Battery Drain While Driving

[brooklinemod3]

Hello All---

New to this forum and to the Tesla community. Picked up my Model 3 5 days ago. Apologies if this has been covered before but would appreciate the collective wisdom of this community......

I notice that the battery seems to drain more than I anticipate while driving. As an example, when I drove home from the dealership, the drive was a 10 mile drive but it knocked off about 20 miles of range. The last two days, my drive to work which is only 2 miles knocked off 8 miles of range. (That is, when I got in the car this morning at 730am, I had 199 miles of range--> I drove 2 miles--->And by the time I arrived at work I had 191miles of range listed).

Is this normal? Is there something I should be doing to conserve battery? Thanks in advance.

BL

 

[hcdavis3]

Hello All---

New to this forum and to the Tesla community. Picked up my Model 3 5 days ago. Apologies if this has been covered before but would appreciate the collective wisdom of this community......

I notice that the battery seems to drain more than I anticipate while driving. As an example, when I drove home from the dealership, the drive was a 10 mile drive but it knocked off about 20 miles of range. The last two days, my drive to work which is only 2 miles knocked off 8 miles of range. (That is, when I got in the car this morning at 730am, I had 199 miles of range--> I drove 2 miles--->And by the time I arrived at work I had 191miles of range listed).

Is this normal? Is there something I should be doing to conserve battery? Thanks in advance.

BL

It’s the cold. Your range goes down significantly when it’s cold. You will get the expected range in the spring and fall. In either season your range will be much better, but even then you will need the heater or AC off to get the max range. Enjoy your car.

 

[WallyP]

Tire/wheel weight and aerodynamics are factors as well. If you have the OEM 18" aero wheels then your energy performance should be closer to spec. In my case I went with aftermarket 19" TST turbines which I believe are heavier and less aero, so my energy performance is less than spec. However, for my daily driving needs the range hit really is not a factor for me.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

Hello All---

New to this forum and to the Tesla community. Picked up my Model 3 5 days ago. Apologies if this has been covered before but would appreciate the collective wisdom of this community......

I notice that the battery seems to drain more than I anticipate while driving. As an example, when I drove home from the dealership, the drive was a 10 mile drive but it knocked off about 20 miles of range. The last two days, my drive to work which is only 2 miles knocked off 8 miles of range. (That is, when I got in the car this morning at 730am, I had 199 miles of range--> I drove 2 miles--->And by the time I arrived at work I had 191miles of range listed).

Is this normal? Is there something I should be doing to conserve battery? Thanks in advance.

BL

Just search for terms efficiency, range, etc. this is covered a lot here. Rated miles are units of energy, not distance. Note there is a trip meter accessible left hand side bottom and also an energy page.

Things that will affect how much energy you use per mile traveled (mostly in order of importance but not precise):

HVAC (heat much more than AC)
Tire choice
Model 3 Type (AWD/RWD)
Speed
Elevation gain/loss (7 rated miles/1000 feet)
Snow
Rain
Driving style (excessive regen or friction braking)
Wet pavement
Tire pressure
Vampire drain (bigger effect the less you drive)
Etc...

 

[ratsbew]

Totally normal for short trips (short being less than 60 miles) in the wintertime. In the summer/spring you will be AMAZED at how efficient the car is. Long trips in the winter aren't too bad after the battery is warmed up as long as you keep the heat to about 67.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

my drive to work which is only 2 miles knocked off 8 miles of range.

Yes, likely come summertime/moderate temperatures you'll be looking at 4 miles round trip and you might expect to see 4 miles rated range loss for this round trip (if you have RWD) - it's such a short distance that there may still be overhead.

This is in addition to the 3-4 miles you will lose each day due to vampire drain.

So you'll be looking at 7 miles range loss for ~4 miles daily driving. So, assuming you use the car only to commute to work, and don't do any other driving, in modest temps with no heat/AC use, you should therefore expect to get about 160-170 miles out of each full 310/325 mile charge (more than a month of commutes). Obviously it'll be much better the more you drive.

A 2-mile commute though! I'm envious.

 

[Needsdecaf]

Yes, likely come summertime/moderate temperatures you'll be looking at 4 miles round trip and you might expect to see 4 miles rated range loss for this round trip (if you have RWD) - it's such a short distance that there may still be overhead.

This is in addition to the 3-4 miles you will lose each day due to vampire drain.

So you'll be looking at 7 miles range loss for ~4 miles daily driving. So, assuming you use the car only to commute to work, and don't do any other driving, in modest temps with no heat/AC use, you should therefore expect to get about 160-170 miles out of each full 310/325 mile charge (more than a month of commutes). Obviously it'll be much better the more you drive.

A 2-mile commute though! I'm envious.

I used to have one that was 1.1

It was freaking weird, because I was coming off 70 miles each way, and multiple years of doing 25k to 35k per year. I didn't know what to do with myself!

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

I used to have one that was 1.1

I would definitely walk for that! And the 2 miles.

 

[ewoodrick]

A) If it is cold, expect 30% less range. Be happy if you get more.
B) There's a little overhead as the car starts up.
C) The RWD LR Model 3 with standard wheels and aero covers on get the rated range at about 65 mph

To see your actual usage, don't look at the battery gauge, look at the energy graphs.

And probably the most important for newbies. Experiencing the acceleration of a Tesla doesn't help with the range.

Don't freak, the real number will be evident in a few months.

 

[halfricanguy]

As mentioned, the seat heaters are more efficient than the AC/heat. I can usually get away with using the heat set to the windshield at ~69 degrees F on 1 or 2 setting while having the seat heater on full.

 

[hcdavis3]

Just search for terms efficiency, range, etc. this is covered a lot here. Rated miles are units of energy, not distance. Note there is a trip meter accessible left hand side bottom and also an energy page.

Things that will affect how much energy you use per mile traveled (mostly in order of importance but not precise):

HVAC (heat much more than AC)
Tire choice
Model 3 Type (AWD/RWD)
Speed
Elevation gain/loss (7 rated miles/1000 feet)
Snow
Rain
Driving style (excessive regen or friction braking)
Wet pavement
Tire pressure
Vampire drain (bigger effect the less you drive)
Etc...

Alan, what regen level would you recommend?

 

[Dana1]

Hello All---

New to this forum and to the Tesla community. Picked up my Model 3 5 days ago. Apologies if this has been covered before but would appreciate the collective wisdom of this community......

I notice that the battery seems to drain more than I anticipate while driving. As an example, when I drove home from the dealership, the drive was a 10 mile drive but it knocked off about 20 miles of range. The last two days, my drive to work which is only 2 miles knocked off 8 miles of range. (That is, when I got in the car this morning at 730am, I had 199 miles of range--> I drove 2 miles--->And by the time I arrived at work I had 191miles of range listed).

Is this normal? Is there something I should be doing to conserve battery? Thanks in advance.

BL

Percentage is a little more accurate than miles though I like keeping it on miles. But, like a gas car, speed and acceleration have a huge impact on range. In the lower left of the tablet, third icon from the left, you’ll find your energy consumption graph. If you’re in the 220-240 range you’ll get rated range. If you are much higher or have spikes it’ll be lower. The graph can be set to instant or average and it helps understand how your driving habits affect energy consumption.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

Alan, what regen level would you recommend?

I just use the standard regen, since when driving conservatively that should give a better result than “low”.

When I said “excessive regen,” I just meant not to use regen to compensate for getting too much speed going prior to a stop. It’s best to use as little regen as possible, obviously. Just like driving a regular car, you want to be coasting whenever possible - not accelerating/braking. Though much better than braking, regen is not a very efficient process, so you want as little “slosh” of energy as possible.

 

[hcdavis3]

I just use the standard regen, since when driving conservatively that should give a better result than “low”.

When I said “excessive regen,” I just meant not to use regen to compensate for getting too much speed going prior to a stop. It’s best to use as little regen as possible, obviously. Just like driving a regular car, you want to be coasting whenever possible - not accelerating/braking. Though much better than braking, regen is not a very efficient process, so you want as little “slosh” of energy as possible.

Thanks very much!!

 

[Magnets!]

There's some talk in this thread about aero covers. I saw a youtube video test where the aero covers only added 0.5% to efficiency. So we're talking about 1.5 miles of extra range out of a full charge.