additional question -- do people pull in their garage and just always get in the habit of plugging in the their tesla's? or do you always just wait until the end of the day to either schedule charging or initiate charging.
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Model 3 Highland (US) Waiting room
- Thread starter IChillinz
- Start date
Yes, set Sentry Mode to turn off when you are at home (if secure)
sydneylax
M3SR - Solid Black on Black
Thanks guys, I turned off sentry mode for when I’m at home. It’s hard to charge everyday where I am because I share a charger 
I had to go to a supercharger last night because they were using the one in our garage
I had to go to a supercharger last night because they were using the one in our garageI got in the habit of plugging in every time I pull in the garage. Fortunately, electricity is dirt cheap around the clock where I live (thanks, TVA!), but you can schedule your car to charge outside of peak hours and not have to worry about remembering to go back and plug it in in the evening.
Don't know if anyone mentioned it yet, but cabin overheat protection was on in my car when I got it. That drains battery quick in the heat as well. You only need to have that on if you are at work or something and want the car to be at a comfortable temperature when you get in it. Otherwise just keep it off and then remember to precondition the cabin a minute or so before you're ready to leave.Thanks guys, I turned off sentry mode for when I’m at home. It’s hard to charge everyday where I am because I share a charger
Sentry mode can also be a big drain and I've found that I only really care about having it on when I'm in a public parking area. At home, or work, or even special locations I have it set to turn off.
Also, unless you're planning on making a quick (and long) getaway at any moment, don't worry about charging every night. Unless you are commuting long miles every day, most drives we do are a couple of miles, to a few tens of miles. You can definitely go several days without charging and it won't be an issue. Top it off when you can, or when you are getting low, close to 20% or something. Otherwise, don't worry about it!
Just some general advice from owning a SR+ model 3 for 4 years.
Last edited:
I only plug it in if I know I need to, or if I'm low, like anywhere from 40-20%. Plugging in every night is a waste of money and electricity imo.
evfangirl
LR Wht/Wht 18” OD 1/10 VIN 4/20 Long Island
I plug in my rented standard range once a week and charge to 100%. It’s usually around 30% after the week of driving for me. I have it scheduled to charge overnight during the cheapest electricity rates
Guess his eyes are as good as mine and yours looking at the recording.
Until you forget to plug it in one night. How is plugging in every night a waste of money? Whats the costs difference whether you not plug in for a few days and charge up one night, or plug in every night and maintain? You are still putting the same amount of charge into the car for those days. There is nothing wrong going days without plugging in, but one of the benefits of having an electric car is the ease of having a "full tank" when you get into your car every morning. Of course this is if you have a charge option at home. Keep in mind, if you want to precondition before you leave, it is better to be plugged in as well.
Last edited:
I plug mine in most of the time I pull in, however I’ve also got Tesla Solar, so I’ve set the “Charge on Solar” setting so the car talks with the solar system and throttles the charge rate up and down as excess solar is available. Only time I don’t plug the car in is if I think I’m leaving again soon, or if it’s a rainy day (like today here) and I don’t want the system to misforecast and dump juice into the car instead of the Powerwalls. But once those are charged, I’d rather it dump into the car versus selling back to the electric company for pennies
I have 2020 M3 . Have set “time of day” when electricity is expensive to be avoided.
Have set a departure time for the day. Have set the daily charge limit to 80%.sentry off at home. The car will charge as needed in the low electricity period to be ready for my scheduled departure time.
If you are done for the day plug it in, provided you have preset what you need.
The new software update will notify you to plug in if your charge level is below 50% of what you have set.
15% for 20 minutes of driving does sound like a lot. Try Chill mode and see if it makes a difference.Thanks guys, I turned off sentry mode for when I’m at home. It’s hard to charge everyday where I am because I share a charger
There a screen that show you where all the energy is going, and will give a recommendation what you can do to increase range. Next time I’m the car I will take a pic. Or just go through the menus. May be in the Trips section.
evfangirl
LR Wht/Wht 18” OD 1/10 VIN 4/20 Long Island
Thanks all you existing Tesla drivers for all these useful tips. This is great info for all us first time soon to be owners
I’ve test driven multiple. Drove another one today since I’ve been waiting on a White interior since 1/9. Every single one of them has had this issue. The one today would go up in brightness when changing the color and within seconds, dim right back down to nearly off. Definitely seems like a software bug and not the actual intended behavior.
DesertEagle
Member
We plug in right away and have both cars to charge on solar and get whatever charge we can from that, then have scheduled charging in the evening.
Similar threads
