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My S85D and Tesla life at 50K miles

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I’ve had my MS since Christmas. I am one of those people that don’t want and don’t need AP. My daily commute is 21 miles round trip (10.5 each way) and I don’t use the freeway. Maybe I’m missing something and you can explain why I would want AP?

I’m currently on a road trip and if I had AP and used it, believe me, the nag to put my hands on the wheel would have been constant! :)

I have AP1 and I admit I don't use it "fully" very often. But I use the TACC numerous times every day. It is almost worth it for TACC alone. I have to drive through a "speed trap" section of road daily and using this helps me avoid tickets. I really enjoy the traffic aware cruise very much.

I have 2015 July S85D with 64k miles and get 264 at 100%.
 
Battery degradation: 270 RM -> 264 RM (about 2%)

Bruce (and others that mention their slight battery degradation), can you briefly share how you keep your S85D charged? I know there are plenty of threads on this, which is why I mention 'briefly' o_O

I keep my X100D at a max of 80% (sans any long-range trips) for daily driving, and have consistently gotten 232RM at 80% over the last 7500 miles - so zero degradation so far.

Thank you for this post! It is always great to hear "happy Tesla" stories! I may only have put 7500 miles on mine, but I have absolutely loved every mile!

Keep the great stories comin! :D
 
Bruce, are you going with an ESA (if not purchased already), a new Tesla, or without warranty?

ESA. Admittedly I didn't do as extensive an analysis as some people here have (and I think conclusions have gone both ways on that). But to me it's kind of like insurance. I don't think there's a rationally correct answer to this...it comes down to your tolerance / preference for risks (or perceived risks).

(As a somewhat irrelevant data point, I bought the extended warranty on my 2005 Prius and didn't end up using it, 10 years and 206K miles.)

Bruce (and others that mention their slight battery degradation), can you briefly share how you keep your S85D charged? I know there are plenty of threads on this, which is why I mention 'briefly' o_O

Sure, nothing complicated. I just charge to 90% daily on my UMC, plugged into a NEMA 14-50 in my garage, timed to start during off-peak pricing on my electric service. If I'm going on a trip and I think I need some extra range, then I'll charge to 100% starting a couple hours before I leave, so the battery isn't sitting full for a long time. When Supercharging on a trip, I'll set my charge limit to 100% but almost always disconnect early. And I'd treat a destination charger (like at a hotel) more or less like I do my home charging (90% charge limit unless I need the range). Other than that I try not to overthink things too much and let the car do its thing.

Bruce.
 
2014 MS P85 here. Purchased as CPO from Tesla 2 yrs ago with 8k mi on it. Just rolled over to 35k miles this month. No enhanced driving - DH commute 3 mi & I work from home. The only thing that we've had to do is replace the gasket on the sunroof due to a random drip, but Tesla handled it. Never ever ever going back to ICE. DH & I have shared this one car for the 2 yrs that we've had it and will soon be taking delivery of a new DM M3 as a 2nd vehicle. I don't envision ever parting with our MS as the free lifetime charging attached to the VIN is too appealing to consider giving up over the long run (i.e. road trips)

Happy campers here, for sure
 
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I’ve had my MS since Christmas. I am one of those people that don’t want and don’t need AP. My daily commute is 21 miles round trip (10.5 each way) and I don’t use the freeway. Maybe I’m missing something and you can explain why I would want AP?

I’m currently on a road trip and if I had AP and used it, believe me, the nag to put my hands on the wheel would have been constant! :)


At the risk of turning this into an AP thread, I think it really depends on: 1) experiencing EAP in enough real world conditions and knowing what the system is capable and incapable of, and 2) your commute route and traffic.

I’m someone that knowingly pushes the boundaries and tries to break things, so I’ve used EAP in my Model ≡ (M3) most every chance I can, whether local traffic, highway traffic, free flowing highway, etc.

After 3+ months I’m pretty comfortable knowing when it will perform well and when it needs closer baby sitting or disabling altogether. My daily work commute is less than 4 miles stop and go local traffic in Los Angeles, but I pretty much have it enabled the whole way (unless I’m first at a light or want to change lanes). As has been mentioned, it’s still less mentally involved/taxing than manual driving.

I had a loaner 2018 MS 75D for a week from the service center while they replaced a headlight assembly on my 3 and the loaner MS didn’t have EAP. I found myself really missing my 3, in large part because of no EAP, despite the quicker acceleration, power trunk, self presenting door handles, etc. There were other reasons I prefer the 3, but lack of EAP made the loaner S feel very backwards/old.

We’ve taken only small road trips thus far that were 70-120 miles each way (Palm Springs, etc.), and the EAP was great, especially in stop and go traffic trying to get through and out of Los Angeles on a Friday afternoon.

If you haven’t already, try to talk to more people w EAP, try it out more, or make sure to get a loaner w it next time.
 
Three years and a few months ago, I took delivery of a brand new Tesla Model S 85D. Today its odometer passed 50,000 miles! A few stats (as of the end of the day today):

Miles on odometer: 50,069
Lifetime average wH/mi: Somewhere between 312 and 317 (uncertainty due to Tesla technician resetting trip meters without my authorization...grrr)
Door handle replacements: 3
Half-shaft replacements: 1
Superchargers visited: 36
Battery degradation: 270 RM -> 264 RM (about 2%)
Software updates: 43 (from 6.2(2.4.160) to 8.1(2018.26))

Some thoughts:

o No way am I ever going back to an ICE car again. My previous car was a 2005 Toyota Prius, and I'm convinced hybrids are just the "gateway drug" for pure EVs. My Tesla isn't perfect but it's pretty damn awesome...clean, quiet and (of course) fast. Most importantly it's always been drivable and I've never gotten stranded.

o I've used Autopilot since the first day AP1 was available. It's really a game-changer for reducing the workload on long-distance driving, if one takes the time to understand how it works and to use it correctly. (I eat my oranges and drink the water in my water bottles.) It's hard to explain this to someone who hasn't experienced it. Owner training on Autopilot needs improvement, a lot. There might be a role for user groups to play in this area.

o OTA software updates are revolutionary. Since I took delivery, my car has (among other things) gotten quicker, gained autopilot capabilities (including auto-steer, summon, and auto-parking), and gotten a new navigation system. Sometimes there are some regressions though, and some basic software management best practices would really be useful here.

o Tesla has the only charging network that really makes long-distance EV travel practical. Another one of those things that's best understood through experience.

Owning a Tesla has truly been a transformative experience for me. I am not a car guy, but I was surprised to find myself:

o Spending time on a car forum...thanks to all on TMC and the Tesla community in general for all the information, tips, tricks, and experience.

o Talking about my car to, well, anyone.

o Attending a TMC Connect conference. What a great experience to meet people in person, highly recommend doing this if possible.

o Driving 200 miles to meet up with a bunch of other Tesla owners at a Supercharger in the middle of nowhere (Kettleman City, earlier this year).

It's been fun. Looking forward to the next 50,000 miles...

Bruce.
Very close to my experience, Bruce. The business of eating and having a drink of water on a road trip using AP1 is great. I know that people will criticize doing this but the thing is they would do it ANYWAY and that IS dangerous. You still need to be vigilant but it is a godsend. I have fewer miles and less failures naturally. But ICE is gone. 4 years is coming up for me in June and I need to be thinking about an extended warranty. But ICE is not part of my future. Great to read you perception and to see how close it is to mine. Good luck on your next 4 years!
 
Bruce,

Thanks for posting.

I have a 2015 S85D, but with only 28K miles.
I have had nothing replaced. The only maintenance has been replacement of defective 12 battery (warranty) and recall compliance (seat belt check and PS bolt). I participate in prepaid annual inspections (three to date) no repairs.
I have a 2014 Prius as a second car. It rarely leaves the garage i.e. maybe 1200 miles per year.
I hope to never buy another ICE car.
 
Sheesh, we are all in the same boat.

October 2015 S85D with about 36k miles. Also in the Bay Area and AP1 was worth the price of the car itself for me. Any time I'm in any other car it's like going back in time and un-drivable now. I love it. Not perfect, but for my 30mi each way to work commute in traffic, I couldn't imagine not having it and I'm sure that it's safer than a regular driver (ie: me) in traffic. With myself and AP1 watching traffic, it's that extra set of eyes and extra layer of prevention.

I do a lot of Tahoe runs from the Penninsula and have about 2-3% battery degradation. I charge to 80% nightly at home on a 14-50, I have maybe 12 or so full 100% charges on the car since new. Honestly, mostly because I was at lunch during a road trip and my car was about to reach 80% on the supercharger and I needed more time to finish lunch so I'd let it go to 90 or 100% so I didn't get into idle charges.

I've had zero problems. Zero. (knock on wood). Maybe that means something catastrophically is about to hit, but so far so good.

It's the first car I haven't become "bored" of after a few years. Every now and then just on a boring work commute I will suddenly smile and think "I really love this car."

I can't imagine going back to an ICE car full time. We have all kind of exotic ICE cars in the parking lot at work and other than a general appreciation for them, I have zero desire to go back to one.
 
I don't want to turn this into yet another Autopilot discussion thread (there are a ton of them here on TMC), but since you asked...

For the case of your daily commute (10 miles, non-freeway), I'd say there's not a huge difference. (Actually I only use AP on freeways or "divided highways" per the manual, so if I were driving your commute there might not be any difference whatsoever.)

To me the benefit comes on longer (say more than 30 miles?) freeway drives...that's what the original AP system was designed for. It frees me from needing to make lots of micro-adjustments with my hands and feet, and it's less mental effort to supervise AP than it is to do the driving manually. It means I can drive longer/farther without feeling fatigued (thus hopefully being more safe). It requires a little investment in time to understand how the system works (and where it's appropriate / inappropriate to use), and a little mental discipline to stay safe and not do unwise things. As I wrote earlier, it's hard to explain (but I could demonstrate to you if we were in the same car).

Thanks to all the other happy owners who replied with their stories too!

Bruce.

My car also just rolled out of warranty. Did you buy an extended warranty? I'm a little nervous but I didn't buy one.
 
My car also just rolled out of warranty. Did you buy an extended warranty? I'm a little nervous but I didn't buy one.
I have a 2015 S85D with 66,000 miles. I did not buy an extended warranty. I'm not nervous. I've had very few issues (water in tail light fixed under warranty, air suspension warning fixed with software update). I'm not worried. The battery and drive train warranty should cover expensive repairs and my battery has only lost 3% of capacity so no problem there. Electronics generally last forever so no worries about that. The rest of the car is very simple mechanical stuff.

Every time I drive the car I have a smile. It is just the absolute best car I have ever owned by far.
 
April 17, 2015 85D, here, and 60,000 miles. Bought the extended warranty after hearing that my neighbor paid $1900 to replace the compressor on his 2013 P85 at about 60.000 miles.

I, too, remember the days of driving out of the way to reach a SC (remember Lusk, WY?). We recently completed a 5,000 mile road trip from Peoria, AZ up to Banff, Lake Louise, and Calgary before heading to Vancouver via the TransCanada highway, and Victoria via ferry then going to WA state and CA to visit the kids. We stopped at Great Falls, MT overnight and used a camp ground 14-50 charger located 5 min. on foot from our motel. We also charged in Victoria, BC using out chaDEmo adapter. By the end of 2018, both of these places are expected to have SCs.

I have tended to be conservative about how much margin to have when traveling through any mountain range for the first time. My lesson learned occurred a couple of years ago when traveling from the Denver SC to the Silverthorn SC. The trip climbs 6,000 fit above Denver, but is only 138 miles in actual distance. I charged to 30 miles in excess of the recommendation by the GPS trip planner and had well over 220 miles of range, but not to the top. Unfortunately there was road construction on the mountain and we were caught in a stop-and go line of cars for over two hours. Needless to say, I helplessly watched the range drain down. Off went the A/C as I inched forward, stopping and starting every few feet. Near the end, I had 13 miles to go and a projected range of 19 miles (along with a bladder about to burst). I had visions of pulling off and calling a tow, but did not have a good signal. Fortunately, the traffic opened up again, and five miles down the road I entered the Eisenhower tunnel, all down hill, and arrived at Silverthorn with 138 miles of projected range. Too close for comfort!!
 
I purchased the extended warranty on my original 2013 Model S as insurance against the unknown. Felt it was a good investment for 4 additional years or 50K additional miles. Unfortunately, the car was totaled just a few months later. Good news, though, was that Tesla reimbursed a pro-rata share of the extended warranty cost, which was most of it given that the car had only just passed 50K and no claims were made on the extended warranty.
 
Yes, 130,000 miles on my 2013 S85. I remember not having any superchargers within reach.
Several drive unit replacements, door handles, coolant pumps, bla bla bla under warranty. It was not enough to sway me to purchase the ESA, which worked out in my favor; passed 100,000 miles without too much ado.

Last 100% charge was 248, about 7% loss, and seems to have been stable for a few years if I recall.

Recently had a loaner with AP1. I got to test it out in a number of situations. Personally I didn't like how it handled heavy traffic, I drive much smoother in those cases. It was intriguing how it seemed to learn how to handle a few very sharp curves near work (while showing it off); I set it as slow as it could go to test it and (after 3 or 4 times trying to run off the road) it actually handled them well.

I have no plan on upgrading. I don't miss navigation or EAP. (Power mirrors would be nice for my garage door though...) I'm going to see what it takes to drive this thing into the ground. Hoping for at least a half million miles. (Not kidding.)
 
Yes, 130,000 miles on my 2013 S85. I remember not having any superchargers within reach.
Several drive unit replacements, door handles, coolant pumps, bla bla bla under warranty. It was not enough to sway me to purchase the ESA, which worked out in my favor; passed 100,000 miles without too much ado.

Last 100% charge was 248, about 7% loss, and seems to have been stable for a few years if I recall.

Recently had a loaner with AP1. I got to test it out in a number of situations. Personally I didn't like how it handled heavy traffic, I drive much smoother in those cases. It was intriguing how it seemed to learn how to handle a few very sharp curves near work (while showing it off); I set it as slow as it could go to test it and (after 3 or 4 times trying to run off the road) it actually handled them well.

I have no plan on upgrading. I don't miss navigation or EAP. (Power mirrors would be nice for my garage door though...) I'm going to see what it takes to drive this thing into the ground. Hoping for at least a half million miles. (Not kidding.)
Interesting that you had a lot of the early Model S teething problems but that they all seem to have been fixed and you haven't had problems since.
I'm trying for a million miles (if I live that long).
 
My car also just rolled out of warranty. Did you buy an extended warranty? I'm a little nervous but I didn't buy one.

I did get the extended warranty, but I admit I didn't do a cost-benefit analysis like some other owners did. Maybe I should have approached this more rigorously, but it was just that peace-of-mind kind of thing.

Bruce.