What to do with the car when on vacation

[jjrandorin]

Very helpful! Did you end up testing again? I am leaving my car at the Denver airport here soon and was worried about loss of power. Additional note, I have never owned a Tesla and pick mine up on Saturday... So I haven't even sat in the thing yet.

This thread is over 3 years old. With that being said, we know exactly what you should or shouldnt do to minimize drain at an airport.

1. DO NOT USE SENTRY MODE (sentry mode will cost you somewhere between 20 and 30 miles every 24 hour period because it does not let your car sleep. Dont use it if you are parking somewhere for any extended period of time where you are trying to ensure "I have enough power left when I get back"

2. Turn off cabin overheat protection
3. DO NOT "check on the car to see how much power its lost" multiple times a day (as a new user you will be likely to want to do this). Every time you do that it will wake up the car, resulting in more power lost than if you had not "checked on it". Dont check more than 1 or 2 times a day if you are trying to minimize power lost.

4. Do not use sentry mode (yes this is a repeat, because you are going to want to use it. Dont)

If you dont use sentry mode, or check on the car repeatedly, you will likely lose between 1-3 miles a day. Charge the car to 90%, go to the airport, park, ensure you DO NOT use sentry mode, and that cabin overheat protection is off (not as important during the winter, but a good habit to get into), and dont "check on the car to see how much you lost" a lot, and you will lose between 1-3 miles a day, which means a week will be only 7-20 miles.

If you DO use sentry mode, that same week will likely be 120-150 miles lost, vs 7-20 miles lost.

 

[Rocky_H]

@jjrandorin You forgot to mention turning off Summon Standby Mode. It is the second highest idle draw after Sentry Mode.

 

[jjrandorin]

@jjrandorin You forgot to mention turning off Summon Standby Mode. It is the second highest idle draw after Sentry Mode.

Thanks! I knew as I was typing something there was one thing I was forgetting. I have had that (summon standby) off for so long I tend to forget its an option to turn it on, even though I have FSD on my model 3.

 

[Rocky_H]

Thanks! I knew as I was typing something there was one thing I was forgetting. I have had that (summon standby) off for so long I tend to forget its an option to turn it on, even though I have FSD on my model 3.

Yeah, I remember when they added that "feature" in a software update, defaulted ON, and this forum was immediately bombarded with dozens of threads of people wondering why their idle energy consumption had tripled or quadrupled.

 

[Semper Yut]

This thread is over 3 years old. With that being said, we know exactly what you should or shouldnt do to minimize drain at an airport.

I definitely appreciate the confirmation that these methods work! I saw the timeline of the thread but hadn't wanted to create a new one...More just confirm the information (and because of your response, take a picture of it)!

Really appreciate the feedback on this one!

Cheers

 

[BillRadio]

I am leaving my car at the Denver airport here soon and was worried about loss of power.

DEN has chargers in the garages, both J1772, and 110v socket for Level 1 charging, which are FREE. I have not used them and one of the garages is closed. I use Park DIA but never used their chargers. I think offering FREE Level 1 chargers (just a 110v socket) is really smart of the airports.

 

[jjrandorin]

DEN has chargers in the garages, both J1772 and 110v socket for Level 1 charging, which are FREE. I have not used them and one of the garages is closed. I use Park DIA but never used their chargers. I think offering FREE Level 1 chargers (just a 110v socket) is really smart of the airports.

Last time I flew somewhere (which was Dec of 2018), when I flew out of San Diego airport (SAN), the off airport parking I chose not only had chargers, they had tesla specific L2 chargers (destination) and the parking for those was pretty much right up front, AND the charging was free.

I was gone a few days, and because the car was connected to a charger I checked on it more often. The thing I found interesting was that it seemed that the charger was not "always active", and only provided power during the off peak time. I tested this by raising my charge level while I was traveling, and seeing that the car would not start charging, but it charged "later" during off peak.

Anyway, I would imagine more and more "airport parking companies" would have charging, so its definitely something I would look for, to see if its available, even though you can minimize drain to a couple miles a day as I mentioned. Being plugged in somewhere means you could actually use sentry mode if you wanted to.

 

[Rocky_H]

The thing I found interesting was that it seemed that the charger was not "always active", and only provided power during the off peak time. I tested this by raising my charge level while I was traveling, and seeing that the car would not start charging, but it charged "later" during off peak.

Huh. I think that's a pretty smart thing for them to do. The scenario of a long term airport parking lot means that these cars don't need to charge "right now", but can wait until the later cheaper electricity.

 

[Semper Yut]

Oh totally - I am only leaving for 4 total days but again, having never owned a Tesla it's all fresh and new. With that being said, my goal is to more have a backup plan if I land and it's below 20% or so...Get a quick charge in and then leave.

I'll let y'all know how it goes.

 

[jjrandorin]

Oh totally - I am only leaving for 4 total days but again, having never owned a Tesla it's all fresh and new. With that being said, my goal is to more have a backup plan if I land and it's below 20% or so...Get a quick charge in and then leave.

I'll let y'all know how it goes.

You will totally be fine, with that short of a trip. Just charge up before you go, and dont turn on sentry (or standby summon if you bought fsd). You are likely looking at <10 miles lost total for your trip if you have the stuff off and dont check your car a lot via the app.

I just did a quick google for "airport parking denver EV charging, and found this:

EV Charging - Fine Airport Parking

If you need a charge when you fly from DEN, Fine Airport Parking has 28 Tesla Stations and 12 Universal Level 2 Charging Stations.

fineairportparking.com

 

[tomas]

Interesting, I leave sentry mode on for short trips and 20-30 mi per day seems high… so being out of town just checked… so far 4 days and 45 miles range loss. But my drive home is < 20 miles so no stress.

 

[Semper Yut]

You will totally be fine, with that short of a trip. Just charge up before you go, and dont turn on sentry (or standby summon if you bought fsd). You are likely looking at <10 miles lost total for your trip if you have the stuff off and dont check your car a lot via the app.

I just did a quick google for "airport parking denver EV charging, and found this:

EV Charging - Fine Airport Parking

If you need a charge when you fly from DEN, Fine Airport Parking has 28 Tesla Stations and 12 Universal Level 2 Charging Stations.

fineairportparking.com

Oh perfect! Thanks again for all of the advice/help. T-2 hours until pick-up.