While on vacation should I leave my Model 3 plugged in or not?

[Kelela]

We have several multi day trips coming up and I'd like to hear the pros and cons of leaving the charger poked into the port.

(I assumed this would have been asked and answered already but couldn't find it; perhaps I just framed the question differently. Maybe you could point me to the thread where I'll find the answer.)

 

[2much3time]

I would leave it plugged in, but I would also set the max charge level to like 50%.

If you are only going away for a week or so, there is no point to leaving it plugged in. It’s not going to die in the meantime.

 

[brkaus]

The general advice is to set the charge limit down (50%??) and leave it plugged in.

 

[SD_Engnr]

I believe this has been covered a few times.

EDIT: Nevermind. Can't find it in the manual...

 

[mongo]

We have several multi day trips coming up and I'd like to hear the pros and cons of leaving the charger poked into the port.

(I assumed this would have been asked and answered already but couldn't find it; perhaps I just framed the question differently. Maybe you could point me to the thread where I'll find the answer.)

Plug In or Not While on Vacation?
or put

site:teslamotorsclub.com plugged in vacation

into Google

 

[GlennAlanBerry]

Tesla recommends that you always leave your car plugged in if possible. Also, there is no need to dial the charge limit back to 50%, ever. Its not going to help your battery life. The default, non-range charge setting is perfectly fine to avoid hurting battery life from doing a range charge on a regular basis.

Also, if you are doing a long road trip, don't be afraid to range-charge. A few range-charges are not going to hurt your battery life.

These same questions used to come up 5-6 years ago when the early Model S vehicles came out. The Model 3 batteries are newer technology and have better cooling than the Model S, so this is even less of a concern now.

BTW, my 2013 Model S P85 has only lost about 5 miles of range after 70,000 miles.

 

[sperkin]

My car is losing charges while plugged in while I am away. No one has driven it in a week.

Not sure if I should leave it unplugged next time or keep it plugged in.

 

[Kelela]

Got my answer and it's clear: leave it plugged in.

Thanks, all. No further replies awaited.

(An earlier thread, thanks to Mongo:
Going on vacation - leave the MS plugged in? )

 

[2much3time]

I wasn’t concerned with battery degrigation when suggesting leaving the charge limit at 50%. It comes from a charging efficiency standpoint.

It takes more power to charge the car from 79-80% than it does to keep it a charge from 49-50%. Again, negligible if you’re only gone for a week. If you leave for a month, that might start to make a difference.

 

[GlennAlanBerry]

I wasn’t concerned with battery degrigation when suggesting leaving the charge limit at 50%. It comes from a charging efficiency standpoint.

It takes more power to charge the car from 79-80% than it does to keep it a charge from 49-50%. Again, negligible if you’re only gone for a week. If you leave for a month, that might start to make a difference.

I'm not sure what you are talking about here. It doesn't take more power to charge if the battery is at a higher charge level. The charge rate tapers off (less current goes in) as it get's closer to a full charge, which it means that it takes longer to gain each mile of range.

The Model 3 LR battery is supposedly about 75 KWh. Going from 40% to 50% range takes the same amount of KWh (7.5) as going from 90% to 100%. It just takes longer, because the charge rate tapers off as you get closer to a full charge.

 

[mongo]

I wasn’t concerned with battery degrigation when suggesting leaving the charge limit at 50%. It comes from a charging efficiency standpoint.

It takes more power to charge the car from 79-80% than it does to keep it a charge from 49-50%. Again, negligible if you’re only gone for a week. If you leave for a month, that might start to make a difference.

If SOC were voltage based, that would be the case. However, it is most likely Ah based.
Either way, even if a % SOC represented more power at the high end of SOC, that would also mean it takes longer for the standby loads to use up that % of SOC due to use of switching power supplies on everything. Power charge and discharge equal out.