DuplexDianne
Member
How damaging is it to the battery if you go out of town and not use the car for several days? Expect there to be some drainage of the battery but definitely not advised to leave it plugged in the entire time you are away, right?
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systemcrashed
Please Reboot
You can irreversibly damage your tesla battery if you run the battery down and leave it unplugged for several days, I repeat, You can irreversibly damage your tesla battery if you run down the battery and leave it unplugged for several days.
A plugged in tesla is a happy tesla... The engineers have designed the battery management system to compensate for most scenarios when plugged in. Even using the 110v adapter will save your behind in a 0% situation. I had mentioned the importance of reading the Manual in other threads... Reading the battery management section is a must.
If you have set the car to charge to only 90% or below, then YES absolutely leave it plugged in the whole while!
It will lose some charge daily from vampire drain. Then when it reaches a certain threshold, it will top back up to 90%.
Otherwise, if it was a long trip, your battery charge would just keep dropping. Possibly to levels that would degrade or harm the battery.
Bottom line, set your charge meter to 80-90% and just keep it plugged in when not being driven in essentially all scenarios.
If it's not plugged in, it will drop maybe 1 or 2% per day. If you start from pretty full, it can sit for a month or more, and it will just gradually use up some of the battery power. Letting it run all the way down is not good. As to your second assumption, that is not correct at all. Really read the manual on that. It absolutely recommends you DO leave it plugged in all the time if you can.
Tesla, if you're reading this thread, please start putting those postcards in the cars again at delivery that showed the car plugged in and said "Remember, a connected Model S is a happy Model S". It would save so many questions.
K-MTG
Sunshade Captain of TMC
So is it better? I am coming from an Acura which is also entry-level to the luxury market.
I went on a six week holiday last year and left my Model S plugged in at home.
Vampire drain dropped the battery down from 430Km Rated Range, to about the 390Km Rated Range and then the car would wake up and charge back up to 430Km (90%) again. From memory it did this every 5 or 6 days.
So plugged, even to a low power socket, and the car will look after the battery itself.
Vampire drain dropped the battery down from 430Km Rated Range, to about the 390Km Rated Range and then the car would wake up and charge back up to 430Km (90%) again. From memory it did this every 5 or 6 days.
So plugged, even to a low power socket, and the car will look after the battery itself.
Mark Z
Active Member
In your situation with a 30 mile round trip commute, I'd charge to 90% at work and enjoy a round trip back to work without plugging in at home.
Continue to plug in at home on days off to 90% when you are using your vehicle and for long term storage.
Nubo
Test Mule
Hmm... The people you gave $100K to are going to call and chastise you?
Not that I'd really ever need to or consider camping at a local supercharger on any sort of regular basis, but this idea of "a call from Tesla" disturbs me. What's the nature of "the call"? To tell the truth, I'm not particularly concerned with what they are or are not "fond of". What are the contract terms? Are they going to disable supercharger access, and is this spelled out in the literature and contracts?
Electric700
Active Member
If you need to leave your vehicle somewhere for a few days, let's say at an airport, it's best to leave it parked at a charge of 55%. The battery should be perfectly fine, and I've seen others here who've had no problem doing it this way, for a few days only. Also, leaving the battery at a 55% state of charge for long periods of time is much better than letting the vehicle stay unused at a 90% state of charge.
If the vehicle is not going to be used for several weeks, then it's best to find a 120 V outlet (minimum) where you can leave it plugged in.
There are no contract terms. Tesla is not obligated to provide any minimum quantity of superchargers or speed of charging.
This "not particularly concerned" attitude is why we can't have nice things, to quote a well known line from past threads.
Nubo
Test Mule
I guess clearly stating that I do not intend to camp at local superchargers just wasn't enough to prevent you from impugning my character or motives.
I was expressing my indifference to what Tesla "is fond of". If they are fond of something it should be spelled out clearly somewhere. A quick perusal of their website didn't turn up anything that clearly suggested charging was limited. So I was wondering if such language exists in the sales contract.
I'm just as opposed as you, to people hogging local superchargers for free juice. Seems like a silly pursuit for rich folks and I'd like to know more about how Tesla combats this, and how that plays out in the information given to customers. In a contract relationship, getting what you want is generally easier if you put it in the contract.
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Nubo
Test Mule
I suppose it's because it's easier to administer ad-hominems than thoughtful replies.I can't imagine why people would picture you as an ass?
Nubo
Test Mule
No problem, but I really am seriously curious about this policy and looking for serious replies. Has anyone gotten "The Call", and what does it amount to? What happens if/when the customer declines to follow Tesla's fond wishes? Are local charging privileges cut off, or is it more like a thing where you have to call the service center to plead for a local charge? I'd think this issue would become more acute as the number of Teslas on the road starts growing so I'm curious as to the real details as to whether there are actual defined enforceable rules in play or if they're just trying to finesse the situation with "courtesy calls".
There are several threads devoted to this, with hundreds of posts. Let's not rehash it.
systemcrashed
Please Reboot
I don't see this as being a big issue, as long as people are installing chargers at home. Even the basic 120v charging solution would work for the few who have a very short commute to work.
Nubo
Test Mule
Fair enough. I did some searching but really didn't find anything definitive. Maybe I need to keep searching or maybe there's just nothing to find.
Here you go, for your reading (dis)pleasure. These are the massive threads about this from this forum and from the forum at Tesla's website.
Did you get the memo? Tesla says: charge at home, minimize local Supercharging | Tesla Motors
Supercharging - Elon's statement that Daily Supercharging Users are Receiving Notes
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