Advice, please: I won’t be driving my Model 3 for about a week. It will just be sitting in my garage. Should I keep it plugged in to the wall charger all that time or should I charge it to the regular 80% and then unplug it for the week? Thanks.
You can install our site as a web app on your iOS device by utilizing the Add to Home Screen feature in Safari. Please see this thread for more details on this.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
People learn in different ways. Not everyone enjoys sifting through large volumes of text to find a quick answer. And, the enthusiast community often covers a question more accurately than the manual, usually written for the masses.Why won’t new Model 3 owners RTFM? It answers lots of their questions, including some they didn’t even know they had.
By design.
He didn't say, "Hey, welcome! That question, and a lot of other great info, is covered in the manual. It makes for some good reading to learn about your new car. The answer, BTW, is leave it plugged in. Here's a link to the online version, etc..."
He said, "Why don't these M3 owners Read The ****ing Manual..."
Why do people come to a message board for a product, and hit the "new thread" button before even taking a quick look to see if someone asked a similar question? (remember this is a rhetorical question so I am not expecting an answer). The answer is normally some variation of "they want the answer quick and asking is faster than searching" or "they dont think to search".
Where is the Search Dialog? It should be on the Main page where most forums place it..
Where is the Search Dialog? It should be on the Main page where most forums place it..
By design.
He said, "Why don't these M3 owners Read The ****ing Manual..."
Don't get me wrong, I'm willing to use the search function, and it should also be know forum search functions are not as robust as a Google search function.
You just self-fulfilled your own prophecy...I have made exactly that post several times here (or one almost exactly like it). This is polluting the OPs thread, but since the OP is just the latest example of this phenomenon, and we are asking rhetorical questions, here is one.
Why do people come to a message board for a product, and hit the "new thread" button before even taking a quick look to see if someone asked a similar question? (remember this is a rhetorical question so I am not expecting an answer). The answer is normally some variation of "they want the answer quick and asking is faster than searching" or "they dont think to search".
Its perfectly fine to be someone that doesnt read the manual.. but its a bit "less" fine to not read said manual, then have a question about operation, and run to "someone else" before even taking a look to see if you can find said information.
Now, we dont know if the OP in this thread read the manual or not. They didnt say. The answer to their specific question is called out directly in the manual though. I have linked the text from that page here several times, as this question or some small variation of it is asked here on TMC in the model 3 section at least 1-2 times a week by someone, and has been since I joined in late november.
Back to the OP. OP, as mentioned tesla says to leave the car plugged in, when not using it. Their specific instructions, on page 122 of the tesal models 3 owners manual (which can be located in your tesla account, which should have a link to the latest version) says:
===========================================================
About the Battery
Model 3 has one of the most sophisticated
battery systems in the world. The most
important way to preserve the Battery is to
LEAVE YOUR VEHICLE PLUGGED IN when
you are not using it. This is particularly
important if you are not planning to drive
Model 3 for several weeks. When plugged in,
Model 3 wakes up when needed to
automatically maintain a charge level that
maximizes the lifetime of the Battery.
Note: When left idle and unplugged, your
vehicle periodically uses energy from the
Battery for system tests and recharging the
12V battery when necessary.
There is no advantage to waiting until the
Battery’s level is low before charging. In fact,
the Battery performs best when charged
regularly.
Note: If the Model 3 Battery becomes
completely discharged in a situation in which
towing is required, the owner is responsible
for towing expenses. Discharge-related towing
expenses are not covered under the Roadside
Assistance policy.
==============================================
This text in the manual addresses the OPs EXACT question, with a definitive answer, directly from the manufacturer. Now, there are several here (many in fact) who chose not to follow this advice from the manufacturer, for their own reasons, and have had no issues. I suspect that a large portion of this advice from tesla is to prevent people "coming back to a dead battery" because there was more drain than expected over a period of time (and the bad publicity that would have generated if a lot of tesla owners became "stranded" somewhere).
For a 1 week stay somewhere, its my belief it doesnt matter. If OP wants to use Sentry mode where the car is parked, it then matters. If the car is parked in the sun and cabin overheat protection is on, it then matters. If the trip ends up being longer than expected, it could then matter. If its plugged in, none of the above matters, and one thing we can know for sure is that TESLA doesnt think it hurts the car in any way to stay plugged in. They dont say it hurts the car to NOT be plugged in, they just recommend it stay plugged in so we can assume that leaving it plugged in will not hurt.
So, if one has the option, they should plug it in, unless they have some aversion to doing so for some reason.
Also, OP on anything to do with charging the car, there is a TON of information here at TMC and just about any question you can think of regarding charging has likely already been asked, so you could likely find a lot of the information you are looking for by taking a quick search around TMC before posting a new thread.
Congrats on your new tesla, btw!
Oh yeah, then there is that small thing about item 4:Three great lessons I have learned from the internet.
1)Almost any problem that I encounter has also been experienced, asked about on the internet.
2)Google search is much better at finding the links to the information that I need.
3)There is probably a YouTube video showing how to fix what is broken.
That is really all I need to know.