Why I stopped displaying remaining miles

[ProphetM]

I would prefer miles too if it was accurate but it's not. As someone else said the miles shown on the energy graph is much more accurate. So I just keep it on % and when i need to know miles remaining I bring up the graph.

I use miles, because I take a lot of road trips. Even if the miles is not that accurate, it's the differential that matters and I can see that with miles as the car gets low. When I have a destination for the navigation, I have that mileage figure, and can compare it to the miles remaining on an ongoing basis to make sure I'm not going to run out. If I used percentage I would just be converting that percentage to miles in my head anyway.

 

[Wennfred]

I tried the % crap, lasted 15 minutes... Miles for me, and on another note. I switch over to Low regenerative braking when I’m on the freeway, seems like the wh/mi drop and maintain way under the 250 range more.

Give that a try.


Fred

 

[1.21GW]

If you use %, the battery degradation will not be visible to you.

90% = 279 miles

Or

90% = 250 miles

How would you know the difference if you only see %?

 

[tomas]

If you use %, the battery degradation will not be visible to you.

90% = 279 miles

Or

90% = 250 miles

How would you know the difference if you only see %?

I’m a miles person.

But... What battery degradation? My 7 year old S battery has lost 4%, all in the first year. These things are very stable.

 

[1.21GW]

I’m a miles person.

But... What battery degradation? My 7 year old S battery has lost 4%, all in the first year. These things are very stable.

Some model 3s have suffered from inaccurate range estimation that required the service center to reset. It would be hard to see this issue if looking only at %

 

[tomas]

Some model 3s have suffered from inaccurate range estimation that required the service center to reset. It would be hard to see this issue if looking only at %

Ok. I’ll buy that. But that isn’t degradation.

 

[turnem]

The energy meter gives a better estimate of remaining range. The battery gauge showing miles is very misleading. Percent all the way.

Never thought about that but you make a great point.

Think I'll make the switch today.

 

[jerry33]

The percent used in the Nav system when you set a destination is very informative. The percent shown without the Nav system is not terribly useful in my opinion. Of course, around town it doesn't really matter because you're unlikely to even come close to using the capacity assuming you charge daily to a reasonable amount (such as 80% or 90%) the way Tesla recommends.

 

[SageBrush]

For the Model 3, the only difference between miles and percent remaining is a small accuracy advantage to the miles reading.

 

[dmurphy]

Nope, gotta stay with miles for me.

I’ve been driving gasoline cars for years and years now with the “XX miles to empty” display on the dash.

From a meta point of view - the percentage of battery or gasoline remaining is a worthless statistic. The only thing that matters is distance - “Do I have enough range to get where I’m going?”

72% of battery or 1/4 tank of fuel is a meaningless statistic on its own.

“210 miles until empty” is an indicator of whether I can complete the current mission, or need to make arrangements for recharging. 26% remaining means nothing without additional context.

 

[SageBrush]

“210 miles until empty” is an indicator of whether I can complete the current mission

Sounds like you have not driven in the winter yet, or with a headwind.

 

[tomas]

The energy meter gives a better estimate of remaining range. The battery gauge showing miles is very misleading. Percent all the way.

I presume by energy meter you mean energy app/graph? Which estimate do you mean?

The one in the trip meter window is pretty accurate because it takes into account elevation along your route and becomes more accurate as you near destination because it factors in your speed. But is only useful if you are using nav. I use it <10% of the time.

The one on the “last 5, 15, 30” energy graph window is useless in most cases. It simply projects remaining range based on last x number of miles actual, which is useless if you have any elevation or changes from highway to city.

 

[jerry33]

I presume by energy meter you mean energy app/graph? Which estimate do you mean?

The one in the trip meter window is pretty accurate because it takes into account elevation along your route and becomes more accurate as you near destination because it factors in your speed. But is only useful if you are using nav. I use it <10% of the time.

If you are on a trip, you should really be using Nav, if for no other reason then that it will route you around major traffic problems. Nav has saved me from multi-hour waits several times over the past six years.

 

[dmurphy]

Sounds like you have not driven in the winter yet, or with a headwind.

I have. But again, I know my worst case with margin is half the mileage displayed.

That’s a lot easier than figuring out how far I can go with “27%”.

I’d rather work in related units. I use my car to travel distances. So it’s much easier to have a unit of measure that actually, you know, measures distance. Percentages of charge remaining are not directly relatable to distance.

 

[tomas]

If you are on a trip, you should really be using Nav, if for no other reason then that it will route you around major traffic problems. Nav has saved me from multi-hour waits several times over the past six years.

As most of my driving is in very familiar territory, if I see a lot of red on the maps, I usually know several alternates. So I rely on my own nav, but I couldn’t function without maps on the screen and real time traffic info. I feel lost and anxious when I get in a non Tesla!

I guess my question to @ZOMGVTEK is “what do you mean by energy meter? There’s some good info there but also some useless info.

 

[SageBrush]

I use my car to travel distances.

Then check out the trip graph; it is the best available context dependent meter since it takes your driving behavior and future terrain into account.

 

[tomas]

Then check out the trip graph; it is the best available context dependent meter since it takes your driving behavior and future terrain into account.

Agree, but you have to have a nav destination set to see it. Plus, us ancient S owners know all about trip graph.... but it was initially unavailable with 3, only added with 9.0 interface. So not sure all 3 owners know what or where it is. Bring up launcher, select energy app, and then select trip tab. Unfortunately in 9.0 on a Model 3, it covers up most of map/nav (vs S X where you can see both) so you get one one or the other. Useful info but a pita (and dangerous) to keep switching.

 

[dendenyc]

yep basically!

I switched to % about a month after getting my car for the same reason. Never really had range anxiety but something about looking at the miles makes you kinda fixated on them. % doesn’t fluctuate as much when you’re driving so there’s that

 

[dmurphy]

Agree, but you have to have a nav destination set to see it. Plus, us ancient S owners know all about trip graph.... but it was initially unavailable with 3, only added with 9.0 interface. So not sure all 3 owners know what or where it is. Bring up launcher, select energy app, and then select trip tab. Unfortunately in 9.0 on a Model 3, it covers up most of map/nav (vs S X where you can see both) so you get one one or the other. Useful info but a pita (and dangerous) to keep switching.

Exactly. I know where and how to find it; it's really an undervalued feature, to be honest. But as you said - it consumes most of the screen, so it's good for a quick check when the situation permits. Not really an "all day display" thing. It - and the media window - are the only things I wish I had more screen real estate for.

Most of this is academic for me anyway - I hardly ever go anywhere where range is any consideration at all - and when I do, it usually means a road trip, where it's been preplanned (ABRP for the win!) anyway.

But I really do prefer a display showing me distance remaining vs. percentage. Now, that range accuracy due to weather conditions, etc - well, that's been a problem since time immemorial. Same for ICE cars too, although the effects are somewhat less.

 

[SanDiegoM3]

If you use %, the battery degradation will not be visible to you.

90% = 279 miles

Or

90% = 250 miles

How would you know the difference if you only see %?

That’s the point.