M3 SR+ Long-term Airport Parking

[deluxe99]

Hi everyone,

Thinking about getting an M3 SR+ but I often have to travel for work for 3-4 weeks at a time. I’ve no access to a home charger so will need to leave the car unplugged. If I leave it with 90% charge, is there any chance I’ll find it with some charge left when I come back after 4 weeks?

Alternatively, are there any long-term airport parking options in London where I could access a charging point in case the battery is depleted on my return?

Thanks!

 

[tj333]

Haven't left my M3 LR for more than 10 days but during that time it dropped by something like 1%/day if i remember correctly, maybe less. You'll be fine if you start at 90%.

Just remember to turn off sentry mode so the car can go to sleep. With sentry mode on you'd be looking at more like 5%/day (i think it turns itself off when battery drops to 20% though?).

 

[deluxe99]

Haven't left my M3 LR for more than 10 days but during that time it dropped by something like 1%/day if i remember correctly, maybe less. You'll be fine if you start at 90%.

Just remember to turn off sentry mode so the car can go to sleep. With sentry mode on you'd be looking at more like 5%/day (i think it turns itself off when battery drops to 20% though?).

That’s great to know, thanks! Sounds like it’s doable.

 

[MrT3]

It will depend slightly on the time of year but this test suggests you will come back to around 75% after 4 weeks.

Bjørn Nyland Checks Vampire Drain In MIC Tesla Model 3 SR+ (LFP)

In recent days, Bjørn Nyland utilized his summer break to check the vampire drain of the MIC Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus, equipped with LFP batteries.

insideevs.com

 

[GRiLLA]

Also there are Tesla SuperChargers close to both Heathrow and Gatwick, so easy to charge before leaving it/when you return.

As long as there is nothing forcing the car to stay awake (e.g. sentry mode, some apps) you will see very little power loss.

 

[Alistairuk]

To echo the others - turn off sentry mode and make sure you haven't got any devices plugged in to the USBs / 12v power socket and you should see minimal loss as long as you don't keep checking the app

If you leave sentry enabled the battery will be dead within a week if there's any movement near the car!

 

[Fursty Ferret]

Chat to the parking company you're going to use. A twenty quid bribe to the appropriate person may well see your car topped off using the UMC when you return to pick it up.

 

[Ticked]

Can confirm on current software release, Sentry does get automatically turned off with a notification to the app if you are looking like running out of miles. And if you park in a busy airport car park, that is what happens.

 

[FEERSUMENDJIN]

Did over 2 weeks at Stansted this summer and lost about 20 miles in total. No problem at all. Sentry mode off of course.

 

[deluxe99]

It’s all looking very positive, seems I was unnecessarily worrying

 

[Adopado]

It’s all looking very positive, seems I was unnecessarily worrying

Well worth finding out from (all) the horses mouths! First time I went away I had the same uncertainty.

 

[Rooster6655]

Hi everyone,

Thinking about getting an M3 SR+ but I often have to travel for work for 3-4 weeks at a time. I’ve no access to a home charger so will need to leave the car unplugged. If I leave it with 90% charge, is there any chance I’ll find it with some charge left when I come back after 4 weeks?

Alternatively, are there any long-term airport parking options in London where I could access a charging point in case the battery is depleted on my return?

Thanks!

I left the car for about 4 weeks and it used about 1-1.5% (4-6m) a day on a LR but this was over a year ago so they may have improved efficiency since then.

 

[M3noob]

I left the car for about 4 weeks and it used about 1-1.5% (4-6m) a day on a LR but this was over a year ago so they may have improved efficiency since then.

I just left my LR locked in my garage for two weeks, sentry off. Went from 80pc down to 52...and no I didn't wake it up daily. But it did update. I'll be keeping an eye on that.

 

[Rooster6655]

I just left my LR locked in my garage for two weeks, sentry off. Went from 80pc down to 52...and no I didn't wake it up daily. But it did update. I'll be keeping an eye on that.

Also car was powered down and wifi off

 

[M3noob]

Also car was powered down and wifi off

I left the WiFi on... always eager to get the latest bug fix (and vain hope for a scintillating new feature or FSD update). 2kw a day seems a bit thirsty nonetheless.

Given the proximity of the router and the car's antenna, it really shouldn't have been a major power suck.

I take your point that if going away for more than a fortnight, powering down is the way to go.

 

[MrT3]

I left the WiFi on... always eager to get the latest bug fix (and vain hope for a scintillating new feature or FSD update). 2kw a day seems a bit thirsty nonetheless.

WiFi won't make a difference, that is low power, and if it was disabled then it would use 4G to do its communications to the mothership.

My car hasn't been used for over three days, during that time it seems to wake up twice a day, normally for around 30 mins each time. During that time it attaches to my WiFi, then as it goes to sleep it disconnects so WiFi isn't always on anyway.

During those 3 days the charge level hasn't dropped, only today did it drop 1% after I had the doors open for 45 mins whilst I cleaned the interior, so your consumption certainly seems excessive.

 

[ACarneiro]

I seem to lose about 1 to 1.5% per day when I’m on holidays.
I wish airport parks had something, even low power chargers, to keep the battery topped up…

 

[Alan J]

With Sentry and Overheat Protection off my car SR+ loses almost nothing overnight so long as I resist the temptation to not regularly open the App.

It is fairly easy to set preheat for departure by mistake (did it myself once) so if anyone is experiencing excessive Phantom Drain it's something worth checking.

 

[Adopado]

I seem to lose about 1 to 1.5% per day when I’m on holidays.
I wish airport parks had something, even low power chargers, to keep the battery topped up…

Have you noticed any change to that in recent times? It may just be ambient temperature influences but I seem to have less drain than used to be the case. If I've charged the car and haven't needed to use it for a couple of days I've often seen no loss of percentage at all. (It's a long time since the car has been left for a whole week so I can't actually compare that scenario.)

 

[Pr8196]

Guys, good to read the post on airport long term car park for our lovely m3. I have brand new m3p. I live 60 miles away from Heathrow and might have to travel at short notice. Taxi charges £70 to Heathrow and £70 for return. Heathrow Long term t3 car park is £80 for 2 weeks. What should be the best and stress free option? I don’t want to worry about my m3s safety whilst I am away