Hi friends! I bought a new MS 75D in June 2018 and to date have about 8,500 miles on her (a lot for me - but I've been enjoying the ride and drove a lot this summer!). I have done a lot of reading and research on the battery, charging, etc., and after initially charging to 90+ percent I have started going much lower (like 60% daily charge, which is usually just topping off 10 or 20%). I anticipate driving even less now in the winter, I'm in NYC/Staten Island, and don't use the car to commute every day so 60 usually works me. I know Elon Tweeted a few years ago that 30-80 was ideal and he now seems to have changed his opinion to 5-90; so now I'm really confused! However my question is what if I don't drive every day? Or just drive a few miles to go grocery shopping, etc. Should the car sit there for days at 80-90? My understanding has always been that in the middle (around 50) was best for sitting idle. Or should I just set it to 90 for each morning and enjoy the damn the car that I paid 100K for?
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Tam
Well-Known Member
I think Elon Musk was trying to make a battery practical and I think what he says is: it is not worth the worry especially when you have an S or X that has a warranty for infinity miles in 8 years.
Essentially, Tesla only demands 2 things from you:
1) Plug it in (as demanded in your Owner's Manual)
2) Your Tesla would give you a warning when you set it above 90%.
dark cloud
Active Member
When did Elon state you should charge using a 5-90 SOC on regular basis?
This should only be done periodically (annually or semi-annually?) for balancing the pack, and I believe the consensus is still >90 and more like 95%.
Sure the car can sit there for days at 80-90%, until it gets below say 40%, but why not just keep it plugged in at 70% if you don't need the range?
From everything I have read also I think your statement that keeping the SOC around the middle as much as possible is the best thing you can do for your battery.
This should only be done periodically (annually or semi-annually?) for balancing the pack, and I believe the consensus is still >90 and more like 95%.
Sure the car can sit there for days at 80-90%, until it gets below say 40%, but why not just keep it plugged in at 70% if you don't need the range?
From everything I have read also I think your statement that keeping the SOC around the middle as much as possible is the best thing you can do for your battery.
Tam
Well-Known Member
boonedocks
MS LR Blk/Blk 19”
Just did a 100% charge this weekend and have 323 miles which is 12 miles short of the what is was advertised at new......a drop of 3.6% of total battery capacity.
Daily charge 90% and plugged in all the time when at home
Car is 22 months old
63,669 miles
Battery degradation of 3.6% after almost 2 years and 64k miles is pretty good in my book!!
Daily charge 90% and plugged in all the time when at home
Car is 22 months old
63,669 miles
Battery degradation of 3.6% after almost 2 years and 64k miles is pretty good in my book!!
Thats awesome and encouraging. It seems that Tesla is doing something different and it defies established rules of li-ion batteries.
Lasttoy
Active Member
Read attached .
I have 131k miles, i still get something close to 250 if i set at 100%. I dont want to do that. I was told by Tesla never to do that.
They told to have 2 settings,
1. Home, about 175 for me to get to next town and back
2. Going on long trip with many stops, (DC). Set it to about 240. Shortens stop times.
Also, u will never calculate any miles used, or available, there are too many variables.
I've driven in over 25 states and a lot of different environments, good luck on that .
I have 131k miles, i still get something close to 250 if i set at 100%. I dont want to do that. I was told by Tesla never to do that.
They told to have 2 settings,
1. Home, about 175 for me to get to next town and back
2. Going on long trip with many stops, (DC). Set it to about 240. Shortens stop times.
Also, u will never calculate any miles used, or available, there are too many variables.
I've driven in over 25 states and a lot of different environments, good luck on that .
Attachments
Tesla made a smart choice in the type of lithium-ion batteries they use. Jeff Dahn goes into detail in his lecture on lithium-ion batteries which explains it. Tesla also has a very good Battery Management System (BMS) which further improves the longevity of the battery packs (temperature management, cell voltage balancing, etc.). As @Tam mentioned, Elon Musk is basically saying to not worry since the difference in degradation between lower charge states up to 90% is very small compared to the convenience of having extra range. Unless you plan on owning the vehicle for a very long time (8-10+ years) or drive a significant amount of miles every year, just follow Tesla’s simple recommendations which is essentially: 1) Charge <=90% for daily use, 2) Keep it plugged in, 3) Only charge >90% for long range trips, if required. If you want some more details, I made a fairly lengthy post in this thread.
