What is considered a "long trip" when considering charging to 100%?

[RG129]

I live in an apartment with no charging, but I can charge for free at work. What I've done several times is on Friday, I charge to 100% to give me the most range for the weekend (and in case I decide to work from home Monday/Tuesday). I leave work as soon as it hits 100% and since I work 45 miles from home, I return home with about 88% left.

Since I don't leave it plugged in at 100% and my commute home drops the battery to below 90% I'm debating if I'm doing any harm and if this is ok to start doing on a weekly basis...any thoughts?

 

[Regaj]

I think it's important to remember that EVERYONE does some amount of "harm" to their EV battery pack. We charge to too high SOC, we Supercharge, we preheat before Supercharging, we use too much of the battery between charges, we park our car outside in the sun and/or in ambient temps that are too high, we charge when its too cold, we enjoy too many of those spirited accelerations that are so much fun... the list goes on and on. And even if we parked our car in the garage in perfect conditions, calendar aging is still going to take its toll.

The best we can do is the best we can do.

Assuming the charging you do at work is Level 2 charging, not DC Fast Charging, I think your approach is fine. I might be inclined to try and shave that 100% to 90 or even 95%, depending upon how many miles you drive over the weekend and how close, or not, you are to a Supercharger (as a fall back option). But I think what you're doing is fine.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

I live in an apartment with no charging, but I can charge for free at work. What I've done several times is on Friday, I charge to 100% to give me the most range for the weekend (and in case I decide to work from home Monday/Tuesday). I leave work as soon as it hits 100% and since I work 45 miles from home, I return home with about 88% left.

Since I don't leave it plugged in at 100% and my commute home drops the battery to below 90% I'm debating if I'm doing any harm and if this is ok to start doing on a weekly basis...any thoughts?

Although you're charging to 100%, you're doing that once per week, it's not sitting there a long time at high percentage, and (I assume) you're charging L2. So, you're not being that hard on the battery.

Sure, if you can comfortably charge to a lower percentage, that would be better, but I wouldn't get stressed about it.

 

[davewill]

I live in an apartment with no charging, but I can charge for free at work. What I've done several times is on Friday, I charge to 100% to give me the most range for the weekend (and in case I decide to work from home Monday/Tuesday). I leave work as soon as it hits 100% and since I work 45 miles from home, I return home with about 88% left.

Since I don't leave it plugged in at 100% and my commute home drops the battery to below 90% I'm debating if I'm doing any harm and if this is ok to start doing on a weekly basis...any thoughts?

In your shoes, I would do exactly the same thing. Since you're leaving it at 100% such a short time, I wouldn't sweat it at all.

 

[OldPro]

I want to know what people and even Tesla categorizes as a "long trip."
I'm asking this because of all the back and forth about what you're supposed to charge your battery to..etc etc.
I do not have one of the new LFP packs, so I've been following the guidelines of only charging to around 80% as my daily behavior.

However, all advice says that you can charge to 100% only when you have a long trip. I'm wondering what that means? I regularly drive to another city that I live 2 hours from. I usually will charge to 100% and arrive in that city at around 56-48% depending on the weather. However, I'm thinking this trip is techincally not "long enough" to justify the 100% charge.

Is a "long trip" then something that would require a visit to a Supercharger before I would arrive at my final destination or do trips that ALMOST drain the battery (arrive at <20%) constitute a "long trip?"

2 hour trip would be around 120+ miles? We drive from San Diego to Los Angeles to visit Grandma and always then charge to 100%. Long Range Mode 3.

 

[Candleflame]

I want to know what people and even Tesla categorizes as a "long trip."
I'm asking this because of all the back and forth about what you're supposed to charge your battery to..etc etc.
I do not have one of the new LFP packs, so I've been following the guidelines of only charging to around 80% as my daily behavior.

However, all advice says that you can charge to 100% only when you have a long trip. I'm wondering what that means? I regularly drive to another city that I live 2 hours from. I usually will charge to 100% and arrive in that city at around 56-48% depending on the weather. However, I'm thinking this trip is techincally not "long enough" to justify the 100% charge.

Is a "long trip" then something that would require a visit to a Supercharger before I would arrive at my final destination or do trips that ALMOST drain the battery (arrive at <20%) constitute a "long trip?"

long trip is like a 100% to 5% discharge.

 

[AudreyHTX1]

I think a long trip in many cases is one that requires charging away from home during the trip, assuming you normally charge at home.

 

[valem]

In regards to charging to 100%, when they say don't keep the battery at 100% for an extended period of time, what is considered extended?

 

[3sr+buyer]

In regards to charging to 100%, when they say don't keep the battery at 100% for an extended period of time, what is considered extended?

Ideally, it is best to use the scheduled departure charging feature to have charging finish shortly before you start driving. That way, if you do have to charge to a high state of charge, you will use some of it soon by driving.

 

[poodlemaster]

I may be missing something here. As a new Tesla owner, I’m trying to understand why “hurting” your battery pack by charging to 100% which I frequently do and discharging to as low as 2% which I did recently by miscalculating the trip is a problem. If the battery becomes damaged by these methods, wouldn’t it still be covered under factory warranty?

 

[GtiMart]

Yes, your battery is covered by the warranty, which states that they'll replace it if it falls below 70% of original capacity. They will NOT replace it because you're at 85% and you believe it will continue to lower...
Some people here obsess over this wishing they never lose a single percent, or at least lose as little as possible. You can learn and adapt your charges to your needs. I suggest not obsessing over it, just taking some learnings and adapt them to you if they fit.

 

[Ogre]

For me, I charge to 100% any time I'm going to use more than 70% of the battery in a given trip. I have a bike rack, so if I'm doing a 200 mile round trip, I'll charge up to 100% (bike rack crushes range). If I'm road tripping 500 miles, I'll top off before leaving. Any miles I charge while sleeping I don't have to spend charging the next day.

 

[davewill]

I may be missing something here. As a new Tesla owner, I’m trying to understand why “hurting” your battery pack by charging to 100% which I frequently do and discharging to as low as 2% which I did recently by miscalculating the trip is a problem. If the battery becomes damaged by these methods, wouldn’t it still be covered under factory warranty?

None of these things will "hurt" your battery unless done as frequent (think 3+ times a week) practice. I don't even think "hurt" is the right word, it's kinda like car paint. Some people obsess over every leaf that falls on the car and have elaborate preparations to keep their paint perfect. Others just use their car, and accept that small scratches and door dings are simply a part of life. If you're getting better use out of your car by charging to 100%, then it may be worth some acceleration of battery degradation.

I think most people simply leave the car set to 90%, as it came from Tesla, and just drive it, which is a reasonable compromise between charging to 100% frequently, and working hard to keep the car between 20% and 80%.

 

[DrChaos]

I may be missing something here. As a new Tesla owner, I’m trying to understand why “hurting” your battery pack by charging to 100% which I frequently do and discharging to as low as 2% which I did recently by miscalculating the trip is a problem. If the battery becomes damaged by these methods, wouldn’t it still be covered under factory warranty?

Discharging to 2% is not hurting the pack. Charging to 100% frequently and letting it stay there is hurting the pack.

If your battery goes below 70% capacity (30% is a big loss in my opinion) they only will replace it under warranty to be over 70%, not a new pack. So if they give you a 73% pack before 8 years, and it continues to degrade below 70% after the 8 years is up, you have to suck it up. We don't really know for sure, but it's possible that with more degradation, there may be a point the packs start to fail completely and suddenly. (A single cell going bad all the way can do that). The differences in car values after 8 years, like regular ICE cars, will depend heavily on the owner's habits and diligence.

I have higher expectations and want to minimize degradation (which is mostly calendar & state of charge, not cycles), and it's not difficult to do that by adopting some charging habits.

If you can get away with it, set a much lower charging limit. But if you can't, then don't. I use the minimum (50%) for daily use. 50% to 20% is better than 90% to 60% daily use.

 

[Candleflame]

In regards to charging to 100%, when they say don't keep the battery at 100% for an extended period of time, what is considered extended?

unless its an NMC battery keeping the car at 100% doesnt hurt the car nearly as bad as tesla makes it out to be.

 

[valem]

I use the minimum (50%) for daily use. 50% to 20% is better than 90% to 60% daily use.

I’ve alway been under the impression that hovering around 50% is the better, so that the battery never gets too far from it’s happy spot (50%)

If one normally needs 30% wouldn’t 65-35 be better than either 90-60 or 50-20?

 

[DrChaos]

I’ve alway been under the impression that hovering around 50% is the better, so that the battery never gets too far from it’s happy spot (50%)

If one normally needs 30% wouldn’t 65-35 be better than either 90-60 or 50-20?

At least for calendar aging, which is the dominant mechanism of degradation for most people who aren't driving extremely far, it appears from research results that lower is always better.

 

[Bouba]

To answer the original question, for me, I charge to 100% whenever I am going away for at least one night. The best scenario is a weekend away on a road trip and arriving home on the original charge…

 

[DaveNN]

Mine does that occasionally. There is a thread that explains it somewhere. I have mine set to 60% SoC. It charges to 60% - I plug in after every trip - and sometimes it drops to 59-58% over 12+ hours. It will then charge up again to 60% if I don’t use it. I doubt they’ve set it to constantly keep the car at 60%.

Take it for a spin and then plug it in again. However, it’s not good practice to charge to 100% and have it sat there.

All seems well again.
Might have just had a sulk.

 

[Candleflame]

I’ve alway been under the impression that hovering around 50% is the better, so that the battery never gets too far from it’s happy spot (50%)

If one normally needs 30% wouldn’t 65-35 be better than either 90-60 or 50-20?

depends on the battery, NCA and NMC batteries should really be avoided to be stored at above 60% (so for Teslas thats above 56%ish displayed SOC), unless you store at or above 90%. Worst SOC is 80%. For daily medium distance driving 80% is still ok, because the car doesnt sit much at 80% and you get a cycling benefit of charging only to 80% instead of 90%. For NMC this effect is slightly less pronounced I think.

LPO batteries should be stored at 100%. Good for calibration but also protects against degradation.