The Good the BAD and UGLY experience Of Cross Country Trip

[gillmj24]

However, I will stop wasting my time on those folks pretty quickly (probably right after I find out what "*Sugar*-posting" is).

I'll PM you.

 

[Pruitt]

Thanks to gillmj24 for explaining what "*sugar*-posting" is! Gave me a good laugh!

As promised, I'll stop responding to this thread now. You all have a great day!

 

[Peter N]

1st a little background

I recently bought a used 2016 tesla ms just for everyday driving from home to work and fun with kids over the weekend. Since being 1st time ev or a tesla owner I started doing all the research to get more familiarize charging around the town, how to maximize range and where to find charging stations as well as different apps shared by users. Used this and several other forums to educate myself as much as I could. then we found out we have a wedding coming up so why not do cross country trip in the car.

Now the trip – Day 1

I’ll honest I was nervous to start the trip and was hoping that all goes well. With God’s blessings the first day was going well with driving as well as charging and just to be on the safe side I was also charging few extra minutes in case of something. Since being a first time ev and or tesla owner I started noticing that every time we were arriving to the next charging location, we arrived the stated charging, BUT the % for the next stop was in -. We just charged and kept going because we wanted to get to our hotel on time so we and kids can rest up. Everything was going while driving to our last charging station for the night. The car was showing we still have 40 miles to go, but to our shock SHUT DOWN that to right off the ramp and just 1 MILE away from the charging station. 1 Mile. We couldn’t figure out what in the world happened and had no idea what to do either. With God’s the car stopped in a good lit area and not somewhere in pitch black. Not knowing what to do we called the insurance company for towing and started waiting. With Gods blessings a lot of people who were driving by asked and offered help, but not knowing how or what to do left. 2 guys who already drove by came back and tried different ways to jump the car. By researching we found where the connection for 12v battery is and tried to jump, but nothing happened. They stayed with us for 2 hours or so and after nothing was happened, I thanked them and asked them to leave even when the insisted they don’t mind staying. While we were waiting, we received a call from insurance company that they can’t find any tow company so we going to have to look for our own. Luckily one of the guys knew a good company and gave me the number. I called them and they told me they are on their way. After these guys left a local officer came and asked if everything was ok. I told him the entire story and again with God’s blessings he offered to stay with us until towing comes. Since the car stopped right off the ramp and not knowing it was a busy truck route, he had to keep moving his suv, but he didn’t mind. Finally, when the towing truck came, we tried to jump the car so I can put in tow mode, but (battery still showing 40 miles and not knowing how to put in tow mode. did quick research to find out what to do) the car wouldn’t stay in tow mode. After several tries the guy said he would have to drag the car on the truck and trucks coming in big numbers we had no other choice. Even being a used car, I didn’t want anything to happen to the car, but had to agree. Once he started to drag the car my heart sank and was praying nothing to happen. Once the car was on the truck, we thanked the officer and left. We drove our 1 mile to the charging station. Once he was parked and lowered the car we tried to charge the car, but due to battery being dead the car wouldn’t charge. Now being 12 o’clock at night and driving for almost 15 hours 4 hr being outside due to the dead battery I couldn’t think what to do next. There was a lady charging her model y so I asked if she knew anything we can do about it, but she didn’t because she just bought her model y 6 months ago. Not sure if it was her instinct or with God’s blessing, she gave us some food like she knew we were out of food too. After a minute something clicked in my head. I requested the tow truck guy if he can bring, he jumper battery out to wake up the 12v and with God’s blessings it worked. The car started charging. The guy had to go so we paid him and thanked him for his help as well as staying with us. We charged the car for an hour or so and after the charge grabbed pizza from the gas station and started driving. We got to our hotel at 3 o’clock in the morning not knowing if they’ll allow us to check in. the receptionist was kind enough to let us check in. Wife took few necessary stuff from the car and kids to the room. Drove the car across the street to charge the car and walked back to the hotel. Literally took shoes off and we all knocked out.

Day 2

In the morning woke at 8 to eat the breakfast and while eating breakfast thinking about what happened last night and how it’ll impact our rest of the drive. The car was fully charged. Exhausted, tired and sleepy we picked up our things, filled up our coffee mug and started driving. Already behind we were hoping and praying whatever happened the night before doesn’t happen again. While driving we were hoping just hoping we get to our hotel in timely manner. After we stopped at one of the charging stations in OKC we knew we wouldn’t be able to make to our 2nd hotel. After we left okc tesla navigation took us from there to our next charging thru a very secluded area. For miles it was just our car, trees around us and the fear of what happened the night before. I was temped to use abrp but didn’t know how to input the battery % in case something happens so at the end decided to stick with tesla navigation. We were few miles away when I noticed the car was showing 40 miles left and my heart started pounding. With God’s grace we made to our next charging station. When we parked our car and started to charge the next destination % was in negative. While charging we ate our dinner. It was already very late, so we decided to book a hotel there, but before that called our actual booked hotel to let them know what’s going on. Luckily, we found a hotel very close by. After the car finished charging, we drove to the hotel and crashed.

Day 3

After getting few extra hours of sleep we were still tired and kids were just exhausted. We checked our route to see how to plan our day. We knew it was going to be another long day, but we decided to drive straight home and not stopping another night. Again, due to charging almost every hr the arriving time got pushed and pushed and pushed.

I’ve never been sooooooooooooooooooo stressed out while driving and constantly looking at the miles or %. At one point I was if I cough or sneeze or fart it might decrease the miles. I thought I did enough research and learned as much as I could for the trip, but I guess it wasn’t enough. By posting this I’m not trying to deter anyone from buying tesla or any other ev, but the whole purpose was to share the frustration and stress we had while driving. With God’s blessings we met some really nice people who helped us.

View attachment 1056567
"Tesla Supercharger" by Open Grid Scheduler / Grid Engine is marked with CC0 1.0.
Admin note: Image added for Blog Feed thumbnail

It's a good thing that Elon didn't try to fire God when he dismissed his charging team.

 

[ucmndd]

If they think a new 12 V is warranted, definitely request a LFP 12 V (which could last 10+ years) as others suggested.

This is not a thing.

 

[Green Joule]

1st a little background

I recently bought a used 2016 tesla ms just for everyday driving from home to work and fun with kids over the weekend. Since being 1st time ev or a tesla owner I started doing all the research to get more familiarize charging around the town, how to maximize range and where to find charging stations as well as different apps shared by users. Used this and several other forums to educate myself as much as I could. then we found out we have a wedding coming up so why not do cross country trip in the car.

Now the trip – Day 1

I’ll honest I was nervous to start the trip and was hoping that all goes well. With God’s blessings the first day was going well with driving as well as charging and just to be on the safe side I was also charging few extra minutes in case of something. Since being a first time ev and or tesla owner I started noticing that every time we were arriving to the next charging location, we arrived the stated charging, BUT the % for the next stop was in -. We just charged and kept going because we wanted to get to our hotel on time so we and kids can rest up. Everything was going while driving to our last charging station for the night. The car was showing we still have 40 miles to go, but to our shock SHUT DOWN that to right off the ramp and just 1 MILE away from the charging station. 1 Mile. We couldn’t figure out what in the world happened and had no idea what to do either. With God’s the car stopped in a good lit area and not somewhere in pitch black. Not knowing what to do we called the insurance company for towing and started waiting. With Gods blessings a lot of people who were driving by asked and offered help, but not knowing how or what to do left. 2 guys who already drove by came back and tried different ways to jump the car. By researching we found where the connection for 12v battery is and tried to jump, but nothing happened. They stayed with us for 2 hours or so and after nothing was happened, I thanked them and asked them to leave even when the insisted they don’t mind staying. While we were waiting, we received a call from insurance company that they can’t find any tow company so we going to have to look for our own. Luckily one of the guys knew a good company and gave me the number. I called them and they told me they are on their way. After these guys left a local officer came and asked if everything was ok. I told him the entire story and again with God’s blessings he offered to stay with us until towing comes. Since the car stopped right off the ramp and not knowing it was a busy truck route, he had to keep moving his suv, but he didn’t mind. Finally, when the towing truck came, we tried to jump the car so I can put in tow mode, but (battery still showing 40 miles and not knowing how to put in tow mode. did quick research to find out what to do) the car wouldn’t stay in tow mode. After several tries the guy said he would have to drag the car on the truck and trucks coming in big numbers we had no other choice. Even being a used car, I didn’t want anything to happen to the car, but had to agree. Once he started to drag the car my heart sank and was praying nothing to happen. Once the car was on the truck, we thanked the officer and left. We drove our 1 mile to the charging station. Once he was parked and lowered the car we tried to charge the car, but due to battery being dead the car wouldn’t charge. Now being 12 o’clock at night and driving for almost 15 hours 4 hr being outside due to the dead battery I couldn’t think what to do next. There was a lady charging her model y so I asked if she knew anything we can do about it, but she didn’t because she just bought her model y 6 months ago. Not sure if it was her instinct or with God’s blessing, she gave us some food like she knew we were out of food too. After a minute something clicked in my head. I requested the tow truck guy if he can bring, he jumper battery out to wake up the 12v and with God’s blessings it worked. The car started charging. The guy had to go so we paid him and thanked him for his help as well as staying with us. We charged the car for an hour or so and after the charge grabbed pizza from the gas station and started driving. We got to our hotel at 3 o’clock in the morning not knowing if they’ll allow us to check in. the receptionist was kind enough to let us check in. Wife took few necessary stuff from the car and kids to the room. Drove the car across the street to charge the car and walked back to the hotel. Literally took shoes off and we all knocked out.

Day 2

In the morning woke at 8 to eat the breakfast and while eating breakfast thinking about what happened last night and how it’ll impact our rest of the drive. The car was fully charged. Exhausted, tired and sleepy we picked up our things, filled up our coffee mug and started driving. Already behind we were hoping and praying whatever happened the night before doesn’t happen again. While driving we were hoping just hoping we get to our hotel in timely manner. After we stopped at one of the charging stations in OKC we knew we wouldn’t be able to make to our 2nd hotel. After we left okc tesla navigation took us from there to our next charging thru a very secluded area. For miles it was just our car, trees around us and the fear of what happened the night before. I was temped to use abrp but didn’t know how to input the battery % in case something happens so at the end decided to stick with tesla navigation. We were few miles away when I noticed the car was showing 40 miles left and my heart started pounding. With God’s grace we made to our next charging station. When we parked our car and started to charge the next destination % was in negative. While charging we ate our dinner. It was already very late, so we decided to book a hotel there, but before that called our actual booked hotel to let them know what’s going on. Luckily, we found a hotel very close by. After the car finished charging, we drove to the hotel and crashed.

Day 3

After getting few extra hours of sleep we were still tired and kids were just exhausted. We checked our route to see how to plan our day. We knew it was going to be another long day, but we decided to drive straight home and not stopping another night. Again, due to charging almost every hr the arriving time got pushed and pushed and pushed.

I’ve never been sooooooooooooooooooo stressed out while driving and constantly looking at the miles or %. At one point I was if I cough or sneeze or fart it might decrease the miles. I thought I did enough research and learned as much as I could for the trip, but I guess it wasn’t enough. By posting this I’m not trying to deter anyone from buying tesla or any other ev, but the whole purpose was to share the frustration and stress we had while driving. With God’s blessings we met some really nice people who helped us.

View attachment 1056567
"Tesla Supercharger" by Open Grid Scheduler / Grid Engine is marked with CC0 1.0.
Admin note: Image added for Blog Feed thumbnail

I still own my 2014 S 285. In 2017 I decided to take off for a cross country drive. Single, female, live in California. Started AZ to New Mexico and had plans for Texas but they were having heavy rains so drove up to Oklahoma to do tourist things. Not one problem, even then, getting to a supercharger, even though there were fewer of them in 2017.. When tornadoes were predicted for OK and Texas was dry the trip headed there, through the south and into Florida. My only problem for the trip was when I was one of 6 cars at a Ramada hotel that got broken into. Made an appointment with a northern Florida Tesla dealer who was in my general direction and window was replaced the same day. Oh, and a ripped tire when I drove over a curb on a Friday night at 6 p.m. in Florida. Florida was leaving a poor impression. Got tire replaced that evening too. That was just dumb luck. On up to Tennessee to see friends, doing more tourist things, on to St. Louis, Missouri, then west through Kansas. Gosh it felt like Kansas was 50% of the U.S. Colorado, Nevada and home to California meant 8,000 miles. I did superchargers all the way and used a website (no apps available at that time) that was run by a college student plus the Tesla charger finder and had no difficulty at all using (free to me) superchargers all the way. However I was also willing to drive out of my way to find a good supercharger. 8,000 miles with no issues. As for the original post by SunnyPutt18, please note that your 12volt battery only has a 4-5 year max life and often lots less. The primary purpose is to make electronic windows, etc work and I have had to replace mine 3 times. It is possible to easily do extensive trips without range anxiety if the car is in good functional condition, honest. I hope others find themselves more willing to give long range trips a try.

 

[vVINDs]

sell the car so we dont have to endure anything like that ever again.

 

[SuperFoolish]

I'm new here and was totally hyped to read this story as we just got our M3 and on the 4th day drove from Las Vegas to Seattle. I was hoping to share similar experiences but this is totally opposite of how our trip went. There are so many superchargers to use even from Nevada to Utah, to Idaho to E Oregon to E Washington. Most of the time, there were no more than 3 cars charging. I think I will have to do my own write up with some pics that I took. Stay tuned.
M3 2021 LFP with a nail in the tire slowly leaking air every 3 days or 3-400Miles.

 

[sunnyputt18]

So you didn’t make it across the country?

Wall of text is a bit hard to read, kinda sounds like you turned back around on day 3 and went home?

we made it home to chicago on the 3rd day of driving. not the time we originally thought.

 

[sunnyputt18]

Well the title says “Good, Bad and Ugly” but I did not saw any good section of the text.
Just want to give a glimpse of the good experience that happened with me five years ago, picking up my new-to-me used Model S almost 1000 miles (1570km) from home. It was my first use of the car, not done even a test drive before. Reach to pick up at noon and had to get to the ferry home on the next day afternoon around 6 PM. All my concern was that will I reach to the next charging station and will I get ticketed for exceeding speed limits - although the charging network was not like today I had no issues to make my trip and I didn’t got any tickets. What I learned from the trip was that plan your trip ahead, divide it to sections so that each leg is around 180 miles and you will be fine. Back at that time I did not knew that there is any substitute navigation programs available, only used Tesla own.
Some of the charging station was that fresh that local people did came around to see “what is the car that can be charged here”?

sorry i had been looking for my post every since i posted, but couldn't find it. does it give away i'm a newby lol. the good part of the trip was with God's blessings we met some really nice people who came out of their way to help us.

 

[sunnyputt18]

Definitely use ABRP (you can set arrival minimum charge level and a lot more) and get the plug share app which shows hotels with destination and super chargers which are great on road trips.

i was very tempted to use ABRP, but stuck with tesla thinking it would be better. I downloaded both apps and booked our hotels around the area of supercharging or where there is free charging, but the day 1 mishap really put a dent in the whole plan.

 

[sunnyputt18]

Wall of text makes it sooooo hard to read.

I dono what your problem was or where you were going but in 2017 I drove my car from CA to NC in like 4 days (took so long because I made a lot of tourist and visit friends pitstops).

Last year I drove from NV to NC and back took about 53 hours each time. Then a few months later again NV to NC this time with a trailer and all up and down the eastern seaboard with a trailer not a single issue.

Most likely your problems come from not properly using the Tesla navigation it works but it's gotten much worse since 2017. Also always have the car set to % not miles. That's like having your cell phone set to minutes remaining on the battery it's just silly. Cars have been using % as a fuel gauge for more than 80 years it just makes sense.

Lastly god didn't help you because he's not real and your constant 'grace of god" BS is super annoying to read every other sentence and adds nothing to your story. Never forget man made god, not the other way around

i understand "wall of test makes is soooooo hard to read" but i didn't want to post 10 different msgs about the whole trip

"I dono what your problem was or where you were going but in 2017 I drove my car from CA to NC in like 4 days (took so long because I made a lot of tourist and visit friends pitstops)" the issue was since it was my 1st time ownig a tesla or ev for that matter car stopping in the when it shows i've 40 miles to go and only 1 mile away from the supercharger. didn't know what to do in that car.

"Last year I drove from NV to NC and back took about 53 hours each time. Then a few months later again NV to NC this time with a trailer and all up and down the eastern seaboard with a trailer not a single issue." sorry but was it your 1st trip in an ev or tesla.

"Most likely your problems come from not properly using the Tesla navigation it works but it's gotten much worse since 2017. Also always have the car set to % not miles. That's like having your cell phone set to minutes remaining on the battery it's just silly. Cars have been using % as a fuel gauge for more than 80 years it just makes sense."

"Lastly god didn't help you because he's not real and your constant 'grace of god" BS is super annoying to read every other sentence and adds nothing to your story. Never forget man made god, not the other way around" everyone is entitled to their opinion.

 

[sunnyputt18]

Is this the same car that you have been repairing in the other thretads.

yes. I was trying to fix the door handle

 

[sunnyputt18]

Humor aside I didn’t know everyone is auditioning to become a teach nowadays. shared my story here so may be just may be it can help someone. i hope everyone has a good week.

 

[ewoodrick]

i was very tempted to use ABRP, but stuck with tesla thinking it would be better. I downloaded both apps and booked our hotels around the area of supercharging or where there is free charging, but the day 1 mishap really put a dent in the whole plan.

The Tesla app will make sure that you get there. ABRP allows you to plan a route. (and yes with setup, follow you)

Trust the Tesla nav, always make sure that is running, even if you aren't using it, it will keep you within charging distance.

After you get experience, you'll probably find that you end up picking specific Superchargers because of their locations or amenities. Just add them to he route and the nav will make sure that you get there.

 

[sunnyputt18]

The Tesla app will make sure that you get there. ABRP allows you to plan a route. (and yes with setup, follow you)

Trust the Tesla nav, always make sure that is running, even if you aren't using it, it will keep you within charging distance.

After you get experience, you'll probably find that you end up picking specific Superchargers because of their locations or amenities. Just add them to he route and the nav will make sure that you get there.

i thought i did all the research i could, but i guess it wasn't enough. i planned our trip using ABRP and plugshare.

we're using tesla nav the entire trip, because almost everywhere i read recommended tesla nav.

thank you for the information. i'll keep this in mind.

this forum has very helpful information esp for new owners, but i didn't know before posting anything it's gta be this forum approved.

 

[DrChaos]

i thought i did all the research i could, but i guess it wasn't enough. i planned our trip using ABRP and plugshare.

we're using tesla nav the entire trip, because almost everywhere i read recommended tesla nav.

thank you for the information. i'll keep this in mind.

this forum has very helpful information esp for new owners, but i didn't know before posting anything it's gta be this forum approved.

I don't think the trip planning was a problem, I think you had a 12V battery failure.

 

[ewoodrick]

i thought i did all the research i could, but i guess it wasn't enough. i planned our trip using ABRP and plugshare.

we're using tesla nav the entire trip, because almost everywhere i read recommended tesla nav.

thank you for the information. i'll keep this in mind.

this forum has very helpful information esp for new owners, but i didn't know before posting anything it's gta be this forum approved.

My real point was that planning gets you to the start of the trip. Reality takes over from there. Seldom do I end up doing exactly what I planned.
I may be getting great range and can skip a charger, great! a charger may be full, no problem, skip to another.

 

[sunnyputt18]

I don't think the trip planning was a problem, I think you had a 12V battery failure.

i guess so. learned it the hard way. thank you

 

[DrChaos]

i guess so. learned it the hard way. thank you

Unfortunately the drain patterns of an EV computer & charger on a 12V lead acid seem to result in more battery wear and failures than a typical ICE car. On an ICE car the use pattern is a strong discharge for the starter motor, and then immediate recharge back up to maximum. Apparently that helps preserve lead acid life--both the high current discharge desulfates the electrodes and recharge backup helps.

EVs have different computer-like drain patterns. Notice how few laptops ever used lead-acid batteries? Because even back in the 1980s they found it would kill the batteries quickly and be heavy. The first practical laptops were NiCd or NiMH. The Mac first Powerbook 100 had a lead acid but they immediately replaced it with a different battery type---discontinued after less than one year.

When I had a BMW i3 the most common response in the forum (they even made a meme about it with a wizard and a crystal ball) for almost every inexplicable failure was "it's the 12V". Other EVs with 12V lead acid also report similar problems. Tesla attempts to give some warnings for imminent failure but there is no reliable way to do so because external voltage measurements don't give 100% reliable insight as to what is physically happening chemically on the electrodes.

If someone has a long trip with family again and the 12V battery is old I would get it checked ahead of time or take a replacement along ready to go.

After 2022 I think all Teslas have a lithium ion NMC accessory battery---and failures are negligible so far. Unfortunately not a drop in replacement--the electrical system is different.

I know only of the Porsche Taycan which also follows, other EV makers will discover this same problem on their own or not be willing to address it yet.

 

[sunnyputt18]

Unfortunately the drain patterns of an EV computer & charger on a 12V lead acid seem to result in more battery wear and failures than a typical ICE car. On an ICE car the use pattern is a strong discharge for the starter motor, and then immediate recharge back up to maximum. Apparently that helps preserve lead acid life--both the high current discharge desulfates the electrodes and recharge backup helps.

EVs have different computer-like drain patterns. Notice how few laptops ever used lead-acid batteries? Because even back in the 1980s they found it would kill the batteries quickly and be heavy. The first practical laptops were NiCd or NiMH. The Mac first Powerbook 100 had a lead acid but they immediately replaced it with a different battery type---discontinued after less than one year.

When I had a BMW i3 the most common response in the forum (they even made a meme about it with a wizard and a crystal ball) for almost every inexplicable failure was "it's the 12V". Other EVs with 12V lead acid also report similar problems. Tesla attempts to give some warnings for imminent failure but there is no reliable way to do so because external voltage measurements don't give 100% reliable insight as to what is physically happening chemically on the electrodes.

If someone has a long trip with family again and the 12V battery is old I would get it checked ahead of time or take a replacement along ready to go.

After 2022 I think all Teslas have a lithium ion NMC accessory battery---and failures are negligible so far. Unfortunately not a drop in replacement--the electrical system is different.

I know only of the Porsche Taycan which also follows, other EV makers will discover this same problem on their own or not be willing to address it yet.

i really appreciate this information. i really do. once we reached home i did get the 12v battery checked and no issue. with the help of this forum and others i'm learning everyday.