New Model 3 RWD. Dealer to home 4 miles. Battery dropped from 71% to 65%. ??

[twalp]

I should add that the car was "calibrating" at the dealer, and the guy there said it can take 20 minutes, so maybe this was a factor. Still I want to check with the crowd.

 

[DuncanM]

I should add that the car was "calibrating" at the dealer, and the guy there said it can take 20 minutes, so maybe this was a factor. Still I want to check with the crowd.

Charge it to 100% and then change the display to miles; it should show ~272 miles with the 18in aerowheels.

I'm not sure how the BMS can calibrate unless it's charged to 100%

 

[Kimmi]

My guess is the dealer was talking about the cameras calibrating?

 

[davewill]

It does sound a bit odd, but the battery level display is always an estimate by the Battery Management System (BMS). It's possible that after driving that far, it revised the estimate down. It also possible you were really romping on the accelerator, driving uphill, or doing something else that raised your consumption rate.

Assuming the behavior settles in, I wouldn't worry at all.

 

[RayK]

I should add that the car was "calibrating" at the dealer, and the guy there said it can take 20 minutes, so maybe this was a factor. Still I want to check with the crowd.

To give us an idea of your efficiency rate, please post the Avg. Energy watt/hours per mile (Wh/mi) Since Last Charge figure from your odometer panel. And while you're at it, take one of the Trip odometers and rename it something like "Lifetime, DO NOT reset" so you can keep track of your overall average driving efficiency.

 

[twalp]

To give us an idea of your efficiency rate, please post the Avg. Energy watt/hours per mile (Wh/mi) Since Last Charge figure from your odometer panel. And while you're at it, take one of the Trip odometers and rename it something like "Lifetime, DO NOT reset" so you can keep track of your overall average driving efficiency.

Thank you @RayK. I will pursue your suggestions.

 

[twalp]

Thank you @davewill for the tip. I wish I had seen your reply earlier.

I should add that after driving the car in Dallas traffic (where speed limits are strictly ignored) I developed a case of range anxiety because of how much juice the car used while "just running errands" in North Dallas. No long drives, no freeway driving, just 3 to 6 mile surface street driving (although in hindsight I think keeping up with traffic is the culprit). So it was with great trepidation that I embarked on a 500 mile drive to West Texas. I stopped at many of the Supercharger sites along the way, never letting the charge level drop below 40%. Pure paranoia and caution. When I faced a 110 mile segment and then a 80 mile segment, of barren Permian desert, I departed early to avoid traffic, gradually climbed to a target speed of 65mph, and then used TACC to maintain that speed. The reward was some gained confidence because at the end of the 110 mile segment the charge level was around 65% and after the 80 mile segment it was 78%. I have no idea if these results are good or bad, but at least I made it. But let's not talk about how many instances of phantom braking occurred.

 

[DuncanM]

Thank you @davewill for the tip. I wish I had seen your reply earlier.

I should add that after driving the car in Dallas traffic (where speed limits are strictly ignored) I developed a case of range anxiety because of how much juice the car used while "just running errands" in North Dallas. No long drives, no freeway driving, just 3 to 6 mile surface street driving (although in hindsight I think keeping up with traffic is the culprit). So it was with great trepidation that I embarked on a 500 mile drive to West Texas. I stopped at many of the Supercharger sites along the way, never letting the charge level drop below 40%. Pure paranoia and caution. When I faced a 110 mile segment and then a 80 mile segment, of barren Permian desert, I departed early to avoid traffic, gradually climbed to a target speed of 65mph, and then used TACC to maintain that speed. The reward was some gained confidence because at the end of the 110 mile segment the charge level was around 65% and after the 80 mile segment it was 78%. I have no idea if these results are good or bad, but at least I made it. But let's not talk about how many instances of phantom braking occurred.

I have tested my M3 RWD in NM on state Hwys and on the I-10.

On fairly level state Hwys at ~60-65 mph, the car's indicated range in miles will match the real range driven. At ~82 mph the car will consume about 33% SOC per 62 miles driven. This means that even at 80mph I can confidently drive for two hours and have an indicated SOC of ~15% upon arrival at a charging station. The car has a ~5% buffer below 0 indicated SOC. Arriving with a charger at 40% SOC is wasteful of time as the car charges much faster at ~10% SOC, for example.

Having a CCS1 to Tesla Adapter in the car at all times helps alleviate range anxiety as it increases the number of potential charging stations. This same is true for having a J1772 to Tesla adapter and a TMC in the car at all times, as there are many RV campgrounds that will allow charging in an emergency.

Scout out your planned route using Plugshare and set it to display Tesla SC/CCS1/J1772 and NEMA 14-50 outlets. This will give you a good feel forTesla/CCS1 DCFCs enroute and emergency options via J1772 and NEMA 14-50 outlets. Read the comments on Plugshare to get a feel for charger availability.

AP is safer than ACC alone, IMHO.

You can add Plugshare (and A better Route Planner) to the car's web browser favourites list.