My Airport Parking Experience

[Ingatestonian]

I parked at Stansted long stay on 2 June, leaving the car for 2 weeks with 68% charge. I left Sentry on and set off for Greece. Whilst away I resisted the urge to wake up the car by checking temperature or charge but 8 days in on 10 June received a horrifying message that sentry had been switched off as charge was now 21%.

I tried to call Tesla but was in a queue so decided to also switch off auto cooling which was set at 40 degrees as it has been since delivery. Obviously with the very hot weather the cooling has been active and I assume it was that which had drained the charge. I wasn't sure what the effect of no cooling would be, especially as my father in law cheerfully told me on the phone that it was 98 degrees in his greenhouse!

The days passed until on Friday 16 June before flying home I checked the app to find that charge was 20% as it was on arrival at the airport car park. I could have got home on that but topped up at Birchanger so we could use AC on the way home.

A scary experience, I had visions of no charge at all when I returned home and how on earth that would be sorted. I hadn't known that the weather in the UK was due to be so hot. I will think carefully before leaving the car at an airport for two weeks again and if I do, will switch off cabin heat protection.

In the meantime here is a photo of an interesting bar in Skiathos Town where you can also get topped up.

 

[EVMeister]

The battery drain will be due to Sentry Mode, with cabin overheat protection a more minor factor. Exact drain from Sentry depends on the model, but it can easily consume several percentage points of charge per day. It's not something you should leave enabled (with camera-based detection) for multi-day trips.

 

[fholbert]

Why do people use auto cooling? I don’t get it.

Five minutes before getting in the car okay, but why run it all the time?

 

[MrT3]

so decided to also switch off auto cooling which was set at 40 degrees as it has been since delivery. Obviously with the very hot weather the cooling has been active and I assume it was that which had drained the charge.

overheat protection is only operational for 12 hours after you leave the vehicle - it is there to protect contents within the vehicle, not the vehicle itself.

Sentry mode will consume several % per day as the car is always awake so it really isn't worth enabling if you are away for a week or more unless the vehicle is permanently plugged in.

Once the battery drops to 20%, both sentry and overheat protection are disabled - then you would expect normal capacity drops of approx. 1% per week.

 

[ACarneiro]

I left Sentry on and set off for Greece.

As others said, it all boils down to this.
Sentry Mode keeps the car awake, using about 300W (so about 7kWh/24 hr or approximately 10% per day).
Fortunately Tesla were wise enough to disable Sentry with a charge level of 20%.
Now you know

 

[WannabeOwner]

Why do people use auto cooling?

In my case because I don't think it does the gubbins in the car - screen / electronics - any good being baked in the sun. Whilst they might be under warranty its still a fair amount of hassle to get them fixed.

 

[Billbrown1982]

Why do people use auto cooling? I don’t get it.

Five minutes before getting in the car okay, but why run it all the time?

There are many opinions both for and against it. Personally I believe that it won't do the car any harm to not let the electronics and such reach rediculous temperatures, so keeping the interior below a certain point - is a plus.

 

[Adopado]

I parked at Stansted long stay on 2 June, leaving the car for 2 weeks with 68% charge. I left Sentry on and set off for Greece. Whilst away I resisted the urge to wake up the car by checking temperature or charge but 8 days in on 10 June received a horrifying message that sentry had been switched off as charge was now 21%.

I tried to call Tesla but was in a queue so decided to also switch off auto cooling which was set at 40 degrees as it has been since delivery. Obviously with the very hot weather the cooling has been active and I assume it was that which had drained the charge. I wasn't sure what the effect of no cooling would be, especially as my father in law cheerfully told me on the phone that it was 98 degrees in his greenhouse!

The days passed until on Friday 16 June before flying home I checked the app to find that charge was 20% as it was on arrival at the airport car park. I could have got home on that but topped up at Birchanger so we could use AC on the way home.

A scary experience, I had visions of no charge at all when I returned home and how on earth that would be sorted. I hadn't known that the weather in the UK was due to be so hot. I will think carefully before leaving the car at an airport for two weeks again and if I do, will switch off cabin heat protection.

In the meantime here is a photo of an interesting bar in Skiathos Town where you can also get topped up.


View attachment 947814

Sorry to say this but if you had read up on the forum about leaving the car ... none of this would have come as a surprise! You would have been absolutely fine if you hadn't left Sentry Mode and Cabin overheat protection switched on.

 

[Skie]

Have you not noticed the obvious drain from sentry mode in the past? Even 7 hours in an office car park is enough to drain a few percent.

 

[Medved_77]

 

[Columbo]

Also check you've no linked apps waking the car up randomly. I think a podpoint one I used to have that I gave access to for scheduled charging was waking the car up periodically. Like everyone says , sentry off and overheat protection off. I also hit the power off button too, not sure how much difference that makes. Last time I left it in an uncovered carpark in the summer it lost maybe 2% over 10 days.

 

[Mrklaw]

If the central console usb stays on after locking the car then a backup usb powered dash am with parking mode could be an option for longer stays like this at a fraction of the energy usage

 

[Big Earl]

I parked at Stansted long stay on 2 June, leaving the car for 2 weeks with 68% charge. I left Sentry on and set off for Greece. Whilst away I resisted the urge to wake up the car by checking temperature or charge but 8 days in on 10 June received a horrifying message that sentry had been switched off as charge was now 21%.

I tried to call Tesla but was in a queue so decided to also switch off auto cooling which was set at 40 degrees as it has been since delivery. Obviously with the very hot weather the cooling has been active and I assume it was that which had drained the charge. I wasn't sure what the effect of no cooling would be, especially as my father in law cheerfully told me on the phone that it was 98 degrees in his greenhouse!

The days passed until on Friday 16 June before flying home I checked the app to find that charge was 20% as it was on arrival at the airport car park. I could have got home on that but topped up at Birchanger so we could use AC on the way home.

A scary experience, I had visions of no charge at all when I returned home and how on earth that would be sorted. I hadn't known that the weather in the UK was due to be so hot. I will think carefully before leaving the car at an airport for two weeks again and if I do, will switch off cabin heat protection.

In the meantime here is a photo of an interesting bar in Skiathos Town where you can also get topped up.


View attachment 947814

Auto cooling, also known as Cabin Overheat Protection, shuts off after being parked for 12 hours.

Sentry Mode, on the other hand, uses 200 watts continuously until you either turn it off or the battery reaches 20%, at which point it turns itself off.

A 200 watt continuous draw will use 4.8 kWh every 24 hours. If you have a Model 3 SR+ with a 60 kWh battery, it will go from 80% to 20% in 7.5 days.

When parked for long periods of time, turn off Sentry Mode.

 

[Big Earl]

If the central console usb stays on after locking the car then a backup usb powered dash am with parking mode could be an option for longer stays like this at a fraction of the energy usage

The USB ports do not stay active when the car is asleep. For the USB ports to be active, the car must be awake, which consumes 200 watts continuously.

 

[M1tch]

I left my car for 8 weeks last year while overseas. Used less than 10% battery.

Will be leaving it later this year for 4 months. Will charge to 90% and leave it. I have zero concerns it will be fine when I’m back

 

[Ingatestonian]

Thanks for comments. I park at home in garage so have sentry mode auto switched off when home and I also work from home. Sentry is only usually on for short periods in car parks etc so haven't noticed drain before.

The 40 degree auto cool must be factory setting as I have never set that. It is now off but noted that Sentry was main cause of drain. I had understood that Sentry used a couple of percent per day and 47% over 8 days was a surprise.

In the end the warning message process did its job but lesson learned.

 

[AndyEVTM3]

Parked in Stanstead last week for one week.
Switched off sentry and cooling.
Car is seven months old.
Lost 3 miles.

 

[Fursty Ferret]

I park up for 10 days at a time on a regular basis and I typically lose 1-2% over that period. Sentry mode off, of course, but it's a secure car park.

 

[Alistairuk]

I left my car for 8 weeks last year while overseas. Used less than 10% battery.

Will be leaving it later this year for 4 months. Will charge to 90% and leave it. I have zero concerns it will be fine when I’m back

It'll be fine - I work away for 3-4 months at a time and regularly leave the car unplugged - as long as sentry is disabled, the car never loses much.

 

[Ridgeline]

I parked at Stansted long stay on 2 June, leaving the car for 2 weeks with 68% charge. I left Sentry on and set off for Greece. Whilst away I resisted the urge to wake up the car by checking temperature or charge but 8 days in on 10 June received a horrifying message that sentry had been switched off as charge was now 21%.

I tried to call Tesla but was in a queue so decided to also switch off auto cooling which was set at 40 degrees as it has been since delivery. Obviously with the very hot weather the cooling has been active and I assume it was that which had drained the charge. I wasn't sure what the effect of no cooling would be, especially as my father in law cheerfully told me on the phone that it was 98 degrees in his greenhouse!

The days passed until on Friday 16 June before flying home I checked the app to find that charge was 20% as it was on arrival at the airport car park. I could have got home on that but topped up at Birchanger so we could use AC on the way home.

A scary experience, I had visions of no charge at all when I returned home and how on earth that would be sorted. I hadn't known that the weather in the UK was due to be so hot. I will think carefully before leaving the car at an airport for two weeks again and if I do, will switch off cabin heat protection.

In the meantime here is a photo of an interesting bar in Skiathos Town where you can also get topped up.


View attachment 947814

I like the banjo looking symbols on either side of the word TESLA. Please no "dueling banjos" played inside.