I'm not sure what you are referring to. Tesla does not acknowledge that DC fast charging whacks the battery, but there does seem to be evidence it does. All charging is a balance between rate and wear, so the question is not "if" but "how much" extra wear comes from fast charging. You seem to think it has something to do with road trips. But you are talking about only charging at Superchargers, so all your charging will be DC fast.
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Tesla .. going downhill?
- Thread starter lowtek
- Start date
I'm not sure what you are referring to. Tesla does not acknowledge that DC fast charging whacks the battery, but there does seem to be evidence it does. All charging is a balance between rate and wear, so the question is not "if" but "how much" extra wear comes from fast charging. You seem to think it has something to do with road trips. But you are talking about only charging at Superchargers, so all your charging will be DC fast.
I had my X100 for about a year and a half. Yes it has had a few issues but my previous car (BMW 435) had more. It is a new technology and there are some things that could pop up but the car is well worth it. My wifes lease was up 2 months ago and after test driving a few other options, Cadillac, BMW X7,... we ultimately went with an other X (long range). We are all in (2 Tesla family). I am not a everyone must stop using gas right now kind of guy, I am a they make a great product that works kind of guy.
You will not regret driving a Tesla.
You will not regret driving a Tesla.
Xenoilphobe
Well-Known Member
My Tesla performs great going downhill and going uphill too. See you in the rear view mirror.
~200K miles on 3 Tesla Model S's Love'em, even ordered two Triples (see signature)
~200K miles on 3 Tesla Model S's Love'em, even ordered two Triples (see signature)
Bought my Model S in Dec 2016 and still love the car.... but hate the company.
Prior to the Model 3, you bought a $100K car and they treated you like you bought a $100K car... now they treat you like you bought an iPhone.
And their service department has really become unacceptable for any car. For example, took my car in several months ago for 2-year maintenance (mobile service can't do A/C descant) and repair another failed DRL (under warranty). Service guy told me the estimated cost was over $1,000, they would need the car 3-days, and no longer provide loaners.... this was after waiting ~1-month for the service appointment. I did not have time to hunt down a rental, so I rescheduled for another appointment on a Saturday (another month delay). The next appointment, service guy quoted me ~$280K, 1-day in the shop, and provided $200 Uber credit.... WTF?!
So I spent Saturday & Sunday running errands in Uber Black.
Prior to the Model 3, you bought a $100K car and they treated you like you bought a $100K car... now they treat you like you bought an iPhone.
And their service department has really become unacceptable for any car. For example, took my car in several months ago for 2-year maintenance (mobile service can't do A/C descant) and repair another failed DRL (under warranty). Service guy told me the estimated cost was over $1,000, they would need the car 3-days, and no longer provide loaners.... this was after waiting ~1-month for the service appointment. I did not have time to hunt down a rental, so I rescheduled for another appointment on a Saturday (another month delay). The next appointment, service guy quoted me ~$280K, 1-day in the shop, and provided $200 Uber credit.... WTF?!
So I spent Saturday & Sunday running errands in Uber Black.
Uncle Paul
Well-Known Member
Believe there is some confusion about frequent Supercharging. Many reports from high mileage drivers in the field that even with constant Supercharging the degradation is much less than predicted or expected.
Tesla does send out a dash warning if you frequently Supercharge over 90%, as their testing indicates that that is not good for the batteries. It used to be frequent charging over 80%, but currently they feel comfortable with supercharging to 90%.
Long distance travelers soon learn that the batteries charge fastest when running low. It takes much longer to get the miles added over 70% than at 20%. Most time efficient seems to be running on the bottom part of the battery instead of constantly waiting long times to get a fuller charge.
In other words, stop more often, get some fast juice and get on your way.
Tesla does send out a dash warning if you frequently Supercharge over 90%, as their testing indicates that that is not good for the batteries. It used to be frequent charging over 80%, but currently they feel comfortable with supercharging to 90%.
Long distance travelers soon learn that the batteries charge fastest when running low. It takes much longer to get the miles added over 70% than at 20%. Most time efficient seems to be running on the bottom part of the battery instead of constantly waiting long times to get a fuller charge.
In other words, stop more often, get some fast juice and get on your way.
Wooloomooloo
Member
Same here - according to TeslaFi (which I got a monh after buying my car) I've done 144 DC charges and 65 AC charges. I have no charging at home (NYC...) and have FUSC. I don't believe there will be a cap.
On the OP's post, and some of the commentary here - well no car or company is perfect. I really strongly disagree with one of the first posts ranting about German cars blah blah. I've driven German cars exlusively since 1989 to 2018 when I got my Model 3, and have never once been stranded. Aside from the occasional flat tire, which I replaced on the road with the spare (what magic is this) I've never even broken down. That's multiple VW's and two Audis in the US and UK.
My Model 3 on the other hand has stranded me twice, both times a blown tire and both times needed a flat-bed truck to a service center and then a multi day wait, because they didn't have the tires in stock. I'm not saying don't buy a Tesla because you might get a flat and there's no spare, but I also don't think bad-mouthing other makes is helpful when Tesla occasionally can't get the most basic things right.
Having saidf all that, it is easily the best car I've ever owned, and I have no regrets at all. I really do hope Tesla improves their customer service, because it really is pretty inconsistent, to be generous. VW definitely had (and still has) its problems, but I never had any issues with their cars, or their service (aside from it being slightly pricey here in the states).
OP - stick with it, I don't think you'll regret it.
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If you're going to base a car purchase off of forum complaints, you would never buy any car.
Earlier I thought you said CR was biased??? Only Tesla has the one true database!!!
Sorry to disagree. I have had two Mercedes and both did strand me in less than 3 years - one due to diesel ignitors flaking out on a E series and one due to a weird transmission problem on an R-320 that kept happening over and over despite multiple dealership visits. Loved the cars but not very reliable. I have had multiple Japanese cars from Toyota, Honda and Nissan - Toyota cars least inspiring but most reliable and great dealership experience but expensive to repair. Honda and Nissan experiences were about average. I also have owned Hyundai's and one stranded me due to fuel injector issues after about 30 months. I have also owned Fords and GMs with both dealership experiences being awful and numerous reliability issues (transmission, Engine issues, suspension ....) - getting a human online was very hard and the online scheduling was terrible.
Now for Tesla - we own two - an M3 and an MX - one has 30K miles and the other 22K miles. Best cars I have ever owned wrt look, performance, features, no gas to deal with and much lower daily cost to run. Cost to buy was similar to my Mercedes. Now reliability has been perfect wrt keeping on the road including through a wicked Tahoe Ca winter and second one underway. I have had a couple of minor issues across both- charge port recall for cold weather, falcon wing door button failing, musty AC smell and a seat locked sensor failing. Definitely not as pristine as Toyota and irritating but about the same as my other Asian cars, better than Mercedes and way better than GM and Ford. I also got re-ended and the Tesla body shop experience was very good - some wait but no worse than any other manufacturer body shop experience I have had. Now as for service scheduling it is super easy from the app and for most of my issues they have called up and sent a mobile ranger and work was performed at home or at the office. In my opinion it is easier to arrange service via the app vs calling. I look froward to more service centers for sure and I would be naive to say I didn't.
Net net I will never buy an ICE car again and my next purchase will look at all EVs but currently Tesla is front of the queue. Did I mention the Tesla supercharging network - game changer. I owned a Bolt EV for a year (note it had two recalls) as we waited for our first Tesla and it is a good little car with decent range - seats really sucked for long distance travel, but the biggy was very very poor support regarding available high speed DC charging - it has improved sure but no where close to the SC network.
Mysta
Former Vendor
People come to forums to complain. Generally speaking, people are entitled and love to complain.
Not saying this is you.
Most people that drive Tesla's worship them and don't understand how you can drive other car companies much less ICE cars.
Yeah, I have had some issues with my S, my X and my 3. Just like other cars. They are machines. They are the best cars I have ever owned. Every time I get in an ICE now it is like a panic attack.
Whatever you decide to drive, make sure it is a BEV or you get no love from me, not that you care. But I have no use for people that have a choice and decide to go with an ICE.
All the best!
I am one who hates calling places for service, yet I long for an actual phone option for my local service. The reason for that is twice now I have driven the 1.5 hours one way to the service center when my app said "the car was done" and neither time was the car actually done. The 2nd time, I tried and tried to verify before taking off work early to make the drive to no avail. Drove down just to discover car wasn't done, app status was wrong again.
Also, sometimes they call me to verify prices or ask questions for work to be done after they have done the diagnostics. If they leave a voicemail, I end up having zero way to get back in touch, so it ends up being a huge exercise in frustration if I want the extra work done.
Mysta
Former Vendor
Weird, i just text them from the number they call from and they respond. Granted my car has been ready both times they said it was.
On the screen yellowing that was the reply up until 4 months ago. Now they are putting people on a list and doing the UV treatments when the machine is in the area. I am somewhere on the list and assume the guys at the Dublin SC will give me a call some day.
I am happy that your SC seems to be competently run, but that clearly is not the case everywhere. I have also gotten false notifications from the app and random appointment cancelations. To make it worse I can't even speak with someone on the phone to figure out what's going on when this stuff happens.
In theory I would agree that doing everything on an app is better than having to call, but clearly what Tesla has in place right now isn't working well. There needs to be a tier-2 service layer that involves actual humans to help you out.
They sometimes call from the hard lines at the service center desk. The same phones that they never actually pick up when I try to call back and always have full voicemails. Shrug.
It wasn't always this way. 2 years ago service was fine. Wait until the local Tesla population reaches critical mass in your area.
Mysta
Former Vendor
Yeah sounds like may not always be a population issue, but same can be said for dealers too. Hopefully it improves in other areas.
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