SoCal Traffic Jam Effect on Battery

[Lee K.]

Traveling back on I-15, ran into a 40 minute stop and crawl forward due to a bad accident between Barstow and Baker. It was cold out so we had butt warmers on but heater off. We had 142 miles of range when we stopped with no idea of how long we'd be stuck. (We'd been stuck like this numerous times in the past, sometimes for hours.) My wife and I did get nervous as we never thought about one of these horrendous traffic jams out in the middle of the desert when buying a Tesla.

I was shocked to see that when the jam cleared about 40 minutes later, our range had only gone down to 140. We lost 2 miles in 40 minutes of stop and crawl traffic! What a huge relief for Tesla Road Warriors. No Battery Anxiety in traffic jams. We've actually been stuck for 6-8 hours before and could not turn around. Has anyone else experienced this with similar results?

 

[Puddles]

We creep along our "Christmas Tree Lane" at much less than walking speed, and over the holidays it was amusing to see the energy chart (which was taking a very dim view of our situation) predicting a 20 mile range for the remainder of our (nearly full) battery.

Compared to accelerating a 4000 lb vehicle from 0-70, and pushing it through the air at that speed, and hoisting it up over a 4000 foot mountain pass, the butt warmers and cabin heater are insignificant. I think in cold weather, the real hit is in battery efficiency rather than the draw from auxiliary use.

 

[mswlogo]

Traveling back on I-15, ran into a 40 minute stop and crawl forward due to a bad accident between Barstow and Baker. It was cold out so we had butt warmers on but heater off. We had 142 miles of range when we stopped with no idea of how long we'd be stuck. (We'd been stuck like this numerous times in the past, sometimes for hours.) My wife and I did get nervous as we never thought about one of these horrendous traffic jams out in the middle of the desert when buying a Tesla.

I was shocked to see that when the jam cleared about 40 minutes later, our range had only gone down to 140. We lost 2 miles in 40 minutes of stop and crawl traffic! What a huge relief for Tesla Road Warriors. No Battery Anxiety in traffic jams. We've actually been stuck for 6-8 hours before and could not turn around. Has anyone else experienced this with similar results?

Yeah, try that when it's 0F and windy out. You'll eat through way more than 2 miles in 40 minutes.
I never let my battery go below 20%, ever, to cover for unplanned mishaps.

What do you consider as cold 40F?

 

[Lee K.]

We creep along our "Christmas Tree Lane" at much less than walking speed, and over the holidays it was amusing to see the energy chart (which was taking a very dim view of our situation) predicting a 20 mile range for the remainder of our (nearly full) battery.

Compared to accelerating a 4000 lb vehicle from 0-70, and pushing it through the air at that speed, and hoisting it up over a 4000 foot mountain pass, the butt warmers and cabin heater are insignificant. I think in cold weather, the real hit is in battery efficiency rather than the draw from auxiliary use.

I guess the fact that we were on totally flat freeway, stopped most of the time, and about 45 degrees out helped a lot. During the summer, 115 degrees, AC on, going up Baker grade at a crawl and the results might be different...

 

[Puddles]

What do you consider as cold 40F?

Lordy if it got that cold, we'd have the National Guard out.

 

[Rocky_H]

the (1) butt warmers and (2) cabin heater are insignificant.

(1) Yes
(2) No