im not going to use my car for about 10 days straight... should I leave it plugged in to 14-50 plug with a reduced charge limit programmed?
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Keep plugged in over long break.?
- Thread starter Leeclanual
- Start date
Sorry noticed already answered in another thread... I’ll keep it plugged in.
About the Battery
Model 3 has one of the most sophisticated
battery systems in the world. The most
important way to preserve the Battery is to
LEAVE YOUR VEHICLE PLUGGED IN when
you are not using it. This is particularly
important if you are not planning to drive
Model 3 for several weeks. When plugged in,
Model 3 wakes up when needed to
automatically maintain a charge level that
maximizes the lifetime of the Battery.
SabrToothSqrl
Active Member
To be fair (as I am the one who clipped the text from the manual and posted it), as I mentioned there are a ton of discussions here about battery maintenance, how often to plug in, etc etc and tons of opinions on this topic. I have read a ton of threads, and there is no consensus in general.
The general advice from the forum would be to plug it in, set the charging threshhold to something like 70-80 percent, and the go about your business and not worry about it. Still others only plug in when their car is down to 30 percent etc.
So, if you search you will find tons of discussions about the topic. For myself, I found myself getting wrapped up in "what do I do to protect my investment in this car, as I did not lease it and I want it to last!!!" thoughts.
I read the manual (actually before I got the car, and again after, and again.. I have read the 182 page manual cover to cover at least 3 full times)... and realized that tesla is exceptionally clear about what THEY want you to do.
Of course, there are plenty of people on the forums who dont believe them, and have only plugged in "when needed" on model S and X and not had much issues over several years of ownership.
I ultimately decided I would not stress about the battery, charge to 90 percent or so, and plug in when not in use. I also decided that around 1 time per month I would run down to 20-30 percent, then charge to 100 percent to help the battery management system (BMS) re calibrate itself in my car.
I also decided that it would not hurt it at all if I left it plugged in all the time, as thats what tesla is telling me to do, and if I had a problem in the 8 years 120k miles warranty that comes with the car, tesla WILL be able to see charge cycles etc, and "doing whats in the manual" is the safest / easiest way to get warranty coverage.
your mileage may vary, of course.
The general advice from the forum would be to plug it in, set the charging threshhold to something like 70-80 percent, and the go about your business and not worry about it. Still others only plug in when their car is down to 30 percent etc.
So, if you search you will find tons of discussions about the topic. For myself, I found myself getting wrapped up in "what do I do to protect my investment in this car, as I did not lease it and I want it to last!!!" thoughts.
I read the manual (actually before I got the car, and again after, and again.. I have read the 182 page manual cover to cover at least 3 full times)... and realized that tesla is exceptionally clear about what THEY want you to do.
Of course, there are plenty of people on the forums who dont believe them, and have only plugged in "when needed" on model S and X and not had much issues over several years of ownership.
I ultimately decided I would not stress about the battery, charge to 90 percent or so, and plug in when not in use. I also decided that around 1 time per month I would run down to 20-30 percent, then charge to 100 percent to help the battery management system (BMS) re calibrate itself in my car.
I also decided that it would not hurt it at all if I left it plugged in all the time, as thats what tesla is telling me to do, and if I had a problem in the 8 years 120k miles warranty that comes with the car, tesla WILL be able to see charge cycles etc, and "doing whats in the manual" is the safest / easiest way to get warranty coverage.
your mileage may vary, of course.
SabrToothSqrl
Active Member
with 18,000 miles on the wife's car, and always just being plugged in and 90% and never adjusted... it's lost exactly zero miles of rated range since new.
I think people are overthinking this stuff
I think people are overthinking this stuff
Same here, only I gained a couple of miles. (Of course what that really means is that the number is an estimate +/- a few miles, and I haven't lost enough to matter.)with 18,000 miles on the wife's car, and always just being plugged in and 90% and never adjusted... it's lost exactly zero miles of rated range since new.
I think people are overthinking this stuff
This is a post that I will agree with!
There are people who seem to post the manual and seem to believe that dragging a generator behind the car to keep it plugged in is the right answer. Reading the manual a little closer even suggest that keeping it plugged in daily isn't required, as the next sentence says it is important if you aren't going to drive for a couple of weeks. It doesn't say days, it doesn't even say a single week.
I'd agree with your ultimate decision, except that I wouldn't try to rebalance monthly, more like 3000-5000 miles or quarterly.
The team wants this to be a drivable car where you don't have to do anything special, even less than an ICE. The only caveats is don't keep it at 100% for a long time and never let it hit 0%. Charge at home and enjoy the advantages of electrics.
We have a model 3 (LR DM) that we use mostly for longer range highway driving. We have an Wall Connector installed in our driveway, but usually we prefer to park other cars in that spot. So what we do is charge to about 70% when we are not planning to use the model 3, and then just let it drift down gradually to like 45% and the charge back up. Is that so wrong? I don't really see what the advantage of keeping it plugged in might be, though I would really thrilled is someone can explain why leaving it plugged it might be preferable? We are new owners, just a couple months, so we don't think we know everything.
Then when we are planning a trip we just charge it to like 85 or 90% and then supercharge somewhere when we get to about 30%.
Things I feel that I don't understand, and there may be more, are:
Why keep it plugged in?
Does one need to charge above a certain level to "balance" now and then? How high? How often?
PS. This is in coastal California. The weather is mild and we only loose about 1% per day when the car is "sleeping".
Then when we are planning a trip we just charge it to like 85 or 90% and then supercharge somewhere when we get to about 30%.
Things I feel that I don't understand, and there may be more, are:
Why keep it plugged in?
Does one need to charge above a certain level to "balance" now and then? How high? How often?
PS. This is in coastal California. The weather is mild and we only loose about 1% per day when the car is "sleeping".
Other than "because tesla specifically tells us to" I assume you mean?
I dont know as you have had your car longer than I have. I dont think it matters that much (as in, I dont think you are "doing it wrong" unless you count what the manual says). I suspect (but have absolutely no proof) that the car likely performs more checks and balances when it is connected to shore power, than when "just sitting". It knows it has "plenty of power" when connected to shore power so if I were designing it (which I am not), I would trigger more checks / rebalances etc when connected to power for longer than XX period of time.
All I know is, the "people who designed it" know it best, AND they are very direct on what they want to happen. They dont explain the WHY. The "why" could be as simple as, they didnt want a lot of stories about EV owners needing to use the car in an emergency and "not having enough range". I dont know the why, I just know what they explicitly put in the manual.
I also know from reading here that model S users who ignored the directions do not seem to have suffered too much from any "consequences". With that being said, I dont have a reason to NOT listen to the manual, as I said.
I already posted my thoughts on "how high to charge it, when, etc" in my other post and I am not some sort of authority on it by any means... just someone who read a lot on this topic here because I was concerned like everyone else.
with 18,000 miles on the wife's car, and always just being plugged in and 90% and never adjusted... it's lost exactly zero miles of rated range since new.
I think people are overthinking this stuff
WTF really? Mine had 314 miles of rated charge when new and now only charges to 297. I keep it between 70-80% religiously... it's plugged in right now at 70%.
HeatproofGenie
Member
There's recent evidence that you need to charge the 3 to 90% or more to get the BMS to do a full balancing and allow for proper range calculation.
It's likely you haven't lost anything but because you only charge to 80% max the car is not correctly calculating range.
HeatproofGenie
Member
This was the video that started everyone to believe that.
She doesn't strike me as overly technical and I don't follow her channel but from the video it does sound like she did some investigative work and queried Tesla who gave the advice.
You’ve answered your own question. Charge to 90% and the estimated SOC (range) will be more accurate. It’s not a matter of balancing, it’s just how the SOC is estimated. Your battery is just fine, but it doesn’t know how much charge it has if it’s not being charged most of the way.
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