The more you use the car and get a feel for its range, the more comfortable you will get running the battery close to empty. I went from planning for a 30-40% cushion everywhere I went to rolling into a Supercharger at 3% with no anxiety at all.
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range anxiety
- Thread starter railroader1988
- Start date
Yup, I routinely come back home with less than 10% remaining these days. Zero range anxiety.
boulder.dude
Member
I’m to worried about a mid-trip weather change (rain, headwind) or closure/detour impacting me to cut it that close.
Mike_TV
Active Member
Good point. Taking a road trip in the dead of winter is different than summertime due to the reduced range.
I drove over to Twin Falls this past weekend and remembered to test it out to see if the % was back on either of the zoomed in views, but it was still broken. So I checked my software version in my car. It's 2022.8.10.1 So apparently not new enough to have that unbroken yet.
boulder.dude
Member
Had my MYLR for 6 months. Around home I have very little range anxiety but on a trip I find myself constantly watching the battery percentage. I plan my trips and know where my stops will be but it seems that a certain amount of range anxiety always occurs. I guess it is because EV chargers are not as plentiful as gas stations. For those of you who have owned for a few years, how long has it taken for range anxiety to be a non-issue?
The way I see it, you'll have to make some sacrifices for some luxuries.
When FSD arrives, you likely won't be as concerned if the car decides it needs a charge. It might take longer, but you'll enjoy the ride. And finally, we'll all be able to recline and make use of those glorious glass roofs
OxBrew
Active Member
Took me exactly one 300 mile trip across the state. Easy, car just routes you to the next super charger, stop and charge for a bit, then go. I usually add maybe 5-10% extra charge than the car thinks it needs, and I'm usually wrong, and the car was right.
In bad weather or strong wind, add a bit more.
You'll figure it out in a couple trips. Been driving almost 30,000 miles in just under 2 years, 35% of that was long road trips. No problems with range ever.
The more I go on long trip the more I realise that I DONT have to charge to 100% before leaving home. And I'm in Australia where the SC network is far less developed than in the US
Being a new MY owner (and having range anxiety myself) I have read this thread thoroughly and it's full of useful information (thanks!).
I have searched for information on what actually happens if I DO run out of charge so I thought that this might be a good place to ask since with anxiety it can be helpful to know happens in the worst case. Please redirect me if there's another thread with the information.
My questions are.. 1) Does the car drive beyond 0 miles? and, if so, how far have people gone? 2) Does the car warn you that it's about to stop? 3) Does the power just stop? or slowly fade away (ie. will I be able to safely get to the side of a highway?).
TIA
I have searched for information on what actually happens if I DO run out of charge so I thought that this might be a good place to ask since with anxiety it can be helpful to know happens in the worst case. Please redirect me if there's another thread with the information.
My questions are.. 1) Does the car drive beyond 0 miles? and, if so, how far have people gone? 2) Does the car warn you that it's about to stop? 3) Does the power just stop? or slowly fade away (ie. will I be able to safely get to the side of a highway?).
TIA
There are Youtube videos that show what happens when you drive a Tesla vehicle beyond the 0. In general you can drive (at limited speed) for another 10 or so miles. You don't want to find yourself in this situation. The Tesla vehicle will display a series of warnings to plug in and charge. After the final warning is given the vehicle will shut down with little additional warning.
With so many ways to charge (Supercharger Network, DC Fast Charge Stations, Destination Chargers and Public Level 2 charging stations) there is no reason to ever run the battery down to 0%. Best practice would be to charge daily at home or at work up to 80%, 90% when leaving on a trip. Consider 20% to 90% battery state of charge for most driving. You can definitely drive below 20%, find your own comfort level, i.e. 10% ~ 25 miles of driving.
Many prefer to display the battery % state of charge (SOC) instead of the estimate range. (Tap the displayed number next to the battery icon on the Tesla screen or in the Tesla app to change from estimated range to %SOC). The estimated range displayed next to the battery icon assumes EPA driving efficiency (Wh/mile) that may be lower than your consumption when driving considering elevation changes, wind, rain/snow and of course your speed. When you enter a destination into the Navigation system at the start of a trip the Tesla Navigation system will consider the above conditions and your recent driving history when estimating your remaining battery SOC upon arrival at the destination or next waypoint and charging stops.
Don't get in the habit of counting on the last 5% of SOC. Over time the battery management system (BMS) can lose its calibration and you may find yourself several miles away from the nearest charger when the Tesla vehicle stops. With a new Tesla vehicle the BMS needs to collect data on the battery over a wide range of state of charge, over several weeks. The BMS will also measure the open cell voltage (OCV) of the cells within the battery when the Tesla vehicle is parked, not in Standby mode but instead is in Sleep mode. Sentry mode and Smart Summon will prevent the Tesla vehicle from entering Sleep mode. It is a good idea to leave Sentry mode off when parked at your home (especially if you park inside a home garage) as Sentry mode will cause the Tesla vehicle to remain in Standby mode and consume 6 to 7% of the battery charge over 24 hours.
The BMS can also perform cell balancing. Cell balancing can be performed after charging the battery up to or close to 100%. Regular (weekly) cell balancing is recommended for Tesla vehicles that use a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery chemistry. In the US, to date, only the Standard Range Plus Tesla Model 3 uses the LFP type battery. Unless your Tesla vehicle has an LFP battery you do not need to regularly charge the battery to 100%. Regularly charging the Tesla lithium - nickel cobalt aluminum (NCA) type battery currently used in the US built Tesla Model Y vehicles to 100% is not recommended. Charging above 90% is rarely needed for a trip. Charging above 95% up to 100% can add significant time to the charging session.
If you ever find yourself with range anxiety while on a road trip, not sure if you will be able to reach home or the closest charging station, remember to slow down. At speeds above 50 MPH reducing your speed by 5 MPH will result in ~8% additional range. Reducing your speed by 10 MPH will net almost ~20% additional range. The sooner you adjust (lower) your speed the more you will be able to extend your effective driving range. Turning off the Climate Control can also reduce battery consumption but don't keep the Climate Control turned off if the windows start to fog up.
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@jcanoe covered everything you asked, except what to do if you do actually run out..... In that instance, you'd need to call Roadside Assistance (or AAA or whatever road service you might have) and have them tow you to the nearest (Super)charger. They can then drop you and hopefully your car can get charged up. I have read about road service companies starting to offer portable charging on the road - I believe AAA offers it in some limited locations. That's the equivalent of them bringing you gas for your ICE car - just enough energy to get tp the nearest charger. I think that service will expand. I saw someone on one of the Facebook Tesla groups that was trying to get that going in the NYC area.
The car will do everything possible to avoid this scenario, with plenty of warnings to stop and charge, slow down, etc. You can also turn off HVAC to eke out a few more miles. But road speed is the biggest determinant, IME. It might suck to have to drive, say, 55 on the highway for a bit, but you can easily gain back a percent or two vs driving at 75.
The car will do everything possible to avoid this scenario, with plenty of warnings to stop and charge, slow down, etc. You can also turn off HVAC to eke out a few more miles. But road speed is the biggest determinant, IME. It might suck to have to drive, say, 55 on the highway for a bit, but you can easily gain back a percent or two vs driving at 75.
Thanks jcanoe and DanDi58! Just answers I was looking for, I'll take a look on YouTube when I get a chance. I'm not planning on running 'empty' anytime soon but it's nice to know what to expect. If we're going to play the 'worse case scenario' game.. the car is basically 'fly by wire', right? Can I assume that all the normal (previously mechanical) things that I take for granted (coming from an ICE world) would still work? Like steering for example (!). Also, what happens to regen.? As the power fails does the regen. still try to get back energy by slowing the vehicle down quickly or will the vehicle coast slowly to the kerb?
You would lose all power in the event the Tesla vehicle shuts down, including the electric power steering. Regenerative braking generates power but not enough to matter once your battery state of charge is below 0% and the vehicle is shutting down. You could start off at the top of a mountain, say Mt. Washington and regenerative braking would be able to add to the battery state of charge and also add range to the Tesla vehicle. Regenerative braking will cause the vehicle to slow down, will not coast. To coast you would need to set the drive selector to Neutral (press halfway up when in Drive.) Again, this is an edge case that in no way would make a difference when driving when the battery is depleted.
sleepydoc
Well-Known Member
But what's the difference between doing that and diving down a hill (assuming the car is on so the system can manage the voltage?)
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