration allowed them to absorb during charging. The volts settle oc and you then see where you are at.

 

[scottf200]

I am impressed with the technical acumen detailed here. It saddens me, though, because it is just one more piece of evidence to me that Tesla autos are not for the senior set (of which I am a reluctant member).

I own a Model 3 and drive it only infrequently ... especially now during the Covid-19 crimp on places to go. Now I'm sure all you young'uns out there will puzzle over how I could possibly lose some sharpness in my senior years; after all, you (and I, too, when I was a young'un) are bright, quick on your feet, sharp memory, and all the rest of the admirable characteristics of not-old humans, AND YOU'LL NEVER GIVE IN TO THE RAVAGES OF AGE, EITHER. Am I not right?

The Tesla autos have sometimes been called, with pride, "a computer on wheels." However, when I describe my M3 that way to others, it's with an inward groan. Why? It is so difficult to do anything, even simple things like open the glove box. In all the ICE cars I've ever driven, it's been easy. A/C? Sure, just reach over WITHOUT HAVING TO TAKE MY EYES OFF THE ROAD and make the adjustments by touch. No way to do that in my computer on wheels.

(btw, I fully expect there will be many crash descriptions of seniors taking their eyes off the road too long and crashing into some innocent car, guard rail at the edge of a cliff, or oncoming fully loaded semi.)

Or, say you want to flip on the windshield wipers to wash off a bug flattened right in your line of vision. If you’re like me, you’ll have to pull over to the side of the road and browse through the logical decision tree on the touch screen (that saves a lot of weight, I’m sure) before you can home in, minutes later, on the part of the algorithm that gives you several choices for windshield wiper activation.

This retired aerospace engineer, who helped design the control system of the GPS satellite decades ago, longs for the simplicity of an old ICE car! Same for my wife, who refuses to drive the M3 because it is “Too complicated.”

Elon! Here’s a demographic that you might not reach until you design a simple ecar: The really senior cohort that really doesn’t need 0 – 60 in 3 seconds. (I tried to think of a name for a senior-appropriate Tesla that could be added to the S3XY lineup, but I nodded off. Maybe after my nap.)

Have you tried voice commands? There are quite a few now.
Tap and let go; then speak after a moment or two. (old way was tap and hold).
See this list:
V10.2 Tesla Voice Commands

 

[zannman]

So what's the results?

...

I would love if someone else can perform this procedure and confirm that it works for you, especially if your Model 3 is one that has a lot of apparent degradation. It will take months, but I think we can prove that this procedure will work.

Nothing special done here except upgrade to 2020.28.6 on 8/6 and the large jumps start after 8/8 charge... I did have a full pack usage down to 4% on 8/22 but can't see any data correlated to that.

 

[FRE0]

I am impressed with the technical acumen detailed here. It saddens me, though, because it is just one more piece of evidence to me that Tesla autos are not for the senior set (of which I am a reluctant member).

I own a Model 3 and drive it only infrequently ... especially now during the Covid-19 crimp on places to go. Now I'm sure all you young'uns out there will puzzle over how I could possibly lose some sharpness in my senior years; after all, you (and I, too, when I was a young'un) are bright, quick on your feet, sharp memory, and all the rest of the admirable characteristics of not-old humans, AND YOU'LL NEVER GIVE IN TO THE RAVAGES OF AGE, EITHER. Am I not right?

The Tesla autos have sometimes been called, with pride, "a computer on wheels." However, when I describe my M3 that way to others, it's with an inward groan. Why? It is so difficult to do anything, even simple things like open the glove box. In all the ICE cars I've ever driven, it's been easy. A/C? Sure, just reach over WITHOUT HAVING TO TAKE MY EYES OFF THE ROAD and make the adjustments by touch. No way to do that in my computer on wheels.

(btw, I fully expect there will be many crash descriptions of seniors taking their eyes off the road too long and crashing into some innocent car, guard rail at the edge of a cliff, or oncoming fully loaded semi.)

Or, say you want to flip on the windshield wipers to wash off a bug flattened right in your line of vision. If you’re like me, you’ll have to pull over to the side of the road and browse through the logical decision tree on the touch screen (that saves a lot of weight, I’m sure) before you can home in, minutes later, on the part of the algorithm that gives you several choices for windshield wiper activation.

This retired aerospace engineer, who helped design the control system of the GPS satellite decades ago, longs for the simplicity of an old ICE car! Same for my wife, who refuses to drive the M3 because it is “Too complicated.”

Elon! Here’s a demographic that you might not reach until you design a simple ecar: The really senior cohort that really doesn’t need 0 – 60 in 3 seconds. (I tried to think of a name for a senior-appropriate Tesla that could be added to the S3XY lineup, but I nodded off. Maybe after my nap.)

I also think that there are too many simple functions which require using the touch screen and that doing so while driving is dangerous. With my previous car I could adjust the temperature and fan speed without taking my eyes off of the road. Same with operating the wipers. Then too there is the problem having the type size too small to read while wearing distance glasses. I really to like the car, but the controls are likely to cause a crash.

 

[Futuresystem]

I am impressed with the technical acumen detailed here. It saddens me, though, because it is just one more piece of evidence to me that Tesla autos are not for the senior set (of which I am a reluctant member).

I own a Model 3 and drive it only infrequently ... especially now during the Covid-19 crimp on places to go. Now I'm sure all you young'uns out there will puzzle over how I could possibly lose some sharpness in my senior years; after all, you (and I, too, when I was a young'un) are bright, quick on your feet, sharp memory, and all the rest of the admirable characteristics of not-old humans, AND YOU'LL NEVER GIVE IN TO THE RAVAGES OF AGE, EITHER. Am I not right?

The Tesla autos have sometimes been called, with pride, "a computer on wheels." However, when I describe my M3 that way to others, it's with an inward groan. Why? It is so difficult to do anything, even simple things like open the glove box. In all the ICE cars I've ever driven, it's been easy. A/C? Sure, just reach over WITHOUT HAVING TO TAKE MY EYES OFF THE ROAD and make the adjustments by touch. No way to do that in my computer on wheels.

(btw, I fully expect there will be many crash descriptions of seniors taking their eyes off the road too long and crashing into some innocent car, guard rail at the edge of a cliff, or oncoming fully loaded semi.)

Or, say you want to flip on the windshield wipers to wash off a bug flattened right in your line of vision. If you’re like me, you’ll have to pull over to the side of the road and browse through the logical decision tree on the touch screen (that saves a lot of weight, I’m sure) before you can home in, minutes later, on the part of the algorithm that gives you several choices for windshield wiper activation.

This retired aerospace engineer, who helped design the control system of the GPS satellite decades ago, longs for the simplicity of an old ICE car! Same for my wife, who refuses to drive the M3 because it is “Too complicated.”

This saddens me a little, because I’m also getting on a just a little, (though maybe not as much as you), yet absolutely adore the functionality of my “computer on wheels“. My wife is also perhaps one of the least technical people on this side of the world, (Australia) but she’s also more than happy to drive it.
FIRSTLY, in your case I would say don’t touch the screen unless you have A/P engaged- which will keep you in your lane and also from running in to the car in front of you.
SECONDLY, I would say you just simply don’t actually NEED to touch the screen 99% of the time. I can do most things by voice, something which you should consider practicing. Sit in your car when parked and try it. Fan speed, temp, seat heaters, A/C, wipers, glovebox and so much more can be done with voice alone. Sure, it’s not always perfect in understanding you but is slowly getting better.
THIRDLY, you most certainly don’t need to touch the screen for wipers, like that idiot recently in Germany who crashed his car allegedly adjusting the wipers, (but more likely doing something else such as using his phone and using that as an excuse).
Leave them on auto and they’re fine. If the first wipe is later than you’d really like just give the button on the end your stalk a jab, and all will be fine. If there’s bugs on the window, repeatedly hold the button in for your windscreen washer. Too easy, and certainly easier than my other car, a 2014 SUV without 47 functions on one stalk. (Yes, I am exaggerating a little.... not quite 47.)

It’s very easy to almost never need to touch the screen while driving, but if I do, I am on autopilot so I won’t ever wander out of my lane.

 

[jmichaels]

One of the most helpful posts I've seen and I have read a lot of them. I have a 2 month old LR Model Y and my battery range readings don't make any sense and the Tesla folks don't seem to know how to answer my questions. I have provided a bunch of data, charts, spreadsheets and basis analysis related to drop in range and no answers/explanations have been provided. Frankly, its been very frustrating. I am going to try what you are suggesting and hopefully it will help. Attached is my chart from Teslafi. My EPA range is 316 but reported max range has mostly been between 305 and 309 since I've owned the car. My gut says not likely I've lost that much range in 2 months. Hopefully this exercise will get me back to a reported 316 mile range. Fingers crossed.

 

[Knittingemmy]

Would you please explain how to put my M3 into sleep mode? I love my car and have been following many of the battery maintenance tips you listed - particularly, varying charge levels and not charging daily. But, I want to be sure I understand what you mean by letting it sleep.
Thank you.

 

[erthquake]

I was going to ask this, but really this is just to let the car recalibrate what it thinks it has capacity wise. It has no actual effect on capacity or health of the pack, just how it is reported, is that correct?

Correct.

 

[Retired in AZ]

Great information in this post. Here's how I think it applies to my situation, given this background:

I have a 2019 M3LR AWD (Scarlett) that started its life with my wife and I in July, 2019. When I drove out of the parking lot, its range showed 315. In the year that we have driven it, we have covered just over 7,000 miles. We're seniors, and retired - no jobs or daily driving unless we want to go somewhere. Scarlett gets a lot of 'garage time', with Scarlett sleeping roughly 10 hours per day. I charge when the range gets down to between 45 and 85 miles indicated, and charge up to 80%. I've charged to 100% only four or five times so far, and always just before a trip. And, since we live in the Phoenix area, we have some 'VERY' hot weather (50 days this year over 110), which affects not only people, but Scarlett's battery. When we return home from errands, the temperature in the garage is still in the mid to high 90's, so Scarlett cools down slowly and uses quite a bit of energy for extended periods to cool down the battery. [Incidentally, the Cabin Overheat Protection feature is awesome.]

Following the logic we're discussing, BMS has plenty of time to recalculate range. So, I believe that Scarlett is telling me as close to the truth as it can. I charged last night, and 80% tells me that I have 268 miles. If we start with the 315 number, times 80%, that number should be 252. So, Scarlett is saying I really have 85%. Nice!

Any holes in the logic here?