Range Question I know there are a few...

[NorthEastUk]

I have bought a 2016 S85

On a charge (not including the trip portion) I get a range of 218 miles, The weather here is cold (4-6oC) and I've recently only been doing urban driving. I'm getting 90 miles a charge, its a much lower than I thought it would be, Does this sound right?

There are some similar questions but nothing as specific as above.

(As a side question how can I find out how many chargers I have in for AC charging)

Thanks

 

[Tevvy]

No it certainly does not!

I’ve a 75D and driving sensibility I get 220 miles on a run. Uber sensibly and I’m close to 250 (but this is at 55/60 mph!)

This is 100% to zero. Which I know isn’t good for the longevity of the battery but my lifestyle means I often have to push it.

 

[NorthEastUk]

Ok I purchased this from a trader not Tesla, although Tesla did confirm that there is warranty on the car. This is a little worrying.

Anyone else?

 

[IanMcL]

Lots of urban driving gobbles up the electric. I lost 30 miles doing 12 at most today.

 

[Tevvy]

Do a proper test. Charge to 100% and go for a long drive on a motorway. Do 60/65mph on cruise or AP and see what sort of range you get. Boring I know but you need to see how bad the battery is.

Post what range you have when you set off. Also post what your wh/m are when you’ve finished. You should be aiming for below 300 over the long run.

 

[henleyregatta]

Especially at this time of year there's a "Departure Tax" on the car when you set off that a lot of energy has to go into warming everything up - not just the cabin but the battery too. If you're doing short journeys with gaps of a few hours between them, you'll be paying that "tax" over and over. That's on top of the "Vampire Drain" the car draws when it's parked doing seemingly nothing (although that should only be a very few miles per day).

I've found the first ~10 miles or so can take up to double the normal energy (I watch "current trip" on the dashboard for this); the longer you drive the closer you'll get to the quoted consumption rate (although, at this time of year, don't expect to be beating that!). Even pre-heating doesn't make much difference (mind you, it's 1/2 tonne of battery, even a 6Kw heater's not going to heat it too much in 20 minutes of pre-heating...)

Weirdly, you might find engaging "range mode" (if you have it) helps you - it dramatically cuts the power used by the heater so both the cabin and the battery take much longer to warm up, but if you're making a short trip that shouldn't worry you too much. My own experiences with it haven't shown it to make a noticeable difference to range but do make the car more uncomfortable for longer so I switch it off; but then my commute is ~2 hours anyway...

 

[arg]

On a charge (not including the trip portion) I get a range of 218 miles,

This number is about right for an S85 charged to 90%. Mine gets 214, and it's two years older than yours.

If you are only getting 90 miles on a single trip, then something is badly wrong.

If you are treating it like a petrol car and only filling it up when it's empty after a bunch of short journeys, don't do that - plug it in every night. As others have said above, in this sort of weather you incur a substantial cost to heat up the car at the start of each journey.

 

[DJP31]

No it certainly does not!

I'm afraid I disagree, in the context of @NorthEastUk post about urban driving. You are quite correct in terms of a run, but toodling around the urban/commuter belt is a whole different kettle of fish. Here's yesterday's drives for me:

Look at that Wh/m compared to this one

Not a huge difference in outside temperature, it's all to do with the huge "departure" tax short journeys cost, with the battery never reaching optimum temperate and then cooling down again. The good news is it doesn't really matter because you are home and plugged in long before it ever becomes an issue.

 

[FlyinLow]

I have bought a 2016 S85

On a charge (not including the trip portion) I get a range of 218 miles, The weather here is cold (4-6oC) and I've recently only been doing urban driving. I'm getting 90 miles a charge, its a much lower than I thought it would be, Does this sound right?

There are some similar questions but nothing as specific as above.

(As a side question how can I find out how many chargers I have in for AC charging)

Thanks

Use an app like PlugShare to find many different charging options for your area. It can be very handy to plug in while shopping or at work to keep the battery warmer on very cold days.

If you just got the car it is important to condition your battery by doing a series of “balance charges” to get the full range out of your battery.

In the winter especially, “miles” is not the best representation of available energy while daily driving. The cars available energy is being used for heating the battery, cabin heat, accessories and lights. Just like with any car your “mileage per tank” will go down as efficiency decreases.

Charge above 94% overnight a couple of days soon to balance charge your pack. Drive a longer trip if you can to deplete the battery to about 20% and then charge up again over 94%.

Tesla has recommended to charge to 90% daily as a habit, and to plug in whenever possible.

Please report back. Enjoy your car!

 

[Subevo]

Lowest I've had is 60 miles.when I was a new owner and clueless.
That's in winter doing short drives and heating cabin for 20 minutes before each journey and heating on for duration of journey.
I've since learned to preheat cabin for 5-10 minutes max before setting off.also when I'm comfortable turn heating off as the seat heaters should sustain your comfort.
Doing above you will get better results.
But like you I was shocked at only 60 miles.nothing to worry about though car is ok.

 

[NorthEastUk]

Wow 60 miles is low!

Ill report back on how I get on, thanks for all the advice everyone.

I think I might shock a few of you now but open to opnions but Im only planning to charge once a week or when convenient.

 

[DJP31]

I think I might shock a few of you now but open to opnions but Im only planning to charge once a week or when convenient.

If it’s inconvenient to charge then doing so only when needed is understandable.

If you have charging facilities at home or work it makes little sense not to plug in everyday. There could be unexpected occasions where you need to make a journey and running the charge down could compromise you.

IMO it is also a good habit to get into as Murphy’s Law will apply on the one occasion you forgot to plug in.

Charge when you can not when you need to takes unnecessary risk out of the equation.

 

[cezdoc]

I have bought a 2016 S85
(As a side question how can I find out how many chargers I have in for AC charging)

There may be a smarter way to find out, but you could try plugging the type 2 cable on a triple-head rapid charger and seeing what the car draws. These are usually (but not always) configured to provide up to 44 kW a.c.
Have a look at the charging display:
- cars of your vintage with 1 charger will draw 16 A (3 phase at 240 V = 11 kW)
- cars with dual chargers enabled will draw 32 A (= 22 kW)
An example of the sort of charger I'm referring to: Gateshead International Stadium Charge Point Information 20079

 

[cezdoc]

I think I might shock a few of you now but open to opnions but Im only planning to charge once a week or when convenient.

I generally do the same. When I first had the car I had to get a charging cable out & then put it away each time although it's a more convenient arrangement now. I do like to keep track of how much electricity the car is using though, and without a meter on the charger frequent charges mean a lot more paperwork!

In colder weather a daily charge can help with efficiency and range. Firstly the car uses "shore power" when heating the cabin (pre-heating before setting off) preserving the battery charge level (and slightly more efficient to use the electricity direct without going via the battery). Secondly if you schedule a charge to complete when you set off, or a few minutes before, the battery will be warmer as it heats up when recharging. You also get a bit more regen when setting off. If the battery is below a certain temperature threshold (I'd estimate if less than about 50% regen is available) the car heats it up with a dedicated battery heater which is necessary but hurts efficiency and range. Once above the threshold I believe natural heat from discharging the battery is left to take its course.

 

[DJP31]

I do like to keep track of how much electricity the car is using though, and without a meter on the charger frequent charges mean a lot more paperwork!

TeslaFi can help with that, and tell you the cost if that's of interest

 

[NorthEastUk]

As promised here is a progress update....

Ive conditioned the battery as suggested.

The weather where I am has been -4 at night so plenty of frost on the car in the morning.

Range example...

I charged the car to 135 miles "typical" range today. (Typical is more realistic)

I travelled 25 miles with the heating on, drove moderately, the temp outside was 2 degrees.

When I got home there was 79 miles range left on the clock. (Last 30 miles was shown as 530 wh/miles)

Re-reading the posts it seems some of you say this is ok.

My thoughts....

Ive have free supercharger so cost is less of an issue but taking into consideration everything above the efficiency is not what I was hoping for, personally the tech makes up for everything, but I can see some people not having the right profile to reap the cars benefits. (Ie 20-30 mile commuters)

 

[DJP31]

That test of efficiency will show the car almost at its least efficient, if you’d have only done 5 miles it would have been much worse still. Your old ICE will have been much the same but you don’t pay the same attention to it.

When was the last time you compared the projected range on your ICE at the start of a similar journey to what was showing at the end?

I’d also change the display from miles to percentage, your ICE fuel tank didn’t show miles, why would you on your EV? I do agree though that typical is better than rated, that’s a nonsense.

For commuters who have home or work charging the efficiency (or lack of) doesn’t really matter as you are back plugged in well before range becomes an issue.

 

[cezdoc]

As promised here is a progress update....

I'm getting a similar average Wh/mi (a bit higher actually at 556). Urban commutes about 5-6 miles each way.
I've kept some stats, so looking at last year here are ball-park averages for commuting:
Jan 550
Feb 490
Mar 420
Apr 350
May 290
Jun 280
Jul 270
Notice the drop from May onwards. Anything around 290 or below means I'm matching or bettering typical miles.
This is for short trips, and it's not the warmest part of the country. For longer trips the stats are better - in fact on long cruises at 50-60 mph I can often get close to Typical year round if it's dry and not too windy. I have a MS70 which is similar to a S85.
So sit tight, wait for warmer weather in the spring & hopefully you'll be pleasantly surprised!

 

[Lokolo]

I’d also change the display from miles to percentage, your ICE fuel tank didn’t show miles, why would you on your EV? I do agree though that typical is better than rated, that’s a nonsense.

I think most cars have an estimated remaining mileage. My 2012 car does. Should be able to show both. It will do the same thing as Tesla. The more short journeys I do, the faster it reduces.

 

[NorthEastUk]

Some great points Ill take them all on board, including percentage display and hang tight for summer

Thanks