Might be returning AWD 3 (advice request)

[srredbeard]

I voted for him to return it. Not because I think it is the correct option, it isn't, but because I too have in-laws and have learned how to keep a peaceful household.

There are several factors that could have affected his range. Was re-gen on standard or low? Was he riding the brakes down hills and towards stops instead of letting re-gen charge the battery? How aggressively was he driving? They are fun and it takes a while to learn how to drive it for best range.

In this video at about the 8 minute mark Jason explains how re-gen affects the range.

 

[Leafdriver333]

return.
buyer's remorse is a b!tch.

 

[vickh]

OT buy what does/will Tesla do with the returns? fleet or resale? Will the new owner get fed tax credit?

 

[jfrieden]

The car uses more energy till it warms up. Try charging up until about 20-30 mins before he leaves and he’ll see better results.

 

[Watts_Up]

The Model 3 seems to be the most efficient Tesla, and even the most efficient of any current EV available:

- Estimated range on Tesla Performance cars

 

[preilly44]

I spoke to him late last night and got a little more information. He left his house in NY with a 90% charge (he didn't charge right before he left). He only stopped at the Carlisle, PA and Morgantown, WV superchargers. He said he was the slowest car on the road and the car told him to drive 70 to make his destination. He made it to the Carlisle, PA SC with 6 miles of range, which really scared him. He also didn't like driving 71mph when everybody was flying past him doing 80-85. Clearly, he choose SC stops poorly. I planned on telling him where to stop but he left two days earlier than expected.

His main concern was the efficiency. He said he would charge up to 285 at a SC, drive 150 miles and only have 40 miles of range left at 71mph, for a real world range of 180-200 miles in mild temps.



He told me the car was reading 40psi for all four tires and I think they should be at least 42, maybe higher. I had him give me his overall wh/mi and it was only 325, much better than the 344 he mentioned earlier, but I still feel like it should be lower at 71mph of all highway driving.

The Tesla manager that was supposed to call him back to go over his options never called. I'm sure they won't do it, but I told him to ask for an extension on the 7 day return period (in writing) so he could drive the car to me in DC on Monday (when I get back in the US) so we can take it in for service and have them check the alignment, tire pressure and do a battery diagnostic (just to be on the safe side). This will also give him the opportunity to visit more superchargers on a planned route so he can drive at faster speeds.

I keep going back and forth about him returning it. I hate having a Tesla get returned and I feel like if stops at more SCs, he'd be okay with it. I just don't know if he would be able to do it in the winter even with more super charger visits (at the speeds he wants to drive (around 80).

 

[FlyinDelorean]

If he cared that much about range then why not get the LR RWD?

Does he do that trip all the time? What are his normal driving habits?

If he put in a reservation 3 years ago like I did, many people, including Tesla itself, claimed that the range difference between AWD and RWD would be negligible. Not to mention, many superfans made the comment that AWD efficiency had been improven on the S in prior updates. I am not attacking you, but I understand his reasoning, and it was the same as mine. It wasn't until late last year that we started really seeing the LR RWD was far closer to EPA estimates with range.

 

[FlyinDelorean]

Hello, first, let me start by saying I am a huge Tesla fan (my wife and I have owned 5 Teslas starting in 2014), I'm a share holder, fanboy, etc. My father in law came to visit a couple weeks ago and loved our P3s (we have 2). We took him to the Tesla store and he put a deposit down on a dealer demo. Then after he left, he got nervous and canceled the car. Then he decided it was just nerves and bought another dealer demo. I drove from MD to NY to be there for his delivery (He lives in NY and WV).

His car was delivered and all was well....until he drove from Staten Island, NY to Charleston, West Virginia. He had TACC set at 71 and was only getting 180-200 miles of actual range. The temp was in the upper 40's-50's and I think he had the heat set at 71 as well. He is disappointed in the range and wants to return the car. He currently has 19" sport rims and the only thing I could think to advise him to do (other than return it) was to get the 18" aero rims but I don't think that will improve his range enough to where he could do this drive in the winter.

The only other thing I could think of is the tires are not broken in yet because the car was basically brand new (he got the car with 72 miles and it now has 625 miles). Will the car be that much more efficient with broken in tires and aeros?

He is still within 7 days so he can technically return the car, but I'm not really sure what is involved with that and if he gets all of his money back or not.

What should I do?

If he doesn't like the car with its current range with AC on, is he really going to like it in 7 days? Can he handle supercharging more than he may like? If not, return.

 

[JeffK]

It wasn't until late last year that we started really seeing the LR RWD was far closer to EPA estimates with range.

Exactly, last year. At this point, it's well known and even listed differently on the website because of the new firmware. You have to keep in mind this was a recent purchase.

 

[Ol'Blue]

40psi on warm tires is well below recommended. It’s probably 36-38psi cold. My car is rated for 42psi cold and when they are mildly warmed up, I sit around 45(don’t really watch for very warmed up, my concern is the cold), I don’t know what the 19s are rated for.

I feel if he plans to drive 80 most of the way, he’s going to just throw range away. May be best to get the money back and move on.

Too bad, but he needs to be comfortable and feel safe.

 

[Ol'Blue]

Some quick research showed me he could be losing about 4% range under inflated. That’s about 12 miles gone.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

I spoke to him late last night and got a little more information. He left his house in NY with a 90% charge (he didn't charge right before he left). He only stopped at the Carlisle, PA and Morgantown, WV superchargers. He said he was the slowest car on the road and the car told him to drive 70 to make his destination. He made it to the Carlisle, PA SC with 6 miles of range, which really scared him. He also didn't like driving 71mph when everybody was flying past him doing 80-85. Clearly, he choose SC stops poorly. I planned on telling him where to stop but he left two days earlier than expected.

His main concern was the efficiency. He said he would charge up to 285 at a SC, drive 150 miles and only have 40 miles of range left at 71mph, for a real world range of 180-200 miles in mild temps.



He told me the car was reading 40psi for all four tires and I think they should be at least 42, maybe higher. I had him give me his overall wh/mi and it was only 325, much better than the 344 he mentioned earlier, but I still feel like it should be lower at 71mph of all highway driving.

The Tesla manager that was supposed to call him back to go over his options never called. I'm sure they won't do it, but I told him to ask for an extension on the 7 day return period (in writing) so he could drive the car to me in DC on Monday (when I get back in the US) so we can take it in for service and have them check the alignment, tire pressure and do a battery diagnostic (just to be on the safe side). This will also give him the opportunity to visit more superchargers on a planned route so he can drive at faster speeds.

I keep going back and forth about him returning it. I hate having a Tesla get returned and I feel like if stops at more SCs, he'd be okay with it. I just don't know if he would be able to do it in the winter even with more super charger visits (at the speeds he wants to drive (around 80).

ABRP shows 3 Supercharging stops would be ideal on that drive. Harrisburg is pretty close to Carlisle so he could've easily stopped sooner and arrived with more than 6 miles remaining. Did you ask him why he skipped over La Vale (or Somerset, depending on the route)? Was he just using the in suggested in-car navigation? I know it prefers fewer, longer stops but usually it airs on the side of caution and he should've had close to 20% remaining at each stop.

325 Wh/mile does still sound high. We saw numbers like that when driving a LR AWD 3 at 80 to 85 mph through high winds in Wyoming. Almost as soon as we crossed into Utah, the average went way down, even when still doing 80 mph.

 

[Need]

I am in SoCal with Model 3 AWD. Yesterday was sunny (like usual) about 60 in the morning and 75 in the afternoon. I have a 123 miles round trip commute on mostly flat LA freeways. I average about 70 or lower when there is traffic. My tires are at 44 PSI when cold, 49/50 PSI after warming up. I lost about 155 miles on the gauge everyday. So I am not too surprise if the weather is colder and if he was driving uphill with a heavy foot, he could be only getting about 220 range.

 

[abasile]

I keep going back and forth about him returning it. I hate having a Tesla get returned and I feel like if stops at more SCs, he'd be okay with it. I just don't know if he would be able to do it in the winter even with more super charger visits (at the speeds he wants to drive (around 80).

Even in winter, he shouldn't have any range issues at that speed if he's willing to make the necessary Supercharger stops.

Personally, I'd rather spend a bit more time Supercharging than have to stay in the rightmost lane and constantly get passed.

 

[Watts_Up]

He said he was the slowest car on the road and
the car told him to drive 70 to make his destination.
He made it to the Carlisle, PA SC with 6 miles of range, which really scared him.

I hate having a Tesla get returned and I feel like if stops at more SCs, he'd be okay with it.
I just don't know if he would be able to do it in the winter even with more super charger visits
(at the speeds he wants to drive (around 80).

Don't rely on the Tesla inboard map to decide when to use a Supercharger.
The tool give you the lesser number of Superchargers.

Use a tool like A Better Route Planner to find the optimum number of stops.

From Bjorn Nyland best for time saving is to drive as fast as allowed and make many short stops at a Supercharger.

- See video: Tesla Model 3 winter range test

 

[Big Earl]

I spoke to him late last night and got a little more information. He left his house in NY with a 90% charge (he didn't charge right before he left). He only stopped at the Carlisle, PA and Morgantown, WV superchargers. He said he was the slowest car on the road and the car told him to drive 70 to make his destination. He made it to the Carlisle, PA SC with 6 miles of range, which really scared him. He also didn't like driving 71mph when everybody was flying past him doing 80-85. Clearly, he choose SC stops poorly. I planned on telling him where to stop but he left two days earlier than expected.

His main concern was the efficiency. He said he would charge up to 285 at a SC, drive 150 miles and only have 40 miles of range left at 71mph, for a real world range of 180-200 miles in mild temps.



He told me the car was reading 40psi for all four tires and I think they should be at least 42, maybe higher. I had him give me his overall wh/mi and it was only 325, much better than the 344 he mentioned earlier, but I still feel like it should be lower at 71mph of all highway driving.

The Tesla manager that was supposed to call him back to go over his options never called. I'm sure they won't do it, but I told him to ask for an extension on the 7 day return period (in writing) so he could drive the car to me in DC on Monday (when I get back in the US) so we can take it in for service and have them check the alignment, tire pressure and do a battery diagnostic (just to be on the safe side). This will also give him the opportunity to visit more superchargers on a planned route so he can drive at faster speeds.

I keep going back and forth about him returning it. I hate having a Tesla get returned and I feel like if stops at more SCs, he'd be okay with it. I just don't know if he would be able to do it in the winter even with more super charger visits (at the speeds he wants to drive (around 80).

I think his discomfort comes from being unfamiliar with the car and energy consumption on a trip. 180 - 200 miles of real world range in cold weather with a headwind is perfectly normal. I've seen as low as 160 miles of real world range in 0F temperatures with snow.

Adding one more 15-20 minute stop to his trip would have eliminated his range anxiety. I think he will become more comfortable with the vehicle as he drives it more, particular with warm weather around the corner. Once his familiarity and comfort level with the car increases, I think his buyer's remorse will fade.

 

[SammichLover]

....and even the most efficient of any current EV available:

* At Interstate speeds. Once you get down below about 50 mph others take over. When you factor in "vampire drain", which the Model 3 gives up in exchange for some of its coolest features, it can get a lot worse depending on how you choose to define your metrics.

 

[sreams]

"low" regen is poorly named. It's just a different curve. You could call "low" -> smooth and "standard" -> aggressive.
Both modes can recapture all of the kinetic energy. It's just a difference of when it does it and how you let it do it's job optimally.

I wouldn't say that's entirely true. If you use autopilot with low regen, and then traffic slows ahead without a lot of warning, the car is more likely to have to rely on the friction brakes to slow down.

 

[mswlogo]

Why do folks keep thinking he has a problem getting 200 miles of “real” range with AWD, some heat, and 19” wheels. You guys need to do some math of how much real range you get when you charge say 20% to 80% on a trip. That removes 40% of your total battery capacity. It’s always a bit misleading to say the car has 310 or 325 (or 295 for AWD with Aero’s) range.

The real range between SC or daily is closer to 200 than 300. Maybe 250 with RWD, Aero’s and warm weather.

He did fine. He could do a lot worse (and will will during an artic freeze) or a little better. But not much better.

Sounds like he has plenty of SC’s on available on that trip.

There is no problem here. He just needs to decide if it’s right for him.

 

[Dana1]

I spoke to him late last night and got a little more information. He left his house in NY with a 90% charge (he didn't charge right before he left). He only stopped at the Carlisle, PA and Morgantown, WV superchargers. He said he was the slowest car on the road and the car told him to drive 70 to make his destination. He made it to the Carlisle, PA SC with 6 miles of range, which really scared him. He also didn't like driving 71mph when everybody was flying past him doing 80-85. Clearly, he choose SC stops poorly. I planned on telling him where to stop but he left two days earlier than expected.

His main concern was the efficiency. He said he would charge up to 285 at a SC, drive 150 miles and only have 40 miles of range left at 71mph, for a real world range of 180-200 miles in mild temps.



He told me the car was reading 40psi for all four tires and I think they should be at least 42, maybe higher. I had him give me his overall wh/mi and it was only 325, much better than the 344 he mentioned earlier, but I still feel like it should be lower at 71mph of all highway driving.

The Tesla manager that was supposed to call him back to go over his options never called. I'm sure they won't do it, but I told him to ask for an extension on the 7 day return period (in writing) so he could drive the car to me in DC on Monday (when I get back in the US) so we can take it in for service and have them check the alignment, tire pressure and do a battery diagnostic (just to be on the safe side). This will also give him the opportunity to visit more superchargers on a planned route so he can drive at faster speeds.

I keep going back and forth about him returning it. I hate having a Tesla get returned and I feel like if stops at more SCs, he'd be okay with it. I just don't know if he would be able to do it in the winter even with more super charger visits (at the speeds he wants to drive (around 80).

I recently made a couple of 250 mile trips in 60-70 degree weather, no mountains. I averaged 80 and did fine starting at 100%, no stop. LR M3 19”.