The "Charging almost complete" notification is too early

[FlyF4]

OK, a picky item, but this post is mainly to confirm that other people see the same experience as I do.

I run the Tesla app on my iPhone. While the MX is charging, I will get a text that indicates charging is almost complete. Then I look at the amount of predicted time until charging really will be complete and it usually reads 40 minutes, and that is the real amount of time needed.

So I wonder why I am getting a notification 40 minutes before the charging will be complete when it really needs a lot more time. Yea, I am getting old, but I don't need 40 minutes to walk to the car. A 10 minute notification would be nice. Better yet, I'd like to choose how early I want a notification.

So, I ask a Tesla programmer about this and I always get the same answer that I get when asking any programmer about any feature. "It's working as designed. I didn't make a mistake". Sounds right doesn't it? Programmers never make mistakes I know.... I did programming once upon a time for a short while. Ok, enough teasing my friends whom will certainly poison me at the next lunch, but really, are you seeing something similar or is it just me?

 

[Gwgan]

What is your target charge percentage? I get that notification at about 80% even if my setting is higher.

 

[BrokerDon]

Tesla app charging notifications typically come 10 minutes before it will reach the charge needed TO GET TO YOUR NEXT CHARGER or DESTINATiON if you're using the Tesla navigation. This is because the fastest time to your destination isn't recharging to your fixed % charge (80%, 90% or 100%) but instead enough charge to get to your next Tesla Supercharger on your route... or your destination.

 

[dgatwood]

Without any route set (other than to the supercharger), mine typically notifies me 20 minutes before it finishes charging, which is about fifteen minutes longer than it takes to walk back. IMO, this is extremely bad behavior, because I have to constantly watch the clock from that point on. I've gotten dangerously close to getting hit with idle fees as a result of either underestimating the walk back or losing track of time after receiving the way-too-early notification.

IMO, the algorithm Tesla should be using is really, really simple:

• Use Google's mapping APIs to compute the amount of time required to walk back to the supercharger form the phone's current location.
• Subtract that time from the estimated charge completion time.
• Allow the user to specify an additional safety margin (in minutes).

That way, when the user gets the notification, if he or she starts walking immediately, he or she will arrive approximately when the car finishes charging. And the user will, by default, have about five minutes to start walking without getting hit with idle fees. If the user is at a restaurant where it will take time to pay a check, he or she can ask for an extra five minutes' warning.

This ensures that the notification doesn't waste drivers' time by getting them back too early, nor waste drivers' money (and other drivers' time) by getting them back there too late.

 

[FlyF4]

What is your target charge percentage? I get that notification at about 80% even if my setting is higher.

Good question. I seem to get the reminder at about 40 minutes before charging is complete... regardless of the value I set for the target charge.

 

[FlyF4]

Without any route set (other than to the supercharger), mine typically notifies me 20 minutes before it finishes charging, which is about fifteen minutes longer than it takes to walk back. IMO, this is extremely bad behavior, because I have to constantly watch the clock from that point on. I've gotten dangerously close to getting hit with idle fees as a result of either underestimating the walk back or losing track of time after receiving the way-too-early notification.

IMO, the algorithm Tesla should be using is really, really simple:

• Use Google's mapping APIs to compute the amount of time required to walk back to the supercharger form the phone's current location.
• Subtract that time from the estimated charge completion time.
• Allow the user to specify an additional safety margin (in minutes).

That way, when the user gets the notification, if he or she starts walking immediately, he or she will arrive approximately when the car finishes charging. And the user will, by default, have about five minutes to start walking without getting hit with idle fees. If the user is at a restaurant where it will take time to pay a check, he or she can ask for an extra five minutes' warning.

This ensures that the notification doesn't waste drivers' time by getting them back too early, nor waste drivers' money (and other drivers' time) by getting them back there too late.

Bingo, agree with everything you said, especially the part about forgetting to check the charge because it notifies me too soon.

 

[FlyF4]

Tesla app charging notifications typically come 10 minutes before it will reach the charge needed TO GET TO YOUR NEXT CHARGER or DESTINATiON if you're using the Tesla navigation. This is because the fastest time to your destination isn't recharging to your fixed % charge (80%, 90% or 100%) but instead enough charge to get to your next Tesla Supercharger on your route... or your destination.

Maybe I didn't make it clear because I think we are talking about two different things. If I have a destination set, then it does remind me that I have enough charge to make it to the next destination, but what I am talking about is the reminder I get that tells me how long is remaining to charge the car to my set target percentage.

 

[sub]

I agree, it would be nice to be able to set the notification time, just like it would be nice to have the car finish charging at home as close to departure time as possible. Currently I just do the math and set it myself.

 

[siucity]

I've gotten that notification 30 or 40 minutes before it would finish charging, but only when I had it set to 100%.

 

[BrokerDon]

I've gotten that notification 30 or 40 minutes before it would finish charging, but only when I had it set to 100%.

Hmmm... Maybe the notification is "too early" when the target charge is set >= 90% (especially 100%) since the last 10% between 90% and 100% takes significantly longer)

 

[dgatwood]

Hmmm... Maybe the notification is "too early" when the target charge is set >= 90% (especially 100%) since the last 10% between 90% and 100% takes significantly longer)

It’s twenty minutes even at 90%, in my experience, which means unless you’re at a sit-down, pay-after restaurant, is way too long (and there are none of those near my usual supercharger, anyway).

 

[flabby]

I thought these notices were based on 30 minutes of charging. So you get the notice just before You’ve been at a charger for 30 minutes.

 

[BerTX]

Mine goes off at 80%. Period. Has nothing to do with destinations set or target SOC.

 

[DCGOO]

“Almost complete” notification happens at 80% regardless of anything else. If I am supercharging, I always have the charge limit set to 100 %, because it really slows down near the end. There is always time to get back to the car.

 

[Saghost]

As dcgoo said, "almost complete" is at 80%, period.

There are very, very few situations where it makes sense to charge much higher than that unless you're in the middle of something else while the car is charging - the taper gets really bad from there, so you're almost always better off charging at the next stop instead.

 

[DCGOO]

As dcgoo said, "almost complete" is at 80%, period.

There are very, very few situations where it makes sense to charge much higher than that unless you're in the middle of something else while the car is charging - the taper gets really bad from there, so you're almost always better off charging at the next stop instead.

Absolutely correct. The only reason I set the limit to 100, is to avoid the dreaded “idle fees” in case it is a hike to get back to the car.