Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Realistic Range of a Long Range +

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
I’ve owned a 2020 long range + (Raven) with 17,000 miles on it for a few weeks now, and the range is nowhere near what is advertised. Supposedly the long range + has a 402 mile range. I charge mine to 90% and get 324 miles. My last few trips I’ve driven 30 miles total round trip to work and the car burned 80 miles of range. This is light-footed highway driving too. Yes, I do have the heavy 21 inch wheels, but is anyone else burning through twice as many miles as the range of the destination?
 
There is a lot that goes into EV range. The biggest factors are temperature, terrain, technique, and speed. I find that in order to get anywhere near the rated range of my Model S, I need to average under 280 Wh/mi and even then I'd still be a little short of the EPA rating.

My Model S (pre-Raven long range 2019 100D) gets 335 miles @ 100%. In the summer, on a full charge, I can travel to my parents' house around 130 miles away (mostly highway driving speed of traffic) and get there with about 190 miles remaining.
 
There is a lot that goes into EV range. The biggest factors are temperature, terrain, technique, and speed. I find that in order to get anywhere near the rated range of my Model S, I need to average under 280 Wh/mi and even then I'd still be a little short of the EPA rating.

My Model S (pre-Raven long range 2019 100D) gets 335 miles @ 100%. In the summer, on a full charge, I can travel to my parents' house around 130 miles away (mostly highway driving speed of traffic) and get there with about 190 miles remaining.
Yes that’s what’s strange. I’ve owned two Model S before this one, and a Model X as well. They all had large wheels but were a lot more efficient with distance. My drive is steady freeway speed traffic.
 
FWIW my 2020 Raven gets 360m average under normal driving. The quoted ranges are just comparative indications to compare with different cars under the same conditions of test. Tesla quote them without making this clear!
 
Here is a couple of things to note:

1) The number you see is what Tesla use to calculate your range. It might not reflective of what the battery's current capacity is. The software can only estimate what is really in your pack until you actually charge to 100% and discharge to 0% and fully charge to 100% again. Hence it will not be accurate and may change a bit after charging. I have seen this in my Model S on multiple occasions.

2) From your numbers, the pack is saying you have a 100% range of 360 miles. See note 1) but another reason is also the 403 is a brand new pack. Your pack might be old (17000 Miles) and lithium pack always loses a significant chunk of their range early on in its life. Then it settles afterwards. So yes 403 is the brand new pack range, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's closer to 380 or even 360 in your case after a year and decent miles.

3) It is also possible Tesla programmed in your 21 inch wheels. Larger rims will sap the range and maybe Tesla knows and just used a higher wh/miles number to calculate your range. A quick test might be change the wheel to the 19 inch variant in the MCU to see if it makes a difference in your rated range.

4) Another thing to note is city driving for Tesla is generally worst than highway driving. A lot of stop and go and especially if they are sudden start and stop can really sap your range.

5) It is possible your pack is defective. However given Tesla's track record on battery issues, I would say if you bring it up to them, they will say it's is without normal degradation range and will not do anything for you. You would have to see this continued drastic range decrease within a short period of time to get them to admit the defective pack.

Best of luck!
 
  • Like
Reactions: David29
I too have a LR+ and have noticed the same thing. Even when I get the rated efficiency of 160 wh/km I noticed the car is still not hitting its range targets. I am running wider (but much lighter) 21" wheels which effect efficiency a bit though. Honestly I would just switch your range reading from distance to percentage. I observed the same thing in my old 2014 P85 as well, its pretty hard to hit Tesla's rated range.
 
Here is a couple of things to note:

1) The number you see is what Tesla use to calculate your range. It might not reflective of what the battery's current capacity is. The software can only estimate what is really in your pack until you actually charge to 100% and discharge to 0% and fully charge to 100% again. Hence it will not be accurate and may change a bit after charging. I have seen this in my Model S on multiple occasions.

2) From your numbers, the pack is saying you have a 100% range of 360 miles. See note 1) but another reason is also the 403 is a brand new pack. Your pack might be old (17000 Miles) and lithium pack always loses a significant chunk of their range early on in its life. Then it settles afterwards. So yes 403 is the brand new pack range, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's closer to 380 or even 360 in your case after a year and decent miles.

3) It is also possible Tesla programmed in your 21 inch wheels. Larger rims will sap the range and maybe Tesla knows and just used a higher wh/miles number to calculate your range. A quick test might be change the wheel to the 19 inch variant in the MCU to see if it makes a difference in your rated range.

4) Another thing to note is city driving for Tesla is generally worst than highway driving. A lot of stop and go and especially if they are sudden start and stop can really sap your range.

5) It is possible your pack is defective. However given Tesla's track record on battery issues, I would say if you bring it up to them, they will say it's is without normal degradation range and will not do anything for you. You would have to see this continued drastic range decrease within a short period of time to get them to admit the defective pack.

Best of luck!

I would add:
What is the Wh/mile that the OP is experiencing? That is much more informative to us than just saying "steady freeway traffic."
Also, what are your cold tire pressures? That can significantly affect consumption and therefore range. (I assume the OP already knows this because he is an experienced owner, but it is a valid point in general, especially for newbies who might be reading the thread. ;-)
 
After noticing that OP stated that highway mileage is worse than city mileage, range wise, Im not so strong on that opinion. Considering the extra starting and stopping adds to the regerative braking, it would seem to be better in the city. My old 70D is.