My new Model Y's range SUCKS

[Koolio46]

My lifetime (2,100 miles) with a majority of those miles highway miles driving 75-80mph (due to a ton of daily road trips we've been taking). Average: 288 wh/mi.

When I drive in the city, I've averaged anywhere from 190 - 250 wh/mi.

Like with all my previous ICE cars, I factor that I'll get ~20% less range / MPG than what the EPA numbers are. I'm fine with the range I'm getting.

 

[jcanoe]

I checked yesterday and my lifetime is 1,835 miles and 300 Wh/mi I do prefer to drive faster as this is one of the fun parts of owning a Tesla, but not over 70-75 mph for sure.

Trialed yesterday 60 mph on the highway and landed at 290 Wh/mi for the round trip. Slightly better, but still far off from what other people posting here. Plus overnight it lost 4 miles of range out of nowhere (it is still warm in CT and I am not using Sentry mode).

I see people here protecting Tesla and its battery life marketing strategy, but for people like me that don't really want to get into details (you can call me a dumb average consumer), this looks like a complete scam.

Is your Model Y fitted with the 19" Gemini wheels and OE Continential tires or something else? What is the tire pressure? What temperature do you usually set for the Climate Control?

Although unlikely it is possible that one of your brake calipers is contacting the rotor, creating some drag. One way to check is to carefully place your hand close to the brake rotors after driving your commute. The rotor should not feel warm, especially in an electric vehicle.

 

[jcanoe]

Most of my commute is highway. It's somewhere around:

30% at 72 MPH (70 MPH road)
70% at 58 MPH (55 MPH road)

Sometimes I don't bother changing lanes when coming up on a slow truck. That adds quite a bit to efficiency. Using FSD, I'm more relaxed and care a little less concerned about shaving off a minute or two from my drive.[/QUOTE

I sometimes fall in line behind a slower moving vehicle. You are right, it adds to my driving efficiency. The average speed for your commute is 62 MPH; in my experience if you can hold your speed to no more than 62 or 63 MPH your EV highway driving efficiency and range will not disappoint you.

 

[mark95476]

Where do people live where they live, work, shop ...etc... right next to a freeway where they're able to maintain >70 mph on their commutes? I've heard of supercommuters driving from the East Bay to Silicon Valley, but it's brutal because they're mostly stuck in traffic and not going fast.

I live in an urban area where it's hard to sustain 70 mph on the freeways unless traveling off-hours. I'm fortunate to have a reverse commute where I'm not crawling below 40 mph on 101N in the mornings and probably below 20 mph on 101S in the afternoons. Traffic is still relatively light here, but it's getting more normal. Stop lights are everywhere when I'm not on the highways or freeways.

Here's an example of a bad drive for me--244 Wh/mi over 56.3 miles. I go back and forth from Los Gatos to Santa Cruz frequently via Hwy 17 which includes a 2000 ft climb. The first part is going up Hwy 17 at around 60 mph. I was able to go a bit faster than normal because I left early from work so there was lighter traffic.

 

[Sergio_S]

Is your Model Y fitted with the 19" Gemini wheels and OE Continential tires or something else? What is the tire pressure? What temperature do you usually set for the Climate Control?

Although unlikely it is possible that one of your brake calipers is contacting the rotor, creating some drag. One way to check is to carefully place your hand close to the brake rotors after driving your commute. The rotor should not feel warm, especially in an electric vehicle.

I am on 20" inductions and my tire pressure is 38 psi and climate control mostly off.

But yeah good suggestion. I have mobile service visit on Wednesday and will ask technician about brake rotor drag.

 

[ftmaybe]

I checked yesterday and my lifetime is 1,835 miles and 300 Wh/mi I do prefer to drive faster as this is one of the fun parts of owning a Tesla, but not over 70-75 mph for sure.

Trialed yesterday 60 mph on the highway and landed at 290 Wh/mi for the round trip. Slightly better, but still far off from what other people posting here. Plus overnight it lost 4 miles of range out of nowhere (it is still warm in CT and I am not using Sentry mode).

I see people here protecting Tesla and its battery life marketing strategy, but for people like me that don't really want to get into details (you can call me a dumb average consumer), this looks like a complete scam.

average consumer? yes. dumb? no. I think the "5 minute fillup" and "exotic car mpg" comments is also part of what contributes to this. Anecdotally, when I have asked people here or there what kind of gas mileage they get on their car, some people have no idea. And it isn't because they *should* know, or that they are "dumb", its just that it doesn't matter because when the gas gauge gets low, they just stop at the nearest gas station (and there is always one near) and quickly add fuel. For a lot of people, efficiency just isn't something they need to or care to think about. given that not only can you not just "find a charger" easily when you need one, its not a 5 minute fillup either .. so efficiency and range is suddenly important.

I do really believe that if generations of drivers were used to getting *worse* mileage on the freeway with their ICE cars, this wouldn't be a big shock to them. It only seems strange because of decades of the ICE efficiency paradigm.

 

[jcanoe]

I am on 20" inductions and my tire pressure is 38 psi and climate control mostly off.

But yeah good suggestion. I have mobile service visit on Wednesday and will ask technician about brake rotor drag.

If the sticker on the vehicle's A pillar by the driver's seat states that the recommended tire pressure is 42 PSI and you are running 38 PSI you could be losing ~1% in overall driving efficiency. Increasing the tire pressure to at least the recommended pressure could lower your Wh/mi consumption by ~10Wh.

 

[Feathermerchan]

Sergio - That 38psi is not your friend. Recommended cold pressure is 42 I think.
At 38psi on the 20" wheels you're really risking pinching a tire/bending a rim on a pothole.
I've been running 46 psi and the ride is fine to me.

 

[jsight]

I checked yesterday and my lifetime is 1,835 miles and 300 Wh/mi I do prefer to drive faster as this is one of the fun parts of owning a Tesla, but not over 70-75 mph for sure.

Trialed yesterday 60 mph on the highway and landed at 290 Wh/mi for the round trip. Slightly better, but still far off from what other people posting here. Plus overnight it lost 4 miles of range out of nowhere (it is still warm in CT and I am not using Sentry mode).

I see people here protecting Tesla and its battery life marketing strategy, but for people like me that don't really want to get into details (you can call me a dumb average consumer), this looks like a complete scam.

I am a long way from calling it a scam to publish the numbers based on the EPA estimates, but I do agree with you that it is a real problem. The quoted #s for EVs focus on range and the fact that there is not a clearly published range estimate for real world highway driving is a real problem.

I really wish the EPA would fix this.

 

[jsight]

I do really believe that if generations of drivers were used to getting *worse* mileage on the freeway with their ICE cars, this wouldn't be a big shock to them. It only seems strange because of decades of the ICE efficiency paradigm.

Hah, I feel like I've had people wonder how risky an EV would be if you got into a traffic jam on a commute. This ICE mindset is a big part of why... obviously most of us here know that slow traffic increases range, but a lot of people aren't used to that.

 

[Sergio_S]

average consumer? yes. dumb? no. I think the "5 minute fillup" and "exotic car mpg" comments is also part of what contributes to this. Anecdotally, when I have asked people here or there what kind of gas mileage they get on their car, some people have no idea. And it isn't because they *should* know, or that they are "dumb", its just that it doesn't matter because when the gas gauge gets low, they just stop at the nearest gas station (and there is always one near) and quickly add fuel. For a lot of people, efficiency just isn't something they need to or care to think about. given that not only can you not just "find a charger" easily when you need one, its not a 5 minute fillup either .. so efficiency and range is suddenly important.

I do really believe that if generations of drivers were used to getting *worse* mileage on the freeway with their ICE cars, this wouldn't be a big shock to them. It only seems strange because of decades of the ICE efficiency paradigm.

Well I think everybody who is driving ICE cars is familiar with efficiency issues depending on the type of miles they are putting on their cars.

Therefore manufacturers are specifying 3 different mpg figures: highway, city and mixed. Usually those are off by 10-15% between each other and maybe 10% vs real life. I am just not used to 30% deviation from expected range.

I guess for people that can charge at home it is not a big issue, but for me using Supercharges that is both additional inconvenience and cost.

 

[ftmaybe]

Well I think everybody who is driving ICE cars is familiar with efficiency issues depending on the type of miles they are putting on their cars.

Therefore manufacturers are specifying 3 different mpg figures: highway, city and mixed. Usually those are off by 10-15% between each other and maybe 10% vs real life. I am just not used to 30% deviation from expected range.

I guess for people that can charge at home it is not a big issue, but for me using Supercharges that is both additional inconvenience and cost.

/nod. For the record, I agree that the advertised "range" is misleading .. I dont' want to go as far as to say tesla is intentionally deceptive, though. I mean, they *are* intentionally deceptive but not because they are trying to rip people off, I believe its because the existing auto industry will use anything against EVs to portray them as incapable of replacing a gas car. Right now it seems like the last argument to be made is going to be range and travel concerns. The more range Tesla can claim, the better.

I do feel like just getting people into EVs will eventually supercede whatever negative perceptions they might have had. I wasn't interested at all in Tesla until my wife said she wanted to buy one (and I was against it initially) .. but learning more about it and actually driving it completely changed my mind. So I'd like to think that for a lot of people, the idea of not being able to drive some marathon 1000 mile trip with minimal 5 minute stops seems like a deal breaker, when it really won't be once you see what else the car can do for you. Its better to just get people in the door to give it a shot, and a lot of them might immediately become converts like I did. Yep .. the advertised range is sketchy but I think it is sort of acceptable here given the situation.

Given what happened on battery day, I really believe we are very close to range and travel becoming a non issue. The new packs will have new cells for more energy density and allegedly far faster charge / discharge capability .. its going to be pretty awesome, I think.

 

[Jacopa]

I checked yesterday and my lifetime is 1,835 miles and 300 Wh/mi I do prefer to drive faster as this is one of the fun parts of owning a Tesla, but not over 70-75 mph for sure.

Trialed yesterday 60 mph on the highway and landed at 290 Wh/mi for the round trip. Slightly better, but still far off from what other people posting here. Plus overnight it lost 4 miles of range out of nowhere (it is still warm in CT and I am not using Sentry mode).

I see people here protecting Tesla and its battery life marketing strategy, but for people like me that don't really want to get into details (you can call me a dumb average consumer), this looks like a complete scam.

Sergio, where do you live? I'm in litchfield in the hills

 

[psuKinger]

I'm at 4872 miles on the odometer of my MY LR AWD, and averaging 245 wh/mi. Daily commute is a mixture of highway and back country roads... TIFWIW.

 

[Sergio_S]

Sergio, where do you live? I'm in litchfield in the hills

New Haven.

 

[Sergio_S]

Just an update on the highway consumption. Went to Acadia past weekend, so quite a solid mileage to track it.

So at 65 mph on a highway got 285-290 Wh/m and at 60 mph - 275 ish. That is autopilot, no hills, very little ac.

Still pretty disappointing compared to other people results (

 

[jcanoe]

Just an update on the highway consumption. Went to Acadia past weekend, so quite a solid mileage to track it.

So at 65 mph on a highway got 285-290 Wh/m and at 60 mph - 275 ish. That is autopilot, no hills, very little ac.

Still pretty disappointing compared to other people results (

Are you still running 38 PSI in your tires?

 

[Zcd1]

Just an update on the highway consumption. Went to Acadia past weekend, so quite a solid mileage to track it.

So at 65 mph on a highway got 285-290 Wh/m and at 60 mph - 275 ish. That is autopilot, no hills, very little ac.

Still pretty disappointing compared to other people results (

What was the outside temp and what cabin temp did you have set?

 

[Feathermerchan]

Yup 38 psi cold is not enough.
After your next drive, check each brake rotor to see if they are all cool. If you have an IR thermometer it would be even better.

 

[Koolio46]

Just an update on the highway consumption. Went to Acadia past weekend, so quite a solid mileage to track it.

So at 65 mph on a highway got 285-290 Wh/m and at 60 mph - 275 ish. That is autopilot, no hills, very little ac.

Still pretty disappointing compared to other people results (

Just like with an ICE car, I expect an average of 20% less than EPA numbers. I’ve averaging 288 wh/mi over 2,200 miles and that’s about what I expected for range. No complaints on my end.