[Resolved w/12V Battery] Model 3 Hypermiled 606 Miles Down To 0% - Now Will Not Take A Charge

[Sean Mitchell]

These guys are so full of themselves, like many YouTube bandits, bragging about all the publicity and contributions THEY got. Tesla warns owners not to run the traction battery down to zero, but these idiots do it anyway. And when these guys screw up, Tesla gets the bad publicity. DUUUUUUUUUUH.

Though you are welcome to your own opinion, I don't think its fair that you call us "full of themselves" and "idiots" when you don't know us. Both Erik and I have given a lot to the Tesla community and helped many non-Tesla owners through the journey to EV ownership.

 

[Unpilot]

Though you are welcome to your own opinion, I don't think its fair that you call people "full of themselves" and "idiots" when you don't know us. Both Erik and I have given a lot to the Tesla community and helped many non-Tesla owners through the journey to EV ownership.

I agree...you guy's both seem to be advocates for Tesla.

 

[T34ME]

Both Erik and I have given a lot to the Tesla community and helped many non-Tesla owners through the journey to EV ownership.

Happy you are here. Why did you run the car down to zero and beyond when Tesla tells you not to do that? Tesla has already received some negative fallout about the car not charging. How are you going to repair that negative publicity for Tesla reliability? Will you admit you did something you were not supposed to do?

 

[Sean Mitchell]

They drove the car beyond the drive pack's ability to safely provide power for any vehicle systems including the 12V battery. I'd rather my 12V battery sacrifice itself than damage my drive battery trying to keep the 12V battery charged for a bit longer.

Exactly!

 

[MP3Mike]

Happy you are here. Why did you run the car down to zero and beyond when Tesla tells you not to do that? Tesla has already received some negative fallout about the car not charging. How are you going to repair that negative publicity for Tesla reliability? Will you admit you did something you were not supposed to do?

Who told them not to? In fact Elon just recently said it was OK and wouldn't hurt the pack:

He also directly knew of what they were doing and didn't say anything about it being bad:

 

[Sean Mitchell]

Happy you are here. Why did you run the car down to zero and beyond when Tesla tells you not to do that? Tesla has already received some negative fallout about the car not charging. How are you going to repair that negative publicity for Tesla reliability? Will you admit you did something you were not supposed to do?

I've read all of the articles and don't see anything wrong. They're reporting on the actual event - just like, say, Consumer Reports on the Model 3 breaking. I think the articles were very positive toward the Model 3. It drove 606 miles on a single charge. That's pretty awesome. The car handled incredibly well considering the situation. We've continued to talk highly of how it performed. Furthermore, almost everyone who wrote articles asked me to update them when we have new info, which I began to do today. Lastly, we had full support of Tesla (corporate and local) and Elon in this attempt, both prior to the event and after. So, no, I don't believe we've done anything wrong.

 

[Electroman]

I've read all of the articles and don't see anything wrong. They're reporting on the actual event - just like, say, Consumer Reports on the Model 3 breaking. I think the articles were very positive toward the Model 3. It drove 606 miles on a single charge. That's pretty awesome. The car handled incredibly well considering the situation. We've continued to talk highly of how it performed. Furthermore, almost everyone who wrote articles asked me to update them when we have new info, which I began to do today. Lastly, we had full support of Tesla (corporate and local) and Elon in this attempt, both prior to the event and after. So, no, I don't believe we've done anything wrong.

Sean you can say all that, but the fact is the news that reached average joe blow is that someone tried driving the Tesla for a lot of miles and they got stranded with a bust battery. I had two people at my office ask me about the bust battery story from over the weekend.

 

[Sean Mitchell]

Sean you can say all that, but the fact is the news that reached average joe blow is that someone tried driving the Tesla for a lot of miles and they got stranded with a bust battery. I had two people at my office ask me about the bust battery story from over the weekend.

Certainly a valid point. I know several hundred people, though, that were truly excited about the event. Some people will attach to the negative in any story. I believe most people I've dealt with have seen the positive in the outcome.

 

[T34ME]

I believe most people I've dealt with have seen the positive in the outcome.

People are positive with the outcome that the car had to be towed to a service center and the 12v battery replaced? Not the people that have asked me about it. They keep asking me about Tesla reliability.

 

[Cheburashka]

Happy you are here. Why did you run the car down to zero and beyond when Tesla tells you not to do that? Tesla has already received some negative fallout about the car not charging. How are you going to repair that negative publicity for Tesla reliability? Will you admit you did something you were not supposed to do?

What?

There should be no reason to design a car in a way that renders it inoperable after depleting the battery/gas.

If this is how the M3 works then lots of people will be running into issues and it's best Tesla fix this before it gets really bad publicity.

 

[gearchruncher]

There should be no reason to design a car in a way that renders it inoperable after depleting the battery/gas.

Are you aware most diesel vehicles require maintenance after being run dry?

 

[bay74]

Are you aware most diesel vehicles require maintenance after being run dry?

Is this really still an issue? I was under the impression that this issue had been dealt with 20 years or more ago.

 

[Evoforce]

Also... gas cars may need filter and sometimes pump replacements.

 

[cwerdna]

Also... gas cars may need filter and sometimes pump replacements.

May...

FWIW, bwilson4web at Running out of gas on purpose had run his 03 Prius out of gas intentionally, over 2 dozen times. IIRC, the purpose was that we had trying to do fuel economy comparisons between different brands and grades of gasoline. The only way to ensure that no other gasoline was in there to skew/alter the results was to run the car dry.

I found a later post at [WARNING] Running out of gas (Gen III) where he says he ran his NHW11 out of gas over 3 dozen times. NHW11 aka gen 1 spans model years 01 to 03. (NHW20 aka gen 2 was 04 to 09. ZVW30 aka gen 3 was 2010 to 2015.)

 

[182RG]

Happy you are here. Why did you run the car down to zero and beyond when Tesla tells you not to do that? Tesla has already received some negative fallout about the car not charging. How are you going to repair that negative publicity for Tesla reliability? Will you admit you did something you were not supposed to do?

I just don’t get this weird, protectionist attitude in some of you? Tesla has received some negative press. So what?

Tesla sells consumer products. Time to grow some thicker skin.

How many stories have been told on TMC about running a Tesla to 0? How many threads on buffers? How many times did Elon say you can’t brick a battery as part of a sales pitch? Lots and lots....

 

[SageBrush]

I just don’t get this weird, protectionist attitude in some of you? Tesla has received some negative press. So what?

Tesla sells consumer products. Time to grow some thicker skin.

How many stories have been told on TMC about running a Tesla to 0? How many threads on buffers? How many times did Elon say you can’t brick a battery as part of a sales pitch? Lots and lots....

It is certainly worthwhile to know what happens if the car is run down to empty, just as it is worthwhile to know how the car performs after repetitive emergency braking --- even though I and almost everybody else will never do either.

As for the reports and associated commentary -- some are factual; some, like yours, come with a virtual sneer that provoke defensive responses.

 

[scaesare]

Sean you can say all that, but the fact is the news that reached average joe blow is that someone tried driving the Tesla for a lot of miles and they got stranded with a bust battery. I had two people at my office ask me about the bust battery story from over the weekend.

Tesla will sell millions of Model 3's.

The world, being full of idiots, will end up with Model 3's in the hands of folks that will cluelessly drive down to 0 and beyond. Therefore Tesla aims to make the care of the battery idiot-proof. Hence the reserve that prevents you from bricking the battery in this manner.

These gents, were showcasing what the Model 3 is capable of from an efficiency standpoint, setting a new record. That the car subsequently would not charge due to an issue unrelated to the traction battery is a side point. There will be folks in the world (all those idiots, remember...) who miss that point, but there's only so much you can do.

As an unintended positive consequence to this, Tesla now has opportunity to address this via firmware while there are 10's of thousands of 3's on the road, rather than 100's of thousands. The car will be even more robust.

It was a cool project.

 

[Malbrough]

Thank you, Sean and Erik, for pushing the limits and testing out Tesla's incredible tech. I've been following your videos on YouTube for quite a while and appreciate the effort. It's good to hear the Model 3 used on your run is back in business. Figures it was the old 12v battery. I've experienced similar premature 12v battery failures in my gas cars in recent years. They just don't make them like they used to.

Owning a Tesla for the past 5 months or so has made me realize I never want a gas car again. Not because of tree-hugging reasons, but because they are so much better. Our Model X is the most amazing piece of tech I've ever touched. It's fast, efficient, versatile, and always as full of charge as I need it to be, every time it leaves the garage. The experience convinced us to sell our last gas car and get another EV. We have been done with gas for a few weeks now.

The other day, someone asked me if I saw the price of gas. I said "No. No, I haven't."

Thanks again for pushing the limits so we can see what breaks, and let Tesla fix it.

 

[McRat]

Is this really still an issue? I was under the impression that this issue had been dealt with 20 years or more ago.

Yup, unless the fuel level is higher than the injection pump, or you have secondary 'lift' pump, a diesel cannot prime itself if you get air in the lines. This isn't going to change in the foreseeable future. Sometimes you will get lucky and crank it until it starts without killing battery or damaging the injectors or pump by running them while dry, but most the time you need to bleed the air out of the system or force feed the injection pump (Duramax style) or do something risky which is to light it with ether.

It's the nature of the beast. Gasoline injection systems are loose tolerance, cheap, and low pressure. Diesels are high pressure, past 30,000 psi sometimes.

 

[Krugerrand]

As for the reports and associated commentary -- some are factual; some, like yours, come with a virtual sneer that provoke defensive responses.

Not only that, but Tesla is actually trying to do something for the good of all of us and future generations. They aren’t simply selling ‘consumer products’, they are quite literally trying to ensure our future existence on this planet.

Conversely, I’d like to know why there are people here, on a Tesla support forum, who aren’t protective of the company.