Tesla's Charging Woes: Why I'm Ditching It for Long-Distance Travel

[Hank42]

I don't know about the rest of you, but I plan my charge stops to coincide with eating/bio break with my family of 5. I charge the car while I'm eating. More times than not, the car is done charging before we are ready to continue our journey. All in all, the down time off the road makes the trip more enjoyable.

I won't bother to go indepth as to why you felt the need to stop so frequently. Is your main battery OK?

 

[EVSince2011]

I drove 500 miles a couple of weeks ago in a newer Model Y. About 300 miles were on two lane country roads. Started at about 95%. Three charging stops. The first one took about 20 minutes to charge to 85%. During that time I used the bathroom at a Jack in the Box about a block away, got a cup of coffee and a snack. Done by the time I got back to the car. Second stop, also about 20 minutes. I stayed in the car and listened to my audio book. Third stop I had dinner at a well reviewed tavern a couple of blocks away. Limited the charge to 80%. Done before I finished my meal. I doubt if an ICE car would have been noticably faster unless I just stopped for gas and to pee and ate in the car. No thanks. I need breaks to stretch my legs and avoid fatigue. Arrived at my destination where I could charge overnight with about 20%.

 

[CyberShy]

Why do you need to question? I only charge from 21% to 50% charge to use the quicker charging time....otherwise you'll wait about 30 minutes to 40 minutes at a charging site?

Car can go ideally 220 miles real world range. Road isn't ideal. I had this car since day one from Nov. 2017. The rated range is not the same as real driving range. I wouldn't trust it.

This is your problem. You're only using 29% of the battery "to save time". But with so many stops, you're not saving time at all.

 

[Mercimek]

I think the OP needs to adjust their charging strategy. I’ve done similar road trips and didn’t require that many stops. Charging to 100% before start of a long trip makes things much smoother.

Also most of the time when I supercharge during a stop to feed family or use restroom: the cars done charging before we’re done (in many cases I’ve had to move the car before food arrives at our table).

 

[electricar]

A 500 mile road trip in $5000 Prius sounds delightful - you won’t miss that Model S at all.

 

[Ostrichsak]

At best this is one of the most blatant and obvious cases of operator error I've ever seen. Not Tesla's fault.

At worst, this is yet another attempt to get people all riled up about something so obviously wrong that it's clearly inflammatory.

Either way, this is dumb and isn't even worth the keystrokes.

Our Teslas have been the BEST vehicles for road trips we've ever owned. Period. It's become one of our summertime hobbies as a direct result of owning Teslas, in fact. We have well over 100k miles logged in Teslas now and nothing you can say will lead me to believe that there's a better option currently available for our needs. If there was, we'd own that instead.

I'm not brand loyal to Tesla nor do I have any allegiance or political affiliation with Tesla or it's vision. All I car about is driving the best driving experience at the best price available that's also fun and super advanced. It does everything and does it well.

People like the OP of this thread are clearly the ones with an agenda. You should just sell and get like a BMW or a Ford or something. Lots of people do. Lots of people drove a Ford Taurus too... doesn't make them any good. Buncha lemmings driving garbage with the best marketing.

Good thing nobody is forcing you to own a Tesla. Sounds like you're a born Prius owner. Enjoy!

 

[3sr+buyer]

You should charge to 100% before you go and then to 100% one more time. That's 1 stop. Not sure why you only charge up to 50%. Why would you not use HALF of your battery?

Because charging speed is slower at high state of charge, the fastest trip usually means charging from around 10% to around 50-60% at each stop. But that should mean fewer than 5 stops for 500 miles.

 

[cmaster]

Lol...Operator error?

I think if I had charged to 100%, that will require me to wait 2.5 hours for the full trip. I would stop twice, but, if I do multiple stops, it would shorten it to 1.45 hours....

Either case, it is till lengthy to any bio break. Not to mention if you travel during off-hours, you will not be able to use any nearby facilities at the charging stations?

 

[Leftlane22]

It takes way less time to charge all the way up while you are already plugged in than stopping an additional 3 or 4 times and only charging to 50%. Mine doesn’t slow nearly that much at the upper charge levels - in fact it stays pretty constant at a high level until about 80%, then starts to slow, but it doesn’t take 30 minutes to go from 95-100, that’s for sure.

Taking a $5k Prius on a 500 mile trip sounds torture to me compared to an S.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Lol...Operator error?

I think if I had charged to 100%, that will require me to wait 2.5 hours for the full trip. I would stop twice, but, if I do multiple stops, it would shorten it to 1.45 hours....

Either case, it is till lengthy to any bio break. Not to mention if you travel during off-hours, you will not be able to use any nearby facilities at the charging stations?

Calling it "operator error" was a polite euphemism rather than calling you something you obviously earned for stopping 5-6 times to Supercharger for a 500 mile trip.

Especially to then be outraged by having to stop so many times. That's just absurd behavior and has no basis in reality. One stop is all that's needed to make that trip. Not 5-6 as you claim. One.

You clearly have no clue how to manage your Tesla. I know this is some pretty advanced math so see post #11 for a picture that should help you to understand what is widely known by all others.

Enjoy your Prius!

 

[thyname]

Granted the longest road trip I have ever taken on a Tesla is 450 miles each way, 900 miles round trip, but my experiences have been very positive. Maybe the route.

It literally takes 30 minutes or less to research your route (Tesla maps, a better route planner site, PlugShare, etc). A little work prior to driving goes a long way.

If you still resist, and FYI, depending on how many long trips you take annually, I would recommend renting a car from Turo instead of buying an ICE car just for road trips. Way cheaper (considering taxes, insurance, and other stuff on top of purchase price)

 

[Mercimek]

Devils advocate: could have a trailer or roofbox, or not preconditioning before charging, or v1 superchargers with someone sharing the juice by parking next to them.

 

[Tam]

... I think if I had charged to 100%...

My charging strategy for a road trip is:

Before a trip, sleep while the car fills up at 100% by the time I wake up for the trip.

Drive the battery to the lowest level without being stranded for out of battery then stop to charge to 80%.

This has worked out well for me but of course, for those who want to skip charging by filling up with gasoline, ICE is still faster. No question about it.

 

[Usher]

As someone who had a P85 that eventually saw a big reduction in supercharging speeds, I can give the benefit of the doubt for part of this. However, it makes zero sense to fail to charge up to at least 80% before starting the trip and to refuse to go below 20% if you're trying to make each stop shorter. When I did trips like this in that car, I would start with at least a 90% charge, which would get 175-200 miles to the first stop, where I'd eat a regular meal. The car would be back to about 80% by the time I was done, which would get me another 150 miles or so. Then I'd do another short charge before the destination.

The funny thing is the only thing that was able to convince me to upgrade to a new Model S was the free supercharging transfer, but with about twice the range on the new car, I haven't even needed to supercharge yet, even though I repeated some weekends that would have been 3-4 supercharging stops in the P85.

 

[ucmndd]

Why do you need to question? I only charge from 21% to 50% charge to use the quicker charging time....

ITT: How To Do It Wrong

 

[rlsd]

I recently traveled over 500 miles in a Tesla and had a disappointing experience. The constant need to stop and charge (5-6 times!) made the trip far more time-consuming than expected. I also had to worry about the availability of charging stations, adding unnecessary stress to the journey. For example, on the I-90 NYS Thruway between Albany and Niagara Falls, it was impossible to enjoy rest stops with my family. We had to factor in charging time after each break, which meant spending more time waiting around than actually relaxing. Each charging session took at least 20 minutes, adding a significant amount of time to our overall travel time.

To avoid this hassle in the future, I've decided to purchase a used $5000 Prius for long-distance trips. While the Tesla offers a comfortable ride, the frequent and lengthy charging stops are simply not practical for me. With the Prius, I can make one quick stop at a rest area, fill up the tank for $40, and be on my way without any further interruptions. There's no need to wait around at charging stations or worry about detours to find them. On my Tesla trip, I spent 6x20-minutes charging, not including the additional time spent searching for and navigating to Superchargers.

I understand that some people may have had better experiences with Tesla road trips, but for me, the inconvenience of constant charging outweighs the benefits. I believe a used Prius is a more practical and efficient option for long-distance travel.

Where did you learn math?

 

[1989pooch]

yeah charging can be frustrating sometimes. gotta plan those trips carefully

 

[ucmndd]

yeah charging can be frustrating sometimes. gotta plan those trips carefully

You really don’t though most of the time. Had OP just put his destination into the nav system and done what it said he’d have almost certainly arrived far sooner than he did.

 

[kavyboy]

At best this is one of the most blatant and obvious cases of operator error I've ever seen. Not Tesla's fault.

At worst, this is yet another attempt to get people all riled up about something so obviously wrong that it's clearly inflammatory.

Either way, this is dumb and isn't even worth the keystrokes.

Our Teslas have been the BEST vehicles for road trips we've ever owned. Period. It's become one of our summertime hobbies as a direct result of owning Teslas, in fact. We have well over 100k miles logged in Teslas now and nothing you can say will lead me to believe that there's a better option currently available for our needs. If there was, we'd own that instead.

I'm not brand loyal to Tesla nor do I have any allegiance or political affiliation with Tesla or it's vision. All I car about is driving the best driving experience at the best price available that's also fun and super advanced. It does everything and does it well.

People like the OP of this thread are clearly the ones with an agenda. You should just sell and get like a BMW or a Ford or something. Lots of people do. Lots of people drove a Ford Taurus too... doesn't make them any good. Buncha lemmings driving garbage with the best marketing.

Good thing nobody is forcing you to own a Tesla. Sounds like you're a born Prius owner. Enjoy!

I totally agree. I have a 2015 S70 with a nerfed charging rate, and we still enjoy long road trips. The charging is not unpleasant.

 

[father_of_6]

yeah charging can be frustrating sometimes. gotta plan those trips carefully

The total opposite. I've driven from Niagara Falls, NY to Albany, NY at least a dozen times. I also recently came back from a trip from Buffalo, NY to Nashville, TN. Many other road trips in my Model 3 as well.

Each and every time, I charge to 100% the night before, then just get in the car and set the navigation to my destination. Absolutely ZERO planning beforehand.

Typically how that works out is... I drive 2-3 hours and then stop for 15-35 minutes for charging. While the car is charging, I'm using a bathroom, grabbing food, taking a walk to stretch my legs, or browsing TMC on my phone for douchebags that post false information about EV ownership.

In 25 years of driving internal combustion vehicles and 3.5 years driving a Model 3, I can honestly say that I arrive at long-distance destinations feeling much more rested in the Model 3.

@cmaster - by starting your trip at a low state of charge, you added another charging stop. It also sounds like you tried to manually manage your charging stops. Just let the nav do its job.