New owner buying a used MS questions

[GeorgeSymonds]

There are a few rumours that the software they are trickling out at the moment is speeding things up so your car may actually improve soon (and it might not but shouldn't get any worse).

And anticipating the next question, you can't force a software update, you have to wait until they send it to you, but if you can connect the car to wifi at home then it's likely to happen more quickly than if you don't

 

[NickSP11]

Btw, from 50% onwards, even after a 20mile drive preconditioning to the supercharger, is it normal it only charges at 40kw, then slows down constantly?

It’s usually 50ish at my nearest supercharger, but I’ve seen it at 80kW and can be as low as 30 in cold weather. I was pleasantly surprised to get 90+ at Warwick/M40, not done enough charges yet to know if this variation is normal

 

[Gaz_]

There are a few rumours that the software they are trickling out at the moment is speeding things up so your car may actually improve soon (and it might not but shouldn't get any worse).

@GeorgeSymonds Do you have any published sources on this?

 

[Akikiki]

I don't recall reading that it will be faster, but the "setting" changes alter the behavior for the better. The changes in this version separates or reduces or eliminates the safety issues many people claim that they can no do without. If you follow and believe the accuracy of Fred on Electrek.co, then here's a source for you. I am lifting from his article so you can see he's quoting Tesla.

"In the email obtained by Electrek, Tesla confirmed that it recently pushed a software update that helped retain most of the functionalities that were the main concerns for NHTSA.

Tesla wrote:

If your vehicle is operating software release 2020.48.12 or newer and the eMMC malfunctions, then the rearview backup camera will remain available, the exterior turn signal lighting will remain functional, and the windshield defogging and defrosting controls will automatically default to a preset cabin temperature to ensure windshield visibility. If your vehicle is operating software older than 2020.48.12 and the eMMC malfunctions, then you may lose these functionalities. Please ensure that your vehicle is operating software release 2020.48.12 or a newer release. To find your current software release, complete an update or review a list of possible malfunctions, please visit our Support page. If the touchscreen is unavailable, then please perform a shoulder check and use your mirrors to back up safely."

 

[GeorgeSymonds]

@GeorgeSymonds Do you have any published sources on this?

only personal reports on the owners group, some of which are backed up with Teslafi graphs. I say it’s rumours because Tesla seemed to stop the particular release and quite a few owners of older cars haven’t received that update or one since. The hope is they’ve relaxed the throttling, the concern is they cocked up and used the wrong charge profile.

 

[MoLeViP]

I must admit, so far Supercharging is painfully slow. Ive done quite a few miles and stopped at a few over the past few days because of work, and best i get now is 50kw. Eachtime i had set destination as supercharger so there was the preconditioning message and each time battery was around 35%-40% when starting the charge. Charge starts at 48-50kw then slowly drops to 20kw once i hit that 80% mark. Tbh the charger at Lidl is quicker from 75%-90%
Btw i am now on 2020.48.37

 

[Akikiki]

Instead of my trying to explain what I have heard explained, better I just give you this link. Guide

 

[pgkevet]

You've got a 6-7yr old car with an 8yr battery warranty and likely a history of lots of fast DC charging which is known to be more degrading to battery life. Tesla just wants to get your car over the 8yr line.
If Tesla was really baout sustainability instead of glib talk and publicity then they'd be buying up all the older Teslas, stripping them down to refurb and upgrade all the parts and selling them again....but the economics of doing that compared to an assembly line build from new parts wouldn't be as profitable.
Apparently the average lifespan of a petrol car is 12yrs. I doubt many of the current battery packs will go that long or be justified in the cost of a replacement. Perhaps in the future with the million-mile packs

 

[GeorgeSymonds]

Instead of my trying to explain what I have heard explained, better I just give you this link. Guide

I'm puzzled, your first post was about release notes which talked primarily about the MCU, the second post points to a website that talks about supercharging in general. Neither seems to answer the question on batterygate and chargegate. What topic are you trying to help explain?

Software release SW: 2020.48.26 was said to unwind the restrictions after finding the post again (where the owners group were taking credit for making Tesla revert which doesn't seem to have happened, they like to claim success on everything which is why I never contribute to them, but moving on.. /mini rant off) .

I've not followed all the in's and out's of this since as it doesn't impact me, but sadly based on your software release it looks like you may not be one of those who benefitted. Never say never and when you get a 2021 software release things may improve but I would resign yourself to what you have. Far too many people live day to day in anticipation of whats to come when it comes to Tesla, ask anybody who bought FSD back in 2017!

Just on software releases, if its not self explanatory the naming convention is year.week.build ie 2020.48.26 would be from 2020 and the 48th week and be the 26th build that week (I imagine not every build actually gets pushed out to owners).

 

[Big Dunc]

Welcome to the OP. We bought a similar age Model S (with similar mileage) in December. The initial ownership experience was similar to yours with regard to claiming car ownership etc. We normally charge to 80% and it gives a range of 190 miles, so your 225 miles for 100% would strike me as being about right. One thing I would add is to consider the CCS or V3 charge upgrade. The first time I attempted to use a supercharger I was caught out as it was CCS only so I couldn't charge. Luckily it was at a service centre and they made a Type 2 charger available for me to use. We now have the CCS upgrade but the only time I have supercharged since was to check it worked!!

 

[HenryT]

Welcome to the OP. We bought a similar age Model S (with similar mileage) in December. The initial ownership experience was similar to yours with regard to claiming car ownership etc. We normally charge to 80% and it gives a range of 190 miles, so your 225 miles for 100% would strike me as being about right. One thing I would add is to consider the CCS or V3 charge upgrade. The first time I attempted to use a supercharger I was caught out as it was CCS only so I couldn't charge. Luckily it was at a service centre and they made a Type 2 charger available for me to use. We now have the CCS upgrade but the only time I have supercharged since was to check it worked!!

I'd agree on the value of the CSS conversion and mentioned it earlier in this thread. I guess one salvation for the OP is that the map in his car will only show superchargers he can use anyway. The V3 sites only show up if your car is capable of using them.

One other point on the CSS option - charging via the CSS adapter is not any faster than the type 2 option (where both are offered at a supercharger), as the charge speed is limited by the car, not the charge point.

 

[Big Dunc]

When I had my conversion done, I asked what they actually did to the car as they could have just given me the adapter?

They replied that they altered the car so that it could charge faster when using CCS rather than type 2. I am not sure whether that was a hardware or software mod, but my impression was that give the choice, use the CCS.

 

[HenryT]

When I had my conversion done, I asked what they actually did to the car as they could have just given me the adapter?

They replied that they altered the car so that it could charge faster when using CCS rather than type 2. I am not sure whether that was a hardware or software mod, but my impression was that give the choice, use the CCS.

Interesting. When mine was done they told me that at the superchargers it would make no difference as the car was the limiting factor. The point was made though that elsewhere the CSS would likely be a quicker option, but I think that was a reference to the rate offered by the type of charger.

 

[GeorgeSymonds]

The CCS will help on other charge points as, bluntly, you can't rapid charge a MS without either the Chademo adaptor or the CCS conversion except on the V2 superchargers

One possible reason why the OP had slow charging is if he was on the dreaded V2 charger paid and somebody was charging next to him where the charge rate is split and worst case is shared 50/50. That could easily limit the charge rate to a maximum 65kw, something.

V2 chargers (any charger you can use, but to spot from a distance they're the ones with 2 cables inside the hoop) are paired labelled 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B etc and essentially they share a supply of between 120-150kw or so depending on the exact config of the location. You first try not to share a pair with anybody else (some refer to it as the same as urinal etiquette), but if you do then that capacity is split between the 2 cars. As cars fill up the charge rate naturally drops and so its not unusual to have one car at say 80kw and the second, because it naturally slowed down have the 40-50kw. But that first car could have taken 120kw if it had not been sharing. There's a general guide to charging here that may also be useful which touches on it a bit more but that the essence. Charging a Tesla

 

[NickSP11]

Welcome to the OP. We bought a similar age Model S (with similar mileage) in December. The initial ownership experience was similar to yours with regard to claiming car ownership etc. We normally charge to 80% and it gives a range of 190 miles, so your 225 miles for 100% would strike me as being about right. One thing I would add is to consider the CCS or V3 charge upgrade. The first time I attempted to use a supercharger I was caught out as it was CCS only so I couldn't charge. Luckily it was at a service centre and they made a Type 2 charger available for me to use. We now have the CCS upgrade but the only time I have supercharged since was to check it worked!!

I think I read somewhere that free supercharging doesn’t apply if using CCS. Can anyone confirm this?

 

[GeorgeSymonds]

I think I read somewhere that free supercharging doesn’t apply if using CCS. Can anyone confirm this?

Makes no difference. If you have free, its free on all superchargers

 

[Akikiki]

I'm puzzled, your first post was about release notes which talked primarily about the MCU, the second post points to a website that talks about supercharging in general. Neither seems to answer the question on batterygate and chargegate. What topic are you trying to help explain?

Software release SW: 2020.48.26 was said to unwind the restrictions after finding the post again (where the owners group were taking credit for making Tesla revert which doesn't seem to have happened, they like to claim success on everything which is why I never contribute to them, but moving on.. /mini rant off) .

I've not followed all the in's and out's of this since as it doesn't impact me, but sadly based on your software release it looks like you may not be one of those who benefitted. Never say never and when you get a 2021 software release things may improve but I would resign yourself to what you have. Far too many people live day to day in anticipation of whats to come when it comes to Tesla, ask anybody who bought FSD back in 2017!

Just on software releases, if its not self explanatory the naming convention is year.week.build ie 2020.48.26 would be from 2020 and the 48th week and be the 26th build that week (I imagine not every build actually gets pushed out to owners).

@GeorgeSymonds, You're puzzled? I am far more puzzled than you. I think you confused me with someone else's post. I am not going to spend much effort to unwind what you thought with your post above. My first in this thread was not about release notes or any other. And my pointer to info about Supercharging was directed to answer @MoLeViP's questions about Supercharging so he might glean out of it whatever he needed about Supercharging behavior.

 

[Big Dunc]

I think I read somewhere that free supercharging doesn’t apply if using CCS. Can anyone confirm this?

It was free on the one occasion I used it, just to check it worked.

The newer cars that have CCS as standard don't have free supercharging so that could be causing a bit of confusion.

 

[NickSP11]

I think I read somewhere that free supercharging doesn’t apply if using CCS. Can anyone confirm this?

It was free on the one occasion I used it, just to check it worked.

The newer cars that have CCS as standard don't have free supercharging so that could be causing a bit of confusion.

Thank you both, that’s good to hear.
I thought I’d read somewhere that CCS or V3 charging had been given a different name and didn’t count as supercharging, obviously not the case.

 

[Big Dunc]

You can get CCS or V3 chargers which are third party, i.e. not Tesla. They are still fast, but not free. In fact, quite pricey. But fast if you happen to need some charge.