Model Y very poor range/efficiency

[tangible1]

MYLR is 700lbs heavier and a higher Cd than the M3.
Not to mention Dual Motor.
Expect less efficiency.

The Model Y and Model 3 are really efficient EVs compared to the other EVs I've owned. I've been religious monitoring Wh/mile and mi/kWh after calibrating the results so that TeslaFi and in-car numbers match.

Model 3 RWD - 260 Wh/mile lifetime including shot inefficient trips with AC. Long highway trips are often 220-230 Wh/mile at 70F.
Model Y LR - 285 Wh/mile lifetime including shot inefficient trips with AC. Long highway trips are often 260-270 Wh/mile at 70F.

This is a perfect highway drive at 60mph (with a 1.5 mile local road connection to highway) on a Model 3 RWD to my office with minimal HVAC at 71.4F. It's 87.5% highway (10.5 miles highway, 1.5 local). The MYLR is about 30-40 Wh/mile worse.

 

[voxel]

MYLR is 700lbs heavier and a higher Cd than the M3.
Not to mention Dual Motor.
Expect less efficiency.

Higher Cd for sure but I think Bjorn proved weight has minimal to no impact on highway efficiency.

Dual motor definitely eats more power and because one pedal is always on it regens harder and constantly slows down the Y upon letting go of the accelerator. The Model 3 RWD is just crazy efficient. The regen is noticeably weaker and it requires seemingly less power in all situations.

I had a couple of drives at 75-80mph that averaged nearly 4.2 mi/kWh. With the Y at those speeds… I expect 3.7ish.

 

[sleepydoc]

Higher Cd for sure but I think Bjorn proved weight has minimal to no impact on highway efficiency.

Dual motor definitely eats more power and because one pedal is always on it regens harder and constantly slows down the Y upon letting go of the accelerator. The Model 3 RWD is just crazy efficient. The regen is noticeably weaker and it requires seemingly less power in all situations.

I had a couple of drives at 75-80mph that averaged nearly 4.2 mi/kWh. With the Y at those speeds… I expect 3.7ish.

I see my efficiency drop off significantly as I get over 55-60 MPH. Going fast means more drag and lower efficiency, no matter what car you drive.

 

[Riceball777]

This is normal. No one gets close to the epa range. To get the epa range you must tale a long trip on perfect level ground with no cabin heating or ac cruise at like 55mph with little to no acceleration or deceleration with the windows up during a 65 degree day.

I just took a 165 mile trip today about 83ish miles each way and that took 244 miles of range. This was cruising at 80-85mph with ac blasting.

 

[sleepydoc]

This is normal. No one gets close to the epa range. To get the epa range you must tale a long trip on perfect level ground with no cabin heating or ac cruise at like 55mph with little to no acceleration or deceleration with the windows up during a 65 degree day.

I just took a 165 mile trip today about 83ish miles each way and that took 244 miles of range. This was cruising at 80-85mph with ac blasting.

I drove back from our cabin today:

 

[richardfriedki]

Model Y range too low. I drove 38 miles total, a few short trips, mostly local streets, a small amount of highway at 75mph. Temperature in the 90's air conditioner set to 72. Charged battery to 100 percent for this test. Battery range went from 100 percent to 53 percent after 38 miles, a total range of 88 miles. How is this possible?

 

[Rocky_H]

I drove 38 miles total, a few short trips, mostly local streets, a small amount of highway at 75mph. [...] How is this possible?

Key information missing here. Was this all back to back continuously during one day, or is this like you didn't plug it in all week, and you used 38 miles over the course of 7-10 days or something? There can be significant idle usage if you have things like sentry mode constantly keeping the car awake and not letting it sleep over several days.

 

[richardfriedki]

Used 38 miles over 5 days, sentry mode and cabin overheating limit on. Tire pressure at 42 all around.

 

[jcanoe]

Used 38 miles over 5 days, sentry mode and cabin overheating limit on. Tire pressure at 42 all around.

Plausible.

Sentry Mode ON will use 6 to 7% of the battery every 24 hours that the vehicle is parked. If you must leave Sentry Mode ON when parked at home then also plug in.

Cabin Overheat Protection (with AC) can use 750Wh/hr ~ 7kWh+ per day (sun up to sundown). Cabin Overheat Protection can be set to Fan Only (No AC), use less than half as much as when the AC runs to keep the passenger cabin cool. If possible leave the Tesla Model Y plugged in. For daily use set the battery charging limit between 50% and 90%.

 

[voxel]

Used 38 miles over 5 days, sentry mode and cabin overheating limit on. Tire pressure at 42 all around.

I’m in Florida too and often park outside with cabin overheat protection on. It’s 100% Sentry mode that’s draining. Disable it for home and park the car near a home security camera like I do.

 

[NYMY]

I’m in Florida too and often park outside with cabin overheat protection on. It’s 100% Sentry mode that’s draining. Disable it for home and park the car near a home security camera like I do.

Yeah sentry mode is brutal. If you aren't aware (I wasn't!) there's an internal option not to engage sentry mode at home or work or specific places. Once I switched that off I saved a lot of energy. I only use it when I park in high traffic areas.

 

[Empiro]

Definitely keep sentry mode off whenever possible. The car is not really designed for being a security system and it consumes 200W or so, far more than dedicated car alarm systems.

200W doesn't sound like much, but keeping it on an entire year will run 1750kwh, which is $175 even if your electricity is only $0.10 per kWh.

 

[LoneStarEve]

Model Y range too low. I drove 38 miles total, a few short trips,

The multiple short trips is the problem.

How is this possible?

Because every time you leave the car it heats up in the 90’s weather you have.
When you get back in it has to cool the cabin down to your preferred temperature.
Then just as it gets there you get to your destination and walk away.
Rinse and repeat.
If you drove the same 38 mile trip in one go you wouldn’t use anything like as much energy as the cabin would only be cooled once.
Equally if you did it in 65 degree weather the cabin wouldn’t heat up as much every time you stopped and wouldn’t need cooling down every time you got in.

 

[ThomasLe]

Hi there,

I took my first trip in my Model Y today (less than 100 miles on the car). It consisted of primarily highway driving at around 75 MPH on very flat ground. I noticed that I seemed to be getting very poor mileage. When left, I had an estimated 280 miles of range..when I got to my destination that was 141 miles away, I had an estimated 35 miles remaining.

I checked the stats on the return trip, and found that over 141 miles, I used 56 KWh with an average of 400 wh/mile. Temperature was around 32 degrees during the drive.

This seems off to me, and was pretty disappointing.

Let me know if you guys have any ideas.

Also, not sure if it’s related, but I got repeated warnings about cameras being blocked/blinded, despite no visible debris/condensation seen.

You drove EV with Lithium-ion Battery. So it is leakage very well at 0C (32F). Tesla did tell you? You Tesla car is normally, not defect at all. You used Heater during driving, of corse, it would consume more electric.

 

[amo2u]

Fully agree with this - there does seem to be a break in period - probably to get bearings and brakes in their groove...

Having said this, all of the other comments are pertinent - uphill / downhill, temperature, etc....

Finally, from my experience, practical range (that you can count on) is about 80 to 85 percent of EPA range - And that's before significant degradation occurs... Although disappointing, it is consistent with the gas mileage of ICE cars (real life vs EPA rating...)

This post was not only informative but a relief to hear. I am coming from a 2018 LR RWD Model 3 and I was always able to beat the rated wh/mi (well under 240 wh/mi) if I tried. I just picked up a '23 LR Model Y with 20" wheels and I am seeing high wh/mi numbers ( about 320 whi/mi) and I was getting a little worried because I couldn't seem to get them down even with the most efficient driving styles. The vehicle has less than 200 miles on it now and I'm taking comfort in knowing that there is a break-in period. Thank you!

 

[HonchoNI]

The way these EV are range rated needs to be addressed, so many comparisons out there which make no sense at all when comparing manufacturers claimed range to real world figures. Seems like there is no norm as some get more than claimed and others less than claimed, the margin is much too wide.

I have to really agree with this. There needs to be a change in the rating for all EV's which is more accurate. Seems easy enough to estiamte. My charger has 'real world' ranges for most EV's that seems to be pretty much spot on.

 

[acatwith12]

This post was not only informative but a relief to hear. I am coming from a 2018 LR RWD Model 3 and I was always able to beat the rated wh/mi (well under 240 wh/mi) if I tried. I just picked up a '23 LR Model Y with 20" wheels and I am seeing high wh/mi numbers ( about 320 whi/mi) and I was getting a little worried because I couldn't seem to get them down even with the most efficient driving styles. The vehicle has less than 200 miles on it now and I'm taking comfort in knowing that there is a break-in period. Thank you!

new tires have break-in too and will result in higher milage!

 

[Unclepaul]

OP is stacking range reducing conditions to claim lower range.
New car, driving in freezing temps, climbing elevation, speeds over 70 mph, using heater, etc. These are worst case situations.
Solutions are to precondition cabin and battery before leaving, slowing down, using seat and steering wheel heaters.
His return trip, when the day warms up, he slows down a bit, and is going back downhill should significantly increase his range.

 

[woolymammoth17]

Expect 400Wh/mile in Winter with MY. Plan for 150-175 miles per charge.

I've now driven my 23MY 6k miles in midwest winter mostly highway. Averaging just under 400.

 

[woolymammoth17]

OP is stacking range reducing conditions to claim lower range.
New car, driving in freezing temps, climbing elevation, speeds over 70 mph, using heater, etc. These are worst case situations.
Solutions are to precondition cabin and battery before leaving, slowing down, using seat and steering wheel heaters.
His return trip, when the day warms up, he slows down a bit, and is going back downhill should significantly increase his range.

LOL at defining driving conditions for more than half the country for half the year as "worst case situations."

They aren't "worst case situations," they're just normal driving in the winter for a lot of the US.