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Our Model 3, 2 years later

Will you be keeping your model 3 until it dies on you?


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Regarding range loss - which I seem to substantially have - I learned something new today. I had been doing 'scheduled departures' for my typical 30 miles/day driving, and I typically only charge to 80%. Draw down during the day therefore is only a modest 20-30%. The loss of range seems to be associated with changes in firmware (see attached graphic), but I do not know if this is normal. Also for the couple of months, I have changed my driving habits a bunch. Use to be a 300 Wh/mi driver, but I am consistently doing drives in the 220-230 Wh/mi range. I was hoping to recover some range, and while I have certainly recovered some realized range, the 100% SOC extrapolated range of my battery pack is not improving. I could try the 90% charge, and maybe charge from 60 to 90% every night (or wait for every 2nd or 3rd night), but what do you all think? Tesla says my M3 isn't too far outside of normal, but I can see on Teslafi, that it is really at the bottom of range retention.
Range Loss 20200607.jpg
 
Gave my Model 3 Performance to my business partner a month ago and bought a 2020 S Performance. This wasn't an option on voting (only Y and truck). Had 21k miles on my 3 after 13 months when I gave it to him and experienced zero issues. Was addicted to performance and only traded up for the extra .9 seconds 0-60. A little larger vehicle and extra luxury didn't hurt either.
 
I have a 2020 model 3 LR dual motor. When charged to 100% shows a range of 301 miles.
Does the car calculate the range taking into account the ambient temperature?

Yes to a small degree. If you look at the battery stats in ScanMyTesla it reports SOC and SOC expected. My LR RWD is still showing 325 miles of range. In normal temps those two SOCs are usually very close. But in the winter if the battery is cold soaked it might be a few degrees apart. See Imgur for a screenshot from last winter. The SOC expected was 44.9% but the car was actually charged to 50% (49.8% actually). That showed 146 miles of range (44.9 x 3.25). If the SOC and SOC expected matched I would have shown 162 miles.
 
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We in our our S for 2019 dual motor 3 18 months ago and added a 2020 M3P last Dec.. Love them both but am curious if anyone else feels the newer M3P seats are less comfortable than the seats in a the older car. They are great for awhile but my skinny butt gets tired fairly quicly in the newer car while it was fine in the older car on a recent 14 hour drive.

My oonly big gripe is having to go to the touchscreen for the wipers and than having to push twice to get them going. At night in a sudden downpour it can be truly hazardous. Would love to see them on the steering wheel and operate at the first touch.
 
Most of my cars in the last 20 years have been BMWs; usually purchasing them used with 3 years on them. One thing that I noticed on these cars are that some malfunctions are due to aging electronics. Many BMW enthusiasts attribute age-related electrical problems to increased resistance in circuits due to micro corrosion in electrical connections, heat-related failures, or compromised wires due to harnesses flexing. I wonder if my Tesla is going to run into similar problems in ten years?
 
We in our our S for 2019 dual motor 3 18 months ago and added a 2020 M3P last Dec.. Love them both but am curious if anyone else feels the newer M3P seats are less comfortable than the seats in a the older car. They are great for awhile but my skinny butt gets tired fairly quicly in the newer car while it was fine in the older car on a recent 14 hour drive.

My oonly big gripe is having to go to the touchscreen for the wipers and than having to push twice to get them going. At night in a sudden downpour it can be truly hazardous. Would love to see them on the steering wheel and operate at the first touch.
I mentioned the model 3 seat comfort on this forum a few weeks ago. The general feeling was that the seats are very comfortable but I don't find them so. I get butt ache after an hour! My butt is skinny too so perhaps that's the problem!
 
We in our our S for 2019 dual motor 3 18 months ago and added a 2020 M3P last Dec.. Love them both but am curious if anyone else feels the newer M3P seats are less comfortable than the seats in a the older car. They are great for awhile but my skinny butt gets tired fairly quicly in the newer car while it was fine in the older car on a recent 14 hour drive.

My oonly big gripe is having to go to the touchscreen for the wipers and than having to push twice to get them going. At night in a sudden downpour it can be truly hazardous. Would love to see them on the steering wheel and operate at the first touch.
Have you used the voice activation? Hold the right button on the steering wheel, and say, “Turn Wipers to Auto” or “Turn Wipers On”. Works like a charm.

Similarly helpful for several other things you may have to go searching for on the screen. I use it to open the glovebox, turn on wipers, adjust HVAC. Isn’t perfect, but certainly helpful, especially when that sudden rain hits, or the Auto Wipers are at a level 4 when you really only need them at a 2 or 3.
 
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@DrPhil That last big drop, 10 miles in one month, is a typical example of why you're needlessly agonizing over this. That's most likely due to the software change. And it's not likely REAL.

No question there's going to be a gradual range loss, you can't cheat chemistry and physics. But I expect my car to be usable in 10 years. And the displayed estimated range changes with the software. We all know it's not what you're going to be able to drive, so why develop anxieties over it?
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So I wanted to add to Dano's thread but first time using this format so I may have messed up! My Model 3 Performance is listed above in the photo and YES we will be keeping this great Tesla for quite some time although we may be purchasing a Model Y if they get the fit and finish correct as I did not want to buy the new VIN's right after they start to produce them. After 2 years as well this Tesla is quite the envy of all our neighbors. I just added AUTOPILOT to the vehicle after taking advantage of the price reduction but I too am very disappointed in Tesla's pricing polices when they first offered the Model 3 as we purchased the with the Performance addition that later was wrapped into the normal price now. Disappointing to pay $5K more that later now has become free!

I have NOT had any issues with this vehicle since new. One slight problem at delivery, which was the worst delivery ever, our paint on the left front door around the handle looked like they damaged it during storage or delivery but Tesla made it right and now you can't see the issue ever! We do love the mobile service Technicians that come out to our home here in AZ. Amazing service and other luxury makes don't even come close to this as well. I worked for Lexus USA / Toyota USA for over 35 years before retiring and I can tell you we didn't even have this service ever.

Speaking about battery range and life, I was a little dismayed with our battery mileage at first since the performance model has the decreased battery mileage, but speaking with many mobile service technicians from Tesla they all have said the Model 3's are simply amazing since Tesla has made the vehicle with hidden gems based on when Tesla wants to unveil them via WIFI. Meaning, the battery is only a 75 kw battery but the tech's continue to tell me you are NOT using 100% of the battery now even though you may think you are and range can be adjusted by Tesla over the years so mileage will increase with different updates. They have also stated the amount of technology in the Model 3's is overwhelming so just sit back and watch what Tesla does with it over time. I have noticed that my mileage has slightly increased so now when I charge up to 100% for trips, the mileage shows me 290 miles range when months prior it was around 282 miles. I have also been following Tesla's advise to charge from 90% to 40% week over week and that will allow the battery to charge fuller and quicker. We always keep it at 90% but have only twice taken it down to 10% or less twice. Only on trips trying to use the new V3 chargers and take advantage of their quick charging capabilities. Sorry for the long post.
 
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@dano9258 for your standard 18" rims, here's a good solution. Grind down the injury. If you have a Dremel, use that, or just start with coarse emery cloth, and then finer. Once it's smooth enough, use this paint, it works wonders.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HE66OK8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Appreciate your thoughtful write-up. Did you buy the Autopilot and the FSD option back then? I think you should request they take care of the headrest under warranty, as it's not normal wear, unless you spike your hair with crushed glass.

On your battery, your reported loss ranges from 8 to 20 miles, that's a big difference for people contemplating a Tesla purchase with range anxiety. Moreover extrapolations can be deceiving, and the estimated miles that the car shows change with software versions. I'd be very curious if you could specify your software version and tell us what your display shows if you truly charge the car to 100%.

On prices, we've had a lot of discussions. Many of the price changes considered various government incentives, features that were/were not included, and in the end many in the US have conceded that the price hasn't changed as much as we thought.

If I bought a Black Standard Range Plus with FSD today, it's around $7k cheaper than what I paid, but that's with a partial premium interior and a smaller battery, mine was a Mid-Range with the Premium sound system etc. But the standard battery range now is higher. In addition we had several thousand dollars in Federal and State rebates that are no longer available. So it's hard to compare. We certainly paid something for novelty, like Model Y buyers today, but nothing like a two for one difference.
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Have to agree with you Fernand. My wife got into a little curb rash on the front passenger side tire. I ordered this same item from Amazon. I just took off the Aero cover and used a dremel to get the semi deep scratches out and then used a fine sand paper to get it as smooth as I wanted. This paint worked great and you really can't tell unless you go right up to the rim and inspect it. I highly recommend this, and I'm no professional rim repairer, and the repair looks great.
 
@DrPhil That last big drop, 10 miles in one month, is a typical example of why you're needlessly agonizing over this. That's most likely due to the software change. And it's not likely REAL.

No question there's going to be a gradual range loss, you can't cheat chemistry and physics. But I expect my car to be usable in 10 years. And the displayed estimated range changes with the software. We all know it's not what you're going to be able to drive, so why develop anxieties over it?
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Yes this is why i turned changed from miles to %charge on the display. Just looking for advice as I had never heard of 'balancing' before. Thanks!
 
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We are about to leave the safety of Warranty (48K miles so far)

I expect we will keep the car to around its 6th birthday, maybe 7th, and replace it. That's a bit early for us, we normally keep vehicles until they start to die, but we only need one long range vehicle.

Our backup local-driver car isn't going to last another 6 years, and we might give it to a grandkid anyway.

The wife wants the 500 mile Cybertruck, so things might happen earlier if we will trade in the Model 3 for the Cybertruck in a couple of years.
 
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We love our Model 3 and while it has had two minor failures, temp sensor and no FM radio, and one manufacturing error (glovebox is bent) which is waiting mobile service, we are happy with the car.

As for Tesla Customer Service, it is worse than any car company I have dealt with. After a lousy delivery experience, dealing with the unresponsive service department on two occasions and lots of issues getting my delivery paperwork from Tesla, I have tried several calls , left messages, emailed and even had a sales person try to get me a price on the 18" wheels. How hard should that be? I get no response from service or parts. Only way to reach anyone it seems is to call sales, they always answer.

And Elon and his twitter finger are not helping. Maybe if his mother gets to spend some quality time on a ventilator he will decide to get off the COVID-19 rants. Just like so many fools like to say about Bill Gates, he is no doctor. At least Bill Gates has done years of reading and discussion with the pros regarding epidemics and pandemics. What has Elon done, talked to Joe Rogin?
 
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Sorry but I'm confused. Without a long explanation, quite awhile ago I was reading some battery posts, and Tesla posters were saying to only charge to 50% or so and NOT to charge 90 to 100% daily. In other words just charge up to what you think you'll need. This might not be the correct thread to talk about this but has that recommendation changed?
 
There is a serious middle ground missing between "keep it until it dies" and "keep it until the warranty expires."
Yes - I usually keep cars 5-10 years depending on my level of satisfaction so it seemed the BEST but inaccurate response was drive it until it dies. I assume it will "die" at about 300k miles and I suspect I'll be trading up to a different model in 5+ years. (I've had it for 2 1/2 years and it's still the vehicle that excited me the most.)
 
For us, nearly at a year of ownership now on our 2020 Performance “stealth”, I couldn’t be happier- yet I ticked the box for moving on to a Y or Cybertruck. Will we do that? Possibly at some point, though to be honest I think we may end up with a Cybertruck and our existing 3 in the garage, best of both worlds. (We need something substantial in the garage for heavy towing.)
Our 3 is pure and simple the best new car we’ve ever owned, the best car we’ve ever owned, the most enjoyable car to drive that we have ever owned, and at this stage the most reliable car we’ve owned. We had one very minor trim issue from day one, nothing else, and that was fixed easily and promptly by mobile service. What an awesome experience compared to other cars we’ve bought new.
I could never go back to “the dark side”, and can’t ever imagine buying another ICE car.
P.S. We virtually only ever use % on the battery- works for us.
 
Your two-year assessment was very helpful. I agree with all of it, having had an AWD Dual Motor for less than a year now but already have 20,000 miles on it. What a great care to drive. For a time I even was an Uber/Lyft driver just to be able to drive (and meet interesting people). We have only had one defect -- a hairline crack in the aft glass roof panel, which Tesle replaced no questions asked gratis.

Every day it is a thrill to get in the car and glide out to wherever. As a former Porsche lover, recently I had the chance to look into the cockpit of a very expensive Porsche Turbo with all the leather and bells and whistles you can imagine. It was like looking into a jet fighter cockpit. By comparison, the cockpit of our Model 3 is like a glider -- simple, quiet, efficient and elegant.
 
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