Tesla Official Statement on Range

[Toppatop55]

ive a model 3 with 20s awd long range. just picked it up friday.

i keep my foot in the tank , so i don't expect 300 or whatever miles on the window sticker. i bought the car for is speed, agility, and overall performance. i'm coming from driving SUVs for years and my last suv was a 5.6 L V8 - 6500 ish pounds and i was getting 11 MPG (did not buy the car for its MPG). i was charging yesterday for the second time at a charging station because i live in an apartment and no way to plug, and i KEEP the air-con running. not going to have windows rolled down and/or wrapped up in a blanket.

i think there are some people like me out there in the wild who don't really care too much about squeezing out EVERY mile that the epa window sticker says--they just want to have fun in the car, and by George, that's exactly what i am doing. Range be damned!

Agree...Mbira what isle that power was drastically cut by 20% after three months of ownership or gradually decreased every time you charged up. How would that make you feel? You didn’t buy your car for mileage but many of us payed extra money for what we’re not getting. Kinda like FSD (lol)

 

[aerodyne]

I totally disagree with your statement about Tesla fudging their numbers. Your claims has no facts and is just your opinion and frustration against Tesla. Go to epa and see how they get these numbers and see how it backs up your crazy claims.

Actually, there is ample evidence that at least for older MS, Tesla has cheated by using full nominal pack capacity, instead of useable capacity, for EPA RM. Not only does this affect Range, but also hides battery degradation.

To prove this, get a CAN bus reader, or watch Tesla Bjorn's channel.

 

[King_M3D]

Avoid frequent and rapid acceleration. Driving at high speeds or rapidly accelerating uses additional energy.

But that's why I bought it???

 

[PhilRogers]

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.

 

[PhilRogers]

BRAND NEW OWNER---WORRIED!



Hi everyone! I really need your advice and please don't flame me! I have wanted a Tesla for so long and finally got mine Saturday. I have been reading the threads and need some advice/reassurance, because my anxiety is preventing me from truly enjoying my new car.

It's a Model 3 Standard Range Plus. I picked it up in St. Louis on Saturday. (That's where they found me one--I live in suburban Chicago). On my 295 mile trip home, I had to charge twice. I was really surprised by that. (Both were at Superchargers---which by the way took a really long time---as long as an hour).

Here were the conditions: Blinding rain, pretty cold (probably 40's), wipers and lights for much of the trip. Do those kinds of conditions really sap range? So much so that I needed to supercharge twice on a 295 mile trip?

Please, another example. I'm 28 miles from work. This morning, I started with my car displaying a range of 299 miles. It rolled off 40 miles on that 28 mile trip. Is that normal? (45 degrees, some drizzle, wipers for part of the trip --- and lights).

Now---one last thing. I know this is controversial: I just really don't like the appearance of the aero covers or the gun-metal wheels below them. PLEASE DON"T FLAME ME ON THIS I paid extra for the 19" sport wheels because I just thought they look better. Are those really sapping my range? Or can someone reassure me that that number may be minimal? I've seen everything from 5% to 10% range reduction on the forums. I'm so worried I made a huge mistake.

Most of all everyone, I just want to start loving my car. This is all sort of hanging over me. I don't have range anxiety. I have "think about range all the time" anxiety.

Any and all advice/comfort you could offer would be very welcome. It is a beautiful car.

Thank you,
Phil Rogers
Chicago

 

[aerodyne]

Weather as you described, could reduce your actual range by 20-30% or more. Sport wheels maybe 5-10%.

After growing up in the west side burbs, left for St Louis after one too many snow storms in May...and after a snow storm there paralized the place for two weeks, went to SoCal and never looked back. Chicago is a Tesla desert, you car would be happiest here.

Advice?

One...don't worry about range or the car. You will learn as you go.

Two...do some research. This link is a great source. Once you find out all the cool things about your car, you won't mind the little quirks...

TeslaTap

Here is another on range that shows the minor effect of the wheels:

Teslike.com

Also, avoid getting in a Model S. You may not want to get out! ( Just my biased opinion)

 

[PhilRogers]

Weather as you described, could reduce your actual range by 20-30% or more. Sport wheels maybe 5-10%.

After growing up in the west side burbs, left for St Louis after one too many snow storms in May...and after a snow storm there paralized the place for two weeks, went to SoCal and never looked back. Chicago is a Tesla desert, you car would be happiest here.

Advice?

One...don't worry about range or the car. You will learn as you go.

Two...do some research. This link is a great source. Once you find out all the cool things about your car, you won't mind the little quirks...

TeslaTap

Here is another on range that shows the minor effect of the wheels:

Teslike.com

Also, avoid getting in a Model S. You may not want to get out! ( Just my biased opinion)

Wow thank you for your kind words. Of all the things I described, what saps the range the most? I thought the lights were LED's and were negligible. And the wipers? On the way home this evening that same 28 mile trip rolled 31 miles off of range. Only a 3 mile difference. It was sunny, though. no rain. What are your thoughts? And please tell me I didn't make a mistake with the 19 inch wheels. They really look terrific!

 

[aerodyne]

Things that affect range:

1)Trailer towing
2)Roof carrier
3)Heater

4)Snow
5)Cold weather
6)Rain

7)Winds
8)AC
9) new tires, large rims

Lights, w/w, fan, accessory are negligible at less than 5%

Items 1-3 can reduce range by 30-50%
Items 4-6 20-40 %
Items 6-9 10-20%

From the link I sent you, your 19" wheels only reduce range by 15 miles or 6%. This will disappear if you drive 5 mph slower. You did not make a mistake, unless you curb a wheel as that is more expensive with the nicer wheels. Note, tire replacement costs 4 cents a mile, about the same as electricity for the car.

Don't worry about range. Set energy to %, best x country speeds will have you staying roughly 80-20% SoC.

Don't worry about degradation. M3 has a warranty.

 

[Zoomit]

Set energy to %

This is good advice. I did this before driving my car home the first time. Showing the battery state in terms of EPA range leads to a lot of confusion by owners when they see their “range” change expectedly and attribute it to battery degradation. Those owners then get confusing advice both from the Tesla community and Service Centers. I wrote the following for another thread and it might be useful here.

Brick Balancing
A brick, in Tesla’s lexicon, is a group of cells in parallel within the battery pack. Rebalancing the bricks is needed when the bricks have voltages that vary more than an allowable level. This variability is caused by slight differences in cell manufacturing that leads to different discharge rates. This is a physical manifestation in the car. Unbalanced bricks result in a battery pack that can provide less energy than if the bricks were at optimal balance. This is depicted to the driver as a reduction in the miles available on the battery level indication next to the speedometer.

It can be remedied by leaving the car near or above 90% for a relatively long period of time, measured in many days depending on the brick balance disparity. It doesn't need to be continuous. The car applies a bleed resistor to slowly lower the charge on the highest brick, in successive order, so that all the bricks are within tolerance. The gory details on Brick Balancing is in the Model 3 Service Manual and can be read at the end of this post: Battery Management System - What I Learned At Tesla Service Center

BMS Calibration
The need to recalibrate the Battery Management System (BMS) is completely different. The BMS uses an algorithm to predict how much energy the battery pack is capable of discharging. This is equivalent to the gas gauge in an ICE car, except with gasoline you can directly measure the fluid level. This same direct measurement cannot be done in the battery. It needs to be discharged to demonstrate the energy capacity. The BMS updates it's prediction for battery capacity whenever you charge and discharge the battery. If you frequently use only a limited percentage of the total available capacity, the errors in that prediction grow. The BMS has to be conservative and will only show you the available capacity it's confident can be produced. This is depicted to the driver as a reduction in the miles available on the battery level indication next to the speedometer. (Note: This is the same as when the bricks are unbalanced, hence there’s frequent confusion!)

You can provide the BMS with better calibration data by discharging the battery to a low state and recharging it to a high state. I think for best effect, but don't know for certain, that this should be done in one uninterrupted charge session. I don't recall accurate and specific guidance from Tesla, but I suggest starting below 15% SOC and charging to above 90% SOC. This may need to be done multiple times depending on size of the errors. I should reiterate that this calibration process is not changing anything physical in the car, just the predicted range from the BMS algorithm. Stated another way, your car can drive the same distance, independent of the BMS calibration. Hopefully it's obvious, but BMS calibration errors have no effect on battery degradation.

Battery Degradation
And now we get to why everybody gets excited or emotional about this topic. Battery degradation, which happens to all batteries over time and depends on usage conditions, is depicted to the driver as a reduction in the miles available on the battery level indication next to the speedometer. (There's that sentence again.) Owners experiencing unbalanced bricks and/or BMS calibration errors interpret the reduced range as early battery degradation.

The challenge is that the above methods for balancing the bricks and calibrating the BMS are not conducive to a long battery life. The one-time effects are inconsequentially small, but habitually storing the battery above 90%, especially in hot weather, and routinely deep cycling the battery is not healthy for it. The battery would be expected to degrade marginally faster than one under less stressful usage conditions.

 

[aerodyne]

Good write up. Only thing I would add is different pack sizes and chemistry, such as MX and MS, and older cars may differ.

For instance, MS 85D circa 2015. Stay between 30-80% most all trips. Charge to midpoint of Elons tweet at 56-57%.

Stored at 56%, for 6-8 weeks, twice in the last year. Worst range I saw was 259. After a charge to 78%, right back up to 267, 270 when purchased.

I believe the older packs calibrate and balance well before 90%. You can see the balancing on SMT over 70%, and it happens over a few hours at Level 2, 30A.

I want to emphasis the importance of your last paragraph. Unless you have a real need for those last 10 or so miles, you are hurting the pack unnecessary with full, or near full, DoD cycles.

 

[Zoomit]

Good write up. Only thing I would add is different pack sizes and chemistry, such as MX and MS, and older cars may differ.

For instance, MS 85D circa 2015. Stay between 30-80% most all trips. Charge to midpoint of Elons tweet at 56-57%.

Stored at 56%, for 6-8 weeks, twice in the last year. Worst range I saw was 259. After a charge to 78%, right back up to 267, 270 when purchased.

I believe the older packs calibrate and balance well before 90%. You can see the balancing on SMT over 70%, and it happens over a few hours at Level 2, 30A.

I want to emphasis the importance of your last paragraph. Unless you have a real need for those last 10 or so miles, you are hurting the pack unnecessary with full, or near full, DoD cycles.

I would say that this guidance is only applicable to the Model 3 and Y, since I know there are differences in S/X, as you pointed out. It’s also possible that Tesla will change the software in a related and significant way in the future. They do seem to be tweaking the BMS algorithm to make it more accurate.

Also, the guidance is likely specific to the current 3/Y hardware, specifically pack design and cell chemistry. Updates to either could make future 3/Y packs behave just as differently as the S/X does to the current 3/Y. Incidentally, the currently delivered 3/Y packs have cells that are different than the original 3 packs. This isn’t widely recognized and I don’t know of any apparent performance differences. Pre-COVID, they were planning to transition to a 3rd cell iteration late this year but don’t know if that is still on track and have no idea if there would be any visible differences to iteration 1 and 2.

 

[PhilRogers]

I may have read this wrong---but I seem to see a contradiction. On the one hand you indicate that we need to occasionally let it discharge to about 15% then recharge to about 90. But on the other hand "habitually storing the battery above 90%, especially in hot weather, and routinely deep cycling the battery is not healthy for it." So are you saying I SHOULD do it every now and then, but just not make a habit of it? I don't recall this in the manual, which I always note, I have read.

Many thanks. Always trying to learn about my car and how best to take care of it!

 

[Zoomit]

I may have read this wrong---but I seem to see a contradiction. On the one hand you indicate that we need to occasionally let it discharge to about 15% then recharge to about 90. But on the other hand "habitually storing the battery above 90%, especially in hot weather, and routinely deep cycling the battery is not healthy for it." So are you saying I SHOULD do it every now and then, but just not make a habit of it? I don't recall this in the manual, which I always note, I have read.

Yes, deep cycling the battery is ok, if you feel it necessary, just don't make a habit of doing it frequently. Normal operation of the vehicle, such as long distance highway trips with high battery usage, should provide the needed BMS calibration data.

I added the statement about degradation because people should not constantly discharge their battery to <15% to just have a better battery capacity estimate. That's losing sight of the forest for the trees. Occasional "remedies" are just fine, but doing it all the time will cause extra degradation.

Also, the battery is not like the gas tank in a car, which is the same size for all it's life. The battery is a consumable. It degrades just sitting in a garage. It degrades by each and every use. The amount of degradation is generally very small but there are techniques to minimize that degradation. The manual purposefully simplifies battery management, to make operating the car as easy as possible. For various reasons, some people want to give their car more love than others. The manual doesn't tell people how to clay, cut, polish and seal their car's paint, but many treat their paint with that extra care. It's the same for the battery.

 

[PhilRogers]

Yes, deep cycling the battery is ok, if you feel it necessary, just don't make a habit of doing it frequently. Normal operation of the vehicle, such as long distance highway trips with high battery usage, should provide the needed BMS calibration data.

I added the statement about degradation because people should not constantly discharge their battery to <15% to just have a better battery capacity estimate. That's losing sight of the forest for the trees. Occasional "remedies" are just fine, but doing it all the time will cause extra degradation.

Also, the battery is not like the gas tank in a car, which is the same size for all it's life. The battery is a consumable. It degrades just sitting in a garage. It degrades by each and every use. The amount of degradation is generally very small but there are techniques to minimize that degradation. The manual purposefully simplifies battery management, to make operating the car as easy as possible. For various reasons, some people want to give their car more love than others. The manual doesn't tell people how to clay, cut, polish and seal their car's paint, but many treat their paint with that extra care. It's the same for the battery.

Very wise advice. I would be interested in the best battery management advice for keeping it healthy. I bought the car with a long loan, so I need to keep the battery in as good a shape as possible!!! My largest usage is my commute, about 35 miles each way. I charge to 80% and usually get home with about 48% left. I go back and forth in that range. Do you think that's unhealthy?

Any pointers you can offer I would absolutely want to keep in mind. Many thanks!

 

[duanra]

Very wise advice. I would be interested in the best battery management advice for keeping it healthy. I bought the car with a long loan, so I need to keep the battery in as good a shape as possible!!! My largest usage is my commute, about 35 miles each way. I charge to 80% and usually get home with about 48% left. I go back and forth in that range. Do you think that's unhealthy?

Any pointers you can offer I would absolutely want to keep in mind. Many thanks!

What you do seems perfect to me.
What owners need to avoid on a regular base is close to bottom and close to top.

 

[Zoomit]

I charge to 80% and usually get home with about 48% left. I go back and forth in that range. Do you think that's unhealthy?

That’s a totally normal usage pattern and similar to what I do. Occasionally charge to 90% and let the bricks balance out but don’t overthink it.

 

[camalaio]

Do we have a firm idea on when the battery balances? Some say 90%. Some say 85%. Fewer say 80%. Some say 4.00V/cell. But the thing is, my car (via SMT) shows 4.00V/cell far before 85%. I can't recall exactly, but I'm betting it's somewhere between 70%-80%. Which would imply we don't need to be charging as high as 90% just to balance the packs.

I recently had a sudden drop that's probably just the BMS catching up to real degradation finally. Funny thing is I saw this with the percent display instead of range - my percentage jumped up 2% overnight, and confirmed this was a change in capacity via SMT rather than some temperature variable or something. Had I been displaying range, I would know this without SMT which is... kinda nice?

BRAND NEW OWNER---WORRIED!



Hi everyone! I really need your advice and please don't flame me! I have wanted a Tesla for so long and finally got mine Saturday. I have been reading the threads and need some advice/reassurance, because my anxiety is preventing me from truly enjoying my new car.

It's a Model 3 Standard Range Plus. I picked it up in St. Louis on Saturday. (That's where they found me one--I live in suburban Chicago). On my 295 mile trip home, I had to charge twice. I was really surprised by that. (Both were at Superchargers---which by the way took a really long time---as long as an hour).

Here were the conditions: Blinding rain, pretty cold (probably 40's), wipers and lights for much of the trip. Do those kinds of conditions really sap range? So much so that I needed to supercharge twice on a 295 mile trip?

Please, another example. I'm 28 miles from work. This morning, I started with my car displaying a range of 299 miles. It rolled off 40 miles on that 28 mile trip. Is that normal? (45 degrees, some drizzle, wipers for part of the trip --- and lights).

Now---one last thing. I know this is controversial: I just really don't like the appearance of the aero covers or the gun-metal wheels below them. PLEASE DON"T FLAME ME ON THIS I paid extra for the 19" sport wheels because I just thought they look better. Are those really sapping my range? Or can someone reassure me that that number may be minimal? I've seen everything from 5% to 10% range reduction on the forums. I'm so worried I made a huge mistake.

Most of all everyone, I just want to start loving my car. This is all sort of hanging over me. I don't have range anxiety. I have "think about range all the time" anxiety.

Any and all advice/comfort you could offer would be very welcome. It is a beautiful car.

Thank you,
Phil Rogers
Chicago

Hey, I know it's been a bit since you posted this. Wanted to say sorry for all the misleading or lacking statements on range you encountered prior to getting your car. Tesla is responsible for this, and as a very hyped community we often are too optimistic.

Teslas lose range in the same conditions gas vehicles do, but you've probably never noticed it that much. Where it tends to vary a lot (e.g. highway travel), you're just stopping at gas stations as necessary in ICE because they're plentiful. With the reduced range capability of an EV, you now have to be very aware. Anyone who says otherwise likely has a good EV charging network nearby (I don't and didn't even after travelling 2500km into the US).

• Rain hurts range a lot, but what hurts way more is being in the rain grooves. Try to rid atop the higher spots so that you're not pushing so much water out of the way.
• Supercharging is slower than you'd expect because you're probably charging all the way. The last 30% is especially slow. Working with the lower part of the battery (0-70%) will give you faster charging, but is of course riskier in terms of being stranded. You can pick fast charging or a comfortable range buffer, not both. Using abetterrouteplanner.com will give you a more time-optimised route in the future (stops at more chargers, but uses the lower portion of the battery for faster charging).
• Cold is super detrimental. You often can't just not heat the car in those conditions (turns out you need to be able to see the road and feel your hands to drive), but the heater takes a lot of power. Expect 30-40% reduced range normally in cold, more if it's really cold or snow/rain exists. A Model Y will do better since it uses a heat pump, not a resistive heater.
• The range display is "rated range", so in cold you will indeed burn through rated miles faster than actual miles travelled. Rated miles are actually a sort of energy unit (because it's rated for so many Wh/mi). If you use energy faster than rated, it will show. So yes, perfectly normal.
• Wheels do impact range, but you do you. I wanted them as well but the Aeros grew on me, plus we highway travel a lot.
• Lights & wipers don't really consume significant amounts of energy. I know Tesla recommends turning off lights, but they're really not significant at all and you need the lights. Turning off the AP computer would technically net similar results, but they don't let us do that!

I think you're right to think about range all the time, honestly. A 56mi round trip every day in the worst conditions consumes something like 110 rated miles. You only have 250 to work with, but you're probably only using 80% of your battery on a daily basis at most (keeping between 10%-90%), which is only 200 miles of rated range to work with.

Now you know. This is the EV lifestyle. This isn't a situation unique to Tesla (though those do exist). Well... the heating being so expensive is a bit more of a Tesla problem than some other popular EVs, but it's not unique to Tesla.

 

[Zoomit]

Do we have a firm idea on when the battery balances? Some say 90%. Some say 85%. Fewer say 80%. Some say 4.00V/cell. But the thing is, my car (via SMT) shows 4.00V/cell far before 85%. I can't recall exactly, but I'm betting it's somewhere between 70%-80%. Which would imply we don't need to be charging as high as 90% just to balance the packs.

The battery SOC percentage varies based on temperature, brick voltage balance and I'm sure a bunch of other stuff, so you will not get a "firm" answer. As I linked to above, the line from the Service Manual is: "The HVBMS will order Batman to put that bleed resistor across the brick with the highest voltage when Delta V is > 5mv MinBrickV > 4.0v (~85% SOC) && HVBMS State == STAND BY."

This is a low load measurement. If you saw a lot less than 85% at 4.0V/brick then it may have been due to voltage sag under load. Certainly 4.0V is not 70-80%. That's too low. Could it be in the low 80's, sure, but I'd be surprised if it was lower than that.

 

[PhilRogers]

Do we have a firm idea on when the battery balances? Some say 90%. Some say 85%. Fewer say 80%. Some say 4.00V/cell. But the thing is, my car (via SMT) shows 4.00V/cell far before 85%. I can't recall exactly, but I'm betting it's somewhere between 70%-80%. Which would imply we don't need to be charging as high as 90% just to balance the packs.

I recently had a sudden drop that's probably just the BMS catching up to real degradation finally. Funny thing is I saw this with the percent display instead of range - my percentage jumped up 2% overnight, and confirmed this was a change in capacity via SMT rather than some temperature variable or something. Had I been displaying range, I would know this without SMT which is... kinda nice?



Hey, I know it's been a bit since you posted this. Wanted to say sorry for all the misleading or lacking statements on range you encountered prior to getting your car. Tesla is responsible for this, and as a very hyped community we often are too optimistic.

Teslas lose range in the same conditions gas vehicles do, but you've probably never noticed it that much. Where it tends to vary a lot (e.g. highway travel), you're just stopping at gas stations as necessary in ICE because they're plentiful. With the reduced range capability of an EV, you now have to be very aware. Anyone who says otherwise likely has a good EV charging network nearby (I don't and didn't even after travelling 2500km into the US).

• Rain hurts range a lot, but what hurts way more is being in the rain grooves. Try to rid atop the higher spots so that you're not pushing so much water out of the way.
• Supercharging is slower than you'd expect because you're probably charging all the way. The last 30% is especially slow. Working with the lower part of the battery (0-70%) will give you faster charging, but is of course riskier in terms of being stranded. You can pick fast charging or a comfortable range buffer, not both. Using abetterrouteplanner.com will give you a more time-optimised route in the future (stops at more chargers, but uses the lower portion of the battery for faster charging).
• Cold is super detrimental. You often can't just not heat the car in those conditions (turns out you need to be able to see the road and feel your hands to drive), but the heater takes a lot of power. Expect 30-40% reduced range normally in cold, more if it's really cold or snow/rain exists. A Model Y will do better since it uses a heat pump, not a resistive heater.
• The range display is "rated range", so in cold you will indeed burn through rated miles faster than actual miles travelled. Rated miles are actually a sort of energy unit (because it's rated for so many Wh/mi). If you use energy faster than rated, it will show. So yes, perfectly normal.
• Wheels do impact range, but you do you. I wanted them as well but the Aeros grew on me, plus we highway travel a lot.
• Lights & wipers don't really consume significant amounts of energy. I know Tesla recommends turning off lights, but they're really not significant at all and you need the lights. Turning off the AP computer would technically net similar results, but they don't let us do that!

I think you're right to think about range all the time, honestly. A 56mi round trip every day in the worst conditions consumes something like 110 rated miles. You only have 250 to work with, but you're probably only using 80% of your battery on a daily basis at most (keeping between 10%-90%), which is only 200 miles of rated range to work with.

Now you know. This is the EV lifestyle. This isn't a situation unique to Tesla (though those do exist). Well... the heating being so expensive is a bit more of a Tesla problem than some other popular EVs, but it's not unique to Tesla.

Wow---thank you for your really kind note. In all of my replies, that was the best one so far---and really understanding of my situation. Since I posted that I've learned a lot. Switched to percentage instead of miles on the display---and I have found that the energy graph really gives me useful information, especially under the "trips" section. I have actually found that I can travel 75 mph and stay above the graph, as long as I don't do it all at once. Tesla seems to like slow and steady, building up to a speed rather than just getting there all at once.

I absolutely love the car. Love it. There are things I would change---I think the music interface is absurd for such a sophisticated automobile (my Honda Accord had a better one, for goodness sake!)---but that doesn't change the truly remarkable things the car has in other areas. And I am learning.

Thanks for a really great post. Great information. And thanks for understanding that I'm not an electrical engineer or a fanboy, just somebody who wanted the car for a long time and is really happy with it!

 

[camalaio]

The battery SOC percentage varies based on temperature, brick voltage balance and I'm sure a bunch of other stuff, so you will not get a "firm" answer. As I linked to above, the line from the Service Manual is: "The HVBMS will order Batman to put that bleed resistor across the brick with the highest voltage when Delta V is > 5mv MinBrickV > 4.0v (~85% SOC) && HVBMS State == STAND BY."

This is a low load measurement. If you saw a lot less than 85% at 4.0V/brick then it may have been due to voltage sag under load. Certainly 4.0V is not 70-80%. That's too low. Could it be in the low 80's, sure, but I'd be surprised if it was lower than that.

Voltage sag would mean reading a lower voltage at higher SoC (remaining capacity) though - if anything, 85% @ 4.00V seems to indicate that's the reference with sag based on my car? Which is why I'm not sure these statements are really accurate?

Right now, ~45 minutes after a drive, it's showing a minimum of 4.10V at 86.6% SoC at a fairly reasonable 26C. Even if I inflate the percentage by not accounting for the bottom end buffer, that's about 87.2%. I hate to say "the service manual is wrong", especially given that I'm using third-party tools to get this information and can't hold Tesla to it at all , but it certainly seems to have contradictory numbers. Anyhow, it seems that the 4.0V is the important part since the 85% SoC is in brackets, and perhaps was just an honest mistake or rough head calculation. If so, at least based on my car, then it seems we don't need to charge beyond 85% (probably lower, will need to report back) in order for it to start balancing. I definitely saw greater imbalance numbers when I was charging to 60-70% but never when I charged to 80%, so there might be something here.

What about everyone else? If you often charge to 80% for example, what voltages are you getting at 80%?

Wow---thank you for your really kind note. In all of my replies, that was the best one so far---and really understanding of my situation. Since I posted that I've learned a lot. Switched to percentage instead of miles on the display---and I have found that the energy graph really gives me useful information, especially under the "trips" section. I have actually found that I can travel 75 mph and stay above the graph, as long as I don't do it all at once. Tesla seems to like slow and steady, building up to a speed rather than just getting there all at once.

I absolutely love the car. Love it. There are things I would change---I think the music interface is absurd for such a sophisticated automobile (my Honda Accord had a better one, for goodness sake!)---but that doesn't change the truly remarkable things the car has in other areas. And I am learning.

Thanks for a really great post. Great information. And thanks for understanding that I'm not an electrical engineer or a fanboy, just somebody who wanted the car for a long time and is really happy with it!

Hey, no problemo. I sympathize a lot with the "not an electrical engineer or a fanboy" folks - if EVs are going to become common, then it's not just EE's and fanboys going to be driving them, and it's gotta work for them too!