Lousy range on new car, worse than expected

[philtronics]

Brand new model Y "Stealth" Performance with 19" wheels. Took a trip over the weekend and almost ran out of gas! Had to detour to the nearest supercharger. Barely made it. Total about 190 miles, started with 90% charge, ended up with 10%. Freeway driving about 75 mph over a couple of mountain passes, but it seems like it should do better?

Then yesterday I charged to 88%, drove 68 miles round trip mostly on the freeway, flat, at about 65 mph. Charge was down to 60% when I got back. So that's 68 miles / 28%. Assuming a linear function, if I used 80% of the total charge (90% to 10%), that would be 194 miles. Just about exactly what happened on my road trip.

It this normal??? Seems like I might have to take it in for warranty service. Please advise!

 

[Bentesling]

By "stealth" performance, I assume you just mean normal Model Y performance version, and didn't select the "Performance Upgrade", so you should be getting 315 miles/100% charge. In your first example, you went from 90% charge down to 10%, so used 80% of the stored energy in the battery. Straight % calculation means you should have gotten 315 miles * .8 = 252 miles if you were driving slow highways speeds of 50 - 60 mph. Going 75 mph that you should expect to see less efficiency (remember the Tesla's are more efficient at slower speeds due to less drag at those speeds), so I'd expect to get 200 - 215 miles in your 1st scenario. You got 190 miles, which is slightly less that I'd imagine, but not terribly off base, so I don't think you have a problem.

 

[NevadaFrenchy]

Mountain passes and a 75mph speed will eat up your range, add to that some wind, sea level, and weight in the car and you have it about right. I did a 250 mile trip each way, up 8,000 ft over some mountains (down to 6,000 ft for my destination), going 75mph and that's about the same range I got round trip. While I was there I drove over some mountains at lower speeds (on average, still went 75mph when I was able to), albeit steeper grades, and I got about the suggested range.

 

[Zaxxon]

Took a trip over the weekend and almost ran out of gas!

Now *that* is a pretty impressive trick in a Tesla!

Agreed with Bentesling--your first scenario isn't too far off, esp if it was windy, spirited driving was involved, etc. On your second example, you got 68 miles out of 28% of the battery, whereas EPA range would suggest you should have gotten 88. That is low for 65 mph and flat, but again not necessarily outlandishly so. There are factors outside of just speed and elevation--wind being among the biggest. I've monitored my vehicles on long trips via TeslaFi for years now, and the impact of a strong head or cross wind can be dramatic.

Also, this is an aside but just to set expectations: you will inevitably get 'poor' range on short drives, as you would in an ICE car (but where it's less noticeable since range estimates are generally very inaccurate).

 

[DDrawer]

Brand new model Y "Stealth" Performance with 19" wheels. Took a trip over the weekend and almost ran out of gas! Had to detour to the nearest supercharger. Barely made it. Total about 190 miles, started with 90% charge, ended up with 10%. Freeway driving about 75 mph over a couple of mountain passes, but it seems like it should do better?

Then yesterday I charged to 88%, drove 68 miles round trip mostly on the freeway, flat, at about 65 mph. Charge was down to 60% when I got back. So that's 68 miles / 28%. Assuming a linear function, if I used 80% of the total charge (90% to 10%), that would be 194 miles. Just about exactly what happened on my road trip.

It this normal??? Seems like I might have to take it in for warranty service. Please advise!

What was your wh/mile on those trips? Going 75mph (and not considering anything other than speed), you will probably lose about 15% off the EPA rated range. So 315 is cut to about 268 at 100%. Considering you started at 90% (about 284 miles), you should expect about 242 miles at 75mph. You drove 190 miles, so you'd be down to 52 miles which would be about 16% of a full pack. Factor in some loss for AC, elevation, wind etc and you are right there at the 10% you were at.

Seems normal. Most likely a case of just not expecting speed to play such a big role on your EPA rated range.

Now *that* is a pretty impressive trick in a Tesla!

Agreed with Bentesling--your first scenario isn't too far off, esp if it was windy, spirited driving was involved, etc. On your second example, you got 68 miles out of 28% of the battery, whereas EPA range would suggest you should have gotten 88. That is low for 65 mph and flat, but again not necessarily outlandishly so. There are factors outside of just speed and elevation--wind being among the biggest. I've monitored my vehicles on long trips via TeslaFi for years now, and the impact of a strong head or cross wind can be dramatic.

Also, this is an aside but just to set expectations: you will inevitably get 'poor' range on short drives, as you would in an ICE car (but where it's less noticeable since range estimates are generally very inaccurate).

I assume poor efficiency on short drives would be from the big energy spike from HVAC when you first start your drive and not having enough of a ride to average that out. Is that correct?

 

[jwuwu]

Sounds normal to me, especially when you're driving 75mph over a couple of mountain passes. There are a lot of variables here.

What does your energy consumption chart look like for the trip? Did you gain or lose elevation? What's your wh/mi on this road trip? What's the weather and temperature like?

You're not going to get the rated epa range of 315mi at 100% SoC unless you drive at 55mph on a flat surface with no wind and perfect weather.

Here is my car's current lifetime info from Teslafi, I have a performance with 20" inductions, at 80.65% battery efficiency. With this info, my realistic range at 100% SoC is at 254 miles-

Let's say I take the same trip as you with my Y-

I charge my car to 90%, so I have 228.6 miles of realistic range to start.

I drive 190 miles (I usually drive at or 5mph above speed limit) then I have 38.6 miles left at the end of the trip.

38.6/ 254 x 100 = 15.2% left after the trip.

Again, this is without knowing what the ambient temperature, road conditions, elevation changes, etc.

I think your car is fine. I suggest using apps like Stats and/or Teslafi if you really want to get into the details of your drives.

 

[philtronics]

So... the service dept. logged on remotely and didn't see any error messages, and therefore things are working fine. He explained that the range estimate is "variable". I noticed that! Actual mileage driven is not an estimate though. The charge % should also be fairly accurate. Looks like you get about 190 miles using 80% of the charge, driving fast up and down some serious hills, AC set for about 69 degrees. All fine... I just need to get a feel for it, for road trip planning purposes.

 

[philtronics]

Very interesting! I will check out the apps...

Sounds normal to me, especially when you're driving 75mph over a couple of mountain passes. There are a lot of variables here.

What does your energy consumption chart look like for the trip? Did you gain or lose elevation? What's your wh/mi on this road trip? What's the weather and temperature like?

You're not going to get the rated epa range of 315mi at 100% SoC unless you drive at 55mph on a flat surface with no wind and perfect weather.

Here is my car's current lifetime info from Teslafi, I have a performance with 20" inductions, at 80.65% battery efficiency. With this info, my realistic range at 100% SoC is at 254 miles-

View attachment 561633

Let's say I take the same trip as you with my Y-

I charge my car to 90%, so I have 228.6 miles of realistic range to start.

I drive 190 miles (I usually drive at or 5mph above speed limit) then I have 38.6 miles left at the end of the trip.

38.6/ 254 x 100 = 15.2% left after the trip.

Again, this is without knowing what the ambient temperature, road conditions, elevation changes, etc.

I think your car is fine. I suggest using apps like Stats and/or Teslafi if you really want to get into the details of your drives.

 

[Zaxxon]

I assume poor efficiency on short drives would be from the big energy spike from HVAC when you first start your drive and not having enough of a ride to average that out. Is that correct?

That's a big part of it. You also tend to see more stop-and-go on short trips, so the HVAC is a higher percentage of overall load.

 

[user212_nr]

Then yesterday I charged to 88%, drove 68 miles round trip mostly on the freeway, flat, at about 65 mph. Charge was down to 60% when I got back. So that's 68 miles / 28%. Assuming a linear function, if I used 80% of the total charge (90% to 10%), that would be 194 miles.

The range for your particular driving style and environment is 243 miles which is less than advertised, but still quite good. Don't quote at 80% and make us all multiply the rated range by 80%.

One thing to know is that you should only supercharge just enough to make it to your next supercharger with about 10% power. So you would fill up to about 40% at the supercharger in 10 minutes, then drive to your destination, then back, then charge up just enough to reach the next station.

That is the most time-efficient way, and you can use this route planning tool to help with the calculations for that.

A Better Routeplanner

 

[dabbler]

So... the service dept. logged on remotely and didn't see any error messages, and therefore things are working fine. He explained that the range estimate is "variable". I noticed that! Actual mileage driven is not an estimate though. The charge % should also be fairly accurate. Looks like you get about 190 miles using 80% of the charge, driving fast up and down some serious hills, AC set for about 69 degrees. All fine... I just need to get a feel for it, for road trip planning purposes.

I never run my A/C lower than 72 deg. Most people who drive ICE vehicles have become conditioned to running the a/c at max low temp. Available range takes some time to learn. I usually figure on 80% or whatever the current state of charge, SOC.

 

[Puma2020]

I saw this for the model 3 and thought it was fairly useful. I am placing it here to let the facts be submitted to a candid world.
I found it interesting how much of a difference speed makes.

 

[Rocky_H]

I never run my A/C lower than 72 deg.

Maaaaan, F that! My wife is always cold, so in the house or car together, it has to be uncomfortably warm for her to stand it, and I'm sweating. So when I get to be in a car my myself, I will be driving a friggin' ice box!

 

[MY-Y]

No issue hitting rated range for me. This was a round trip today. (74000 kWh/230Wh/mi = 322 miles). Happy. Happy.

BTW, 55 MPH roads today. 236 Wh/mi with a mix of higher speed roads yesterday (65 & 70).

To be fair, pre-cooling the car doesn't seem to count with the reported Wh/mi.

 

[Rocky_H]

To be fair, pre-cooling the car doesn't seem to count with the reported Wh/mi.

Yeah, that's something that surprises people. Energy used while the car is not in Drive or Reverse is not counted into that energy tabulation window.

 

[AKTech.it]

View attachment 562587No issue hitting rated range for me. This was a round trip today. (74000 kWh/230Wh/mi = 322 miles). Happy. Happy.

BTW, 55 MPH roads today. 236 Wh/mi with a mix of higher speed roads yesterday (65 & 70).

To be fair, pre-cooling the car doesn't seem to count with the reported Wh/mi.

I wish I could drive like that! Nice Wh/Mi! 90% of my driving is highway 70-75mph so I can get close to 270ish wh/mi if I just set it on AP around 70mph.

 

[pt19713]

Owning a Tesla has made us all much better at math.