Supercharger - Myrtle Creek, OR

[PLUS EV]

If it doesn’t open by the 16th, then my plan is to stop at Kelso for a 70% charge and then have a long stop in Springfield for breakfast and charge to 90-95% so I can make Yreka without having to stop in Medford, except maybe 5 minutes or so if range anxiety starts taking over.

just curious. Do any of you experts know how much extra range the nav system builds into its calculation? I ask because it seems to me it’s very conservative.

Not sure what you're driving but that Springfield to Yreka leg could easily burn over 300 rated miles assuming you are driving 70mph or so. Might be doable, but probably easier to just make a quick stop in Medford. The other direction is more feasible since you lose elevation.

The Nav doesn't account for weather so it seems conservative in summer, but the experience is quite the opposite in winter unless you drive under the speed limit or something.

 

[Oliver’s MX]

Agree that prudence dictates a stop at Medford for a short charge before going up the hill. Since this is my first trip to the Central Valley in almost 2 years, thank you COVID, and with all the new superchargers on the I-5 corridor, I’ll be tracking energy consumption very carefully in both directions as I usually make this trip twice a year And will find it useful for future trips.

This is off topic, so please bear with me, but as you correctly point out, weather is the wildcard. This past March I almost had a heart attack because range suddenly started dropping like a rock.

Weather was low 50’s, & rainy with a little headwind. I normally charge at home but I had some expiring free miles I needed to use up so I decided to stop in Tumwater instead while running errands in Oly. So I left home with 61 miles of range for a 45 mile drive to the Tumwater supercharger. I noticed range was dropping faster than usual on this stretch of road I’ve driven a hundred times, but I still had plenty to get me to Tumwater.

Then, just before I got to the 101/I-5 interchange I had my wake-up call. Range was now only 6 miles with 5.5 to go and then it got real exciting because it suddenly started dropping FAST! While my eyes were glued to the range indicator, range INSTANTLY dropped from 6 to 4 miles and I still had over 5 miles to go per the Nav system.

I immediately reduced speed to 50 mph but range continued to tick down fast. Cold sweat broke out and I was forced to hit the emergency flashers while reducing speed to 30, and moving over onto the I-5 shoulder for the last 2.5 miles. Range was now at ZERO and it was now raining very hard. I finally got to the off-ramp and slowed even more but then faced the overpass standing between me and the supercharger and afraid I’d lose what remaining power I had within eyesight of the charging cables, but I made it and life was good again.

What I don’t understand and perhaps someone on the forum can explain, is how I could lose more than 15 miles of range in just 46 miles? That’s almost a 33% loss. And why the instantaneous drop from 6 miles to 4 miles of range at the snap of a finger?

 

[Rocky_H]

What I don’t understand and perhaps someone on the forum can explain, is how I could lose more than 15 miles of range in just 46 miles? That’s almost a 33% loss. And why the instantaneous drop from 6 miles to 4 miles of range at the snap of a finger?

That is part of the behavior of lithium ion batteries. If you look at the curves of voltage level versus their 0% to 100% full scale, they have a very big section in the middle that stays super flat on the voltage. That is wonderfully stable for performance, but is part of why the car's battery estimation algorithm gets fuzzy and loses some visibility if you always stay in that area, where it can't read much voltage fluctuation. But on the bottom end, the voltage finally starts sagging quickly, and it gets very unreliable how fast that drops off, so it can get really squirrelly about how many rated miles are showing on the meter when you are down into the single digits left and can make sudden moves like that.

That's why it's not a very good idea to intentionally plan to go into that last few %. It can act kind of funny and cause problems if people are still expecting it to be really stable.

 

[CWhite]

Agree that prudence dictates a stop at Medford for a short charge before going up the hill. Since this is my first trip to the Central Valley in almost 2 years, thank you COVID, and with all the new superchargers on the I-5 corridor, I’ll be tracking energy consumption very carefully in both directions as I usually make this trip twice a year And will find it useful for future trips.

This is off topic, so please bear with me, but as you correctly point out, weather is the wildcard. This past March I almost had a heart attack because range suddenly started dropping like a rock.

Weather was low 50’s, & rainy with a little headwind. I normally charge at home but I had some expiring free miles I needed to use up so I decided to stop in Tumwater instead while running errands in Oly. So I left home with 61 miles of range for a 45 mile drive to the Tumwater supercharger. I noticed range was dropping faster than usual on this stretch of road I’ve driven a hundred times, but I still had plenty to get me to Tumwater.

Then, just before I got to the 101/I-5 interchange I had my wake-up call. Range was now only 6 miles with 5.5 to go and then it got real exciting because it suddenly started dropping FAST! While my eyes were glued to the range indicator, range INSTANTLY dropped from 6 to 4 miles and I still had over 5 miles to go per the Nav system.

I immediately reduced speed to 50 mph but range continued to tick down fast. Cold sweat broke out and I was forced to hit the emergency flashers while reducing speed to 30, and moving over onto the I-5 shoulder for the last 2.5 miles. Range was now at ZERO and it was now raining very hard. I finally got to the off-ramp and slowed even more but then faced the overpass standing between me and the supercharger and afraid I’d lose what remaining power I had within eyesight of the charging cables, but I made it and life was good again.

What I don’t understand and perhaps someone on the forum can explain, is how I could lose more than 15 miles of range in just 46 miles? That’s almost a 33% loss. And why the instantaneous drop from 6 miles to 4 miles of range at the snap of a finger?

I assume you left with less than 20% charge(not sure what Model X you have. What did the Nav think when you told it where you wanted to go? Mine usually complains it I want to try and get there with less than 10% left(I don’t use miles, I use %). For future reference it is not really healthy to fully charge or discharge the battery but I understand you wanted to get all the free kWh’s that you could.

 

[goneskiian]

One more thought, if you normally charge at home I assume you're charging just before you leave home too and your battery (maybe the vehicle interior too) is nice and warm. Instead, you left with an ice cold battery and car interior, so when you got on the road the battery had to warm up and you ran the HVAC. Boom. Range is getting sucked into heating both.

 

[PLUS EV]

Agree that prudence dictates a stop at Medford for a short charge before going up the hill. Since this is my first trip to the Central Valley in almost 2 years, thank you COVID, and with all the new superchargers on the I-5 corridor, I’ll be tracking energy consumption very carefully in both directions as I usually make this trip twice a year And will find it useful for future trips.

This is off topic, so please bear with me, but as you correctly point out, weather is the wildcard. This past March I almost had a heart attack because range suddenly started dropping like a rock.

Weather was low 50’s, & rainy with a little headwind. I normally charge at home but I had some expiring free miles I needed to use up so I decided to stop in Tumwater instead while running errands in Oly. So I left home with 61 miles of range for a 45 mile drive to the Tumwater supercharger. I noticed range was dropping faster than usual on this stretch of road I’ve driven a hundred times, but I still had plenty to get me to Tumwater.

Then, just before I got to the 101/I-5 interchange I had my wake-up call. Range was now only 6 miles with 5.5 to go and then it got real exciting because it suddenly started dropping FAST! While my eyes were glued to the range indicator, range INSTANTLY dropped from 6 to 4 miles and I still had over 5 miles to go per the Nav system.

I immediately reduced speed to 50 mph but range continued to tick down fast. Cold sweat broke out and I was forced to hit the emergency flashers while reducing speed to 30, and moving over onto the I-5 shoulder for the last 2.5 miles. Range was now at ZERO and it was now raining very hard. I finally got to the off-ramp and slowed even more but then faced the overpass standing between me and the supercharger and afraid I’d lose what remaining power I had within eyesight of the charging cables, but I made it and life was good again.

What I don’t understand and perhaps someone on the forum can explain, is how I could lose more than 15 miles of range in just 46 miles? That’s almost a 33% loss. And why the instantaneous drop from 6 miles to 4 miles of range at the snap of a finger?

Using 61 rated miles on a 45 mile drive is not unusual at all, especially in the conditions you describe. I'm guessing you've been driving slowly around the peninsula most of the time if you never noticed that. Get out on the interstate driving over 70mph with some wind and this is a common occurrence even in summer.

Sadly, I've experienced the behavior you describe near the end of the battery many times. The first few times were as you describe and I was able to limp to the supercharger. However, on three other occasions, I ended up on the side of the interstate waiting for a tow truck despite the car showing miles left on the battery (and always painfully close to the supercharger). The 1st time I thought it was a bit of a fluke, the 2nd time they replaced the 12v battery and told me that should solve the problem (turns out I was correct to be dubious), then the 3rd time I knew this would be always be an issue with this car. Each time I had anywhere from 7 to 11 Rated Miles remaining on the gauge and anywhere from a half mile to 4 miles remaining to drive to the supercharger.

I took it into the service center (twice) and they just say that it's within spec and that I shouldn't drive it so low lol. At this point I just never plan to drive it below 10% which sucks because I end up having to charge to 80/90/100% so much more often on road trips. It has definitely slowed me down a ton.

 

[Oliver’s MX]

To answer a few questions here goes.

I have a 2018 long range X and the battery range has degraded to 281 miles with 29,500 miles on the odometer. And it is also kept inside a heated garage year round, but this happened in March and temps were not ice cold, so the garage was probably in the high 50’s or low 60’s inside simply due to thermal gain as it is south facing and naturally warms up as the days get longer.

This particular and unfortunate trip was unusual in that had I been aware that indicated range becomes dicey below 10% or so, I would have charges a few miles beforehand. I learned a valuable lesson that I have no intention of repeating and so for the trip to Modesto my goal is to arrive with about 15% in the tank give or take, but I won’t be shy to pull into a supercharger and charge for a few minutes.

PLUS EV - sorry to hear about your low battery experiences and you’re spot on regarding my peninsula driving habits. I’m retired and rarely in a hurry, so I normally drive at 60 mph. The trip tomorrow will be different, but 75 mph will be my limit. And just for grins, I built a charging spreadsheet where I set the supercharger arrival percentage and it calculates the charge level for each stop. I’ll be curious to see how it accurately it tracks as we progress south. Fortunately, tomorrow is supposed to be decent day with Medford hitting 78° and similiar temps all the way to Modesto.

I’ll be stopping by both Myrtle Creek to see if Tesla has activated the station yet, and Redding to see if construction has begun and will report back as soon as I can.

I appreciate everyone’s input. Thank you guys.

 

[adambbraly]

I went by the Myrtle Creek installation this AM

(btw, it's really more like Riddle, OR -- exit 103, in the Tractor Supply Co and Dollar Tree and Grocery Outlet parking lot)

Sorry for the bad pic (it was dark and foggy), but the only diff I see now from the last picture is the lines are painted.

It really looks ready to go!

 

[Polly Wog]

I went by the Myrtle Creek installation this AM

(btw, it's really more like Riddle, OR -- exit 103, in the Tractor Supply Co and Dollar Tree and Grocery Outlet parking lot)

Sorry for the bad pic (it was dark and foggy), but the only diff I see now from the last picture is the lines are painted.

It really looks ready to go!

I wouldn’t call that a bad pic, I actually think the fog makes it look extra cool!

 

[finman100]

That is one of the 'artiest' Supercharger pics I've ever seen! Like something from a chilling murder mystery Stephen King film...

 

[Long Ranger]

And painted lines with no cones is actually a big deal at this point since we know the transformer and meter are in. Turn on the lights!

 

[wdolson]

To answer a few questions here goes.

I have a 2018 long range X and the battery range has degraded to 281 miles with 29,500 miles on the odometer. And it is also kept inside a heated garage year round, but this happened in March and temps were not ice cold, so the garage was probably in the high 50’s or low 60’s inside simply due to thermal gain as it is south facing and naturally warms up as the days get longer.

This particular and unfortunate trip was unusual in that had I been aware that indicated range becomes dicey below 10% or so, I would have charges a few miles beforehand. I learned a valuable lesson that I have no intention of repeating and so for the trip to Modesto my goal is to arrive with about 15% in the tank give or take, but I won’t be shy to pull into a supercharger and charge for a few minutes.

PLUS EV - sorry to hear about your low battery experiences and you’re spot on regarding my peninsula driving habits. I’m retired and rarely in a hurry, so I normally drive at 60 mph. The trip tomorrow will be different, but 75 mph will be my limit. And just for grins, I built a charging spreadsheet where I set the supercharger arrival percentage and it calculates the charge level for each stop. I’ll be curious to see how it accurately it tracks as we progress south. Fortunately, tomorrow is supposed to be decent day with Medford hitting 78° and similiar temps all the way to Modesto.

I’ll be stopping by both Myrtle Creek to see if Tesla has activated the station yet, and Redding to see if construction has begun and will report back as soon as I can.

I appreciate everyone’s input. Thank you guys.

You said there was a headwind. It's possible the headwind picked up while you were on the road. Last year when I went down to Morro Bay for my father's funeral I was running the Tesla Winds app on the browser and I had a good tailwind most of the way down. On the way back I had a moderate headwind through most of the Valley, but as I got north of Red Bluff the headwinds got pretty strong. I think it was about 30-40 mph at one point. My energy usage went way up. In the Willamette Valley I still had a headwind, but it was more like 15 mph.

If you hit a stretch with a very strong headwind it could have really reduced your range, even if it was only 10-20 miles of bucking the wind.

 

[PLUS EV]

Someone on Facebook posted that the transformer is humming. I'm guessing we just need someone from Tesla to go down there and test it and then turn it on.

 

[Yapa Drive]

Earlier this week we returned in our M3 to Oregon via I5 & fought headwinds nearly the entire trip. The KWH went up dramatically. Can someone tell me what the “ Tesla Winds” app is? I didn’t see anything by that name in the Apple App Store.

 

[MP3Mike]

Earlier this week we returned in our M3 to Oregon via I5 & fought headwinds nearly the entire trip. The KWH went up dramatically. Can someone tell me what the “ Tesla Winds” app is? I didn’t see anything by that name in the Apple App Store.

It is a web site you can use on the browser in the car:

Tesla Winds and Elevation

www.teslawinds.com

 

[wdolson]

Earlier this week we returned in our M3 to Oregon via I5 & fought headwinds nearly the entire trip. The KWH went up dramatically. Can someone tell me what the “ Tesla Winds” app is? I didn’t see anything by that name in the Apple App Store.

There is also a thread about it on this forum:
Tesla Winds and Elevation Web Browser App

 

[Yapa Drive]

Thanks! I’ll check it out.

 

[Oliver’s MX]

Stopped by Myrtle Creek yesterday about 11:00 am and still no joy. But it really looks ready.

I also had another near heart attack when Medford suddenly showed a warning ‘Temporarily out of service’ after leaving Myrtle Creek. Prudence dictated a quick stop Grants Pass vice Medford which actually worked out well for us. By the time my wife got back from the toilet we had enough charge to get to Yreka.

total trip time door-to-door was just shy of 16 hours and I drove the entire way. We slept very well last night.

 

[Doakills]

Going word on the street is the chargers will be active this week sometime. Had a last minute hiccup with utility issue of the liking.

 

[Yapa Drive]

Going word on the street is the chargers will be active this week sometime. Had a last minute hiccup with utility issue of the liking.

What do you mean by “the liking.”?