New Model Y. Range questions

[reutterjm]

My wife and I just received our model Y that we ordered back in April. The car is awesome to drive I'm hoping someone can help and answer a question.

Yesterday we took it on a trip from NC to VA. When we left the car have "312 miles" and when we arrived it has "82" left. The trip was 148 actual miles. Thats 82 more miles used than what was required.

I understand there are other factors like A/C but reports I read it should affect it that much. Ive read that it could be up to 17% so on a full charge it should "use" 54 miles. That would leave 265 miles on a full charge. That being said theoretically I should have ended the trip with 112 miles. We are going to some other destinations and with the current consumption it changes our charging destinations and locations dramatically.

About the car
2021 Model Y long range
850 miles
Carbon tint all the way around even the windshield (98%) heat rejection
Induction wheels

All that being said we normally just use the car for daily driving. It's just a bit discouraging to have the long range and the first trip use so much energy not only get 72% as advertised

 

[shingles]

Congrats on the car!

How fast were you going? Was there head wind, what was the weather like, how much weight did you have in the car? How is your driving style? Are you steady on the go pedal or are you an "on off on off" driver? What was the terrain like (was it hilly?) These are all elements that will impact (and sometimes dramatically) the range. But the main ones are speed (how fast are you going), weather, and terrain.

I would recommend two things to increase enjoyment on your vehicle: 1) realize you will probably never get the rated range since that's done in a lab in ideal conditions and 2) plan your trips (if it's longer than 250 miles) using tools like A Better Route Planner, which can tie into your car and tell you where and for how long you should charge. I do recommend looking at your average wh/mi rating as that gets you better idea of how efficiently you are driving. I have a MY Performance, so my energy use is higher, but I can usually keep i below 290 wh/mi and that gets me close to rated range. You should be able to keep a LR in the 260-270 I bet, and that would be efficient.

Focus on the good things such as the driving enjoyment and the fact you don't have to go to a gas station and enjoy the ride.

 

[TomServo]

What were your wh/mi numbers for the entire trip? How many kWh did you consume? Did you use the Energy App? What were your tire pressures? What was your average speed? What were the average temps? Did you use the Aero Covers?

There are many things that impact an EV's range, you need to understand and then manage them. I took a 1800+ mile trip over the Independence Day weekend driving from southern IL to southern MD along I-64. I didn't use the Aero Covers. Here are the results of my trip.

Given my 2020 LR AWD Y has about 72 kWh of available power in the pack at my consumption rate had I charged to 100% and driven down to ZERO SOC I calculate I could have easily driven 250 miles maybe 260. That's good enough for me based on the original EPA rating of 316 (combined) miles. Or about an 81% efficiency rating.

 

[coleman567]

I have a MY Performance, so my energy use is higher, but I can usually keep i below 290 wh/mi and that gets me close to rated range. You should be able to keep a LR in the 260-270 I bet, and that would be efficient.

Christ, I have a LR and average just under 340 wh/mi here in Houston...

 

[Dennisis]

As others have mentioned, getting the range you initially expect is next to impossible but that's OK! You're stressing now but like Mick Jagger says, "you don't always get what you want... but you get what you need". Transitioning to an EV means leaving your life-long ICE lessons behind for the most part and that's a good thing.

I recommend reading through this post and the included links. model-y-lr-range-reduced.237932

Also, as with everything else in life nowadays do a search. (search box top right, select "this forum" vice "everything" for just model Y stuff") TONS of info and it really helps to spend some time absorbing it.

Don't stress!

 

[andaconda]

My wife and I just received our model Y that we ordered back in April. The car is awesome to drive I'm hoping someone can help and answer a question.

It's just a bit discouraging to have the long range and the first trip use so much energy not only get 72% as advertised

First off - switch to percentage and not miles. That helps a lot with range anxiety. Think as if the percent of battery you have is like a gas gauge. There are a lot of chargers on the main thoroughfares. When you get close to 20% (or less than a quarter of a 'tank') think about navigating to a near super charger. And the biggest factor is SPEED. I was driving 83~84 mph. but once I cut my speed to 77 mph it made a huge difference. Slow down a bit if you can. And once the car gets to know your driving habits, it can pretty closely predict how much percentage you will arrive at your destination with.

 

[vanjwilson]

Congratulations! Always glad to hear of another EV owner in North Carolina.

I'll try not to repeat the good points others have already made in their replies, but give my perspective.

Tesla seems to use the best EPA results they can get in testing as a selling point for their cars, which of course helps their brand and also helps reassure potential EV buyers that electric is a viable alternative to ICE. If you were to drive under similar good conditions as the test, with about 50% city and 50% highway driving, all the way down to 0% charge, you'd probably get around the rated range. (As an aside, Ford and Porsche actually take the lower EPA results, I guess so that they can "under promise, but over deliver".)

For what it's worth, for over 2 years my wife has driven an EV with ~150 miles of EPA range, and she also doesn't get the rated range when we take it on highway trips. Conserving energy by using less climate control, and other things like keeping your tires at the recommended pressure, help both her car and our Model Y's range, but I think the two biggest factors affecting range are: speed and elevation change.

You can search for explanations of the math--that's not my strong suit--but after a certain point, as you go faster and climb higher, energy usage increases exponentially. You can't do much about elevation gain on your route, but you can reduce your speed. For instance, going 70, instead of 75 or 80, will give you a noticeable improvement in range.

Best of luck. I hope you enjoy your car as much as we enjoy ours.

 

[Dennisis]

One other comment. You mentioned going to other destinations - there should be no reason you can't. Plan your route using the car's navigation and/or A Better Route planner (ABRP). The car will tell you exactly where to stop and charge and for how long. If you use more energy (headwind, higher speed, hills, etc..) it will tell you to stop sooner and/or charge longer or slow down - it's really painless. So don't think there are places you can't go now, you can, you just need to plan and adjust. It's much easier than you're thinking right now. But READ all the info already available on this site. You'll be ready for your next trip and will discover it's not the daunting challenge you're imagining right now I guarantee.

 

[Dennisis]

OK one other point about the elevation change thing. Yes, you will use more energy going up hill but on the plus side you GAIN energy on the way down, or at least use less going down depending on the incline. I've been up and down the Rockies in Colorado and Utah (be there again next week) and it's always a treat watching the range percentage climb back up. Regenerative braking is your friend. And learn to drive with just the accelerator and try not to touch the brake - you'll increase your range and save your brakes!

 

[Terminator857]

.... Thats 82 more miles used than what was required. ...

The biggest issue is speed. You are not going to get rated range driving at 80 mph. You will exceed if you drive at 62 mph or lower. Another factor is how often the friction brakes are used. Stay away from the car in front of you and avoid the friction brakes and you'll get better range. Are you blasting the AC? Weather, wind, hills and mountains will also affect range.

 

[ftmaybe]

It's just a bit discouraging to have the long range and the first trip use so much energy not only get 72% as advertised

It is too bad that this kind of thing keeps happening to new owners. The advertised range is actually the "city driving" range, and even that might be iffy.

Tesla should really have a more traditional looking car sticker. I have an SR Y, and mine would read "244 City, 150 Highway" .. that is how stark the difference is.

 

[Dennisis]

Forgot to add, range with the 20” wheels is 15 miles or so less from the start. EPA rating is with the 19’s.

 

[whisperingshad]

Same as ICE cars. Mileage rating is at like 65mpg, no incline or AC etc. Keeping it under 80 aka 79 helps keep under 300wh/mi. Lighter rims tires will help a little. Driving in chill mode helps

 

[vanjwilson]

OK one other point about the elevation change thing. Yes, you will use more energy going up hill but on the plus side you GAIN energy on the way down, or at least use less going down depending on the incline. I've been up and down the Rockies in Colorado and Utah (be there again next week) and it's always a treat watching the range percentage climb back up. Regenerative braking is your friend. And learn to drive with just the accelerator and try not to touch the brake - you'll increase your range and save your brakes!

This comment reminded me of something I noticed coming back from the N.C. mountains. We were staying at a condo about 3000' elevation and had charged up to 90% overnight. Driving down to just 2000', the state of charge climbed several percent and the the Tesla screen displayed the message "Regenerative breaking reduced". I haven't done controlled tests, but now when I know I'll be coming home from the mountains, I intentionally do not charge as high as can, because I know I'll get some energy back from gravity.

 

[WhiteWi]

Didn’t read all the responses but what I do in our S and 3 when traveling on the long road trip is set our cars to 75 (gold middle ground) or 80 if speed limit is 80 but never higher and let the AP do the driving. Also cars in chill mode with standard regen, AC in auto set at 73. Set battery to % and don’t worry about it too much. Life is great when you make things simple
p.s.
bigger wheels less efficiency, rain, cold, super hot, headwinds you name it. You will learn the ropes and adjust accordingly.
Oh and Congrats and welcome to the Club!

 

[avs007]

Any type of hills will kill your range, regardless if it's an EV or ICE. None of my ICE cars get their EPA economy ratings, and I attribute that to the terrain. When I use cruise, I can get the instant fuel economy reading on most all my cars to be > 40mpg on the freeway when it's flat... But when I get to even a modest hill with only a 500ft elevation gain, the instant fuel economy reading (even when on cruise) drops to < 10. I know TFL Car did a test with hills, and when they were climbing hills energy consumption in the tesla went through the roof.

And FWIW, becuase of work, I regularly go on a 300+ mile roadtrip between office locations. Most everytime, the battery % has been rock solid consistent... I noticed that on the last trip, it started raining on the way back. It's not much, but I noticed when it rains, it dropped my estimated arrival % down by 10%. (ie, I usually always arrive home at 30% SOC, but when it started raining at the last supercharger stop, my projected arrival SOC dropped to 20% during the drive, and indeed I arrived home at 21%, but I normally arrive home at 30%+. Temperature was fairly consistent with my last couple road trips, so only difference was this was the first time it rained.