I'm actually less concerned about the slow reduction in range, and more worried about total pack failure (expensive fix!). However, pack failure seems to be caused by the total failure of one or more cells, and I don't know that there's any correlation between charge behavior and cell death. It seems to be a crapshoot.
The entire charge port can be easily replaced for less than $500. A new battery costs over $10k.
Feelings, man. And bad info / old habits.I just don't understand why people insist on doing something other than the recommendation by the manufacturer.
the owners manual said:
Owner's manual also says: "Tesla strongly recommends leaving Model <S/3/X/Y> plugged in when not in use. This maintains the Battery at the optimum level of charge."
If you plug in each evening with Scheduled Departure charging enabled the Tesla Model Y does not draw power from the grid until charging begins. If it is cold enough the Tesla Model Y will have to warm the battery prior to charging. The Tesla Model Y will draw power from the grid when warming the battery for charging. The Tesla Model Y does not warm the battery when the Model Y is parked, only as part of a charging session or while preconditioning before driving.
So is it better to not have it on scheduled departure and try to have it charged ASAP so it can also draw power from grid? I live in Las Vegas so high temperatures. I do have a garage. I keep the Model Y at 50% charge limit and my wife depletes it to 35% worst case.
Departure schedule benefits the most when the battery pack is cold. If the battery is already at optimal temperature then no pre-heat is needed. If the temperature is really high (more than 95F ?) then it may use AC to cool it down before departure.
The car doesn't condition the battery unless it's getting ready for departure. So yes, it will charge to 50% in your case and just sit there.
Scheduled Departure charging so that charging takes place in the early hours of the A.M. is more grid friendly than immediately charging upon plugging in.
So whether plugged in (instant), plugged in (scheduled) or unplugged, the vehicle will behave the same from a battery thermal management standpoint in my garage? No difference?
Yes, the Tesla vehicle behaves the same when parked whether plugged in or unplugged. When Tesla vehicle remains parked for a period of time the battery state of charge will start to drop. This happens more quickly if Sentry mode is turned on at the parked location. After the battery charge level drops a few percent, if plugged in the Tesla vehicle will charge the battery up to the preset charge limit.
Are there other measurable metrics besides range degradation that, as owners, we can check to confirm battery health? I've had my Y LR for a week shy of a year and driven 15K miles so far. I charged it to 100% this past weekend, for the 3rd time ever, prior to a 200 mi trip. My range degradation over the first year is 5 miles (321 miles at 100%), or about 1.5%. My efficiency is 252 wh/mi lifetime and that number is still slowly decreasing, i.e. becoming more efficient. I just want to know if there is a metric I can check to see if my charging habit is causing damage to the battery in some other way.
I get the whole point of your question. If you don't need to charge, yet you CAN plug in, SHOULD you plug in? If battery has say 50% charge or more, left only overnight, is there ANY point to plugging in? I have wondered the same. There is hassle to constantly plugging/unplugging and wear and tear on the charge port. So it is a good question.
You're harming the long term health of your batteries if you're charging above 50% when you don't need to. My vehicle is pretty much always below 50% (the charge limit is set to 50%) except when I am doing longer trips, and when I do that, it charges up just before I leave so the amount of time spent over 50% is minimized. I always plug in when I park in the garage.
This is another topic entirely. I never charge to over 50% unless doing a trip the next day. You can't set less than 50% as the setpoint anyway. I find it odd Tesla wouldn't give a warning if it harms long term health of the batteries to exceed 50%.
