New Model 3 RWD break-in period

[theocguy]

Hi all,

Tesla will be our first EV car and we can’t wait for the delivery.

For all the new ICE we have, I always drove slow and not step on brake or gas panel or not to drive it for long distance during the first 500-1000 miles break-in period.

Do EV cars, especially to Tesla, have break-in period?

For example, should I charge the battery at home for the first 500-1000 miles before I start using super chargers or DCFC?

Or not to have a long road trip (200 miles +) when it is brand new?

 

[Shelburne]

I've owned my M3 for exactly two years. We picked it up at the nearest Service Center - 110 miles away - and drove it home at 75-80 mph. I've never heard of any sort of break in period with a Tesla, and I read the manual twice before picking up the car. Also when you pick up your new Tesla it will probably already be charged to about 80%, using one of the superchargers at the SC, so using a super charger shouldn't be an issue. I've found my M3 to be one of the most wiry-free cars I've ever owned. Enjoy yours!

 

[JoshFalken]

Tesla isn’t like an internal combustion engine. Very few moving parts. From the day I got mine, I’ve driven it the same. When I want to floor it, I floor it. Very little required maintenance too.

Read the manual though. I read it multiple times before buying and while waiting. I don’t recall anything about a required break in period.

 

[TomT]

No break-in period required or even recommended.

 

[UncertainTimes]

Remember to use 91 octane electricity or better. 100 octane if you can find it.

 

[terranx]

I took it easy for the first couple hundred miles to let the tire sealant wear off, but otherwise basically just drove it however I want

 

[Stew-2]

My break-period was making the right hand turn out of the Tesla parking lot onto NB Hwy 99. Worked like a charm!

 

[jjrandorin]

Hi all,

Tesla will be our first EV car and we can’t wait for the delivery.

For all the new ICE we have, I always drove slow and not step on brake or gas panel or not to drive it for long distance during the first 500-1000 miles break-in period.

Do EV cars, especially to Tesla, have break-in period?

For example, should I charge the battery at home for the first 500-1000 miles before I start using super chargers or DCFC?

Or not to have a long road trip (200 miles +) when it is brand new?

Congratulations!

Nope, none of that is necessary. When I got mine in 2018, I had a similar question, since I was always a bit careful with my BMWs when I first got them to allow the engine / seals etc to "set". None of that is needed for a tesla. Just get in and go.

I will echo the "read, then read again, and perhaps read a third time" the manual though, and I will also advise you to NOT go down the "omg I gotta take CARE OF THE BATTERY!!!!!!!" rabbit hole that many people go down.

There is no need to run it down before you charge it back up, you can set the daily charge limit anywhere you want that it lets you, and since you are getting a model 3 RWD car you can set it to 100% daily if you want (and in fact tesla advises doing that at least once a week) so virtually NONE Of the gigantic "how to take care of the battery!!!!" information you read here will be applicable to you as far as settings, etc.

 

[theocguy]

Congratulations!

Nope, none of that is necessary. When I got mine in 2018, I had a similar question, since I was always a bit careful with my BMWs when I first got them to allow the engine / seals etc to "set". None of that is needed for a tesla. Just get in and go.

I will echo the "read, then read again, and perhaps read a third time" the manual though, and I will also advise you to NOT go down the "omg I gotta take CARE OF THE BATTERY!!!!!!!" rabbit hole that many people go down.

There is no need to run it down before you charge it back up, you can set the daily charge limit anywhere you want that it lets you, and since you are getting a model 3 RWD car you can set it to 100% daily if you want (and in fact tesla advises doing that at least once a week) so virtually NONE Of the gigantic "how to take care of the battery!!!!" information you read here will be applicable to you as far as settings, etc.

Thanks for your advices. I saw the 3 RWD EDD is shortened from 32 days range to 29 days, I am starting to plan to get the wall charger to be installed and clean up the garage

I don’t care about if it is the end of 2022 made or brand new 2033 made thou. I have learned a hard way for NOT to chase about the “latest and greatest” technology because it is always something newer and better in next few weeks, or even next day after I take the delivery.

Re: charging to 100% because of LFP. There is a lot of discussions and YouTube video about someone charges to 100% and then the degradation more than what it should be (the case of 7700 miles and have 2.x% range lose vs what the manual said). I will be on the safe side to charge to 80% and charge to 100% once a week. In fact, the estimate usage we would be using on 3 RWD might not even need to charge it daily.

 

[3sr+buyer]

I will be on the safe side to charge to 80% and charge to 100% once a week. In fact, the estimate usage we would be using on 3 RWD might not even need to charge it daily.

According to the battery degradation curves that @AAKEE tends to post, it is likely that 70% is the preferred charge target to minimize battery capacity loss with LFP batteries, although battery capacity loss has been reported to be significantly less with LFP batteries than NCA batteries. The "charge to 100% at least once per week" is to keep the BMS from losing the true state of charge, since LFP batteries have a voltage curve that is rather flat in the broad middle (so the BMS may eventually get off by enough that when getting to low state of charge, it may overestimate the state of charge and then jump downward when a dropping voltage reveals that the true state of charge is lower than what the BMS believed).

So there are basically two ways to charge an LFP battery with respect to concern about battery capacity loss:

1. Charge to whatever level you want (but to 100% once per week or so), assuming that battery capacity loss will not be that large.
2. Charge to 70% unless more is needed for the day, but charge to 100% once per week or so, in order to minimize battery capacity loss.

With either of the above, setting the charging to finish just before you leave is an easy measure to reduce the time spent parked at a high state of charge.

 

[stesta5074]

I always broke in my new ICE cars at Firebird raceway... Did the same with the Tesla. No negatives.

 

[Dave[N]]

As others have said, no real break-in period, but, for myself, I waited about 2 weeks for a longer trip as:
1) Shakeout any issues and have time for Mobile Service to correct - I had some issue with right side passenger door + window that took about a week for them to get around to fixing;
2) Get familiar with the car, as some things are kind of different -- Single peddle driving, where did they hide the headlight control, etc.

I also read through the manual twice before delivery, got home charging installed, and read through older posts on the forum to find lessons learned.
I may be a nervous Nelly, but I like being prepared... And it was my new toy.
I've since taken ~19K miles of multiday road trips with no problems.