Model 3 SR+ losing range while parked (29 KMs per 12 hrs)

[GTA2011]

I know this question probably must have been asked previously, but I can’t seem to find post relevant to weather in Toronto Canada

I am fairly new to Tesla, took the delivery of my model 3 SR+ on July 20 and been using the vehicle since then. Based on my Past week's experience I observed that my model 3 SR+ is losing battery at the rate of about 2 KMs per hr while parked. Is this normal ? I park my car at the Go train station near my home daily for about 12 hrs. Everyday it is losing about 29 KMs (approx 2 KMs per hr). The conditions when I park are as below

Sentry Mode : On
Car is parked in the sun : avg day time temp high in Toronto suburbs is around 31 degree Celsius, so I have observed cabin temp goes to max 35 in the afternoon. Tesla manual says climate control kicks off if cabin temp goes above 40 degree cencious
I stopped watching the car status on the Tesla App since past Wed and only check in the evening before taking return train.
Using TeslaFi since past Wednesday , however has activated sleep mode on TeslaFi

Let me know whether this is normal or do I have some setup missing , this is quite a significant battery range loss for a SR+ that has a limited range (385 KMs when fully charged). Appreciate your inputs and advise

 

[ucmndd]

Sentry Mode : On

Normal.

 

[KenC]

If Sentry mode is on, then I lose 1 to 1.2 miles an hour. If off, it could be 0.1 miles an hour.

 

[GTA2011]

@KenC , thanks for the response, you are correct. I tested this since morning. my car was at home parked in garage with sentry off and the drain was just 3 KMs in 4 hrs. Now I am testing parked on driveway/in the sun and sentry off, temperature is around 32 degrees Celsius , so let's see how much climate control drains

 

[M423]

Charge your cell phone and not use it for 12 hrs and you’ll lose too, this is normal also depending weather sun and heat now in summer will do it

 

[GTA2011]

@M423 makes sense however drain of 30 KMs in 12 hrs while parked seems quite high. And for SR+ your range is already just 344 if you are clarging 90% every day. Based on my tests today So far t looks like sentry mode is the culprit. And now I am testing climate control as well with sentry off

 

[M423]

@M423 makes sense however drain of 30 KMs in 12 hrs while parked seems quite high. And for SR+ your range is already just 344 if you are clarging 90% every day. Based on my tests today So far t looks like sentry mode is the culprit. And now I am testing climate control as well with sentry off

sentry Mode will do it

 

[jjrandorin]

@M423 makes sense however drain of 30 KMs in 12 hrs while parked seems quite high. And for SR+ your range is already just 344 if you are clarging 90% every day. Based on my tests today So far t looks like sentry mode is the culprit. And now I am testing climate control as well with sentry off

This is like wondering why a cellphone discharges faster when one talks on the phone vs when just carrying it around (as an example). Sentry mode prevents your car from sleeping, and has it actively engaged. Just like a TV will use more power when its on vs when its in standby, so will your car use more power when sentry mode is on vs just park and asleep.

A Model 3 uses about 2-4 miles of range a DAY without sentry mode and cabin overheat protection on. with both of those on, it can use 3 ish miles an HOUR. With just sentry its 1-2 miles an hour (or 24 miles a day, convert to kms for those not using miles).

If you turn on sentry mode and use cabin overheat protection with AC, that will be like 24-30 miles a day of "lost" range (not really lost because we know where it went).

 

[ucmndd]

It’s sentry mode. Well documented and understood. The fancy alarm keeps the entire car running, including the autopilot computer, MCU, cameras, etc.

A “mile” of energy in a model 3 is about 250wh. Sentry mode easily uses 250 watts.

 

[hcdavis3]

This is like wondering why a cellphone discharges faster when one talks on the phone vs when just carrying it around (as an example). Sentry mode prevents your car from sleeping, and has it actively engaged. Just like a TV will use more power when its on vs when its in standby, so will your car use more power when sentry mode is on vs just park and asleep.

A Model 3 uses about 2-4 miles of range a DAY without sentry mode and cabin overheat protection on. with both of those on, it can use 3 ish miles an HOUR. With just sentry its 1-2 miles an hour (or 24 miles a day, convert to kms for those not using miles).

If you turn on sentry mode and use cabin overheat protection with AC, that will be like 24-30 miles a day of "lost" range (not really lost because we know where it went).

Cabin overheat on prevents sleeping too.

 

[GTA2011]

This is like wondering why a cellphone discharges faster when one talks on the phone vs when just carrying it around (as an example). Sentry mode prevents your car from sleeping, and has it actively engaged. Just like a TV will use more power when its on vs when its in standby, so will your car use more power when sentry mode is on vs just park and asleep.

A Model 3 uses about 2-4 miles of range a DAY without sentry mode and cabin overheat protection on. with both of those on, it can use 3 ish miles an HOUR. With just sentry its 1-2 miles an hour (or 24 miles a day, convert to kms for those not using miles).

If you turn on sentry mode and use cabin overheat protection with AC, that will be like 24-30 miles a day of "lost" range (not really lost because we know where it went).

I will switch off the sentry mode, however I feel it defeats the basic purpose of having this safety feature. I agree it's not required when you have parked in home garage but if it's outside and something happens this is a useful feature. I think Tesla team needs to make this feature more efficient so this feature really helps otherwise it's just for the name sake

 

[jjrandorin]

I will switch off the sentry mode, however I feel it defeats the basic purpose of having this safety feature. I agree it's not required when you have parked in home garage but if it's outside and something happens this is a useful feature. I think Tesla team needs to make this feature more efficient so this feature really helps otherwise it's just for the name sake

No one is telling you to turn it off. Use it if you want to. I use it or not as I feel I need to. I just know it uses power. I am not sure how people expect the car to not go to sleep, and actively monitor motion etc without using power. If the car goes to sleep while using sentry mode, if there is an issue, there is a good chance it would miss whatever happened.

just use it or not, but know it uses power and plan accordingly.

 

[ucmndd]

. I think Tesla team needs to make this feature more efficient so this feature really helps otherwise it's just for the name sake

There’s really no efficiency to be gained short of swapping out the autopilot computer for more efficient hardware (don’t hold your breath on this one).

It’s a security feature bolted on to a self driving computer after the fact. Energy efficiency was not a design consideration.

 

[darth_vad3r]

I know this question probably must have been asked previously, but I can’t seem to find post relevant to weather in Toronto Canada

Search for “vampire drain” or “phantom drain” ... it’s all relevant.

 

[KenC]

Use Sentry mode when you think you need it, ie away from home.

 

[GTA2011]

Here is the outcome of my testing today

4 hrs in the shade/ garage with sentry mode off and Cabin overheat protection on : Battery drain was 3 KMs , so 0.75KM per hr
5 Hrs in the sun with sentry mode off and Cabin overheat protection on (the cabin temp went above 40 degree Celsius and I heard AC running few times : Battery drain was 7 KMs , so 1.4 KMs per hr
So indeed looks like both Sentry mode and cabin overheat protection contribute to battery drain. I believe cabin overheat protection is essential feature that protests the electronics and battery of the car so should not be disabled however sentry mode is a bigger sucker and needs to be turned off if you wan to save drain

I am going to do one more test and that is disabling TeslaFi although I have activated sleep mode settings on TeslaFi

 

[jjrandorin]

Here is the outcome of my testing today

4 hrs in the shade/ garage with sentry mode off and Cabin overheat protection on : Battery drain was 3 KMs , so 0.75KM per hr
5 Hrs in the sun with sentry mode off and Cabin overheat protection on (the cabin temp went above 40 degree Celsius and I heard AC running few times : Battery drain was 7 KMs , so 1.4 KMs per hr
So indeed looks like both Sentry mode and cabin overheat protection contribute to battery drain. I believe cabin overheat protection is essential feature that protests the electronics and battery of the car so should not be disabled however sentry mode is a bigger sucker and needs to be turned off if you wan to save drain

I am going to do one more test and that is disabling TeslaFi although I have activated sleep mode settings on TeslaFi

Try turning teslafi off, along with cabin overheat protection and sentry mode also off. You will find that your drain will be 2-3 miles a day. You choose what you want to use.

@darth_vad3r although the threads on vampire drain are relevant to this OPs question, I would hesitate to call the loss of range through cabin overheat protection or sentry mode "vampire" drain... simply because we know what it is. Its not unknown. Its just "drain". With that being said, the threads on vampire drain would give this OP a lot of information if they were interested in the subject of what causes drain on their car, which from the OP post they are.

 

[GTA2011]

Try turning teslafi off, along with cabin overheat protection and sentry mode also off. You will find that your drain will be 2-3 miles a day. You choose what you want to use.

@darth_vad3r although the threads on vampire drain are relevant to this OPs question, I would hesitate to call the loss of range through cabin overheat protection or sentry mode "vampire" drain... simply because we know what it is. Its not unknown. Its just "drain". With that being said, the threads on vampire drain would give this OP a lot of information if they were interested in the subject of what causes drain on their car, which from the OP post they are.

Yes, I will try adjusting settings in my model 3 for cabin overheat and sentry mode as well, however I believe Tesla engineering team needs to work on improving effeciency of these required functionalaties so they consume min battery.

 

[ucmndd]

Yes, I will try adjusting settings in my model 3 for cabin overheat and sentry mode as well, however I believe Tesla engineering team needs to work on improving effeciency of these required functionalaties so they consume min battery.

1) they’re not required.

2) efficiency is not magic. The AC compressor is either on or off. The autopilot computer is either on or off.

 

[GTA2011]

1) they’re not required.

2) efficiency is not magic. The AC compressor is either on or off. The autopilot computer is either on or off.

I believe cabin overheat protection is definitely required, it protects all the electronics and battery when cabin temps reaxh certain thresholds of min -20 and Max 40 degree Celsius. So this is definitely required and I don't think advisable to be turned off. On the other had sentry mode is good to have and not necessarily a must to have.

I am aware improving effeciency is not a magic but , Tesla engineers have definitely shown their magic in other amazing features , maybe they could be working on improving this. Currently this is cutting into the range that is available for you, so although your car shows xxx kms range as available for you , you need to consider this expected drain while parking etc based on weather and especially in Toronto where temps can go to both extremes is a concern to me. I was not aware of this and also it's so much , so definitely my lack of knowledge