Why I stopped displaying remaining miles

[M109Rider]

I agree with the OP for sure.

However, I can’t help tracking, measuring, and calculating the business end of this car.

I don’t have range anxiety at all, so I think I prefer miles, so I can play with the above nerdy data.

 

[bpjod]

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

... or with a canoe or bikes on the roof. Or at -28C, in the mountains, with a full car and a roof box full of skis and gear up top.

My energy consumption over a trip ranges from 140 Wh/km to 275 Wh/km. Yep, percentage + energy graph when needed all the way for me!

 

[ceekz]

I've always thought it was odd that it would start with displaying the range in miles, and then switch to percent of battery. Didn't realize it was an option to switch in the display. Thanks for the heads up! I wonder what the thought process was behind the original design when it was programmed???

 

[jjrandorin]

I use miles for the same reason @dmurphy does. I am used to seeing miles remaining to empty from my ICE cars. I will admit that at the very beginning it was a bit confusing trying to understand why my 80 mile round trip to work was somewhere between 100-120 used "miles remaining". I picked up my car december 4th last year.

I figured it out, through reading here and just driving and seeing. The main thing though, as @dmurphy mentions, percentage is not a measurement of distance, and thats what I would like to measure when I am driving. Then again, I also have all my computers set to time, not percentage remaining.

 

[lampcord]

I prefer miles. But then my commute is only 40 miles so range anxiety is never an issue. In a month I'm going on a 210 mile trip. My attitude might change after that!

 

[jerry33]

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.

The percentage that the trip graph shows is also displayed at the bottom of the turn list (which doesn't take up that much room). What you need to know is whether percentage increases or decreases during the trip. (e.g. At the start the percentage is 5% but later goes higher, good, or lower, slow down a bit). The large graph is best used just at the end of the trip to see how you did.

 

[SanDiegoM3]

The percentage that the trip graph shows is also displayed at the bottom of the turn list (which doesn't take up that much room). What you need to know is whether percentage increases or decreases during the trip. (e.g. At the start the percentage is 5% but later goes higher, good, or lower, slow down a bit). The large graph is best used just at the end of the trip to see how you did.

Yep. It’s easier to compare my actual driving habits to fuel economy estimates by comparing the computer’s remaining percentage estimates. Now, I try to beat the estimator by a percentage point or two, which is equivalent to about 5 miles.

 

[Darmie]

After having my Model 3 AWD for a few months
Just displaying the percentage reduces my range anxiety and degradation anxiety.

Great idea.
We find just charging once through the week day is comfortable or when ever the car is down to 80 miles. That's approx 25%. The driving around town during the evening along with Karen going two and from work, we find we really don't look much at any number. On a road trip, I fight the anxiety by attempting to match the watt per mile to what is rated.

 

[pdx3181]

Yup. Agree 100%

I see what you did there.

 

[SageBrush]

I fight the anxiety by attempting to match the watt per mile to what is rated.

The what ?

 

[tomas]

The what ?

Slim shady

 

[KenC]

In my BMW, I have both miles to empty, and an analog gauge. The miles to empty depends upon my past driving style, just like range on my Model 3. The analog gauge in my BMW is like my %age SOC. Whichever you prefer, may depend upon what you used to look at in your previous car ownership history.

Personally, I like to look at %age SOC, as range estimates never seemed all that accurate to me, as all the car knows is how I was driving. It doesn't know how I plan to drive in the near future.

While the analog gauge in my BMW was quite vague, the %age SOC in my Model 3 is quite specific. That's the real raw data. The range figure is massaged data. I prefer the actual raw data, since I know how I'll be driving and the computer doesn't. When I am on fumes and trying to get somewhere, I switch over to the Trip screen, and there, it uses %age SOC, another reason why I prefer %age, as it's consistent.

 

[tomas]

In my BMW, I have both miles to empty, and an analog gauge. The miles to empty depends upon my past driving style, just like range on my Model 3. The analog gauge in my BMW is like my %age SOC. Whichever you prefer, may depend upon what you used to look at in your previous car ownership history.

Personally, I like to look at %age SOC, as range estimates never seemed all that accurate to me, as all the car knows is how I was driving. It doesn't know how I plan to drive in the near future.

While the analog gauge in my BMW was quite vague, the %age SOC in my Model 3 is quite specific. That's the real raw data. The range figure is massaged data. I prefer the actual raw data, since I know how I'll be driving and the computer doesn't. When I am on fumes and trying to get somewhere, I switch over to the Trip screen, and there, it uses %age SOC, another reason why I prefer %age, as it's consistent.

If you opt to show mileage vs %, the number of miles shown is NOT adjusted by your driving history. Many people have this misconception. That is WRONG and has been debunked dozens of times. It shows a remaining battery divided by a constant number of wh/mi.

 

[ZOMGVTEK]

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.

Yes, I'm talking about the useless energy graph window. I don't find it very helpful myself, but its immensely more useful than the battery state of charge being indicated in a magical 'EPA Miles'. For those that think the battery holds miles of range, the battery meter being indicated in EPA miles is absurdly misleading. In bad weather, with elevation rise, and long stops with the heat blasting, its totally possible to get 1/4 of the indicated distance. For some people these conditions are very real. If the car says '50 miles' on the battery meter, your real world travel distance wont be anywhere near that and you might be mislead into thinking you can make it. At least the energy graph will show you an estimate based on how you were driving recently. So in those bad conditions, you'd have a bit more of an idea. Of course mapping it is a way better estimate, but for that you need to know a destination. It would be easy for someone to think the car 'told them' they could make it, when the battery meter is displayed in miles. It does not adapt for the conditions and is purely an estimate of the energy remaining, which may have little bearing on how far you can go. If you live in a mild climate its probably close enough, but in conditions I see daily for several weeks every year its off by 100-200 miles when full. And occasionally conditions may reach nearly impossible, so some people pull off the road and wait it out. In sub zero weather this inst the best for range. You really have to have the heat hammered and defrosters on to have any degree of visibility. Typical highway speeds vary quite a bit by region, and this has huge impact on range as well. The problem is just too complicated to have an 'average' consumption, its massively varied.

 

[tomas]

Yes, I'm talking about the useless energy graph window. I don't find it very helpful myself, but its immensely more useful than the battery state of charge being indicated in a magical 'EPA Miles'. For those that think the battery holds miles of range, the battery meter being indicated in EPA miles is absurdly misleading. In bad weather, with elevation rise, and long stops with the heat blasting, its totally possible to get 1/4 of the indicated distance. For some people these conditions are very real. If the car says '50 miles' on the battery meter, your real world travel distance wont be anywhere near that and you might be mislead into thinking you can make it. At least the energy graph will show you an estimate based on how you were driving recently. So in those bad conditions, you'd have a bit more of an idea. Of course mapping it is a way better estimate, but for that you need to know a destination. It would be easy for someone to think the car 'told them' they could make it, when the battery meter is displayed in miles. It does not adapt for the conditions and is purely an estimate of the energy remaining, which may have little bearing on how far you can go. If you live in a mild climate its probably close enough, but in conditions I see daily for several weeks every year its off by 100-200 miles when full. And occasionally conditions may reach nearly impossible, so some people pull off the road and wait it out. In sub zero weather this inst the best for range. You really have to have the heat hammered and defrosters on to have any degree of visibility. Typical highway speeds vary quite a bit by region, and this has huge impact on range as well. The problem is just too complicated to have an 'average' consumption, its massively varied.

Different strokes I guess. I’ve been driving Tesla for 7 years and I find exact opposite. Energy graph estimate useless because it tries to factor in most recent performance. I know better what is ahead, so I’m better off using rated miles and doing my own subtraction/addition based on conditions and destination. At least I’m starting with a constant.

 

[Dan123]

I use percentage because miles on Tesla is a misleading indicator. Tesla simply calculates the miles by taking the battery percentage, and multiplying it by a certain number. It has nothing to do with the actual miles, and it does not get adjusted for your route, driving conditions, speed, etc.

In Chevy Bolt, the miles Guess-o-Meter is a useful number (after you learn to use it), but in Tesla it is not useful.

 

[ZOMGVTEK]

Different strokes I guess. I’ve been driving Tesla for 7 years and I find exact opposite. Energy graph estimate useless because it tries to factor in most recent performance. I know better what is ahead, so I’m better off using rated miles and doing my own subtraction/addition based on conditions and destination. At least I’m starting with a constant.

That's exactly how I feel about the percent. The miles to me is very strange. Personally I'd prefer kWh and SOC, but to me percent is the next best thing. I suppose this is kinda strange since the miles is effectively an indication of the energy reaming and not the SOC, but its just silly to me to use a familiar unit to indicate something totally different. Best I can tell, most people believe the miles next to the battery are just like the ICE 'distance to empty', which is risky. Most often ICE cars pad a gallon or two beyond the estimated range to be confident fuel will be at the pickup until at least that point. So you can very often comfortably drive to 0 and even 10-50 miles past zero. This inst a good idea in a Model 3.

Surely it depends on perspective and experience. I'm just concerned people will be mislead by the battery being displayed in miles and it leading to a bad experience.

 

[Silicon Desert]

Agreed. I wish it would ship this way and only display any type of range using the energy graph

So you want other people to be forced into the way you like it ? Maybe I am not reading this correctly.

 

[jerry33]

Different strokes I guess. I’ve been driving Tesla for 7 years and I find exact opposite. Energy graph estimate useless because it tries to factor in most recent performance. I know better what is ahead, so I’m better off using rated miles and doing my own subtraction/addition based on conditions and destination. At least I’m starting with a constant.

Basically this is my experience as well. The best indicator is the trip graph percentage remaining when you arrive at your destination because that's based on speed limits and hills between you and your destination. Of course, you only get this when you use the Nav and set a destination. Second best is miles/km because it's a constant and you will soon know how your driving compares to the constant number. The only time the energy graph was useful was before the trip graph and it's percent left when you reach your destination. The way I used it back in the day, was that if the energy graph distance was higher than the miles left distance I was okay. I haven't used that method for several years.

 

[redgt]

So you want other people to be forced into the way you like it ? Maybe I am not reading this correctly.

Well ... Yes.

In all seriousness the miles left is highly inaccurate and that is why I don't like it. I think it can cause issues especially for people new to Tesla. @ZOMGVTEK explained it really well above why it EPA remaining miles just don't make a lot of sense.

Kinda odd they don't display both SOC and EPA miles left at the same time or SOC and some type of miles left based on the last 5/15/30