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[hcsharp]

Thirstyturtle, I had a similar experience when I bought my Roadster. I bought it in SoCal and drove it NorCal about 400miles. It took me 16 hours, and the last charge I was so tired I figured I could make it no problem. I got home with about 30miles left, no charger at home. Work was only about 8 miles away so I wasn't worried. Get to work and the chargers were torn out as they were putting in more. I drove it over to the nearest Tesla show room and my display showed five miles left.

Now I take the extra time to ensure I won't have to worry.

When your car was new you drove until it displayed 5 mi remaining in Range mode and never got the "unknown miles remaining" display? I seem to remember the same with mine. I specifically remember taking a long trip in range mode that ended with 7 ideal mi remaining and never got the useless "unknown... " message. Was there a software update that changed this?

 

[ChadS]

Yes, this did change with a software update. Scared the heck out of me the first time I hit it after the update (about 2 miles from home). That was maybe 2 years ago? Maybe more than that.

 

[jbadger]

When your car was new you drove until it displayed 5 mi remaining in Range mode and never got the "unknown miles remaining" display? I seem to remember the same with mine. I specifically remember taking a long trip in range mode that ended with 7 ideal mi remaining and never got the useless "unknown... " message. Was there a software update that changed this?

I bought my roadster only three months ago, and no I didn't receive that error message.

 

[Thirstyturtle]

> put it in neutral and tow mode (redundant but better safe than sorrow), pulled it up no problem, [Thirstyturtle]

No there is NO redundancy: Neutral = Tow Mode NOT !! Rear wheels are LOCKED unless TOW MODE is specifically selected on the screen (or some other way). Just to clarify the record.

I don't mean to be picky, but you're actually wrong...if we make the assumption that the manual is correct.

From the manual:
"Caution: The transmission lock will only retract when the vehicle is in Tow Mode or when the electrical systems are functional, the key is in the ON position and the Neutral gear is engaged."
and
"You can pull the vehicle by selecting Neutral or by using the Touch Screen to activate Tow Mode. For details, see Vehicle recovery, page 9-13."

So if the battery was actually 100% DEAD DEAD DEAD and it couldn't even electrically put itself into neutral, then the "override" is to use the small screen to put it in tow mode. Otherwise, if the electrical systems are properly functioning, placing the vehicle in "Neutral" serves the same purpose.

So just to reiterate, Tow Mode does in fact = Neutral and vice versa.

- - - Updated - - -

Next time you think you're pushing things, slow down. Do it right at the start of the trip. It's a lot better to slow down 5-10 mph at the beginning. You can always speed up later if you have extra range, but it is harder to do the reverse!

I wish I had more appreciation for this the other night. After driving it about 130 miles today, mostly at 45-50 mph I see that my Wh/mile is around 225 vs. 280 the other night on the interstate. If I had slowed down and done 55mph the whole way I would absolutely have made it. I know now though!

Thanks for the response. I personally almost NEVER look at Estimated Miles (others love it). It is based on your last 40 miles so unless you know what is ahead I find it useless. I monitor Ideal Miles, actual miles, wh/mile, and periodically the chart of actual useage (5 miles, 10 miles, etc.). I also don't think you lost many miles between when your Dad charged and you left. As someone pointed out, if in doubt, start out slow. 60mph versus 70mph is about 7-8% better efficiency. I frequently can average less than 1 Ideal Mile per Actual Mile at 60 mph on round-trip drives.

Hope you enjoy the Roadster

I also went into "no man's land". I was about 8 miles from home and it was somewhat uphill. Nearly instant panic.

Now that I'm starting to understand all the different gauges and charts and graphs on the driving screen I really am putting less stock in the estimated mileage. Today I primarily looked at my Wh/mile compared to the 280ish it was the other night and also the ideal mileage and using that mostly to see how I'm doing. Also, I reset my tripometer this morning when I got in the car and that really helped as a baseline for how I was doing. For instance this morning I had 165 miles estimated and after driving 130 miles for work today I now have 45 estimated miles left and I had 220 Wh/mile so I know that @ 220 Wh/mile I can exceed the estimated miles.

But again, all of these calculations are based almost entirely on how you've driven the last 5, 15, 20, or 40 miles which really is not very much data at all.

I have an UltraGauge in my Golf TDI with which I can monitor everything related to fuel consumption extremely precisely and I trust the "miles to empty" on that A LOT. When it says I've used 13.5 gallons of fuel since my last fuel up I know that when I fill it up I'm going to get between 13.4 gallons and 13.6 gallons or else the pump is way out of whack. And that's because the averages are all based off of my inputted values for THOUSANDS of miles driven, not 40 or less. I really wish there was a more accurate and precise way of getting estimates out of the roadster...