New M3 No Regen Braking & Battery Drain issues

[on12145]

Hi Guys.
So we received delivery of our Tesla last Friday. Did all the checks on the list and luckily there were no physical defects HOWEVER I've had two issues that I can't currently explain.

Reg Braking doesn't work...at all. When it was delivered off the transporter and we moved it to a better parking location it worked perfectly fine then. Later that day my husband drove the car a short distance and didn't enjoy the 'hold' driving experience so switched his profile to 'creep'. I however prefer to drive on 'hold' so my profile is still set to that however it doesn't hold whatsoever.

When I release my foot off the accelerator it continues driving on for a good number of seconds before getting to 0mph. I've tried toggling between hold and creep and roll to see if that would get it working again and toggling between low and standard on regen braking but nothing seems to make it work.

Is it because my husband's profile isn't set to hold - could that have impacted it? Couple things to note, at no point was the car anywhere close to 100% - max we've charged it was 80% so it can't be that. Also it's cold in London but regen braking doesn't work even after driving on hour long trips when i assume the battery would definitely had had a chance to warm up.
Any advice? I've logged it as a delivery defect however if there's a quick fix would rather avoid a service centre trip.

Next issue is the battery drain...maybe linked to the regenerative braking not working?? I currently have the car set to show me the battery in miles so I could track it and it seems that for every 1mile driven 2miles is lost from the battery - is that normal??
Also, tonight for example I drove 6 miles...lost 12 miles on the battery upon arrival at my destination. Parked up and had a 2 hour appointment...got back in the car and had lost 3 miles during the 2 hours it was parked outside...again is that normal?

I've also put this down as a servicing issue given we had to do this all within the first 7 days but i want to know if maybe my expectations aren't realistic for how the battery drains and if this is normal i'll cancel the service ticket.

Any advice/wisdom much appreciated!

 

[Dangerous Fish]

Hold mode doesn't mean the car suddenly comes to a stop.
Drive along at 10mph and put the car into neutral, then you'll experience NO regen. It's not what you've felt so far, I can guarantee.

Use % rather than miles for range. Miles is just an estimate. In cold weather you'll use more energy.

Please stop reporting every little thing you experience as a delivery defect. Read the manual and look around the forums and FB groups and you'll find the answers to your questions without clogging up the service system.

 

[on12145]

Hold mode doesn't mean the car suddenly comes to a stop.
Drive along at 10mph and put the car into neutral, then you'll experience NO regen. It's not what you've felt so far, I can guarantee.

Use % rather than miles for range. Miles is just an estimate. In cold weather you'll use more energy.

Please stop reporting every little thing you experience as a delivery defect. Read the manual and look around the forums and FB groups and you'll find the answers to your questions without clogging up the service system.

I'm sorry but I disagree with the above. I test drove the Tesla extensively before purchasing...I know what it SHOULD drive like when regenerative braking is working effectively.
As I also mentioned it worked/drove in that same way when it was first delivered and only stopped shortly after that. Whether it is exactly the same as what it feels like to have no regen is irrelevant...what I'm simply saying is that regen braking is not currently working as it should. When it works effectively for the most part the car drives like a go kart with very little need to even use the brake - I however need to use the brake everytime I need to slow down because the car keeps rolling and doesn't come to a stop.

Re reporting 'every little thing', thanks for your advice but again, I disagree. We have 7 days and 100 miles to log any issues and I don't feel like listing 2 valid concerns are 'clogging up the service system'. The battery drain fair enough, I had no idea whether it was normal however the regenerative braking categorically is not how the car should drive or feel and therefore is a fault.

 

[WarpedOne]

This forum is NOT tesla customer support, use the app...

 

[on12145]

Wow I must say i'm disappointed and confused. I used this forum extensively before the arrival of our Tesla delivery and everyone here has been nothing but extremely helpful - sharing their experiences and solutions openly.

I'm very aware that this is not customer support hence logging the issues in app to begin with. However according to the first reply I shouldn't have logged it with the app because that's wasting service slots...but then the next reply I receive is that I shouldn't post it here and instead contact support via the app - so it seems as if there's no pleasing anyone.

As a new owner of the car I was simply reaching out to see if there was something I was missing in regards to getting the regen braking to work effectively as it currently isn't despite all the settings being correct and also to baseline my expectations about battery drain from fellow owners...but message received.

 

[Dangerous Fish]

Wow I must say i'm disappointed and confused. I used this forum extensively before the arrival of our Tesla delivery and everyone here has been nothing but extremely helpful - sharing their experiences and solutions openly.

I'm very aware that this is not customer support hence logging the issues in app to begin with. However according to the first reply I shouldn't have logged it with the app because that's wasting service slots...but then the next reply I receive is that I shouldn't post it here and instead contact support via the app - so it seems as if there's no pleasing anyone.

As a new owner of the car I was simply reaching out to see if there was something I was missing in regards to getting the regen braking to work effectively as it currently isn't despite all the settings being correct and also to baseline my expectations about battery drain from fellow owners...but message received.

What you're missing is an understanding of how your car works and that can be solved by reading the manual. Sorry if that sounds harsh.

You said initially "no regen". Your car will deliver various levels of regen depending on configuration and conditions. It's all in the manual. That doesn't require a service appointment.

 

[-monky-]

Hi Guys.
So we received delivery of our Tesla last Friday. Did all the checks on the list and luckily there were no physical defects HOWEVER I've had two issues that I can't currently explain.

Reg Braking doesn't work...at all. When it was delivered off the transporter and we moved it to a better parking location it worked perfectly fine then. Later that day my husband drove the car a short distance and didn't enjoy the 'hold' driving experience so switched his profile to 'creep'. I however prefer to drive on 'hold' so my profile is still set to that however it doesn't hold whatsoever.

When I release my foot off the accelerator it continues driving on for a good number of seconds before getting to 0mph. I've tried toggling between hold and creep and roll to see if that would get it working again and toggling between low and standard on regen braking but nothing seems to make it work.

Is it because my husband's profile isn't set to hold - could that have impacted it? Couple things to note, at no point was the car anywhere close to 100% - max we've charged it was 80% so it can't be that. Also it's cold in London but regen braking doesn't work even after driving on hour long trips when i assume the battery would definitely had had a chance to warm up.
Any advice? I've logged it as a delivery defect however if there's a quick fix would rather avoid a service centre trip.

Next issue is the battery drain...maybe linked to the regenerative braking not working?? I currently have the car set to show me the battery in miles so I could track it and it seems that for every 1mile driven 2miles is lost from the battery - is that normal??
Also, tonight for example I drove 6 miles...lost 12 miles on the battery upon arrival at my destination. Parked up and had a 2 hour appointment...got back in the car and had lost 3 miles during the 2 hours it was parked outside...again is that normal?

I've also put this down as a servicing issue given we had to do this all within the first 7 days but i want to know if maybe my expectations aren't realistic for how the battery drains and if this is normal i'll cancel the service ticket.

Any advice/wisdom much appreciated!

I don’t have any advice on your specific problem but FWIW I think your question is fair enough here. It’s a forum after all...

 

[Gasman23]

Wow I must say i'm disappointed and confused. I used this forum extensively before the arrival of our Tesla delivery and everyone here has been nothing but extremely helpful - sharing their experiences and solutions openly.

I'm very aware that this is not customer support hence logging the issues in app to begin with. However according to the first reply I shouldn't have logged it with the app because that's wasting service slots...but then the next reply I receive is that I shouldn't post it here and instead contact support via the app - so it seems as if there's no pleasing anyone.

As a new owner of the car I was simply reaching out to see if there was something I was missing in regards to getting the regen braking to work effectively as it currently isn't despite all the settings being correct and also to baseline my expectations about battery drain from fellow owners...but message received.

must admit I was quite surprised at the responses you received. I’m very new to ownership too and have found this forum to be very informative and helpful

 

[nufan]

I’m surprised by the rude responses too - sorry you got them.

You’ve done what I would have done - varied the Controls > Driving > Regenerative Braking setting to see if the regen response varied. If you detect no variation it seems odd - like the motor/battery management system isn’t happy with taking current that direction, as if cold (which I note you’ve eliminated with a warm-up).

Try a hard reboot? Brake pedal + both scroll buttons. Seems a little ‘IT-help desk’ in approach - but give that a go?

Also - % is best rather than mileage - I’ve never looked back after following that advice.

 

[Dangerous Fish]

Firstly, I don't accept my responses have been rude.

"Reg Braking doesn't work...at all." is a not accurate. You may experience reduced regen, but that isn't the same as 'no regen'.

It's important to read the user manual so you understand how to operate the car. Has the OP read the manual?

There are more and more posts cropping up from new owners who experience situations they can't explain. The Tesla handover experience is not the best, but if you read the manual most of those situations can be resolved.

All I'm saying is read the manual first and if there are still things you can't explain I'm sure there will be lots of help here and on other groups to guide you.

But logging non-issues as delivery defects is not helpful and means that someone with a genuine issue has to wait longer for an appointment.

 

[on12145]

I’m surprised by the rude responses too - sorry you got them.

You’ve done what I would have done - varied the Controls > Driving > Regenerative Braking setting to see if the regen response varied. If you detect no variation it seems odd - like the motor/battery management system isn’t happy with taking current that direction, as if cold (which I note you’ve eliminated with a warm-up).

Try a hard reboot? Brake pedal + both scroll buttons. Seems a little ‘IT-help desk’ in approach - but give that a go?

Also - % is best rather than mileage - I’ve never looked back after following that advice.

Thank you for that. I must admit I've held my breath every time I've gotten a new thread response notification this evening :S.

I'll give the reboot a try tomorrow If the car hadn't driven how I'd expected it to upon delivery I may have just let it go but it did effectively do 1 pedal driving upon delivery - so much so that my husband (who isn't a fan) changed his settings so he didn't have to drive like that. For some reason it's just not returned on my profile since he changed his even though we've since driven 100 miles and the car has definitely been warm. I'm also not receiving any notifications on the car saying regen braking is limited so that's why it's also a little weird.

The only thing I haven't done is drive the car for a while in low or creep/roll before putting it back to standard/hold - dunno if that would make a difference vs just toggling the buttons.

Also thank you re. the % vs miles. I must admit when I saw the car battery as a % I looked at it the same way as my iphone and I immediately panic at anything below 20% so assumed seeing miles would give me a bit more rational perspective about how long I have left lol! Rookie error.

 

[on12145]

Firstly, I don't accept my responses have been rude.

"Reg Braking doesn't work...at all." is a not accurate. You may experience reduced regen, but that isn't the same as 'no regen'.

It's important to read the user manual so you understand how to operate the car. Has the OP read the manual?

There are more and more posts cropping up from new owners who experience situations they can't explain. The Tesla handover experience is not the best, but if you read the manual most of those situations can be resolved.

All I'm saying is read the manual first and if there are still things you can't explain I'm sure there will be lots of help here and on other groups to guide you.

But logging non-issues as delivery defects is not helpful and means that someone with a genuine issue has to wait longer for an appointment.

I have read the manual extensively - I have not found a solution or answer to why '1 pedal driving' worked upon delivery and does not work now 100 miles later despite settings being the same. Apologies if my use of terminology was incorrect. I did write an extensive explanation of the actual problem so it was clear what I was referring to but you seem hell bent on referencing me saying 'regenerative braking is not working at all'...so again apologies if there was confusion and instead I should have specified the regenerative breaking is reduced.

It's a hard one to explain the absence of something, I know how the driving and braking experience of a model 3 is meant to feel - my car is currently not driving as it should despite it being warmed up and having driven over 100miles and also despite having no notifications on screen telling me there is reduced or low regen.

I'm really not sure what further information you are expecting me to glean from a manual at this point ...happy to be pointed in the right direction if you actually have an answer for why it's driving this way.

 

[LukeUK]

Have you tried switching it back on, in your husband's profile, to see if that has an effect on yours?

You could also create a new, third profile and test with that. You can manually change profiles without having to pair them with a key etc.

Do you have any dots on the left of the power/regen bar? This indicates reduced regen capability due to a cold or full battery.

Early on, I was caught out by the lack of regen at certain times, especially as I like one pedal driving, so use it a lot. I took a while to get used to checking for the dots before relying on regen first thing.

Battery usage during short journeys, in this colder weather, will be higher. If you were to sign up to TeslaFi, you would see that the poor efficiency really is significant in these situations. Traditional engines are exactly the same, it's just people are more used to it, and it's probably less pronounced.

The battery will drop whilst the car is stopped, especially if you have sentry enabled. If you turn sentry off, the car should go to sleep and the drain will reduce significantly.

 

[NorfolkMustard]

Hold mode doesn't mean the car suddenly comes to a stop.
Drive along at 10mph and put the car into neutral, then you'll experience NO regen. It's not what you've felt so far, I can guarantee.

Use % rather than miles for range. Miles is just an estimate. In cold weather you'll use more energy.

Please stop reporting every little thing you experience as a delivery defect. Read the manual and look around the forums and FB groups and you'll find the answers to your questions without clogging up the service system.

Similarly, you need to read a message you’re replying to rather than skimming over it. The OP clearly says they know what regen and “hold” feels like as it was working when it came off the transporter but not working some time after.

 

[MrBadger]

As a new owner of the car I was simply reaching out to see if there was something I was missing in regards to getting the regen braking to work effectively as it currently isn't despite all the settings being correct and also to baseline my expectations about battery drain from fellow owners...but message received.

Don't worry. Many will be pleased to offer advice and help.

Can you be sure that regen mode is in standard not low? There are a few oddities in user profile settings not sticking so it won't be the first time that user profiles have reverted to a different setting.

When stopped fully in hold mode, do you see a

iirc top right of the screen? Final stop on hold mode is normally accompanied by a reassuring feint mechanical clunk from the dashboard area. If you don't see this when completely stopped and you are definitely on hold mode, raise a service issue.

Do you get any regen or is it only when you are coming to a complete standstill that you feel that it is lacking? It is easy to check regen by looking at the green line under the current speed then lifting off when travelling at reasonable speeds. The green line should move left of centre to indicate that battery power is being harvested. If you do not see this, then I would raise a service request.

As mentioned earlier, the car will gently roll to a stop rather than sharply braking in final few meters of stopping. How gently this happens can be affected by many things, but importantly, may change from software version to software version. Some recent reports that regen braking has changed recently. This may explain the reason why you feel the car is behaving different to your test drive.

Battery range. Short trips have a disproportionate energy usage vs a longer trip. Some people call this the 'departure tax'. There is often a certain amount energy that the car consumes even if it goes a very short distance. It varies widely but seems to be more greatly influenced by temperature - its probably down to things controlled by the user such as use of heater/AC but some outside users control such as battery conditioning. So a 10 x 5 mile trips will use up significantly more energy than a single 50 mile trip. If you sit in the car and heater needs to warm the cabin, its likely to use a lot of power. And thats going to mostly occur in first few miles.

Sentry - if you use sentry mode, the car will have a very high energy use even just sitting idle. It is reported that, if in sentry the car consumes around 300W of power, or 0.3kWh of energy per hour. That equates to approx 1% of battery every couple of hours or so on a LR battery model, more for the standard range battery. So 1% battery used every 2-3 hours for the car just sat idle doing nothing apart from watching the world go by.

There are also other reasons why the battery may seem to suddenly deplete, but it may also suddenly increase too. Calculating energy in the battery is not an exact science, so the car is constantly having to guess how much energy it thinks is left in the battery. Sometimes these can change wildly especially if there is a temperature change - a bit like parking an ICE vehicle on a hill - if you park one way it may give you a completely different reading on the fuel gauge than if you parked facing the other way. Other factors may be at play and these may not remain constant.

 

[LukeUK]

As an example, this morning's commute. Short journey, stop-start in traffic, heating on, cold battery. <50% efficiency, 472 wh/mile.

 

[rotor2k]

The profile system has been really buggy for me, in particular the seat position, so it wouldn’t surprise me there was also a bug relating to settings. As mentioned above try changing your husband’s profile and also creating a third profile. Also, the weather is cooling down a lot, especially up north, is there any chance it’s just that? In cold weather it does take ages to warm up before regen starts working, so if there are a bunch of dots on the left of the power/regen line, then you have limited or no regen. There is also the nuclear option which is a factory reset where you will need to setup everything from scratch, but at least it will clear out any bugs in how the configuration is stored.

 

[webbah]

Firstly, I'm a bit surprised with the initial responses you received here. We were all new once and 99% of the time this forum is full of very helpful and knowledgeable people. YES, you should read the manual which is easily accessible from the screen. However, let's take a step back and try out a few things.

Firstly, has the car been sitting outside and is it very cold out? Regen is reduced in cold temps until the car warms up which can take some time as we get into winter weather. You'll typically see "dots" appear instead of solid lines where the acceleration and regen meters are near your speed on the dash indicating that this is reduced. If it is really reduced you would typically see a message as well stating this though.

If you've confirmed that your settings are ok it might also be worth just trying to reboot the car. There are several ways to do this, but in your case I would use the following:

1) Make sure you are parked in a safe location and hold your foot on the brake while pressing both steering wheel buttons and holding them.

2) Do not release the brake or the buttons until you see the white "T" logo appear on the console screen. This might take a minute or so while the system reboots.

3) Give the car time to finish booting up. I typically wait until the car has LTE signal again to confirm all systems are good to go.

Now give it another test and see if things are better assuming that temperature is not the issue.

 

[WarpedOne]

Wow I must say i'm disappointed and confused. I used this forum extensively before the arrival of our Tesla delivery and everyone here has been nothing but extremely helpful - sharing their experiences and solutions openly.

I'm very aware that this is not customer support hence logging the issues in app to begin with. However according to the first reply I shouldn't have logged it with the app because that's wasting service slots...but then the next reply I receive is that I shouldn't post it here and instead contact support via the app - so it seems as if there's no pleasing anyone.

As a new owner of the car I was simply reaching out to see if there was something I was missing in regards to getting the regen braking to work effectively as it currently isn't despite all the settings being correct and also to baseline my expectations about battery drain from fellow owners...but message received.

Yes, there is no pleasing everyone.

It may very well be just some misconception about how the car works but then again there may also be some problem with your car. We here cannot check it and can only assume it is (not). Tesla service will check your car remotely before they give you their first response. It may be a simple suggestion to reset the car/computer, update FW and/or wait few more days. But it will be a more informed response than we can give.

About overwhelming the service ... well, yes, that is the problem but it is on Tesla to make it capable of all the load. You payed for the car, the price included all the service and support you may need. This includes "stupid questions".

 

[Sparkeur]

Sorry, I can't help with this question but I don't see anything different in the OP's question to many others that have been asked. We can all eventually find answers by looking through manuals or Googling but when you're a member of a community (states that at the very top of the page by the way), it's often easier to politely ask others who may know.