Model Y Parasitic Drain

[Nakk]

I wanted to test parasitic drain on the Y. I'm a pilot and I park at the airport for one to two weeks on a regular basis. The first time I parked my 3 at work I very nearly had to walk home! LOL. I learned to turn off Sentry mode, Summon Standby and the Security alarm. I also did not access the car with the mobile app.

So, yesterday at 0800, I turned off the alarm, sentry mode and summon standby; then unplugged the car and let it sit overnight. The car was parked in my garage and the temp varied from 58F to 65F. I checked it again this morning at 0800. Starting range was 223 miles, ending range was 222 miles. Excellent.

With rounding, this means the loss could have been as little as .2 miles--222.6 dropping to 222.4--or as great as 1.8 miles--223.4 dropping to 221.6. Once I park for a longer time I'll update this post. (Yes, I ignored the .5 increments for clarity.)

There are 5 parasitic draws that we can control: Summon Standby, Sentry Mode, Security Alarm, Allow Mobile Access and starting the mobile app. (Disabling "Allow Mobile Access" should probably also eliminate battery drain due to the app.) I have tested loss due to the first two, but not the second two. (The test on the first two was done on a model 3.) I also haven't tested exactly how much you lose by starting the mobile app, but I am certain it causes a drain. The owner's manual mentions avoiding accessing the mobile app while the car is parked for an extended period.)

Leaving either Summon Standby mode or Sentry Mode on can result in a loss while parked of up to 24 miles/day. This isn't additive; if either mode or both modes is turned on you'll get the loss. However, if the car is in a high traffic area numerous sentry events could drain the battery further. I'm unsure how much power "Security Alarm" will draw if it is the only option activated. That'll have to be another test. Any time you start your mobile app will drain the battery as well because the car is forced to wake up every time you start the app. One last setting I haven't tested is "Allow Mobile Access." I haven't bothered yet because I never park the car for longer than two weeks. Still, it would be a good idea to run a week long test with all 5 draws eliminated.

 

[same]

well....my home testing day to day is if you turn sentry off and the weather is warm....like 70's....then I had only 1% last night.
sentry on and cold weather it was multiple %'s. This a Model Y. No summons yet. App doesn't make a difference. I turn off blue tooth to save my phone battery.

 

[Nakk]

This a Model Y. No summons yet. App doesn't make a difference.

??? Yes, the Y has summon. You need to turn off summon standby and sentry mode to prevent 20 -24 miles per day of parasitic drain. Perhaps you don't have FSD? That would explain no summon. Yes, the app does make a difference. Every time you access the app you wake the car up and it draws more power. Shutting off Bluetooth on your phone won't have any effect on whether the app wakes up the car. Airplane mode would. That said, having the phone connected to the car via Bluetooth might cause a small drain. I've never tested that because my phone won't be close to the car while parked at the airport; it might matter for camping though.

 

[klandersnitrox]

I have been surprised about how the Y charges...

Attached is a copy of my TeslaFI account. I have to drive to Tampa tomorrow so I set the charging up to 90%. Since then I have noticed that the car and charger continually add little charges continuously. Do y'all think this is correct or is there an issue with the car.

I normally charge up to 70-80 percent but with the 180 trip tomorrow wanted a little range in there..

BTW - I do have Sentry, Summons, Mobile access on. Maybe I should turn them off?

Thoughts?

Thanks for your help

 

[Nakk]

BTW - I do have Sentry, Summons, Mobile access on. Maybe I should turn them off?

Thoughts?

Thanks for your help

Only if you'll be parking long term. They won't affect range while driving at all. The computers they keep awake while parked are already awake while driving. Just plan on losing 24 miles a day while parked if you leave them on. First time I parked at the airport I left the car nearly fully charged. I got back to it and I was down to 25 miles! 170 miles from home. Fortunately, there's a supercharger about 10 miles from where I park there.

 

[empiredown]

I think Parasitic Drain is a dumb term. Until we break the Law of Entropy, nothing is free. It's like people want something for nothing... In the end, these are features that are part of the car as designed and fielded. If you want to lose what they provide (or have to, due to your situation), cool. But that also has a cost associated with it. Things degrade, it is what it is... But lets not jump on the "This thing's busted!" bandwagon without cause.

I use Sentry, because it works. I turn Summon off Standby when I don't think I'll need it, or I can take a bit of extra time to spin up the car (tested this at home and out, and we're talking seconds in difference. I'm not that busy and definitely not in a hurry when I'm trying to get the car safely through a P-lot dodging carts, strollers, and Grannies...). Turning off Mobile Access, given how tied the car is to it, and the benefits/redundancy/flexibility it provides is something I can't see myself doing. If I need to prolong the battery for it to sit for a while, I'll exercise some discipline and not check the app excessively.

Just my .02 and I believe in choice and support smart, informed decisions. Here ends the rant...

SS

 

[Nakk]

I think Parasitic Drain is a dumb term. Until we break the Law of Entropy, nothing is free. It's like people want something for nothing... In the end, these are features that are part of the car as designed and fielded. If you want to lose what they provide (or have to, due to your situation), cool. But that also has a cost associated with it. Things degrade, it is what it is... But lets not jump on the "This thing's busted!" bandwagon without cause.

I use Sentry, because it works. I turn Summon off Standby when I don't think I'll need it, or I can take a bit of extra time to spin up the car (tested this at home and out, and we're talking seconds in difference. I'm not that busy and definitely not in a hurry when I'm trying to get the car safely through a P-lot dodging carts, strollers, and Grannies...). Turning off Mobile Access, given how tied the car is to it, and the benefits/redundancy/flexibility it provides is something I can't see myself doing. If I need to prolong the battery for it to sit for a while, I'll exercise some discipline and not check the app excessively.

Just my .02 and I believe in choice and support smart, informed decisions. Here ends the rant...

SS

But lets not jump on the "This thing's busted!" bandwagon without cause.

??? Who's jumping on that bandwagon??? We're just trying to understand the car and what it will do in certain situations. If you have to park long term, you want to know what to shut down before you leave the car. You also want to know how long you can leave your car sit un-plugged. It's not an indictment of the car. It's simply trying to quantify how much power the car's systems use while parked.

Why are you turning off Summon Standby if you're leaving Sentry mode on? I'm pretty sure I made clear in my post that either one on creates the same drain on the battery. The two are not additive. You save nothing by turning off Summon Standby and leaving Sentry on. Not that it matters if you're charging every day or two. Just know that you'll lose about a mile per hour of range for every hour that either system is active. Again, that shouldn't matter for short term parking.

You may think "parasitic drain" is a dumb term, but that is the correct term to use in this case. If everyone had their own idea of what technical terms should be, nobody could understand anyone else's work. Also, entropy has nothing to do with parasitic drain.

Yes, most people are not going to turn off mobile access under normal conditions. Again though, it would be good to know how much power could be saved during long term parking. You may not take long trips and leave your car at the airport, but others do, or might at some point.

 

[max_y]

I wanted to test parasitic drain on the Y. I'm a pilot and I park at the airport for one to two weeks on a regular basis. The first time I parked my 3 at work I very nearly had to walk home! LOL. I learned to turn off Sentry mode, Summon Standby and the Security alarm. I also did not access the car with the mobile app.

So, yesterday at 0800, I turned off the alarm, sentry mode and summon standby; then unplugged the car and let it sit overnight. The car was parked in my garage and the temp varied from 58F to 65F. I checked it again this morning at 0800. Starting range was 223 miles, ending range was 222 miles. Excellent.

With rounding, this means the loss could have been as little as .2 miles--222.6 dropping to 222.4--or as great as 1.8 miles--223.4 dropping to 221.6. Once I park for a longer time I'll update this post. (Yes, I ignored the .5 increments for clarity.)

There are 5 parasitic draws that we can control: Summon Standby, Sentry Mode, Security Alarm, Allow Mobile Access and starting the mobile app. (Disabling "Allow Mobile Access" should probably also eliminate battery drain due to the app.) I have tested loss due to the first two, but not the second two. (The test on the first two was done on a model 3.) I also haven't tested exactly how much you lose by starting the mobile app, but I am certain it causes a drain. The owner's manual mentions avoiding accessing the mobile app while the car is parked for an extended period.)

Leaving either Summon Standby mode or Sentry Mode on can result in a loss while parked of up to 24 miles/day. This isn't additive; if either mode or both modes is turned on you'll get the loss. However, if the car is in a high traffic area numerous sentry events could drain the battery further. I'm unsure how much power "Security Alarm" will draw if it is the only option activated. That'll have to be another test. Any time you start your mobile app will drain the battery as well because the car is forced to wake up every time you start the app. One last setting I haven't tested is "Allow Mobile Access." I haven't bothered yet because I never park the car for longer than two weeks. Still, it would be a good idea to run a week long test with all 5 draws eliminated.

What do you fly?

 

[Nakk]

What do you fly?

Currently I'm a 757/767 Captain.

 

[jsmay311]

BTW - I do have Sentry, Summons, Mobile access on. Maybe I should turn them off?

Thoughts?

if you care about the environment, that’d be a decent reason to turn them off in order to minimize electricity use and associated GHG emissions.

 

[Evoforce]

I think Parasitic Drain is a dumb term. Until we break the Law of Entropy, nothing is free. It's like people want something for nothing... In the end, these are features that are part of the car as designed and fielded. If you want to lose what they provide (or have to, due to your situation), cool. But that also has a cost associated with it. Things degrade, it is what it is... But lets not jump on the "This thing's busted!" bandwagon without cause.

I use Sentry, because it works. I turn Summon off Standby when I don't think I'll need it, or I can take a bit of extra time to spin up the car (tested this at home and out, and we're talking seconds in difference. I'm not that busy and definitely not in a hurry when I'm trying to get the car safely through a P-lot dodging carts, strollers, and Grannies...). Turning off Mobile Access, given how tied the car is to it, and the benefits/redundancy/flexibility it provides is something I can't see myself doing. If I need to prolong the battery for it to sit for a while, I'll exercise some discipline and not check the app excessively.

Just my .02 and I believe in choice and support smart, informed decisions. Here ends the rant...

SS

I call it MD (maintenance drain) myself...

 

[Darmie]

I have been surprised about how the Y charges...

Attached is a copy of my TeslaFI account. I have to drive to Tampa tomorrow so I set the charging up to 90%. Since then I have noticed that the car and charger continually add little charges continuously. Do y'all think this is correct or is there an issue with the car.

I normally charge up to 70-80 percent but with the 180 trip tomorrow wanted a little range in there..

BTW - I do have Sentry, Summons, Mobile access on. Maybe I should turn them off?

Thoughts?

Thanks for your help

This is normal although yours appear to be happening often as if maybe your car is not going to sleep. I would check on that. Tesla recommends and shown in bold to always be charging. It's the ABC's of electric car ownership. Benefit of keeping car plugged in is the 12v battery stays topped off, and aids in active cell balancing. If it can be avoided, I would recommend always keep Sentry on for those just in case moments. When smart summon came out, there is a checkbox to keep smart summon in standby. It was recommended to keep this off to minimize battery drain.
Turn off Smart Summon standby to minimize battery drain | Tesla
Other than that, summon really don't draw additional power.


Oh, back to sleep. there's an option under teslafi, when you select your home address, a window pops up. This is where you want to select to sleep at home.

When the car is sleeping, (Or I should say, when Teslafi thinks the car should be sleeping) the top border will appear red as below.

 

[max_y]

Currently I'm a 757/767 Captain.

Awesome!

 

[Nakk]

Entropy has everything to do with your term, which I still believe is dumb and presents a false perspective, as if something is not working correctly, detracting from a host, etc.
SS

Perhaps you should look up the definition of "Entropy." As far as the term "Parasitic loss", great, you don't like the term. This thread isn't about semantics, it's about useful data. Why don't you start a forum about automotive terms you don't like and leave the rest of us to obtaining useful information about our car?

A key-off parasitic electrical load is defined as: Any current which is drawn from the vehicle battery/pack by an electrical or electronic device, while the engine or ignition switch is off. The electrical or electronic device may be actively on or may even draw power when not active or switched off.

http://www.purkeys.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Purkeys-Webinar-ParasiticLoad-201612.pdf

I didn't say you were dumb, although not understanding a car and then leaving it for a period of time, nearly rendering it unusable, is less than optimal. I am glad you didn't strand yourself. That would be embarrassing for a pilot.

Gee, thanks for not calling me dumb and then implying it. That really hurts coming from a guy who is so brilliant that he either can't google "entropy", or lacks the ability to comprehend the definition

I understand you believe there is no difference, based on your experience, when enabling one system but not others. Given the way things have been updated from the 3 to the Y, are you sure about that, or are you applying previous knowledge now and assuming it is correct? Are you a pilot for Tesla, or intimately involved in the design otherwise with inside info or not? I think you see where I am going here...

That's the point of this thread, duh. As a matter of fact I have some small experience in evaluating similar systems under operational use. Not that the experience matters here too much, the data is pretty easy to get and even easier to understand--for most. You don't have to believe me. You don't have to prove your ignorance by being snarky. Just try it yourself over night. Duh.

Losing up to 24 miles over a day isn't that big a deal to me or some. It is to you, that is great. You are welcome to your opinion, just like anyone else is. Am I entitled to mine?

It's not an opinion, it's data. If you need the data at some point you now have it. Nobody cares whether or not you need the data now, or if you ever will. Your opinion on the matter is irrelevant. My DI used to say--in a very pleasant manner, LOL--"Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one and no one gives a *sugar* about yours." Why are you even posting on this thread if you'll never park long term and don't care to learn about what would happen if you did? Just to hear yourself talk?

My original post wasn't directed at you, so please don't take it that way. I appreciate you trying to keep everyone informed and attempting to help them avoid any unintended mistakes.

Thank you.

Sure, write a nasty post adding nothing useful to the conversation just to hear yourself talk, and your last paragraph makes it all better? Go away unless you have something intelligent or even slightly useful to say.

 

[house9]

I think Parasitic Drain is a dumb term.

First time I have heard it, but I must say it is better than “Phantom Drain”. I think we can all agree the drain occurs for ‘reasons’ and Phantom implies it is unknown.

My car (M3) has been spending multiple days in sleep mode and barely loses a 1%, even over a 5 day stretch.

 

[same]

??? Yes, the Y has summon. You need to turn off summon standby and sentry mode to prevent 20 -24 miles per day of parasitic drain. Perhaps you don't have FSD? That would explain no summon. Yes, the app does make a difference. Every time you access the app you wake the car up and it draws more power. Shutting off Bluetooth on your phone won't have any effect on whether the app wakes up the car. Airplane mode would. That said, having the phone connected to the car via Bluetooth might cause a small drain. I've never tested that because my phone won't be close to the car while parked at the airport; it might matter for camping though.

Got ya....yes I have the Long Range. My blue tooth isn't in range of the car usually...but yes when I approach if it warms up.

 

[azjohn]

Until we break the Law of Entropy, nothing is free.

No free lunch for you!!