Tesla Official Statement on Range

[Hello7]

A little off-topic, does anyone think that a UK number plate must hinder aerodynamics a little at high speeds?

 

[mreynolds767]

Will Telsa ever put heat pumps in their cars to power the cabin conditioning like many other makes do in their EV's?

The EPA does not put cabin heat or AC on when testing range.
I assume it is a matter of extra weight or power from the battery to run it so acceleration would be worse???

 

[I<3URANUS]

This sounds like advice from someone in southern California, or somewhere else where severe thunderstorms are rare. Is it worth the possible damage to your car even if you have a good surge protector? In Arkansas, I think not.

I live in Dallas and I'd tell you the same thing.

Are you worried about lightning strikes? Or are you worried about losing power?

If the former, your little surge protector isn't going to do anything. If the latter, well, you have three levels of risk management between the car and the danger.

Also, it's not like we don't get pretty advanced warning when a storm rolls in. If you're that concerned just leave it unplugged until the light show has passed.

 

[cs97009]

Actually most of my frustration is towards the EPA, and the amount of leeway they give companies when it comes to EPA range testing. The EPA allows companies to reduce stated range of their vehicles, and there is also an allowance for using the same EPA range on variants whether they have the same range or not. That makes real world comparisons hard.

They're the ones that allowed Tesla to use the same 310 mile EPA range for all the variants of the Model 3 LR despite them having different EPA range.nLike the Model 3 LR RWD one has a real EPA range of well over 310 miles, and the Model 3 Performance with 20inch tires (how its sold) has a real EPA range quite a bit less than the advertised range.

The EPA also has no requirements when it comes to temperature for EV range testing. Now sure temperature doesn't play that big of a role on long range freeway driving (aside from heat), but it plays a large role in daily driving.

I do have the Performance Model 3 performance, and I knew before I bought it what the REAL range is. So I didn't write the previous post out of anger. I wrote it to advise people that Tesla in particular is fairly optimistic when it comes to range. That you likely won't get stated range especially in the winter.

Now maybe a more fact only based approach would work better.

For the summer this chart is pretty accurate.
Tesla Range Table - Teslike.com

It also talks about some of the stuff I find frustrating about the EPA range.

Another way is to simply have them use a better route planner.
A Better Routeplanner

That way they can plug in what their route is, and get a real world range estimate for whatever configuration they have.

I wish I had read your post before deciding to purchase my 2020 Tesla Model 3 SR+ 18" w/ hubcap.. I practically get around 75% of displayed EPA range on 50F to 60F weather on flat Texas road on my 25+ mile one-way daily commute at 65-70mph with most of the optimizations enabled. This is for a 2K mile odo, very new. Around 80% of my drive is on autopilot, which I presume consumes more battery. Real range drops to 65% of displayed at <40F and when considering the charge loss when parked at work.

I had been in the market for a self-driving car and consider >200 mile range over 10 years barely acceptable. When Tesla adviertised 249 mile range for SR3+, I wasn't expecting real range to go below 200 in Texas weather.. But, I now get less than 180 mile range, with the new car, which is lower than in the chart on the teslike link you shared above (Tesla Range Table - Teslike.com) and am extremely frustrated. Wonder if I should get my battery checked out at Tesla service center or if this is something I should get used to. This is my first electric car and got it only in early December.

 

[Gardyloo]

I live in Dallas and I'd tell you the same thing.

Are you worried about lightning strikes? Or are you worried about losing power?

If the former, your little surge protector isn't going to do anything. If the latter, well, you have three levels of risk management between the car and the danger.

Also, it's not like we don't get pretty advanced warning when a storm rolls in. If you're that concerned just leave it unplugged until the light show has passed.

To repeat myself: I'm sorry if I gave you the impression that I cared what you thought. I wrote this for people who might want to rethink the practice, but especially in case it was picked up by Tesla and led to an editing of the advice to at least make people aware.

So your comments are completely off-point. Please continue to do whatever you do...I don't care. But FOR THOSE WHO NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT THIS they are not going to react to the severe storm warning in the first place. This is especially a problem because Tesla gives the (quoted) advice to leave your car plugged in all of the time, no caveat at all. I would say that is lousy advice for Dallas, Little Rock, adorable Florida or pretty much anywhere.

I think you have unjustified faith in the effectiveness of surge protectors. I spend a lot of time observing at McDonald Observatory where they had a bunch of good people trying to figure out how to keep lightning from trashing their equipment. They had lightning rods like you've wouldn't believe, the best of surge protection layers and what they found is that lightning goes wherever it wants to go. Yes, it's good to have surge protection when the strike is a ways down the line but they idea that any number of layers of surge protection will give complete protection when lightning strikes can go MILES in air is a fantasy.

So I really don't care what you think. My original and continuing concern is all those owners who take Tesla's advice naively and leave their cars plugged in all the time because Tesla said it was not only OK but a great idea. It is not a great idea. Again, do what you want. I don't care. At least you have been warned, something Tesla has not done for its customers AFAIK.

 

[robertsM3]

I appreciate all the advice from Tesla and others but I struggle to take it all into account. I finally ran a test after the first 5000km of use on my SR+ Model 3. The range from the webstie is 460km NEDC or over 400km on WLTP.

I charged to 90% and it said 328km range remaining. I ran it down to around 12% and struggled to get close to 240km from that 78% usage.

Tesla's advice is that I should ignore the range remaining icon. No worries except my energy app averaged over 50km says I should be getting 450-500km per charge. Nowhere near what I am getting. My drives are in roughly 45 minute chunks over a week. Weather has been around 30 deg C. There is a massive disconnect between all these numbers. I'm sitting at 130Wh/km since I bought the car which I believe is below their average calculation for range numbers.

I then charged to 100% to see what the range would display and it got to 364km. Nowhere near the 460/400km they list on their website.

Call me crazy, but is there some chance that Tesla have software restricted the battery capacity from SR+ capacity back to SR capacity? How would I know? How could I find out? What size battery should the car have anyway? Its not listed anywhere anymore.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

Tesla have software restricted the battery capacity from SR+ capacity back to SR capacity?

I’ll preface this by saying that I am not sure what km they are showing you over there...so everything could be wrong...

So...No. You know because the SR is rated for ~354km EPA. And you have more than that assuming your numbers are EPA numbers.

The battery on the SR+ is ~53kWh when new including the buffer. So about 50kWh usable on the trip meter if it has not lost any capacity.

It sounds like your battery has lost some capacity. Is it a 2020? If so, and displayed km are EPA km, sounds like 10% or so.

Anyway, you should not look at what you can accomplish over multiple days due to massive vampire drain which is not counted when the car is parked. Can only trust the trip meter on one continuous long drive.

 

[EmilyT]

I too am very disappointed in the range of my Model 3 SR+, which I bought Dec 20, 2019. I drove a Nissan Leaf for 6 years and if it said I would get 80 miles range, I got 80 miles range when driving efficiently in moderate temperatures (over several days). So far I am getting about 60% of the estimated range with my Tesla, again while driving very efficiently (less than 65 mph, slow acceleration, coasting to stops, moderate temperatures in San Diego). What a bummer - I wish I had kept my 2013 Leaf!

 

[ElectricIAC]

This is why I have a hearty chuckle anytime I see rated range “increases”

 

[robertsM3]

It sounds like your battery has lost some capacity. Is it a 2020? If so, and displayed km are EPA km, sounds like 10% or so.

Anyway, you should not look at what you can accomplish over multiple days due to massive vampire drain which is not counted when the car is parked. Can only trust the trip meter on one continuous long drive.

The car was delivered Oct 2019. Should not be seeing 10% loss already. I thought 10% was roughly the software disable amount of the SR vs SR+ which was why I was curious if it was a possibility.

In Australia they provide a claimed range of 460km but then add a disclaimer that this method of measuring is inaccurate and that the WLTP cycle is more accurate and should be used which equates to 409km.

I've got to say, a proper energy app that measures actual charge in and charge out would be really useful. It would allow a true reflection of range and usage. The idea of measuring exact costs of ownership when you can only see actual driving usage is therefore a false number. I'd like to know if I'm losing a third of my charge to vampire power drain keeping my battery and cabin cool during the day.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

I too am very disappointed in the range of my Model 3 SR+, which I bought Dec 20, 2019. I drove a Nissan Leaf for 6 years and if it said I would get 80 miles range, I got 80 miles range when driving efficiently in moderate temperatures (over several days). So far I am getting about 60% of the estimated range with my Tesla, again while driving very efficiently (less than 65 mph, slow acceleration, coasting to stops, moderate temperatures in San Diego). What a bummer - I wish I had kept my 2013 Leaf!

Average Wh/mi? If you are measuring over multiple days, you can’t look at the achievable range. But for 60% of the range you should be seeing about 330Wh/mi which is probably a bit high for SD most of the time especially in an SR+.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

The car was delivered Oct 2019. Should not be seeing 10% loss already. I thought 10% was roughly the software disable amount of the SR vs SR+ which was why I was curious if it was a possibility.

If the range at 100%, displayed next to the battery gauge (not energy app), is less than what it was when it was delivered, then you have lost capacity.* How much depends on the % change in rated range.

10% is a bit high but not unheard of for a vehicle with that mileage.

* caveat about differences in country rendering my comments possibly incorrect still applies...but pretty sure regardless of the scale used, the size of the chosen units are roughly immutable, at least after you start showing range loss.

 

[tony34]

Yes, it is all good information, however, some owners experienced some drop of the displayed estimated range.
It is not gradual. Some people lost 10% in the 1st year, some only 2 or 3.
The displayed estimated range, as stated in Tesla support pages, doesn't take into account driving style, temperature, tire pressure...etc...so I don't see why there are sudden drops and such differences between vehicles.

Tesla has put out a support statement on range, and it was highlighted in the tesla app this morning (with a link in the messages).

Since many new owners go to the internet and come to sites like this one to find out about range, and if there is something "wrong" with their car because they are not getting the 250/260/310/322 miles promised, I thought it would be a good thing to have tesla's official statements here. You can currently find this information at the following site: Range

Since sometimes people dont like to click links, I have copy pasted the contents of the above link below:


===========================================

Range

Tesla cars travel farther on a single charge than any other production electric vehicle on the market. You can view the range of your car on your touchscreen or in the Tesla app. Your Tesla continuously monitors its energy level and proximity to known charging locations to provide range assurance.

The estimated range depends heavily on factors such as driving habits, elevation changes and weather conditions. To maximize efficiency, it is important to know the factors that impact range and the recommended ways to reduce energy consumption.

• What Impacts Energy Consumption?
• Recommendations to Maximize Range
• Frequently Asked Questions

What Impacts Energy Consumption?
Like all cars, there are a number of factors that increase energy consumption and reduce range:

• High driving speeds
• High cabin air conditioning or heating usage
• Low ambient temperatures
• Inclement weather such as rain, snow and headwinds
• Stop-and-go driving
• Short trips
• Uphill travel

Driving while your battery is very cold or charged above 90% can also impact range due to limited regenerative braking. This reduces the amount of energy that can be transferred back into your battery.

To see real-time and projected energy use, open the Energy app on your touchscreen. The Energy app provides feedback on how your driving habits are impacting the expected range of your vehicle and tracks your usage.

Recommendations to Maximize Range
To maximize the range of your Tesla:

• Maintain your vehicle's tire pressures. Inflation recommendations are listed inside the drivers-side door jamb.
• Remove unnecessary cargo to lighten your load – more weight requires more energy to move the vehicle.
• Remove roof racks or rear racks when they are not in use.
• Reduce aerodynamic drag. Fully raise all windows and change air suspension (if equipped) to “Low” or “Very Low” when driving at highway speeds, For Model 3 cars with aero wheels, install aero wheel covers.
• Avoid frequent and rapid acceleration. Driving at high speeds or rapidly accelerating uses additional energy.
• Limit the use of resources such as heating, signature lighting and air conditioning.
• Set your Regenerative Braking to “Standard” to maximize energy you get back while decelerating.

Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my displayed estimated range decreasing faster than miles driven?
The range displayed is not adapted based on driving pattern or other factors that impact range. When fully charged, the driving range displayed is based on regulating agency certification (Environmental Protection Agency - EPA). To view estimated range based on average consumption, open the Energy app.

After charging is completed, why is the estimated range less than expected?
It is normal for range to decrease slightly over the first few months but then begin to level off. Over time, you may see a gradual, but natural, decrease in range at full charge depending on factors such as Supercharging regularly or the mileage and age of the battery. Your Tesla will inform you if a hardware issue is causing excessive battery or range degradation.

Why does estimated range decrease overnight while my car is off?
It is expected for a Tesla car to consume around 1% of charge per day while parked. In some cases, you may notice that consumption is higher. We recommend deactivating features such as preconditioning, Sentry Mode, Keep Climate On, and any aftermarket equipment when not needed.

Note: Aftermarket equipment connected to the 12V system and/or third party mobile applications which collect data about your vehicle can decrease range while parked and reduce the battery lifespan. Tesla does not recommend using aftermarket equipment, and any damage to your vehicle's hardware or software resulting from unauthorized access to vehicle data through non-Tesla parts or accessories is not covered by warranty.

What is Range Mode?
In Model S and Model X, Range Mode conserves energy by limiting the power of the climate control system. For more visit our New Owner Frequently Asked Questions.

Does outside temperature impact range?
Yes. Range can be impacted by extreme cold or hot temperatures; however, the impact will seem far more noticeable in cold weather. Tesla high voltage batteries are regulated to keep the battery temperature within optimal boundaries. Even if the vehicle is not being operated, the high voltage battery temperature is monitored and regulated to prolong its lifespan and performance – this is why you may notice the compressor running even while parked. See our Winter Driving Tips for more information.

Good information, but they’re definitely hiding something. I have a 2018 mid-range 14k odo. 15 miles of range loss here. Will only charge to 245. Service Centers dance around the cause when asked. If it was simply a estimated range based off system monitoring, they would clear the cache and demonstrate that is would still charge to 260.

 

[robertsM3]

If the range at 100%, displayed next to the battery gauge (not energy app), is less than what it was when it was delivered, then you have lost capacity.* How much depends on the % change in rated range.

Unfortunately I always used the % scale until recently therefore I don't know what the range display was from new. I wanted to see what was really going on with my range after it seemed like the range per charge wasn't quite what I was expecting. This has now started my journey down the rabbit hole.

I've lodged a service call with Tesla and will get their opinion. Don't think I'll get much of a response but we'll see what eventuates.

 

[jjrandorin]

I too am very disappointed in the range of my Model 3 SR+, which I bought Dec 20, 2019. I drove a Nissan Leaf for 6 years and if it said I would get 80 miles range, I got 80 miles range when driving efficiently in moderate temperatures (over several days). So far I am getting about 60% of the estimated range with my Tesla, again while driving very efficiently (less than 65 mph, slow acceleration, coasting to stops, moderate temperatures in San Diego). What a bummer - I wish I had kept my 2013 Leaf!

Even in San diego, the temperatures you call "moderate" have a REAL effect on range and power usage. Your wh/mi is likely much higher now than it will be in march (and yes, I know the temperatures out here as I am out here too).

My wh/mi from december to march or so is around 300-310 in my model 3p, and driving in the EXACT Same manner, over the EXACT same roads, at the EXACT same times (commute to work and back) I average around 260 wh/mi starting around the end of march. Weather matters everywhere, even here in san diego.

You will get much better range starting in march. I bought my car in dec of 2018 and was a bit frustrated with winter range too, because I thought "its san diego, it aint that cold" but the batteries need to be a certain temp. I drive 40 miles to work every day, and my car starts with a 90% charge... and the "regen dots" are not gone until I am 3/4 of the way to work.

 

[ElectricIAC]

I wish I had read your post before deciding to purchase my 2020 Tesla Model 3 SR+ 18" w/ hubcap.. I practically get around 75% of displayed EPA range on 50F to 60F weather on flat Texas road on my 25+ mile one-way daily commute at 65-70mph with most of the optimizations enabled. This is for a 2K mile odo, very new. Around 80% of my drive is on autopilot, which I presume consumes more battery. Real range drops to 65% of displayed at <40F and when considering the charge loss when parked at work.

I had been in the market for a self-driving car and consider >200 mile range over 10 years barely acceptable. When Tesla adviertised 249 mile range for SR3+, I wasn't expecting real range to go below 200 in Texas weather.. But, I now get less than 180 mile range, with the new car, which is lower than in the chart on the teslike link you shared above (Tesla Range Table - Teslike.com) and am extremely frustrated. Wonder if I should get my battery checked out at Tesla service center or if this is something I should get used to. This is my first electric car and got it only in early December.

What are you charging to? Have you actually run the car down to 0 at all?

 

[jjrandorin]

Good information, but they’re definitely hiding something. I have a 2018 mid-range 14k odo. 15 miles of range loss here. Will only charge to 245. Service Centers dance around the cause when asked. If it was simply a estimated range based off system monitoring, they would clear the cache and demonstrate that is would still charge to 260.

And I have 5 "miles lost" which happened all at once during some update last October, to 274 from 279, and I have almost 20k miles on the odometer. If I had to guess, I am betting you either dont charge every day, or you charge to something other than 90% charge.

 

[Kasper]

Interesting this comment from Tesla’s post on range:

“When fully charged, the driving range displayed is based on regulating agency certification (Environmental Protection Agency - EPA). To view estimated range based on average consumption, open the Energy app.“

My 2018 LR AWD Model 3 is EPA rated at 29kwh/100 miles, and I’m averaging a matching 287wh/mi lifetime. So why is the ‘rated wh/mi’ in the energy pane (and that my 310 miles range is calculated at) set at a much lower 240wh/mi?

Aren’t they implying in that statement that my rated efficiency and therefore mileage is being set by the EPA? In which case either my car has a 90kwh battery or it should have been sold as having 260 miles of range.

Put another way, I’m averaging better efficiency that the EPA rating, and my projected range in the energy pane would be 250miles at 100%, So how can this be sold as a 310 mile car?

(Yes, I know I could drive slower/etc and hit 240wh/mi, but that’s not the point. )

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

My 2018 LR AWD Model 3 is EPA rated at 29kwh/100 miles

The EPA rating, provided and tested by Tesla in Fremont, is walls to wheels, so includes about 12% charging losses.

I’m averaging a matching 287wh/mi lifetime.

No, you are getting closer to 325Wh/mi AC. Closer to 350Wh/mi after including other wasted energy...

why is the ‘rated wh/mi’ in the energy pane (and that my 310 miles range is calculated at) set at a much lower 240wh/mi

The line is at 250Wh/mi for you and represents (roughly) the battery to wheels efficiency in the test Tesla does. The actual value used in the calculations on that Energy page appears to be 245Wh/ mi. Actual value from raw test results was about 256Wh/mi battery to wheels, 290Wh/mi wall to wheels.

 

[ElectricIAC]

So the real numbers are false numbers impression of real numbers.